Chapter 34

The students were vaguely shocked. "Holy shit, Emma's memory is so good! She can remember everything so complicated?"

"Yeah, and none of us are art students. This paper is only extracurricular homework, and she even wrote it so carefully!"

Kate, too, widened her eyes incredulously. Emma's performance exceeded her expectations, but she quickly regained her composure. Perhaps Emma had deliberately memorized everything beforehand. "Since you know so much about the academic field of art, you must be very good at painting as well?" Kate asked, a sinister gleam in her eyes. "Here, we have all the painting tools. You can show us one on the spot."

Emma smiled contemptuously. Painting on the spot wasn't a problem; she was a mainstay in that field. "But, who is Kate? Am I supposed to do whatever she says?" Emma thought. She walked to the painting tools, sneered contemptuously, and threw them away. "If you want to paint, take your own time."

Kate was incredulous. "What do you mean by that?"

"I'm not taking this class." Emma picked up her bag and walked out of the classroom.

Kate was flustered. "You'll be considered late if you leave like that. Aren't you afraid you'll fail your class?"

Emma, carrying her bag, turned and sneered. "Try it if you dare."

Kate hesitated, then swallowed her retort. "Sure enough, Liam's woman is very difficult to mess with, just as Brad said." She wanted to challenge Emma but failed.

Emma didn't know what happened next in the classroom. She had left Vark College early, skipping Kate's class.

In her headphones, a voice said, "Emma, that bitch dared to go against you. Does she know you're a big name in the international gallery…"

"Forget it. She's not important," Emma interrupted, frowning. "Are you having your old habits again?"

The caller was Emma's older brother, a Chinese-American hybrid named Joshua Jax (Josiah Yale in Chinese), who often assisted her.

Josiah laughed. He snooped on all sorts of secrets, from national intelligence to the security camera in Emma's classroom—which is how he knew about Kate's confrontation.

"Since you enjoy snooping on surveillance videos so much, why not help me find out who installed the cameras in my place?" Emma asked.

Josiah felt troubled. "Well, Emma… it's technically challenging."

"You can peek at me right under my nose, yet now you say it's technically challenging?" Emma said angrily.

"Okay, I'll check…" Josiah knew Emma's temper well. Anyone who spied on her wouldn't even have a chance to apologize. He didn't think he could spy on her unless she let him.

In fact, Emma had sensed something amiss with the school's central control system upon entering the classroom. She hadn't exposed it, waiting for Josiah to fall into her trap.

Chapter 14

Sitting by the artificial lake, Emma faintly saw Liam's figure. He was sitting in his wheelchair, seemingly on a phone call.

"…Okay."

"…507. What you're saying now is pointless."

A slight breeze interfered with the sound, and Emma couldn't hear everything clearly. But she heard Liam address the other party as "Kate."

Emma placed her hand on Liam's shoulder. His muscles tensed, then relaxed as he turned to see her. "Hi, finished your school?"

"Yes." Emma glanced at his phone.

Liam said indifferently, "I have something else to do. I'm hanging up." He hung up without waiting for a reply.

Emma asked, "Was it Kate?"

"Have you seen each other today?" Liam asked.

"Yes." Emma pulled up a chair, sitting next to Liam, watching the lake. She crossed her legs and said, "I don't like her."

"I'll have her leave Vark College," Liam replied.

"It doesn't really matter to me," Emma said. She disliked Kate for causing trouble, but didn't think Kate could cause much trouble.

Liam suddenly asked, "Who were those people who tricked you into going to Watery Garden last time?"

Emma's expression darkened, shaking her head. Her people and Josiah were investigating, but there were no leads.

"I found out," Liam said.

Emma looked at him in surprise. "You found out?"

Liam produced a Nuverlisi printed material, the top highlighted in black—the leader of a well-known international dark organization. "Can you tell me what your issue with him is?"

Emma glanced at the person and understood. He was from Moracia. She had no personal grudges with these international forces; it was simply a matter of competing interests. Some people, by their mere existence, posed a threat, and Emma was such a threat to them.

Emma looked calmly at the photo: "Who is he? I don't know him. Why would he want to kill me? He must have made a…"

Seeing she wasn't telling the truth, Liam didn't press further.

Chapter (Number Missing)

Emma raised her eyebrows. "But I saw a crushed glass in your study that day. Why were you so angry? It should be related to me, right?" They had always avoided mentioning these matters.

Liam leaned back. "Someone sent me a set of photos. I've destroyed them, but that incident happened when you were 17. It was in a warehouse in the countryside, about a kidnapping. Do you remember?"

Emma's face paled. Memories of that year—a damp warehouse, the squeaking of rats—flooded back. She would never forget that hellish memory.

"It was that set of photos," Emma said with difficulty.

"Yes. And also, at your school's welcome party that day, you were on the deck, interacting closely with a boy…" Liam said.