Shermaine narrowed her eyes. “Joshua, don’t forget you’re still on probation as my boyfriend. Planning for kids already? Isn’t that moving a bit too fast?”

“That doesn’t mean I can’t start planning our future,” he teased. Honestly, his next move was to make it official–get their marriage license, then finally get her into bed. “Sheary, I’m already thirty–almost thirty-one, you know.”

Shermaine pursed her lips, thinking, ‘This guy is actually playing the sympathy card!’ Keeping a straight face, she said, “Then work harder if you want me to like you more.”

Joshua flashed a wicked grin. “I got it.”

Since Sarah wasn’t worth her attention, Shermaine focused instead on the seafood soup in front of her–rich, savory, and absolutely delightful.

After breakfast, they traveled light and headed straight to pick up Trance.

The Mount Longty scenery was absolutely magnificent.

The place was quite crowded.

Trance stared at the serpentine Mount Longty stretching endlessly before him, utterly awestruck by its grandeur.

Hand in hand, Joshua and Shermaine strolled leisurely up Mount Longty, completely at ease.

It was also Shermaine’s first time there. The gentle breeze caressed her face, and she felt amazing.

Joshua had actually been there before–but only as a kid.

After climbing Mount Longty and getting plenty of photos taken, they wandered around and sampled delicious food.

By 9 p.m., Fondue Paradise–the place they’d visited the night before–was already packed.

However, when Shermaine and Joshua arrived at Fondue Paradise again, the staff had no choice but to usher them into a private VIP room.

The theft of their video footage yesterday had been officially reported to the police station. However, as the day drew to a close, the officers still hadn’t managed to track down the culprit.

According to the police, the culprit was a professional thief–someone highly skilled who left absolutely no trace behind. They feared the case might end up being dropped.

The Fondue Paradise manager served them juice while Shermaine picked up a pen and began sketching on a piece of paper. A few minutes later, she handed it to the manager and said, “Please post this missing person notice at the entrance.”

The manager took the portrait and studied it–a rather plump middle-aged woman. He vaguely remembered her from yesterday; she had been constantly recording videos from the moment she entered, and later, she seemed to be sitting diagonally across from their table while they were eating.

The manager thought, ‘Isn’t this just like looking for a needle in a haystack? That woman isn’t a regular and might never come back.’

Still, the two guests in front of him were VIPs, and the higher-ups had made it clear–they had to be treated with the utmost care, and offending them was out of the question.

Shermaine added, “Also, ask the members who dined here yesterday if they remember what the people at Table 09 looked like. If anyone does, notify me immediately–I’ll pay them a personal visit.”

The manager replied politely, “Certainly. I’ll call you if we get any leads.”

“Thank you.”

Clumsy as this method seemed, she believed it might just lead to some unexpected surprises.

Meanwhile, by the time night fell, Marcus was finally dragged down from the rooftop. He hadn’t eaten or drunk anything since that late-night snack yesterday, and was now so hungry he felt dizzy and weak all over, as if he’d just made a round trip to death’s door.

Bradley handed him a bottle of water. “Finish the clarification article, and you can go home.”

Marcus took several desperate gulps of water before blurting out, “I’ll get it written now!”

A new folder appeared on his laptop, packed with nothing but photos of Shermaine, Joshua, and Trance exploring Mount Longty.

The photos clearly showed the three of them getting along swimmingly. It was obvious that Joshua and Shermaine were like a couple in love. In one picture-perfect shot, Joshua was putting a hat on someone and sneakily planted a kiss on Shermaine, making the whole scene exceptionally romantic.

He thought to himself, ‘They were getting along so well on their outing. What exactly was that woman’s game, giving me those photos? No wonder when I offered her a tip-off fee, she just brushed it off, saying money was no object to her.’

If Marcus ever found out who she was, he’d make sure to ruin her reputation online. ‘What a scheming bitch,’ he thought bitterly.

Once the clarification article was published, the tide turned and the whole incident finally died down. Even more unexpectedly, those photos of Joshua stealing a kiss from Shermaine sent netizens into a frenzy–everyone started shipping them hard.

Their chemistry was so palpable.

Netizens were going wild in the comments, gushing about how perfect they were for each other–a match made in heaven!

A netizen mentioned Marcus: [Keep posting more sweet content of Joshua and Shermaine, and I might just forgive you for all the dirt you dug up on my idol in the past.]

This comment blew up, hitting 10k+ likes in just one hour!

The couple even got their own shipping hashtag.

Three days later, Trance had to return to his home country.

In just a few days in Wallington, he’d managed to pack on several pounds–and he’d even packed a whole stash of snacks to take back with him. Needless to say, if his coach ever found out, he was doomed.

With Trance back in his home country, Shermaine returned to Brightwater Academy and settled back into the rhythm of normal student life.

Shermaine’s teachers were genuinely worried that her frequent absences would hurt her grades. But when exam results came out and she still ranked first, her homeroom teacher finally breathed a sigh of relief and stopped worrying about her grades altogether.

In April, Shermaine made another trip to Mysonna–Chloe’s surgery required her personal expertise. All the while, Bianca remained suspicious, convinced that Shermaine had stolen her precious crystal coffin.

Shermaine had actually wanted to steal the crystal coffin herself, but a mysterious group beat her to it and took it away. She tried to track them down, but came up empty handed.

After completing Chloe’s surgery, Shermaine finally returned to Basterel.

By now, Oliger Company was booming. As she walked past its only flagship store in Eudaemonia, she saw a snaking queue of customers stretching out the door.

According to Lily, those advertisers who had previously turned down the product endorsement are now kicking themselves, sending representatives in droves to see if they can still secure the endorsement.

But unfortunately, that ship had sailed.

Although the company was thriving and there was ample funding for the high-tech farm, Shermaine’s personal savings were a far cry from Joshua’s. So, from time to time, she still took on freelance gigs on tech forum to earn some extra cash.

As for Fondue Paradise, it truly was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Even after the notice had been posted for over a month, that woman was still nowhere to be found.

The regulars barely remembered the guests at Table 09–just that it was a man and a woman, most likely a mother and son. Beyond that, there were no other leads.

Shermaine wasn’t worried–she remembered the woman’s words: if she got the chance, she’d return to that Fondue Paradise.

Fondue Paradise, on the other hand, was getting pretty desperate–they even launched a special promotion just to lure her back.

As days slipped by, June arrived–bringing with it the all-important SAT.

On SAT day, Natalie personally escorted Jason to the exam venue. She was brimming with confidence in her son, certain that the moment the results were announced would mark his official recognition by the family. The thought filled her with excitement and anticipation.

Natalie thought, ‘Shermaine–who just idles her days away–doesn’t stand a chance against my son. The SAT top scorer title is destined for Jason!’