Chapter 630: Tit for Tat
In the evening, a light rain drizzled outside. Stephanie sat in the living room, having dismissed the nanny, with a glass of red wine on the table, quietly staring at the ceiling. Suddenly, the door swung open, but Stephanie showed no reaction. A gust of cold air swept in, causing her to frown slightly. "Don't you know how to close the door?" she snapped.
"You're still as nagging as ever," came a voice.
At the door, a woman set down her umbrella, her high heels clicking as she stepped inside. The sound of her heels only increased Stephanie's irritation, her frown deepening. "You're still as rude as ever."
The woman sat down, her exquisite face contrasting sharply with Stephanie's reddened scars. Gazing at the woman's flawless cheeks, Stephanie's eyes hardened with hatred, wishing she could smash the red wine glass and slash the woman's face with its shards. "To awaken the expensive wine with her blood!"
"Grace, haven't I told you to cover that disgusting face of yours every time you see me?" This woman was Grace, imprisoned for intentional injury!
Grace scoffed, crossing her long legs, her gaze mocking. "Compared to yours, your face is the uglier one, isn't it?"
"You!" Stephanie stood abruptly, glaring venomously at Grace. For a moment, she truly wanted to strangle her.
Grace, unfazed, coolly gestured with her fingertips, mockingly signaling Stephanie to sit. "Sit down and listen to me carefully, or you'll regret it."
Begrudgingly, Stephanie sat down, sneering soon after. "We are both nothing but underdogs, Grace. Do you think you're any better than me? You think you're still the little princess adored by all? Let me tell you, you're nothing now, so stop acting so high and mighty, you wretch."
"Watch your mouth!" Grace snapped back. "What do you think you are?"
"I'm not anything special, and neither are you."
Their confrontation was intense, neither yielding to the other, until a clap of thunder outside calmed them down, stopping their bickering.
After a moment, Grace pulled out two photographs from her bag. "This is Lysander, a senior at Kongham University, preparing to apply for a master's in finance, and the head of the Emerson family."
Stephanie glanced at Grace, picking up Lysander's photo. "This guy, the gaming prodigy from before, right?"
Grace, not to be outdone, glared back at Stephanie. "Yes, last year's champion. He's also Tina's apprentice. It seems he has a crush on Tina, often collecting information about her. This time, you should try to drive a wedge between him and Tina."
Stephanie laughed scornfully. "Shouldn't you be the one to do this? Seduction is more your thing, especially since you want to marry Jared. You two are a perfect match."
"Stephanie, I'm discussing serious matters. Don't forget what the boss said!"
At the mention of their boss, Stephanie involuntarily shivered, her tone becoming more serious. "Anything else?"
Grace snorted quietly. "For now, that's it. Oh, and Orson from the Farrell family is also at Kongham University, apparently in contact with Courtney from the X Bureau. Courtney's a problem too. Orson and Lysander are close; perhaps you can kill two birds with one stone."
"Got it. Now leave, I don't want to see you anymore." Stephanie downed the glass of red wine and coldly dismissed her guest.
Grace was equally unwilling to stay longer. She had befriended Stephanie long ago merely because she was a child of the Lyon family, which had some standing, and because she was Jared's sister.
There was never much sisterly affection to speak of.
"Take care of yourself."
With that, Grace left.
Outside, the rain grew heavier, and Stephanie lay in the dark, her eyes wide open, her hatred intensifying.
She clutched Lysander's photo in her hand, grinding her molars fiercely.
"Tina, just you wait!"
After the rain, Kongham University was suffused with the scent of cherry blossoms, and the post-spring shower weather was increasingly clear.
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However, Lysander's expression was quite gloomy.
He had bought an apartment conveniently located between his school and the office, though he hadn't given up his single dorm room at the university, which remained unoccupied. But ever since Orson had come to study, his dorm had never been quiet.
Today, as he went to pick up some things from school, he entered to find a freshly showered Orson wandering around naked.
He nearly screamed, mistaking him for a pervert about to call security!
"Don't you know it just rained? It's pretty cold, close the door!" Orson grabbed a Coke from the fridge and took a big swig. Lysander flung the door wide open. "You know it's cold and yet you drink a cold Coke, why don't you just freeze to death?"
Since it was a school dormitory, the corridor was bustling with people who caught a glimpse of Orson's bare body, laughing out loud. "Have you no shame? Don't you know to close the door?" Orson hurried over and shut it.
Lysander intended to sit on the bed, but seeing the scattered underwear and clothes, he disdainfully chose a small sofa instead.
"You talk of shame? Don't you know this is my dorm?"
Orson, leaning against the bed, retorted, "We're all so familiar, what's wrong with me staying here?"
"Who's familiar with you?" Lysander frowned. "Can't you put on some clothes?"
"I just took a shower; I'm airing out." Orson was unconcerned. "Besides, you're a man, what's there to be shy about?"
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Lysander shouted in frustration, "Don't sit on the bed without drying off! This is my dorm, my bed, if you want to air out, go home!"
Orson's expression fell, and he hung his head without a word.
Lysander knew he had touched on Orson's sore spot and sighed heavily, tidying the messy heap of things on the sofa into a cabinet. "I don't know why you're acting up. Even if he was your biological father, you weren't raised by him. Why put on this act of a tortured, beautiful young man?"
Since Joshua's incident, Orson had not returned to the Farrell family, staying at the school instead.
He occasionally called Logan to check in.
Logan, knowing Orson's temperament and personality, didn't push him to return and let him come to terms on his own.
Whatever Joshua had done, it was no fault of Orson's.
Orson silently got dressed, without a word.
He didn't even know why he was acting up; he just felt guilty toward the Farrell family.
They had raised him, and yet the person who had taken him in harbored such thoughts.
In the end, he had even turned a knife on the family he loved, though not related by blood. Afterward, Orson had been unable to recover.
Lysander found what he came for, glancing at Orson. "I have class today, what about you?"
"I don't have classes, I'll come with you." Orson, bored and not wanting to stay cooped up, followed.
Knowing he could not stop him, Lysander simply grabbed his books and left.
Orson followed behind, shedding his sorrowful demeanor and chattering nonstop to Lysander.