Chapter 370 Future Plans
Alcohol made a person quicker to anger. Rachel pushed Justin away, knocking over the bottle of water in his hands and sending it rolling across the floor.
This frightened a couple walking past them. Hurriedly, Justin apologized to them, “Sorry for that.” Thankfully, the guy was easily pacified and soon walked away with his girlfriend.
Once Rachel was done puking, she then walked away from Justin.
“Rae!” Justin ran after her and tried to stop her.
When Justin was near her, she abruptly turned to stare at him with an extremely sober gaze. “Just how long do you plan on following me? Do you think I’m grateful you made it in time? Who do you think you are?”
“I was just worried about you,” Justin replied. “Robin isn’t a good guy.”
“Do you think I don’t know that? But I had to go today because Hudson Pharmaceuticals’ matter must be resolved. It doesn’t matter whether today is a success or not. Once he has a target for his anger, this feud could be over!”
The more Rachel spoke, the angrier she got. “But then you had to come. Now, everything has been for nothing! His hate for me will only grow!”
Hearing this made Justin furious. “Wake up! Someone like him won’t have mercy on you just because he has vented out his anger. You didn’t even need to lower yourself by going to that kind of place. What do you take yourself for?”
“Well, that’s none of your business, Justin Burton, great President Burton, Young Master Justin!”
The more names Rachel threw at him, the louder she spoke. “Do you think everyone was born with a silver spoon in their mouth, like you? Do you think everyone has a protector helping them in everything? I can only rely on myself in whatever I do! I don’t need a hero to save me, and you can’t save me! So, stop following me!”
After leaving those ruthless words, Rachel turned and left.
Justin was left standing alone in the frosty night air. The people walking around him threw him sympathetic glances as he kept standing there.
Meanwhile, Rachel kept stumbling and walking. When she grew tired, she took off her heels and continued walking on bare feet.
The rocks beneath her pierced into the soles of her feet, and the pain eventually woke her up from her anger.
There were still about five miles left to go before she reached home. If she kept walking, the soles of her feet would bleed.
After a while, she sat down on the side of the road.
As the evening breeze blew across her face, she slowly sobered up.
Just then, a car pulled to a stop near her, and the driver stepped out of the car. “Julian?” Rachel asked, surprised.
Twenty minutes later, in an office in the hospital.
“That was so thoughtless of you. What were you thinking? Why did you walk on the road with bare feet? What if there was a nail or something on the road? Do you not care about your feet?”
Although Julian kept grumbling and nagging, his hands kept cleaning and dressing her wounds.
“All done. Don’t let your feet get wet for the next two days and remember to reapply the cream when it’s time to do so.”
Julian then took a pair of brand new slippers from the drawers and said, “Wear these.”
After grabbing the slippers, Rachel leaned back against the couch with her arms around a cushion. “When did you get back?”
After all, Julian had been studying overseas for quite a while now, and no one had ever said anything about when he’d be back.
“Yesterday afternoon. I had to hand in a report as soon as I arrived, so I didn’t have time to tell anyone yet,” he answered.
“How did you know I was there, then?” Rachel asked.
Julian frowned slightly in response and turned to clean up the room in order to hide the conflicted emotions in his eyes. “My meeting just so happened to end late, and I was driving by the area.”
“What a coincidence,” Rachel mused.
“Yeah,” he grunted in response.
“Rest here for now. I’ll throw these out first,” he said.
“Okay.”
Julian then left the room with the trash and walked over to the trash bin in the hallway. After throwing out the trash, he dialed a number on his phone.
“Where are you?” Julian asked when the call went through.
“In the parking lot outside,” replied the cold voice of a man over the phone.
At that, Julian hung up and walked out of the hospital.
Due to how late it was, almost nobody was hanging around the parking lot. Justin leaned against the side of his car as he held a cigarette between his slender fingers.
When Justin noticed Julian walking over, he swiftly pulled out a big bag from the back of the car. “You haven’t eaten yet, right? I’ve bought you some food from a convenience store.”
“Are these just for me?” Julian asked as he shot Justin a glance. “Why don’t you give her these yourself?”
“She doesn’t want to see me. I wouldn’t have called you otherwise.”
When Julian heard that, he frowned. Still, he accepted the bag from Justin.
His meeting had just ended when Justin called him. What he heard shocked him.
After all, Justin used to object a lot every time Julian and Rachel met each other. Hence, when Justin asked Julian to pick up Rachel, Julian had thought Justin had either called the wrong number, or this was an impersonator of Justin.
“How is she?” Justin asked.
“Merely blisters on the soles of her feet. She’s sober and resting in my office. She’s fine,” Julian answered.
“Glad to hear that,” Justin said.
Justin then continued with a wave of his hand, “Head back in. I’m going now.”
Julian opened his mouth to say something, but hesitated.
However, after taking a few steps toward the hospital doors, Julian turned back to say to Justin, “Don’t smoke so much.”
Justin’s fingers around his cigarette trembled, sending smoke spiraling into the air.
Meanwhile, in the office, Rachel was about to fall asleep when she was jolted awake by the sound of the door opening.
“What took you so long?” She rubbed her eyes and blearily looked at Julian.
“I went to buy a few things,” Julian replied, placing the bag from the convenience store on the table. “I haven’t had my dinner yet. Let’s eat together.”
“Thanks,” she said.
“No need to be so polite. Here.”
She accepted the sandwich held out to her, took a bite of it, and had a sip of warm milk. It was only then that her stomach felt slightly better.
“How come your business trip took so long? You didn’t even tell us about it.”
“A secret experiment,” he answered with a glint in his eyes. “You know how it is. We can’t risk a leak.”
Rachel nodded to show her understanding.
There were a few moments of silence, then Julian suddenly asked, “Rachel, do you ever plan on going back to Montenegro?”
Rachel froze. She even stopped eating. “Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”
“Before you returned to Riverdale, you told me you would leave Riverdale, never to return, as soon as you’ve settled your business here and found out what happened to Hans,” he stated.
“Yes, I did say that. However, Hudson Pharmaceuticals has caused a change in plans. I’m in charge of it now. This company was built through the blood, sweat, and tears of several generations of Hudsons. My parents died for this company, so I want to help the company get through this crisis first,” she explained.
“You don’t plan on ever leaving then?”
“No, that’s not it. I just need some time.”
Without saying a word, Julian placed down the food he had been working his way through, took off his glasses, and began wiping them.
“Are you mad?” Rachel cautiously asked, observing his reaction.
He placed his glasses to the side, looked up at her, and said, “My thesis has been completely processed. I’ve also received an invitation to go back to Montenegro. They would like me to keep working in the lab, focus on clinical trial research, and work as a university lecturer…”
“That’s good news! It’s a fantastic opportunity that many would love!”
Her eyes shimmered as she continued, “You must say yes. Being back there is better for your career, whether it’s due to the standard of their medical industry or the research environment.”
“And you?” he asked, his eyes looking steadily into hers. “What are your future plans?”
