Madelyn was thoroughly entertained but feigned disapproval. “Josiah, what are you doing? You’re hitting her!”

Following that, she hastily rushed over to Janessa, feigning concern. “Are you okay?”

Janessa was so incensed that her face almost contorted, yet she couldn’t lose her temper because it was just a game. Left with no other choice, she suppressed her emotions, shaking her head. “I’m fine.”

“Are you really okay? I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have suggested we do this and caused you to get hurt,” Madelyn said with guilt.

In a flash, she intentionally glared at Josiah. “This is all your fault. Weren’t you doing so well a moment ago? How could you have messed up?”

“I–I didn’t do it on purpose, but what can I do if I needed to sneeze? I can’t just hold it in, right?” Josiah said innocently.

After saying that, Josiah could only look apologetically at Janessa. “Ms. Sherritt, are you all right? You’re not upset with me, are you? Can you accept my apology?”

An apology’s worthless! Do you think a simple sorry will suffice after you hit me with those bullets? Despite her scornful thoughts, Janessa could only feign an amiable demeanor. “It’s all right. I know you didn’t do it on purpose.”

“Mm–hmm.” Madelyn nodded vigorously and quickly shouted at a server at the shooting range. “Someone’s injured here.”

The server immediately rushed over and assisted Janessa in applying ointment.

After watching Janessa’s trembling figure gradually disappear into the distance, Madelyn burst into hearty laughter, almost to the point of losing her breath. Her previous worried expression was nowhere to be found. Thank goodness our teamwork is great enough to pull this off beautifully!

She couldn’t help but praise, “Josiah, you’re amazing!”

Josiah was not one to be modest. “Of course. Don’t you know who I am?”

Once they finished speaking, both of them burst into hearty laughter.

Meanwhile, Christopher quietly observed the scene from the side, sneering. I pity Jenessa. She has no idea she was played for a fool.

Following that, he went over to Janessa and shared what he saw with her.

“What? They were messing with me?” Janessa was applying medicine to her bruises when she heard that and was utterly taken aback!

“Yes, I saw with my own eyes that they were laughing uproariously. Clearly, they were targeting you on purpose,” said Christopher.

The day was still young, so after leaving the shooting range, Madelyn didn’t rush off. Instead, she turned to Josiah and said, “Hey, Josiah, how about I treat you to dinner? Consider it as my way of thanking you for today.”

Upon hearing that, Josiah immediately furrowed his brows. “Didn’t you say you would thank me with car stuff?”

Madelyn was almost at a loss for words. “That’s still happening. I want to thank you now for helping me mess with that woman earlier. This is a completely different matter.”

“I see,” Josiah said, nodding in sudden realization. “That does seem to make some sense. All right then, let’s go.”

Then, Madelyn took him to a barbecue restaurant.

Madelyn vividly remembered that, in her past life, they often dined at that same restaurant. Hence, everything remained the same in her current life.

The spicy skewers were quite numbing. In no time, both of them found their mouths numb from the spiciness.

“By the way, what was the ‘way’ you mentioned this afternoon regarding the car?” Josiah asked while eating.

Madelyn said unhurriedly, “You’ll know when the time comes.”

“Tch. What’s with the suspense?” Josiah was slightly displeased, then picked up a piece of beef with his fork.

Madelyn just so happened to stab her fork into that beef.

“It’s mine,” Josiah suddenly asserted, staring at Madelyn seriously.

Madelyn was not one to back down, either. “There’s plenty more here. You can have the others. This one’s mine.”

“I don’t care. I want this, and I’ve already declared my sovereignty over this piece of beef,” Josiah suddenly became unexpectedly serious.

The atmosphere turned somewhat comical for a moment.

Suddenly, Madelyn looked into the distance and said, “Tristan?”

“Where?” Josiah turned his head to look.

As a result, the piece of beef he held was snatched away. Madelyn stuffed the beef into her mouth, laughing heartily.

Josiah was absolutely livid. I’m going to murder her!

Later on, after they had finished their meal, the two went their separate ways.

It was rare to see him not working overtime, so she immediately seized the opportunity and nestled into his arms. “You’re not working late today?”

“Mm.” Sebastian seemed to have grown accustomed to her affection. He didn’t resist, but his expression remained aloof.

Suddenly, Madelyn felt rather uneasy. Why does he seem uninterested when I’m being so enthusiastic?

With furrowed brows, she attempted to pull away from him. However, Sebastian quickly reached out and yanked her back to him. “Don’t move.”

After he finished speaking, he casually placed his hand on her shoulder but unintentionally touched her injured spot.

Suddenly, Madelyn drew in a sharp breath.

"What's wrong?” Upon hearing her hissing, Sebastian frowned.

Madelyn instinctively shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

Just as she finished speaking, she prepared to stand up. However, as soon as she tried to rise, she was forcefully pulled back down.

Sebastian immediately lifted the sleeve of her clothing and was startled by the sight.

The area around her shoulder was covered with a large bruise, its color appearing as though she was poisoned.

This is definitely not due to an accident. Sebastian frowned, a storm subtly brewing in his eyes. “Were you bullied?”

“No.” Madelyn shook her head honestly, casually remarking, “It’s just an accident, nothing serious. I only need a bit of rest.”

Upon hearing those words, Sebastian felt somewhat dissatisfied. She never tells me why she feels aggrieved and what happened. Why doesn’t she understand that the thing I can’t bear the most is seeing her like this? No one in this world is allowed to bully her.

“It’s just a minor injury. Nothing to worry about. I’ll be fine with some ointment applied to it,” Madelyn said with a smile as she pulled her clothes back into place nonchalantly.

Then, she stood up, ready to head upstairs to fetch the medicine.

However, Sebastian firmly pushed her back onto the couch, commanding in a deep tone, “Stay here.”

Sebastian left and returned with a first–aid kit a while later.

Then Madelyn sat on the couch, obediently resting her arm in Sebastian’s embrace, allowing him to apply the ointment for her.

When the ointment was applied to her bruised skin, she felt a soothingly cool sensation.

Moreover, Sebastian’s actions were incredibly gentle, making the experience even more comfortable.