Lilian Grace shot him a suspicious look. She was convinced Shawn Young was making things up—after all, back at Golden Splendor and Leopard House, he’d gotten pretty handsy, nearly crossing the line with her. Plus, she felt a weird discomfort down there, like something had been 'activated.' Truth be told, Lilian was blaming Shawn unfairly; that odd feeling was actually thanks to Zhen Yaorou’s earlier 'inspection,' when she’d poked her finger in during the check. Lilian was extra sensitive, so it was no wonder she felt a bit off.
"Hmph—didn’t touch me, huh? Then why do I feel... off?" Lilian’s cheeks turned pink as she muttered, half embarrassed, half annoyed.
"Huh? You’re not feeling well? Where does it hurt? Let me take a look—" Shawn leaned in, thinking maybe the Soul Parasite was still messing with Lilian’s mind.
"Ah! You creep, still pretending you didn’t take advantage of me! Now you want to grope me again—don’t you dare come over here!" Lilian totally misunderstood, her voice a mix of shyness and frustration.
"Whoa—don’t get the wrong idea! I-I wasn’t thinking that at all, I just care about you!" Shawn hurriedly backed away, scrambling to explain.
"Care about me? With that look on your face, you obviously just want to cop a feel!" Lilian’s tone grew more annoyed, her suspicion deepening.
"Come on—Lilian, our campus beauty! Don’t let your mind run wild! I swear, I didn’t want to touch you! I just thought the Soul Parasite’s aftereffects weren’t gone, so I wanted to help. Don’t get it twisted." Shawn blurted out, desperate to clear things up.
"Wait, you’re the one who got rid of the Soul Parasite? Wasn’t it Rainie who helped me?" Lilian had always assumed Rainie Cheng cleared the Soul Parasite—she’d never imagined Shawn Young had that kind of skill.
"Lilian, it was Shawn who removed the Soul Parasite. I forgot to tell you. Anyway, you two can talk in the car!" Rainie Cheng pulled up in a black Audi, catching Lilian’s question and jumping in to help Shawn out.
Lilian was left stunned. She glanced at Shawn, her cheeks blooming with color, secretly thinking, "Wow, who knew he could actually pull that off!" But she just snorted, shot him a wide-eyed glare, and said nothing more, heading straight to the car and slipping into the front passenger seat.
Shawn Young felt a bit baffled by Lilian Grace’s glare, but he was also relieved. He slipped into the back seat, and with Rainie Cheng at the wheel, the Audi sped away from the villa.
The three of them were mostly quiet on the drive. Rainie checked in on Lilian, but Lilian just smiled and brushed her off, clearly lost in her own thoughts. Shawn sat alone in the back, staring out the window at the scenery flashing by, replaying the last three days in his mind—it all felt like some surreal dream.
Before they knew it, the car was parked outside Southern University’s main gate. Lilian was the first to hop out, then she made a little phone gesture to Rainie and said, "Rainie, I’m heading back to the dorm. Remember to call me often when you get home, okay? Bye-bye—"
"Yeah, I will, don’t worry! Take care of yourself, Lilian. Come visit me in Hong Kong when you have time. Bye!" Rainie smiled and waved as she replied.
Lilian glanced at Shawn, who was still lost in thought. She wanted to say something, but swallowed her words, just giving him a pouty, slightly aggrieved look before turning and heading inside.
"Sigh—Lilian seems a little upset with you! Aren’t you going to talk to her?" Rainie teased, glancing at Shawn.
"Huh? What?" Shawn snapped out of his daze.
"Never mind, never mind. You look totally spaced out—what’s on your mind?" Rainie asked, concern in her voice.
"Oh, it’s nothing. I just feel like the past few days have been a total dream, that’s all—" Shawn admitted, being surprisingly honest.
Rainie laughed. "Yeah, it really does feel like a dream! So many things happened I never could’ve imagined." As she spoke, she thought about how, by some crazy twist of fate, she’d ended up as Shawn’s woman, and her pretty face flushed pink.
"Yeah! Life’s full of surprises," Shawn said, sounding a bit philosophical.
"Oh, stop getting all sentimental. Here, this bank card is your reward for helping with the mission! The password is your birthday. There’s a hundred grand on it—keep it safe!" Rainie fished a card out of her purse and handed it to Shawn.
"Whoa! A hundred thousand?! That much?" Shawn was shocked, but didn’t hesitate to take it. His parents were factory workers, his sister was about to start college, and his grandma was chronically ill. Money was always tight, and there were plenty of places it needed to go.
"It’s not that much. I know your family’s situation isn’t great—this might not solve everything, but it’ll help a lot. Don’t be shy about it!" Rainie said with a warm smile.
"Uh—okay! Thanks, Rainie." Shawn blushed, genuinely grateful.
"Come on, you don’t have to thank me. I believe in you, Shawn. With your talent, you’re gonna achieve things most people can only dream of!" Rainie’s cheeks flushed as she spoke.
"Yeah, I’ll work hard!" Shawn thought Rainie was truly thoughtful, though he didn’t realize—Rainie did all this because she believed in him, trusting her gut that she hadn’t picked the wrong guy.
"This money was specially approved for you—the Interpol HQ wanted to reward you for your help on the mission! You did great, even though we only caught Warren Cloud, so the bonus isn’t huge. If we’d finished everything, the reward would’ve been much bigger!" Rainie explained.
"Oh, right, what did you guys do with Warren Cloud?" Shawn asked.
"Oh, we’re taking him to Hong Kong for interrogation. We’re hoping to get info about the Thirteen Enforcers out of him! The group does a lot of business in Hong Kong—if we get what we need, we’ll make our move right away." Rainie replied.
"Oh, I see. Rainie, are you heading back to Hong Kong right away?" Shawn couldn’t help feeling reluctant to part with the beautiful, thoughtful Rainie.
"Yep, my flight’s this afternoon. I’ve got a ton of work to handle, and you’ve got classes to get back to! Once I’m done, I’ll come find you in Nanming City. Now, let’s get out!" Rainie was a top-notch Interpol inspector, so even if she felt a little sad, she stayed cool and collected.
"Well, okay, but Rainie, aren’t you going to give me a little something before you go?" Shawn grinned, leaning closer.
"You naughty thing—" Rainie blushed, rolled up the window, and then, with her cherry-red lips, gave Shawn a sizzling French kiss right there in the car. Their lips and tongues tangled for a long moment before they finally parted, breathless. Rainie fixed her messy clothes and, cheeks burning, said shyly, "There, that’s your goodbye. If you miss me, just call—I’ll fly over whenever I can."
"You got it! I definitely will—" With Rainie’s promise, Shawn’s mood lifted. He hopped out of the car, waving as Rainie drove off, their eyes lingering on each other until Rainie finally started the engine and disappeared from view. Shawn watched the Audi vanish, feeling a bittersweet ache in his chest.