When fate plays its hand

“Sorry!”

“My apologies-”

Paul and Miranda both spoke at once and stepped back simultaneously. Their eyes met, and beyond the awkwardness, there was a hint of something else brewing

Miranda stammered, “You…

Paul began, “I.

“Dr. Jefferson, maybe you should go first?” Miranda offered.

Paul looked down slightly, seeming to ponder or perhaps wrestle with his thoughts. When he looked up again, it was as if he had made a decision. “Miranda, actually, I-”

“Look! I’ve finished sculpting!” Trapper interrupted him.

With her face flushed with embarrassment, Miranda seized the opportunity to escape the moment and turned toward him. “So fast?”

Trapper grinned. “What can I say? I’m just that good.” He handed the clay figure toward her.

Miranda took one glance and couldn’t help but frown. She shouldn’t have held any expectations.

While the previous figurines had at least some semblance of facial features, this one had none. It was just two vaguely human shapes with their heads leaning together….

What! Miranda’s eyes widened. This pose…

“Is–Is this even human? It’s really hard to tell…”

“What do you mean? It’s obvious! It’s the pose when you two were just kissing! See, here’s the head, the

neck, and where the mouths meet…”

Miranda was mortified. Meanwhile, Paul averted his gaze, looking elsewhere as he cleared his throat.

Trapper continued, “Still can’t see it? Let me point it out again–this is the head…”

“No need!” Miranda hastily interrupted.

“Huh?”

She said seriously, “I see it now.”

‘Really? You’re not just saying that?”

“Really.”

“Yes! I knew my figure sculpting wasn’t that bad, but you all didn’t believe me! Trapper shouted joyfully.

Meanwhile, the live stream chat was going crazy

“I can feel the secondhand embarrassment from here.”

“Trapper, please spare them! The girl is about to shatter

“I’m so afraid she’s going to burst into tears any second.”

“She’s probably thinking, ‘Can someone please shut him up already!”

“Here, it’s yours,” Trapper offered, extending the figurine to her.

Miranda stepped back in alarm. “N–No need for that.”

“Why not? You said it looks like you two. Why not take it?”

Miranda was at a loss for words.

“I’ll take it,” Paul said, reaching for the figurine. However, Miranda quickly pulled him away.

“Hey, wait! You haven’t taken it yet! Trapper called after them, scratching his head as he watched them leave. Turning back to his phone, he mumbled, “What’s the rush? Are they being chased?”

Meanwhile, the chat was still getting busy.

“Trapper, think about it! With that pose you sculpted, the woman was embarrassed!”

“You skipped the facial features but nailed the kissing scene.

Trapper is still so naive. I won’t let anyone blame him!

Trapper read the comments and was about to respond when suddenly… NôvelDrama.Org holds © this.

“Sorry, could I have that figurine, please?”

Paul had returned, not only asking for the figurine but also taking out some cash to pay for it.

Trapper was confused. “Didn’t you both just run off?”

“Yes, but I came back for this.”

He was alone this time; Miranda was nowhere in sight.

“So, you agree that my work isn’t bad, right?” Trapper asked eagerly.

Paul smiled slightly. “Yes, it’s quite good.”

“Great! Here you go-”

“Could you box it up for me? I’d hate for it to get damaged.”

“No problem! Just a moment!” Trapper quickly packed it up, all while thinking, “He must really like my

work to be so careful with it…‘