A family of three hurriedly changed their residence and, after another exhausting day, Lincoln Faulkner tossed and turned at night, unable to fall asleep. He kept recalling the events of the day, and it wasn’t until midnight that he finally drifted off in a daze.

“Something’s not right! This whole thing doesn’t make any sense logically!” He suddenly sat up, sunlight stabbing into his eyes. Only then did Lincoln Faulkner realize he’d been thinking about yesterday’s events even in his dreams. With such bad luck at home, and having actually been hunted down himself, why did those three guys seem completely unconcerned except during that one period? It was as if they had everything under control from the very beginning.

The more Lincoln Faulkner thought about it, the more he felt things couldn’t be that simple. It was as if, somewhere in the shadows, someone was watching him and laughing at his misfortune. This strange feeling lingered, impossible for Lincoln Faulkner to shake off.

Despite everything that had happened at home, Lincoln Faulkner’s parents seemed to take it in stride. After giving him a few brief instructions, they each went off to work. Both of Lincoln Faulkner’s parents had decent jobs, and they could handle the financial impact of the fire accident.

Lincoln Faulkner himself was hesitant about whether to go to class. But if he didn’t go to school, he had no idea what else to do, so he figured he might as well go to a familiar environment—it would probably feel better.

Because they had rented the house in such a rush, it took Lincoln Faulkner quite a while to find the bus stop after leaving the new home. To his utter surprise, he saw Yvonne Dean waiting for the bus as well.

“Lincoln Faulkner, what are you doing here? Isn’t your house on Tongrong Road?”

As expected, Yvonne Dean noticed him too, greeting Lincoln Faulkner with a look of surprise. This morning, Yvonne Dean was dressed in a long-sleeved casual outfit, with white jeans on the bottom. It perfectly accentuated the graceful curves of a youthful girl.

Lincoln Faulkner didn’t dare look too much, afraid of being seen as a creep again. He replied irritably, “Dean the Student, you’re really nosy! I’m here so early just to chase after you and go to school together, isn’t that obvious? But how do you know where I live? I don’t remember ever telling you!”

“Ah! I just heard it from someone else, um… it was Jane Bolton who told me!”

Even though Lincoln Faulkner was obviously making things up, Yvonne Dean didn’t react at all. Instead, she blushed furiously, flustered over accidentally letting something slip.

“Hmm! Jane Bolton?” Lincoln Faulkner searched his memory but couldn’t recall if he knew this girl. He wasn’t the type to know every student in the school. Of course, he was familiar with his own classmates, but as for other classes, unless someone was particularly famous, Lincoln Faulkner didn’t recognize many.

Although Lincoln Faulkner liked to talk nonsense, he was in low spirits today. Plus, he’d always heard that Yvonne Dean wasn’t easy to deal with—every “frog prince” who tried to pursue her ended up in misery. So, uncharacteristically, he waited for the bus in silence.

Lincoln Faulkner was fairly well-known at school, but he didn’t like to show off and rarely participated in group activities. In most students’ eyes, Lincoln Faulkner was a true oddball. His grades weren’t great but not terrible either, and occasionally he’d shine in a single subject. Aside from chatting with a few friends, he never joined in sports—at least, Yvonne Dean herself had seen Lincoln Faulkner sneak off to wander around during group clean-ups many times.

The first thing Lincoln Faulkner said earlier had a bit of a rogue’s tone. But seeing the way he acted, Yvonne Dean was sure it was just his usual sharp tongue, with no real intention of joking with her. Since Lincoln Faulkner didn’t say anything more, Yvonne Dean certainly wasn’t going to start a conversation. Still, watching Lincoln Faulkner, her heart pounded wildly. She’d steal a glance at him now and then, then quickly look away, pretending not to care at all. Unfortunately, the oblivious Lincoln Faulkner didn’t notice Yvonne Dean’s unusual behavior at all.

Lincoln Faulkner waited gloomily until the bus arrived, swiping his IC card twice without thinking. It wasn’t until he sat down that he realized he’d subconsciously bought a ticket for Yvonne Dean.

Students go to school even earlier than office workers, so the bus was nearly empty. Lincoln Faulkner wanted to claim a double seat and lie down for a nap, but to his surprise, Yvonne Dean followed him over, patted his thigh, and said in a rather unfriendly tone, “Don’t be so selfish—move over!”

Under Lincoln Faulkner’s incredulous gaze, Yvonne Dean pushed his leg aside and sat down next to him.

“Hey, Dean the Student, don’t you think us going to school together will start some rumors? To stop the gossip, you should switch seats.”

Lincoln Faulkner hadn’t slept well all night and just wanted a nap. It was rare to have a seat to himself, and now he had to share—he wasn’t too happy about it.

“Didn’t someone just say they came here early to wait for me and go to school together? I’m giving you a big opportunity here, so make the most of it!”

Lincoln Faulkner turned his head away—he was completely out of sorts now. Yvonne Dean’s expression wasn’t particularly good or bad, but to Lincoln Faulkner, it was a sure sign she was in a bad mood. He didn’t dare say another word until they got off the bus.

“Old Faulkner, not bad! We haven’t seen you for just one night, and you’ve already made such progress.”

As soon as they got off the bus, it was as if they’d arranged to meet there. Three distinctive guys were waiting by the bus stop. There was still some distance to Lincoln Faulkner’s school from here. Clearly, this was no coincidence.