Chapter 10

“Ella, come here.” My dad called me with a serious expression.

My heart skipped a beat. It’s over, the secret is out.

I walked over nervously and saw the injuries on Liam Evans’ neck and the knee of his ripped jeans. I gasped.

“What’s wrong, Dad?” I stood obediently by his side, twisting my fingers.

Liam Evans finally paused his game, looked up at me, and smiled lightly, a smile that made me uneasy.

At a time like this, he still dares to play games.

“Here’s the thing, Li might stay at our house for a while, and during this time, you can help him with calculus. Your math is pretty good, isn’t it?”

Huh? Tutoring? I breathed a sigh of relief.

Wait, calculus?

“Dad, I’m not good at calculus.” I was stunned.

My dad glanced at me, stood up, and pulled me aside, “Didn’t you score full marks in calculus once in college? Don’t be modest, whether Dad can get promoted this time depends on this.”

Can I say I copied back then? I copied until the end, thinking I shouldn’t be exactly like others, so I randomly changed a multiple-choice question, and unexpectedly got 100 points, while the other student only got 95.

“But Dad, why is he staying at our house? Doesn’t he have a home?” I was really troubled, finally free, and now this is going to kill me.

“Shh, keep your voice down.” My dad glared at me, “He got kicked out by his boss, so he came to our house. Think about it, Li is ultimately his son. I heard he failed many subjects, if you can help him, Dad might get promoted.”

“Dad, I feel like your promotion is hopeless.” I said weakly.

“Dad will take that as reverse psychology, from today you tutor him, prepare yourself.”

After my dad left, I pulled him inside the door, “Why did you come to my house?”

He lightly furrowed his brows, “It hurts.”

I let go of his hand, lifted his sleeve, and saw scars on his arm.

I was shocked.

“Don’t look.” He pulled down the long sleeve, smiled, “Not going to die.”

“Why did your dad hit you so hard?” I started to feel a bit sorry for him.

“Not because of you.” He glanced at me, lazily walked to my desk and sat down, starting to play on his phone again.

Not because of me? I felt a bit less guilty.

“As long as it’s not because of me. Don’t you have anywhere else to go? Why come to my house, what if your girlfriend misunderstands?”

He really is bold. Isn’t he about to get engaged, yet still so reckless?

He stopped, looked up at me, “Are you kicking me out?”

“Can I keep you? I heard from my dad that your girlfriend saw our chat that day, yet you still dare to come, what if she comes over?” I found it hard to communicate with him truthfully.

He leaned back in my chair, looking completely indifferent, “Then nothing.”

I…

He really is more reckless than I am.

“Are we having a lesson tonight?” he suddenly asked softly.

“I… I’m really bad at math.” I confessed.

“I know.”

Me: ?

“So, you can teach me something else.” He chuckled.

Provoking me again? I’m really annoyed, I’m clearly discussing serious matters with him, yet every sentence he turns around. Isn’t he just a kid?

“Even if I teach you, can you practice with your attitude?” I glared at him.

He suddenly pressed his lips together, laughing uncontrollably.

Feeling a bit uneasy from his laughter, I pretended to pick up a book, trying to retrieve my lost math memory.

He reached out his finger to press down the book, staring directly at me, “Want to try?”

My heart skipped a beat, my face immediately flushed, and I quickly propped the book upright again, “Today’s content is self-study.”

“Oh.” He smiled at me, didn’t continue to tease, but started flipping through other books on my desk, browsing casually.

He sat next to me, I played on my phone, he read books, his phone on the table kept vibrating, messages never stopped.

“Aren’t you checking your messages?” I pointed at his phone.

He didn’t even bother to lift his head, lazily said, “Annoyed? Help me turn it off.”

“You…” I was speechless, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll see the secrets in your phone?”

He glanced at me, “No secrets.”

After speaking, he ran to my balcony, smoking.

I had OCD, so I opened his phone, seeing hundreds of missed calls and unread messages…

All from someone noted as “Sophia Martinez.”

If I’m not mistaken, this should be his little girlfriend, the fiancée.

Tsk, truly heartless.

I quickly turned off his phone.

“Is your engagement with your little girlfriend really off?” I walked over and handed him the phone, the smoke made me uncomfortable.

He glanced at me, moved the hand holding the cigarette behind him, I finally felt better.

“Do you hope it’s off?” He smiled and asked me back.

I was speechless.

“What do you mean hope, I’m not the type to break up couples, of course I hope you two are good. My dad said if you two join forces, he might get a raise, what good does it do me if you split?” I said in one breath, expressing my stance.

His face remained calm, without any expression, looked at me for a while, then turned his gaze to the window.

“Honestly, what are you here for? Shouldn’t you go back and coax your girlfriend, do what you should do?” As an outsider, I was anxious.

He finally turned to look at me, sighed, “For some peace.”

Goodness, I bet his fiancée is going crazy, the house must be chaotic, yet he comes here seeking peace.

Heartless man.

“Don’t worry, I’ll just stay for a few days.” He looked me up and down, then withdrew his gaze, “With you like this, I really can’t get interested without the lights off.”

“Do you have manners?” I was so angry I almost rushed over to throw him off the balcony.

Seeing me angry, he laughed instead, “What else counts as manners?”

I was speechless.

For a moment, my head buzzed, not knowing how to retort.

By the time I figured out how to counter him, he had already left my room. Infuriating.