Chapter 160 Altruism
Caspian laughed, holding his fist loosely against his nose. "Do I look like a personal trainer?"
Caroline said, "Aren't you?"
Caspian shook his head, his smile genuine and relaxed, the curve of his lips full of youthful energy.
"I'm Caspian Sforza, a student at Seaside University."
"A college student," Caroline looked him over again. His muscle definition was really impressive. "Nice."
Caspian asked, "I told you my name, so it's only fair, what should I call you?"
He was trying to flirt with her.
Caroline said, "Caroline Tudor. I'm older than you."
Caspian knew how to chat, he avoided asking her age and said, "Don't bring up age every time we talk. Does being older make you right?"
He really knew what he was doing, good at chatting and flirting.
Caroline had no such intentions, married women don't play around.
"I'm twenty-seven," she said directly.
"I didn't even ask," Caspian leaned against a nearby fitness machine. "Even if you're twenty-seven, what does that prove? It only proves one thing—you look young. At first, I thought you were a student from our university."
Caroline stood up and walked away, laughing. "Caspian, I need to go home and cook for my husband. You should head back early too, don't get locked out by the dorm supervisor."
Caspian watched her back. "Caroline!"
He suddenly called out. Caroline turned around—he was calling her by her first name.
His intentions weren't entirely pure.
Then she saw Caspian raise his arm and toss something into the air. "Catch."
Caroline reflexively reached out and caught it. Opening her palm, she saw it was an energy bar.
Caspian walked toward the men's locker room. "Eat it before working out. I noticed when you were running that your stamina couldn't keep up."
Caroline said, "Thanks."
After entering the locker room, Caroline opened her storage locker, put the energy bar in her bag, and went to shower.
As soon as she got home, her phone rang. It was a video call from Leopold. Caroline put down her gym bag and answered.
Seeing what she was wearing, Leopold asked, "Been to the gym?"
Caroline said, "Yeah, just got back. I've gained a bit of weight lately, need to lose some."
Leopold stared at the person on the screen, his expression serious. "You're not fat. Who said you're fat?"
"I think I'm fat." Caroline walked over to the scale and switched the camera. "See? I've gained weight."
Leopold said, "That weight change isn't even worth a glass of water. Don't create body image anxiety for yourself. Just be healthy."
Caroline went to the bedroom, found her pajamas, and sat at the foot of the bed. "What about you? Is work tiring?"
From the background, he seemed to be outside a hotel, with large landscape plants and a fountain behind him.
"I was tired, but seeing you makes me not tired anymore." Leopold smiled, as bright as the sunlight falling on him. Her own handsome guy was definitely more pleasing to the eye.
"Where did you work out?" Leopold asked casually.
Caroline said, "Core Strength Club."
Leopold walked along a path by the flower bed. "You mean the fitness club across from your office?"
Caroline said, "Yeah."
Leopold climbed some steps and stood in a pavilion. "The Core Strength Club, where the treadmill faces your office window?"
Hearing him ask question after question, she knew what he was going to say next.
"Yes."
"The gym that guy with the nice muscle definition goes to?"
Caroline laughed. "Alright, I didn't go there for him. The owner of Core Strength Club knows our deputy manager. He brought over a bunch of gym trial passes. I tried it once—the equipment and trainers are good, the environment is nice, and the locker rooms and workout areas are clean. So I got a membership, and they even gave me a discount. Saved quite a bit of money."
Leopold didn't care about how much money was saved or what discount she got. What he cared about was whether the treadmill guy was Caroline's personal trainer.
"Is the treadmill guy a trainer or just working out?"
Caroline had just met Caspian and didn't want Leopold to misunderstand, so she revealed Caspian's identity.
"He's there to work out. He goes to Seaside City University—he's a college student."
Leopold's tone rose meaningfully. "You know quite a bit about him? You met him?"
Caroline had nothing to hide and said honestly, "Just met him tonight. I was working out, and he saw I was doing back exercises wrong, engaging my trapezius muscles, so he told me to watch my form."
Leopold frowned slightly. "He was giving you pointers."
Caroline narrowed her eyes and pointed at the person on the screen. "Leopold, try being sarcastic again and see what happens."
Leopold laughed. "Okay, I'll stop teasing."
Then he asked again, "Did he approach you first?"
Caroline stared at him. Leopold said with a smile, "I don't mean anything by it, just asking."
Caroline said, "After I finished my set and took a drink of water, he happened to pass by and mentioned it. He was just being nice. You don't understand the helpful spirit of gym people—when they see someone doing something wrong, they'll point it out."
Leopold raised an eyebrow. "Helpful?"
He nodded. "Sounds like my approach. What was my identity at that time? Oh, right, concerned citizen."
Caroline wasn't stupid, she could tell Caspian was somewhat interested in her, but she had decisively shut down that idea.
"I know what you're trying to say. To me, he's just a young student. Before I left, I told him I needed to go home and cook for my husband."
She could clearly see Leopold's smile widen when he heard her say husband.
"That's more like it."
"What do you mean by 'more like it,'" Caroline took the opportunity to ask Leopold too. "You're asking me all these questions, but what about you? Have you been behaving yourself abroad?"
Leopold said, "Of course I have. Look," he held up his hand, "except when I'm showering or sleeping, I always wear my wedding ring. Wherever I go, people know I'm married. Wait, hold up your hand."
Caroline paused, she had taken off her wedding ring when she changed into her workout clothes.
"I was exercising, I couldn't wear the ring," she quickly explained.
"You can wear a ring while exercising," Leopold said. "Tomorrow, when you go to the gym, wear your wedding ring."
Caroline said, "It might get scratched."
Leopold said, "No, you have to wear it."
"Fine, I'll wear it, okay?"
"That reluctant tone makes it sound like you really don't want to," Leopold deliberately put on a resentful voice. "If you don't want to wear it, then don't."
Caroline loved seeing him pretend to be jealous. "Could you be a bit more obvious? Show your strong dissatisfaction with me not wearing my wedding ring. Come on, I believe in you!"
Leopold furrowed his brow, touching his chin thoughtfully. "Let me work on my acting a bit more."
Caroline looked at him with smiling eyes. She suddenly missed him.
But they were on video, why did she still miss him?
She said, "How much longer until you come back?"