Declining Zero's invitation for supper, Larissa left by herself.Now that it was past dinner time, the elevators at Microworks were mostly empty. She was able to reach the first floor very quickly. The security guard recognized her and leaped out of his chair at once."Ms. Seymour!" he greeted her, all smiles as he voluntarily opened the special access gate for her before she could speak.Larissa thanked him immediately, and he dipped his head as a sign of respect. "Goodbye, Ms. Seymour! Please come again!"Larissa suddenly had the sensation of mistakenly entering some high-end restaurant.After walking out of the Microworks Building, she turned back to look, and it was still lit up. At this point, it was already 10 pm.There were already fewer cars on the road compared to when she just came. Only a couple or so cars could be seen driving past. She waited for a while before an empty cab came her way. She had just given the driver the address when Zero's phone call came.Confused
"Her daughter-in-law! I bet she's trying to force her to change her mind. It's totally disgusting!""Yeah! If I was Larissa, I would never come! See what she does!""Come on, guys, let's go! I daresay that someone like her won't jump! The more people watch, the more she'll act up! If no one bothers to entertain her, she'll just slip away quietly on her own!"The voice of the speaker was a little familiar. Larissa had just turned back when she smacked right into a firm chest. Huffing as she held her sore nose, she looked up to see—"Mr. Rogers?" Her eyes widened.As for the other guy near him chatting with the others, who else could it be but Dylan Shields?"Why are you here?"Kevan did not answer, but he gripped her wrist and said flatly, "Come."As his pace was faster than hers, Larissa had to jog a little to keep up with him as he dragged her.Kevan's car was parked near the surgery building. Once he pushed Larissa into the back seat, he sat on the other side of it as well.A
The police did not restrict access to the surgery building, so Dylan reached the rooftop pretty easily. There was a policeman guarding the entrance. When he saw Dylan coming over, he blocked him off."The rooftop is still off limits."Dylan got out his business card and handed it over calmly. "Hello, sir. I'm a lawyer representing Ms. Larissa Seymour, specifically here to negotiate with Ms. Levange."Everyone present knew about how Janine wanted to meet Larissa through her wailing.The policeman went out to the rooftop briefly before coming back. He said to Dylan, "Go on up.""Thank you." Dylan made the last few steps to reach his destination.The rooftop of the surgery building was quite large. It usually served as a resting area for doctors and nurses, with several long tables placed there.As people frequently came up here, the doors to the rooftop were not locked, which gave Janine the chance to "jump".Turning a corner, Dylan saw two uniformed policemen and Janine, who had
Mrs. Hardy did not fall for it."Call her now! Make her tell everyone in the whole wide world! Tell them everything she said tonight was false! Tell them only what I said is true!""But is what you said true?" Dylan asked.Mrs. Hardy choked on her own spit. "Of course, it's true!" she shouted, her head held high in defiance. "Stop talking nonsense! Call Larissa right now!""Of course, I could call Ms. Seymour, and I could certainly have her take back everything she said tonight," Dylan said, closing the distance between them by half a step and meeting her eyes, his gaze unwavering. "But think about everyone you've deceived for a moment. Do you think they'll ever be able to trust you again?"Mrs. Hardy was stumped by his question. Her eyes darted around surreptitiously, as if she were trying to think of an answer to his questions."Actually, this whole incident has never been Larissa's fault. The only party you should be placing the blame on is the production team of 'The Mediators Room
Kevan and Larissa sat in the car quietly.They were just looking at one another without exchanging words. It seemed to be the most common occurrence when they were alone.Kevan stared out of the window.His expression was calm, but his body tensed inch by inch.He wanted to talk to Larissa, but he didn't know what he should talk to her about.Numerous conversation topics flashed through his mind, but they were rejected by him one by one."Are you okay?" sounded too stupid."Have you eaten?" sounded like he was trying too hard to fill the silence."You did well today" was just weird. She wasn't his subordinate."Do you remember how, as a child, you used to—" That was probably a scar she wished to never uncover in this lifetime if she could help it.Forget it, he thought dejectedly.Perhaps he really was just as Dylan described—he had no talent for pursuing girls.Larissa's phone was turned off. She had no plans of turning it on again for now.Without her phone to kill time, she felt the
"Don't worry, even if the clothes get damaged this time, I won't hold you responsible for it."Larissa released a sigh of relief.Still, after a long while, she suddenly wondered: if he truly was so generous, why did he insist that she compensate him the last time?…Mrs. Hardy was taken into custody by the police, and Dylan was able to leave after successfully completing his mission.The crowd gathered outside the surgery building had already dispersed when he left, and the firefighters were in the process of deflating the air mattress. A few bystanders muttered, "How boring! She failed to jump even after making all that fuss."When he returned to the car, Kevan asked him, "How did it go?"Dylan fastened his seat belt and replied while he started the car. "She said she'd been asked to go on the show by an editor, Ms. Holleran, from the show.""An editor from 'The Mediators Room'?" Kevan felt that something was not right. "How did an editor from a television program know all about her
Larissa received many congratulations for her successful attempt at defending her honor and vindicating herself.The general manager called her as well and informed her that he was appealing directly to his superiors for her reinstatement and that she would most probably be able to return to work at the Regal Dynasty the week after.Larissa thanked him.…On Saturday morning, Larissa received a call from Kevan.He was already waiting for her downstairs.Larissa didn't want to make him wait for too long, so she merely changed into a set of new clothes without tidying herself up or putting on makeup. She left the house after that.Kevan was the only one in the car, so Larissa naturally sat in the passenger's seat."Is Dylan not coming with us?" she asked.Kevan's fingers tightened around the steering wheel.The first thing she asked about was Dylan—how maddening."He's not coming," he replied coldly.Larissa hummed in acknowledgment. "Did you have breakfast yet?" she continued."Nope." H
"What?" Kevan asked in confusion."Your face—" Larissa's laugh was a little forced.Kevan immediately understood her meaning and raised his hand to wipe his face.But when he removed his hand and looked at it, there was nothing there."Not there—" Larissa leaned forward and brushed away the smudge on his face with two fingers.Her fingertips were warm against his skin. Even though the interaction lasted less than two seconds, it still made his body temperature skyrocket.His blood seemed to have all rushed to his brain, staining the skin above his neck red.Kevan thanked her again, but his voice was hoarser than it was the first time.He pulled out two pieces of tissue and handed them to Larissa. "Here, wipe your hands."Having said that, he straightened his posture and started the car once more.…Because they'd left so early, they did not encounter any traffic. The journey from the city center to Starry Mountain had only taken them approximately two hours.Starry Mountain was a highl