"Tramp, tramp, tramp."
Yan Huan paused in place, holding the delirious Spencer in his arms, watching helplessly as countless n in black surrounded them, their dense footsteps echoing as they completely blocked off the already narrow alleyway.
The originally bustling South Ward seed to be isolated into two different worlds by this lineup. Even the fresh air could not seep in, entirely replaced by the overpowering scent of cologne.
An empty circle was left around Yan Huan and Spencer, and every man in a suit forming that circle kept their hands neatly folded in front of their lower abdons.
Sunglasses concealed each of their gazes, making them look as emotionless as robot killers from a sci-fi movie.
"..."
Yan Huan took a deep breath, glancing at the still unresponsive Spencer in his arms with a helpless expression.
'Eldest Miss Spencer, if you do not wake up and explain this right now, your dear Student Council President is probably going to be beaten to a pulp by these burly n.'
"Huff, huff..."
He gently shook Spencer's shoulder, only to see her scrunch up her face in discomfort and shut her eyes even tighter.
Seeing this, Yan Huan let out a silent sigh. He raised his eyes to look at the n in suits surrounding him and gave a helpless smile.
"If I said I didn't kidnap your Eldest Miss, and that her current condition has nothing to do with , would you believe ?"
"..."
However, everyone before him remained as still as statues, showing absolutely no reaction.
Just as Yan Huan slightly furrowed his brows, a middle-aged woman with an anxious expression squeezed through the crowd.
She adjusted her spectacles. The clatter of her high heels was crisp. The mont she pushed her way in, she hastily waved her hand at the others and commanded.
"Everyone, step back!"
"Thud!"
Hearing this, the rest of the n paused for a second before taking several steps back, forming an even larger circle.
Yan Huan looked at the middle-aged woman with a slightly pale face, his gaze sweeping over the Golden Lion Group emblem pinned to her chest.
"Hello, Student Yan. I am Heather, a senior educational consultant employed by the Golden Lion Group. I am fully responsible for all of Miss Aria's affairs here in Linn."
"...Hello, Ms. Heather."
Yan Huan reached out his hand and gently shook hers.
The next second, Ms. Heather wiped the sweat from her forehead and reached out to check on Spencer's condition. Her expression imdiately turned slightly grim.
Soon after, her fingers brushed against the bracelet on Spencer's wrist, and she finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness she took off that bracelet before leaving, otherwise..."
A mont later, Ms. Heather turned her head to look at Yan Huan and spoke.
"Student Yan, what I am about to tell you is extrely important. Please, you absolutely must not leak a word of it, or else there will be severe consequences for both of us."
"..."
"Once you agree, I will continue."
"Please speak."
Upon receiving his response, Heather finally nodded. She leaned closer to Yan Huan and lowered her voice.
"Alright, Student Yan, then I will be completely frank with you.
"I am the primary person responsible for Miss Aria's life here in Linn. Her running away from ho is absolutely unacceptable to the headquarters.
"If the headquarters were to find out that due to my negligence, Miss Aria was left wandering outside and ended up staying at a boy's house for two whole days...
"Not only , but you would also be in massive trouble."
Hearing this, Yan Huan narrowed his eyes and looked at Heather, noticing a look of lingering relief on her face.
"Fortunately, Miss Aria took off the tracking bracelet from the headquarters before she ran away. As of now, the headquarters is still unaware of this matter...
"Which ans, everything is still under control... Do you understand what I an, Student Yan?"
'Wait, what exactly is going on?'
'Could it be that I guessed wrong earlier?'
Yan Huan understood what Heather ant and realized that if things were exactly as she said, it made perfect sense.
If Spencer running away really was just an accident, the reason why the Golden Lion Group didn't inform the police or launch a massive search was actually quite simple.
It was because these employees, who bore the responsibility, were terrified of blowing the matter out of proportion and drawing the ire of Spencer's mother.
And accountability from the Golden Lion Group was probably not as simple as just getting fired.
If they didn't possess superpowers like unlimited swimming techniques or concrete breathing thods, it was best to downplay major issues and smooth over minor ones.
'Doesn't that an my assumption—that Spencer brought her docunts because her mother wanted her to stay at Far Moon Academy on her own—was completely wrong?'
'Yeah...'
'Co to think of it, given how foolish Spencer is, she might not even understand things when spoken to directly. Expecting her to grasp hidden taphors is probably sothing she wouldn't achieve in her entire lifeti.'
'So having her keep all her docunts together was genuinely just to prevent her from losing them...'
'But the problem is, I already had her restore her academic status at Far Moon Academy!'
Thinking up to this point, Yan Huan's expression twisted as if he had swallowed a fly.
"Student Yan, let us just pretend this incident never happened. It has absolutely nothing to do with you. Is that alright?"
He looked at Ms. Heather, who had a pleading expression on her face, paused for a second, and then smiled helplessly.
"But there is a problem right now. Spencer has already used the docunts she brought with her to restore her academic status at Far Moon Academy."
"What?! Who told her to do that? Was it you?"
Heather's face instantly filled with panic. Her volu shot up several notches, making it even harder for Yan Huan to maintain his composure.
"...I suppose I had a part in it."
Heather gasped in shock, rubbing the space between her eyebrows for several seconds before continuing.
"...Alright, it doesn't matter. Student Yan, just leave this issue for us to handle later. Returning to our previous topic: let's pretend this never happened, and it has nothing to do with you. Do you agree?"
Yan Huan raised an eyebrow, watching as Heather hooked a finger toward the people behind her.
From the back, a man in a suit imdiately stepped forward and handed over a large briefcase.
Heather took the briefcase, her body tilting slightly the mont she grabbed the handle.
It was obvious that the case was extrely heavy.
Imdiately after, Heather turned around and offered the briefcase to Yan Huan.
"A small token of appreciation. Please take it, Student Yan."
Yan Huan glanced at the briefcase, seemingly realizing what was inside.
He didn't reach out to take it. Instead, he lifted his gaze to Heather and smiled warmly.
"That won't be necessary. Ms. Heather, I just have a few questions I'd like to ask you."
"Uh-huh?"
"How do you plan to handle Spencer's academic status?"
"How else? We will do whatever our boss instructs us to do."
"aning, she will still retain her academic status and leave Far Moon Academy?"
"Student Yan, you must understand, this matter cannot be decided by you, , or even Spencer herself. This is a decision made by her mother, who is my boss. Do you understand?"
Heather sighed, looking at Yan Huan earnestly as she said.
"As far as I'm concerned, it makes no difference whether she stays or leaves. So, discussing this with
is entirely pointless."
"..."
Having said all that, Heather turned her head and gestured to her back once again.
Several won in white coats pushed their way through the crowd of black suits, approached Yan Huan, and spoke gently.
"Student, please hand Miss Aria over to us. She is in very poor physical condition and needs to be taken to the hospital for treatnt."
Yan Huan cast a glance at Spencer, whose small face was scrunched up in distress beside him, and ultimately let her go, handing her over to the dical staff.
"I will leave her in your care."
"You're welco."
The mont she left the comforting warmth of Yan Huan's body, Spencer let out an imdiate whimper, struggling a little as if unaccustod to the separation.
But since she was thoroughly miserable and her body completely limp, despite her weak resistance, the dical team slowly and steadily guided her onto a stretcher.
Yan Huan just stood there watching Spencer. At this mont, Heather raised the briefcase in her hand once more.
"I still suggest you accept this."
Yan Huan turned to look at her, watching as she took a deep breath and said.
"According to the behavioral regulations established for her, it is not yet ti for her to be interacting with the opposite sex. It is far too early for that."
Yan Huan narrowed his eyes. He turned his head back to her and asked indifferently.
"Is being bullied since childhood, having no friends at school, and making herself thoroughly disliked also part of the behavioral regulations established for her?"
Hearing this, Heather montarily froze. She then furrowed her brows and scoffed coldly.
"Regardless of whatever happened between you two in the past, all you need to know is that nothing will happen between you in the future.
"We are all just doing things for money. Don't push your luck when you've already gained an advantage. Just take the cash and put an end to this."
Saying that, Heather placed the briefcase on the ground and stepped forward, adding.
"Besides, whatever happens to her doesn't have anything to do with you anyway, does it?"
"..."
'Anything to do with ...'
Listening to Heather's words, Yan Huan couldn't help but look at the dazed Spencer as she was being supported away from him.
For so unknown reason, he suddenly recalled the image of her kissing him, and the way she had clung to his clothes that morning, refusing to get out of bed...
Yan Huan stood frozen in place, his eyes lowering for a brief second.
When he lifted them again, a fierce fire was already flickering within his gaze.
"Grab!"
The very next second, just as the dics were struggling to lead the squirming Spencer away, a hand suddenly reached out from behind her and firmly grabbed her wrist.
A trendous force surged from it. Even with all four dics pulling together, they couldn't drag Spencer a single step further.
"Student..."
The dic spoke in confusion, a sound that also prompted Heather—who was just about to leave—to whip her head around with wide eyes.
She saw that Yan Huan had suddenly seized the departing Spencer's hand and roughly yanked her right back.
Unable to fight against his imnse strength, the dical team had no choice but to let go, watching helplessly as Yan Huan brought Spencer back to his side.
Heather furrowed her brows and fully turned around.
But before she could even say a word, Yan Huan smiled faintly, wrapping his arm around Spencer's shoulders to secure her by his side.
If the previous intimacy of supporting Spencer could still be explained away by her poor health and need for care...
Then at this mont, Yan Huan's blatant action clearly proved sothing entirely different. "You—"
Heather gritted her teeth, about to explode, but Yan Huan beat her to it.
"On the contrary, Aria Spencer and I, Yan Huan, really do have a relationship—and it's quite an extraordinary one."
"..."
The n in black surrounding them remained dead silent, but the evening breeze seed to have invisibly tainted the air with an aura of chilling hostility.
Yan Huan said no more. He simply kicked the briefcase straight over to Heather, his stance already making his position abundantly clear.
At the sa ti, he cast a glance around his surroundings, plotting an escape route in his head.
Truth be told, having reached this point, if they really had to tear away all pretenses and fight, there was still a chance.
After all, she was doing all this behind the back of Spencer's mother. As long as he had Spencer with him and managed to let the headquarters know of their actions, these people would be dood.
So the only issue was:
He needed to slip away and leak this incident in order to have bargaining chips.
With this in mind, Yan Huan's brain rapidly calculated the best path for retreat.
'First, duck into the public apartnt building. The second floor of the building connects to a terrace at the back. From the terrace, cut into the labyrinth of alleyways.'
'Run for less than a kiloter, and the alleys there are swarming with degenerates and completely devoid of security caras.'
'As long as I get there, unless they turn the entire district upside down, there's no way they—'
However, just as Yan Huan fully prepared to break into an all-out clash with the people before him, Heather's furrowed brows slowly relaxed, ultimately smoothing into a polite smile.
The very next second, she bent down, picked up the briefcase, and bowed her head while stepping back slightly.
Following her retreat, the crowd standing behind Yan Huan parted ways as well.
"..."
Seeing this display, Yan Huan was taken aback.
Subconsciously turning his head, he suddenly noticed that at the end of the newly cleared path, a black sedan produced by the Golden Lion Group had silently parked itself at the intersection.
It seed as though the car had been parked there from the very beginning.
Looking at the uniquely designed vehicle, a model he had never seen before, an ominous premonition began to surface in his heart.
"Click~"
Imdiately after, a man in black opened the rear door of the car.
It revealed a blonde lady sitting inside, dressed in a sharp black won's suit.
When he saw that head of fluffy blonde hair—completely identical to Spencer's—Yan Huan couldn't help but swallow nervously.
He watched as the woman slowly stepped out of the car with the support of an attendant, finally revealing her full appearance.
She was an exceptionally tall and graceful blonde woman.
Her voluminous blonde hair flowed as smoothly as waves, shining with the lustrous brilliance of a golden lion's mane.
Her facial features bore a strong resemblance to Spencer's—about a fifty or sixty percent match. Yet, with just one glance, it was obvious that Spencer had inherited all her most stunning traits.
With the sole exception of those eyes.
They were both the sa sky-blue, but if Spencer's eyes were pure and clear, evoking the feeling of a cloudless sky or an endless blue sea...
Then the eyes of the woman standing before him gave Yan Huan the chilling sensation of an unlting iceberg.
She was at the complete opposite end of the spectrum from the simple and foolish Spencer. Her face carried a profound complexity that Yan Huan simply could not decipher.
"Allow
to introduce you. This is Miss Aria's mother, Madam Ai Lieweila Spencer."
Behind him, Heather smiled slightly. Without a trace of her previous panic, she cheerfully introduced her to Yan Huan.
"..."
Glancing back at Heather's drastically changed attitude, Yan Huan finally realized exactly what was going on.
He took a deep breath, then turned back to Ai Lieweila and greeted her.
"Auntie."
Ai Lieweila's gaze had been fixed entirely on the dazed Spencer. It wasn't until she heard this address that she finally looked at Yan Huan.
After briefly looking him up and down, she asked indifferently.
"You are Yan Huan?"
"I am, Auntie."
As that familiar female voice drifted into Spencer's ears, even in her delirious state, she reacted instantly.
"Mmm..."
Spencer struggled to open her eyes, her eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings.
"Mama?"
She rubbed her eyes, and upon regaining a sliver of clarity, she suddenly realized she was actually nestled in Yan Huan's arms.
"Yan... Yan Huan!"
Feeling him actively holding her shoulders and locking her against his chest, Spencer's face imdiately flushed a shade redder.
More importantly, her mother wasn't a hallucination!
Her Mama had really co to Linn!!
Spencer swallowed nervously in panic, first raising her eyes to steal a glance at Yan Huan.
After a second of hesitation, she took the initiative to hug Yan Huan, then imdiately turned and rushed toward Ai Lieweila.
"Mama!"
Ai Lieweila gently opened her arms and pulled Spencer firmly into her embrace.
"Waaah, you... you finally ca to Linn to see ..."
Ai Lieweila's gaze softened slightly. She kissed Spencer on the forehead before speaking.
"Hasn't it only been a little over a month?"
"Waaah..."
Looking at Spencer hugging her mother so tightly, the smile on Yan Huan's face couldn't help but deepen a little.
But a mont later, Ai Lieweila, while still holding Spencer, slowly lifted her gaze to Yan Huan and suddenly called out.
"Yan Huan."
"Yes, what is it?"
Although Yan Huan was undeniably a bit tense, he still tried his best to maintain a calm tone.
Moreover, he was growing increasingly eager to know the verdict on whether Spencer could stay at the school.
For the next few seconds, Ai Lieweila rely stared at him, her eyes seeming to carry so indiscernible aning.
But in the end, she simply smiled faintly and said nothing at all.
Instead, she just patted Spencer's back and beckoned the standby dical personnel over.
"Wait... wait a minute, Mama, I..."
"I'm taking you to the hospital first. Be a good girl."
"Mmm..."
Spencer's body was weak and limp, and compounded by her mother's words, she was placed onto the stretcher this ti without putting up the slightest resistance.
She lay on the stretcher, staring pitifully back at Yan Huan, even struggling to raise her hand to wave at him.
"Thud!"
But a second later, the rear doors of the ambulance slamd shut.
The once dense crowd of people surrounding them imdiately scattered, each retreating into the shadows as if they had never been there at all.
Unable to see Spencer anymore, Yan Huan helplessly directed his gaze to trace Ai Lieweila, wanting to find out what would happen to Spencer's academic status.
But by this ti, Ai Lieweila had already entered the car, equally out of sight.
"..."
'What kind of riddle master is she?!'
On his shoulder, Myau-chan tilted his head, revealing his form like a phantom. He looked at Yan Huan and said.
"Yan Huan, from now on, you will only be able to sleep with the fragrant and soft
at night, ow."
"...Hehe."
The entire alley instantly returned to its previous quiet state, feeling as surreal as a fleeting dream.
Yan Huan rubbed the back of his head. Just as he was about to turn around, he noticed that the briefcase Heather had brought earlier was still resting on the ground.
In the entire alley, only that briefcase remained as a witness to everything that had just occurred.
Yan Huan walked over to the briefcase, looking down and testing its weight.
It didn't have a combination lock, so Yan Huan effortlessly unfastened the latches.
As soon as it opened, he saw several thick stacks of Franklins neatly packed inside.
Resting right on top of the pile of cash was an envelope.
Yan Huan picked up the letter. Right at the very top, it read:
"An invitation regarding the future employnt of Student Yan Huan as the educational counselor for Aria Spencer within Far Moon Academy."
"..."
Staring at the handwriting on the invitation, Yan Huan froze slightly in astonishnt.
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