“At Tokyo Tower, gazing out for the first time, watching the lights imitate falling starlight, I finally arrived, but felt even sadder. Alone, I fulfilled our dream. You always said there was still plenty of time, that you could wait for me. Before, I didn’t understand that tomorrow doesn’t necessarily mean there will be a future. Missing you is a pain that breathes; it lives in every corner of my being. Humming the songs you love hurts, reading your letters hurts, even silence hurts. Regret is a pain that breathes; it flows back and forth in my blood. Regretting not being considerate hurts, hating that I didn’t understand you hurts, wanting to see you but not being able to is the worst pain…”

Very soon, Michael Bolton finished recording Liang Jingru’s song “The Pain That Breathes.”

“Bro, what song is this? I’ve never heard it before!” Ashley Bolton turned around and asked.

“This one? It’s called ‘The Pain That Breathes.’ So, what do you think? Sounds good, right?” Michael Bolton said with a beaming smile.

“It does sound good, but whose song is it?” Ashley Bolton said. With such a great song, she felt she shouldn’t have missed it.

“It hasn’t been released yet!” Michael Bolton replied. “But it will be soon!”

“What the heck!” Ashley Bolton was quite dissatisfied with Michael Bolton’s explanation.

……

Time is like water slipping through your fingers. No matter how hard you try to grasp it, it still flows away between your fingers, leaving in a hurry, never to return.

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye. The atmosphere of the New Year grew stronger, but for the seniors burdened with heavy study tasks, there was hardly any difference—every day was filled with endless exams and practice papers.

Ten days was enough for Michael Bolton to completely review his knowledge system. Only after finishing did Michael Bolton realize he still had many gaps, no wonder his test results had always been poor. Over these ten days, Michael Bolton gradually began to make up for his shortcomings.

Ten days isn’t long, but it’s not short either. Michael Bolton’s review plan was quite effective, and his grades naturally improved a bit. The results came so quickly because there were exams almost every day, and a major test every week. It was hard not to notice his own progress!

Michael Bolton’s grades went from the bottom to just behind the middle, jumping ahead by more than ten places!

Ten days was enough for many things to settle down. The incident ten days ago where Michael Bolton sent Robert Brooks to the hospital was still mentioned by quite a few people, but it wasn’t as heated as before.

After calming down, many people felt a bit sorry for him. The dean would definitely retaliate against Michael Bolton, and when they looked at him, their eyes were tinged with pity. Yet Michael Bolton himself seemed completely unaware, as if nothing had happened, and started studying hard, with his grades even improving a bit.

But in the eyes of others, this was useless. No matter how hard he studied, he’d still end up being kicked out of school.

However, in the past few days, Olivia Reed’s gaze toward Michael Bolton had become a bit different, with an indescribable look flickering in her eyes. Over these ten days, this deskmate she’d never paid much attention to had given her so many surprises and differences. Maybe she’d misjudged him before.

“Hey, everyone, come out and look! The police are at our school!” a classmate shouted as they ran into the classroom.

“What’s going on? Why are the police here?”

“What are they doing at our school?”

For most students, the police showing up meant something big had happened. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be like this. For the dull and monotonous school life, it was definitely something exciting.

“It’s Emily Thompson, the first-year teacher, who was taken away by the police!” the classmate explained.

“What? What happened?”

“How could she be taken away?”

“It seems it’s because the dean was involved in embezzlement and bribery, so she was arrested!” The classmate, seeing everyone looking at him, said proudly, “I heard it was several million!”

“What, really? That’s way too greedy!”

“Well, that’s good. The school will be peaceful for a while!”

“I knew it, that dean was definitely a big-time embezzler. No wonder our school uniforms kept falling apart so easily—maybe he took kickbacks from suppliers!”

The students immediately erupted into discussion, showing just how unpopular the The Brooks Family was among teachers and students.

“You were the one who sent in that material, right?” Olivia Reed suddenly turned around, her beautiful eyes widening slightly as she looked at Michael Bolton. Being so close, she could even catch a faint, elusive fragrance.

Chapter 13: The Record Company Arrives

“You were the one who sent in that material, right?” Olivia Reed suddenly turned around, her beautiful eyes widening slightly as she looked at Michael Bolton. Being so close, she could even catch a faint, elusive fragrance.

“What material?” Michael Bolton blinked innocently. In fact, the downfall of the The Brooks Family was entirely within his expectations. Actually, David Thompson had already arranged for the evidence to be delivered to the city government, the prosecutor’s office, and the police station the day after it was uncovered. This forced the authorities to take action. After all, if they didn’t investigate, who knew if someone would leak the material online? Then they’d be on the defensive, and would definitely be labeled as negligent.