"You may find another professor to be your academic advisor, but I assure you I won't be that person!"Darius heaved a deep sigh, squatting on the roadside as he felt the onset of a grueling headache. He knew there was no solving the barrage of problems that would start if Owen turned him away now. That was because this email got sent two weeks ago, on the second day of his coma. Darius pursed his lips in defeat, not knowing how to explain the matter to Owen. It seemed especially difficult since he could tell Owen had a foul temper and was unwilling to listen to others' advice based on their previous conversation. "There's no changing whatever Professor Owen Kurt sets his mind to," Darius mused, feeling like his head was about to blow up. "Maybe he'll accept the truth if I presented him with a medical certificate proving I was in a coma. Then again, there's no telling if it'll reinforce his belief that I'm rich enough to get away with ditching my studies. After all, it's easy for so

"Therefore, I'm the only patient in the hospital now," Darius explained while doubting that Owen would believe his reasons. Little did he expect Owen to sigh and exclaim in awe, "So, that's how the life of a rich person is, huh?"Raising his brows, Darius suddenly was at a loss for words. He couldn't believe this informal, defeated version of his professor was the same guy who behaved arrogantly before. The difference was so drastic that Darius had no clue how to react. Yet, as he pondered a suitable reply, Owen spoke up again."I understand everything now. What you need to do is focus on your recovery. I expect to see you when classes start next week. Otherwise, should you continue to remain MIA, I swear I'll take action." Owen hung up after saying this to Darius.Darius stared at the phone in his hands, his eyes blinking in pure shock before curving into a relieved smile. Although Owen spoke sternly and angrily, Darius could tell there was a hint of concern in Owen's voice. While h

"We'll all bear witness to this," the crowd said.The woman on the ground had an ominous feeling. She looked up at Darius and parted her lips to say something, but he beat her to it. "I'm truly sorry about you getting hurt. I should've broken up with you the first time you had another man's child. If not for that, the man's wife wouldn't have cornered me at home and caused you to misunderstand." He sighed and tucked his hands into his pockets, looking desolate. At the same time, he channeled his life force to his face; the warmth made it redden.Silence descended upon the crowd as they watched things play out, including the woman. She gaped at Darius in shock and shook her head mechanically, not knowing how they'd reached this point. She sensed the disdainful looks the crowd was giving her; it wasn't something she'd experienced before. Her face turned red as her eyes filled with tears. Then, she shot to her feet and pointed a trembling finger at Darius. "You—Why, you—" Unfortunately

That was Darius' neck. When the woman returned to her senses, she was already in Darius' car. She paled, widened her eyes in terror, and started struggling. "Where are you taking me? I know I did something wrong; this is all my fault. Since I've admitted to my mistakes, why do you refuse to let me off the hook?"Darius raised an eyebrow. "Because you're the one who came looking for trouble. I don't know why you approached me or whether you're good or bad." He shut the door, separating them from the outside world. Now that they were alone, he returned to his usual self. The temperature in the car immediately dropped by several degrees as he said, "Before I get to the bottom of this, you're not allowed to leave my side. I'm gonna take you home with me, but for my safety, I'm gonna lock you up in the basement."The woman's face became ashen. She shook her head vigorously and shakily said, "No, I've already realized my mistakes. I may not be a saint, but I don't think I can be considered

"I'm Ursula Evans, and I beg you to save me from this monster! I'm from the Evans family; I'll repay your kindness with more money than you've ever seen! I'm sure many of you have heard of my father, Bennett Evans! If you don't believe me, you can take photos of me and look them up online. I've attended countless events and functions; there are bound to be photos of me online. You'll know I'm telling the truth!"Darius raised an eyebrow and sighed. He unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car. Ursula was stuck in the window. Terror washed over her when she saw Darius approaching her, and she struggled even more. Darius leaned against the car and watched her with his arms crossed. The calm look in his eyes made Ursula stop struggling. For a second, she felt uneasy, not knowing what to do. She knew Darius would probably do something to stop her but didn't know what. Her breathing sped up as she said, "You heard me—I'm from the Evans family. We're extremely rich, and my father's mor

Indeed, Darius was innocent if one considered what the head security guard had done from his perspective. It was only because an innocent child was involved that Ursula had the impression that the head security guard was right. "I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions and putting the blame on you," said Ursula quickly upon realizing her mistake. She looked at Darius, wanting to show him she meant her words, hoping he would forgive her. Tears filled her eyes as the seconds ticked and Darius showed no sign of relenting.Darius looked at her thoughtfully. "Even now, you're not giving me anything useful. You're protecting those nefarious characters and telling me various half-truths." Ursula looked shocked at his words. He sighed and continued, "You sound believable—and I'm inclined to believe you're mostly telling the truth—but you've also kept a lot of important information from me. It doesn't seem like you genuinely want to resolve this."Ursula's eyes widened. "I don't understand what yo

"Why don't you explain this to the authorities? If you do a good job, I'll consider retracting my earlier decision," said Darius.Ursula's eyes shot open. She looked at the officer and forced out a smile. "Darius and I got into an argument over a small misunderstanding, and I chose to jump out of the car through the window in the heat of the moment. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that I'd gained some weight, and I got stuck there. I'm sure you can imagine how embarrassed I feel now." Darius nodded at her words, looking understanding. For some reason, Ursula still had an ominous feeling. She gulped and turned to Darius, asking cautiously, "I didn't get anything wrong, did I?"As she did this, the officer's gaze landed on Darius, making him frown. He gave Ursula a scornful look. "You do realize you were supposed to make the situation better for us both, right? Yet you're also causing plenty of trouble for me by putting on such a pitiful look. You've been putting on a one-man show from

"What's that supposed to mean for someone like me? Someone ran right into me in the middle of the street, then claimed I was her boyfriend. How are you going to resolve this?" Darius crossed his arms and glared at the officer. He'd never been this lost for words. He reached into his pocket to pull his phone out, but his fingers had barely grazed it when the officer shouted, "Drop what you're doing! Are you trying to pull something dangerous and illegal?" Darius sighed in exasperation, then lowered his head. The officer's expression turned murderous when he saw this. "What's with your attitude? It pisses me off, and I'll have you know that things won't end well for you when I'm angry."Darius sighed again. "That's all fine and dandy, but you don't even realize you're standing up for the perpetrator. All you did was pick on little ol' me after watching something online. Even until now, you haven't mentioned a word about what you've done." He scowled, looking irritated. He seemed to on

Ursula parted her lips, but before she could make a sound, Darius asked, "Are you looking at me like that because you want me to accept your compensation right now?" He stroked the car, looking at it with heartache. "I hope you don't damage my car. Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to make you buy me an identical one based on the current market rate. Of course, I'll give you this one in exchange for the new one."Ursula's chest heaved, but she tried her best to keep her voice gentle. "Allow me to apologize in advance for the car. Once I'm out of this predicament, I'll buy you a new one and try my best to make it identical to your current one." She looked at him earnestly.To her dismay, Darius shook his head. "You're not a person of your word. You say this now, but you might go back on your word in the next second. Your promise means nothing to me—the only way I'll believe you is if you act on it right now." Ursula's face was red from her earlier struggle, and people were currently

Ultimately, Ursula was the first to give in. She stretched her arms out in an effort to stop Darius from approaching her and the officer. Then, she took a deep breath and said anxiously, "I didn't intend for things to turn out this way. I apologize for everything that's happened so far, and I admit I've been taking a tough stance to threaten you into doing things my way, but you have to acknowledge that this hasn't done me any good. On the contrary, it's only put me in more danger! I felt aggrieved, which is why I devised this plan. I didn't expect it to fail so spectacularly; we didn't manage to achieve any of our goals. As for your location, we truly got it from a private investigator." She looked at Darius guiltily. "I know it wasn't right of us to do this. I tried my best to talk myself out of it, but my selfishness won out in the end."On the other hand, the officer put his hands behind his back and watched her worriedly. Darius smiled mockingly at this. "I remember making mysel