“You were trying to drive me crazy.”

Her heart gave a hard tremble.

“Kier…”

Kieran hugged her tight: “If something like this happens again, tell me right away. I’ll stand up for you.”

After a moment, she gave a soft mm.

When Kieran let go of her, she grabbed Kieran’s sleeve again, looking panicked: “Kier, is he… is he dead? Should we run?”

Kieran looked like he was amused by her.

“He won’t die, you don’t need to run, leave it to me.”

“Your most important task right now is to hurry home and rest.”

She smiled and pressed her lips together, “Okay, I believe you.”

She stood by Kieran, all dirty, but her face was all smiles and her eyes were full of innocence.

This scene slowly blended with the one in front of me, and her face gradually turned into Roschelle’s face.

The person Kieran protected changed from her to Roschelle.

Alarieka slowly lowered her eyelids, and her fingers slowly curled up.

The dull pain in her heart was hard to talk about; she just felt like things were still here but people had changed, and every time she thought about the past, it was like torturing herself now.

If it was the old her, maybe she would have asked, “Why did you just stand by and watch, not help me?”

But now she didn’t ask those silly questions anymore.

She knew that as long as she asked this kind of question now, she didn’t even need Kieran to answer–just the laughter from the people around would slap her hard.

Alarieka calmed down and walked away.

“Wait.”

Patrick’s laid-back voice came from behind, with a hint of a smirk.

“Alarieka, I don’t think I let you go, did I?”

As soon as he finished speaking, the man who had just been left behind by Alarieka rushed forward and blocked her way.

Alarieka looked coldly at Patrick: “What else did you want to do?”

Patrick was soaked all over, wearing nothing but a pair of swim trunks. He had a white blanket draped over his shoulders, and in the middle of the blanket, his chest and abs were deliberately showing.

Patrick chuckled quietly.

“You’re already here, why not get in the water and give it a try?”

Patrick walked up a few steps.

Alarieka cautiously took a few steps back… until the back of her head hit the group of men behind her.

Alarieka frowned, then took a step forward.

This way, the distance between her and Patrick was much closer.

When she got closer, Alarieka saw a few drops of water fall from Patrick’s soaked hair, slide down along the line of his neck and shoulders, then slip under his neck and soak into the towel on his shoulder.

He was only wearing a pair of swim trunks on his lower body, which got wet and stuck to his thighs. He was soaked all over, and his fors- like eyes, in the dim…

Alarieka had never seen Patrick act like a peacock before, and for a moment, she was a little dazed.

It was just that moment of distraction. Patrick gave a light laugh, but there wasn’t much interest in his eyes.

“Ms. Huston, if you looked at me like that, I’d think you had a crush on me.”

Alarieka pulled at the corner of her mouth, her voice cold: “My advice to you was, the pork market would need you.”

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a very soft laugh around.

Patrick actually didn’t care about her sarcasm, and he laughed quietly.

“Alarieka, I did want to know, if I was the one coming after you, would the McIntosh Piano Competition organizers still be on your side?”

Alarieka’s face darkened.

Patrick was one of the investors in the McIntosh Piano Competition. If Patrick really wanted to do something to her, the organizers’ attitude probably wouldn’t be what she hoped for.

In the afterglow, Alarieka noticed the other gate was still open.

Without thinking more about it, Alarieka turned around right away to leave.

Patrick strode forward, grabbed her wrist, and stood face to face with her. There was only about twenty centimeters between them.

It was already a really, really close distance.

Alarieka got so close she could smell Patrick. When she looked up, her eyes met Patrick’s tan chest. Even the damp water drops couldn’t hide the heat coming off him.

Alarieka immediately frowned, tried to step back but Patrick grabbed her wrist and pulled her back, so they were even closer than before.

There was a layer of annoyance in Alarieka’s eyes: “Patrick, don’t go into heat everywhere.”

The corners of Patrick’s mouth lifted a little. He looked down at her and said in a low voice, “You didn’t like it?”

Alarieka looked up at him.