Crystal Ball
Although Sonia’s expression was a little sour, the concern in her eyes was genuine.
When Toby saw how worried she was for him, he broke into a smile. Then, he took a blanket and
wrapped it around himself before replying, “I went to buy something for you.”
“You bought something for me?” Sonia echoed as she was taken aback. “What is it?”
She turned toward the small bag that he had just placed aside, “Is this the item?”
“Yeah.” With an affirming nod, Toby handed the bag to her. “Have a look to see if you like it. I specially
went out of my way and looked through many shops just to find this.”
She took the bag from him while probing, “What exactly is it that made you head out in the heavy snow
to buy this for me?”
“Didn’t you say that you like snow?” He looked at her. “It’s freezing cold outside to look at snow, so I
bought something that will allow you to look at it all the time without it melting. This way, you can still
enjoy snow even when it’s summer.”
“Snow…” Sonia lowered her head as she stared in a daze at the bag in her hands. There’s snow in this
bag?
When Toby noticed that her attention was faltering, he hurriedly urged, “Quickly open it.”
Sonia’s rosy lips twitched as she hummed in reply before she opened the bag to reveal a box inside.
Then, she set the bag aside and held the box in her hands.
Although it was only as big as her palm, it was almost ten centimeters tall and a little heavy.
Under Toby’s encouraging gaze, Sonia took a deep breath and slowly opened the box. Her eyes
widened as a glistening crystal ball appeared before her, thereafter she removed it from the box.
Upon a closer look, she could see something floating within the crystal ball; it was the snowflakes that
Toby had spoken of.
Dozens of snowflakes that differed in sizes swirled along with the movement of the crystal ball, as
though it truly snowed. It was a beautiful sight that was straight out of a fairy tale. In fact, it was even
prettier than real life.
No wonder Toby had said with this item, she could look at snow any time she wished, come rain or
shine—because within the crystal ball was snow that would never melt.
As Sonia held the crystal ball, it felt oddly heavy in her hands for reasons unknown to her and there
was an indescribable feeling in her chest.
She scrunched her nose and resisted from crying as she looked at Toby. “Even though it’s snowing
heavily outside, you went out and bought this for me. Are you crazy, Toby?”
“I’m not crazy. I clearly know what I am doing,” he replied in a serious tone while staring into Sonia’s
eyes.
His words were like a pang of guilt in her heart. She blinked her eyes with such fury, as if she wanted to
chase her tears away before she chastised, “Since you know what you’re doing, then you should know
that you haven’t made a full recovery yet. If you run around in the cold like that, what if something
happens to you? How would I feel? How would those who care about you feel?”
“That won’t happen. I know my limits, so don’t worry.” Toby’s gaze was gentle as he reassured her with
a small smile.
Sonia didn’t reply, but the corners of her lips twitched a little. Damn, this guy has never thought about
how he could get frostbite, she thought.
After briefly squeezing her eyes shut to calm herself, she asked earnestly, “Toby, was it truly worth it to
do that?”
“Yes.” Toby nodded without any hesitation. “I would do anything for you.”
When she heard those words, Sonia was finally unable to control herself as tears swam in her eyes
and she choked up while clutching the crystal ball in her hands for dear life. “Idiot! You’re really an
idiot!”
“As long as you’re happy, I don’t mind being an idiot.” Moments after saying that, Toby threw the
blanket aside and grabbed a tissue from the coffee table to wipe her tears away. “Are you really so
easily moved to tears by me?”
Sonia’s cheeks immediately turned a bright red as she quickly swatted his hands away. “I’m not crying!
A strand of eyelash merely fell into my eye. Don’t make things up.”
He laughed under his breath. “Okay, okay. A strand of eyelash fell into your eye. Have you gotten it out
yet? Otherwise, I’ll help you to do so.”
“It’s fine, I’ve already gotten it out.” Sonia snatched the tissue from him and dabbed her eyes, before
looking at him with her red eyes, as if to say, Look, my eyes are alright now.
Toby smirked. Then, his gaze dropped to the crystal ball in her hands. “Oh, that’s right. Do you like it?”
As she followed his gaze, she lowered her head to look at the item as well.
As she was no longer shaking the crystal ball, the snowflakes had stopped fluttering and it settled at
the bottom.
Even so, the luminescent snowflakes were still blinding.
Sonia clasped the item as the corners of her mouth slightly curved upward. “Yes, I do. It’s beautiful.”
She had always loved the snow, so it was only natural that she would take a liking to the unmelting,
bright snow in the crystal ball.
At her words, Toby’s tense expression relaxed. “That’s good to know.”
When he had decided to make this purchase, he was afraid that Sonia wouldn’t take a fancy to it as it
wasn’t the real snow. However, now that he saw her smiling, it had dissipated all of his worries.
“How did you suddenly think of buying me this, though?” Sonia asked while pouring him a cup of hot
water.
Toby answered as he took the cup from her, “You said that you like snow, but it doesn’t snow every
year in Seafield, so I could only come up with a solution myself. After a quick search on the Internet, I
found out that the best way to see snow as soon as possible is to buy an ornament like this.”
If it weren’t for his physical restrictions, he would even be willing to spend more physical and financial
resources to gift her with man made snow.
“I see.” She nodded before she looked at him and responded in a sincere voice, “Toby, thank you for
doing this for me.”
“It’s not a big deal,” Toby acknowledged as he drank the hot water. “I decided to buy this crystal ball on
a whim. It wasn’t expensive and it’s not made of real crystals either. Next time, I’ll give you a real one.”
Sonia declined with the shake of her head. “There’s no need for that. I’m fine with this. I like it a lot.”
“Don’t you feel hurt?” Toby asked, looking at her.
Sonia rolled her eyes at his question. “Why would I? As long as it’s a heartfelt gift, I wouldn’t feel hurt
even if it’s just a card. Besides, if it’s not heartfelt, even if it was worth millions, I wouldn’t feel happy
either. That’s why this crystal ball is perfect. Even though it’s not worth much, it’s priceless to me.”
He swelled with happiness upon seeing how much she had treasured his gift as it showed how much
she treasured him at that moment. It was because she treasured him that she had treasured his gift as
well.
“All right, it’s getting late, so I’ll take my leave and you should get some rest.” After a glance at his
wristwatch, Toby set down his cup and prepared to leave.
However, Sonia suddenly went to stand in front of him and blocked the way. She looked away and
stammered in a trembling voice, “W-Why? As you said yourself, it’s getting late and it’s freezing
outside. Besides, your hair is all wet. You shouldn’t leave tonight. Just rest here.”
At her words, his pupils dilated as his voice turned hoarse. “Sonia, do you know what you’re saying?”
She blushed. Not only did she avert her gaze, she completely turned her head away because she was
afraid to look at him. “I know. As a thank you for the crystal ball, I’ll take you in for a night. Don’t think
much of it, though. You’re just sleeping on the couch. Do you think I’d let you sleep on the bed?”
Upon saying that, she turned around to walk toward her room.
As Toby watched Sonia’s figure retreating anxiously, he couldn’t help but chuckle.
Soon after, Sonia reappeared from her room with a white bathrobe in her hands.
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