Chapter 377: Black Apples +5 Pearls
Carlos's mood was so low that the three of them remained silent in the car. Upon returning to the Quirk estate, he went straight to his room to rest. The others, however, were less concerned with his misfortunes. Since Carlos hadn't asked for secrecy, they shared the news with the rest of the family upon their return. The gossip ceased immediately upon Janice's arrival.
Janice returned drenched and upset. When asked what happened, she simply said it was an accident and rushed to her room. Those who couldn't hear thoughts continued discussing Carlos; those who could, grew increasingly worried.
It turned out that after Janice argued with her boyfriend, some individuals—supposed "protectors"—had targeted her. Someone, pretending to fetch cleaning water, deliberately spilled a bucket on her. They apologized smoothly, preventing Janice from retaliating, but she recognized the act as bullying.
David's family exclaimed, "Damn! A Quirk family daughter bullied? Unthinkable!"
Alexander, holding Isabella, recalled the numerous people who'd requested meetings that day, especially the Simmons family. Eric had mentioned they were considering a marriage alliance, due to the families' similar standing in Yrinas. According to Eric, the Simmons family had many sons, and they promised that the son who married a Quirk daughter would receive preferential education and be chosen as heir.
Alexander pondered: Is this boyfriend even real? Why doesn't he care? Why did they argue about Cecilia's adoption? Is he close to Cecilia? Janice couldn't reach him after the incident What is going on? Hearing this, Alexander chuckled coldly. It seemed that young man had little chance of becoming an heir.
To make matters worse, Dylan had gone to school that day, berating Janice and threatening her to appease Uncle Eric that night.
David's family collectively rolled their eyes. They reluctantly acknowledged Dylan's blood relation, noting that even large families have their bad apples.
It seemed Janice's only recourse was to stay at the estate that night. David's family conceded, "Fine, Janice has made progress. At least she knows how to resist now."
Carlos, understandably, skipped dinner due to his low spirits. Janice also stayed away, likely feeling unwell from her cold. Worried, the women went to check on her.
Chapter 27: Black Apples +5 Pearls
Shortly after leaving the hall, the remaining men saw Carlos grab his car keys and rush out. Christopher asked if everything was alright, but Carlos only mumbled about an urgent matter and left without explanation.
What could Carlos say? That his student had threatened suicide after he rejected her confession and was now forcing him to meet her? Penelope had just video-called him, showing herself slitting her wrists.
Carlos was terrified. He tried calling 911 and the police, but Penelope had anticipated this and warned him to come alone before she bled out, or she would jump off a building.
Carlos was left with no choice. Calling the police might distance him from the situation, but it could also escalate it uncontrollably, or at the very least ruin Penelope's future. Given her exceptional performance that night, Penelope had established herself as a genius. A suicide scandal would destroy her reputation.
Carlos, believing Penelope to be willful, thought there might be a way to reason with her. At the very least, his presence might calm her down.
However, upon reaching the practice room Penelope had indicated and opening the door, Carlos was shocked. Penelope lay naked on the floor, a pool of blood beside her slit wrist.
I have removed the extraneous information at the end of each chapter (page numbers, timestamps, etc.) as it is not relevant to the text itself. I have also corrected grammatical errors, improved sentence structure, and standardized punctuation.