Chapter 156 - 154: Adorably Fierce
The girl’s voice was soft, but it still woke the man who was resting with his eyes closed.
On the hospital bed.
The man slowly opened his eyes.
A pair of pitch-black eyes stared intently at the ceiling, their gaze dim and lifeless, like a dried-up well.
Mia Grant repeated herself softly.
Like sweet rain after a long drought, a flicker of light appeared in his eyes, but as he blinked, it vanished as if it were just her imagination.
His face was still an emotionless mask, showing no reaction.
After a few seconds, he finally spoke. "I’m fine."
He probably hadn’t had water in a while; his voice was slightly hoarse, as if being dragged across coarse sandpaper.
Mia Grant paused, her eyes instinctively searching. She then picked up the glass of water on the table. "Would you like some water?"
Not far away, a few people who had heard the noise turned to look. Just as they were about to intervene, Mr. Wallace cut them off. "Excuse me, would you all mind stepping outside? I’d like to further discuss Mr. Keller’s follow-up treatment plan with you."
Once they left, the feeling of eyes boring into her back instantly vanished. Mia Grant sighed in relief. The next second, a sudden grip tightened on her wrist. Her hand, holding the glass, trembled, splashing a few drops of water onto the bedsheet.
She instinctively reached out to wipe it, but the man on the bed didn’t give her the chance.
Kian Keller stared intently at her.
’Only now could he look at her so brazenly.’
The girl wore a white lab coat and a face mask, her hair tied up in a bun. She looked just like a real doctor.
’But there’s no time to admire her now.’ His brow furrowed and then relaxed; he clearly had something to say.
Mia Grant thought he would ask how she got here, or who brought her.
But he didn’t ask a single question. In a calm yet serious tone that left no room for argument, he gave his orders, "Don’t stay long. Leave the hospital as soon as you can and go straight back to school. Until I’m discharged, try not to leave campus, and definitely don’t come near here."
"I’ll have my people contact you in the next couple of days. You can reach out to them if anything comes up."
"Go back."
"..."
His words told her to leave, but his body was honest, unwilling to let go of her hand.
Mia Grant tried to keep up. She glanced back at the door to make sure it was safe before saying, "Okay, now it’s my turn to talk."
’This isn’t the time to settle scores.’
She didn’t have time to lecture him, so she could only nag him repeatedly.
"You need to focus on recovering. If it’s not safe during this time, I won’t come see you. But you can’t go running around anymore. I’ll have my second brother keep an eye on you."
"You have to behave. Listen to Mr. Wallace. You must cooperate with your treatment. No being pessimistic!"
"Okay."
"Pinky promise!"
Mia Grant pulled her hand free and held out her pinky finger.
Kian Keller didn’t move. His long lashes were lowered, hiding the emotion in his eyes.
He seemed to find the gesture overly childish.
Mia Grant didn’t care what he thought. She hooked her pinky around his, forcing the pact.
He hadn’t initiated it, but he didn’t refuse either.
He even cooperated, pressing his thumb against hers to "seal" the deal.
Lowering her hand, Mia Grant added, "One more thing. When you can, remember to call my brother back. It seems he and Simon Adler are looking for you. If it’s not a good time, I can turn them away for now."
"No need. I’ll have someone contact them."
Mia Grant blinked, staring at him for a long moment. In the end, she swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue and asked instead, "Do your family’s elders know I exist?"
"Yeah." Kian Keller looked up, paused, and said, "Don’t be afraid."
He wasn’t good at comforting people. Though his tone was stiff, he was trying his best.
Mia Grant smiled, took a string of beads from her pocket, and quickly put it on his wrist. "Did your old one break? I noticed you haven’t been wearing it for a long time."
"I made a special trip to the temple this morning to get these. It was a bit rushed, but they’ve been blessed."
"The material and value definitely can’t compare to your old one, though. Just wear it for now. It’ll give me some peace of mind."
"When I have time during the holidays, I’ll find you a better one."
Kian Keller’s gaze flickered. The string of Buddha beads on his wrist was indeed very plain; its scent, color, and material all seemed cheap.
But he could see how much thought she’d put into it.
She had tried her best to find a string of beads similar to his previous one.
The previous one had been destroyed in the car accident, along with his leg.
He hadn’t asked anyone to get it repaired; instead, he’d tossed it in some corner at home.
"Keep this on you at all times! I heard the master who blessed it is incredible! It’s sure to turn bad luck into good. You’ll recover in no time! Trust me! I even made an extra donation to the temple!"
’It’s all nonsense,’ Kian Keller thought.
’She’s so gullible. She’ll believe anything anyone tells her.’
’If gods were really watching over him, he wouldn’t have ended up like this.’
But in that moment, he surprisingly didn’t want to expose the lie, didn’t want to dash her hopes.
He didn’t believe in gods or Buddhas, but he could believe in her.
’True or false, real or fake... as long as she’s happy, that’s all that matters.’
"Okay," he agreed.
Only then did she smile with satisfaction. "One last thing! Then I’ll go!"
Sounds were already coming from the doorway. Mia Grant pretended to be taking notes while lowering her voice to say, "For the next few days, don’t believe anything you hear! You have to remember that!"
"I’ll listen to you and stay at school, and you have to listen to me and stay in the hospital!"
"When the coast is clear, I’ll come get you!"
——
After leaving the hospital, Mia Grant went straight back to school without a second thought.
[He hasn’t been feeling well lately. He’ll get back to you when he can.]
Once she had a free moment, she finally had time to confront Simon Adler. [Also, get your people under control.]
[Don’t let me catch you sending people to follow me again. Otherwise, don’t blame me for what happens next.]
Simon Adler only saw Mia Grant’s messages after he finished his meeting.
The girl, whose profile picture was a cat, sent words that were cold and stiff, right down to the punctuation. She was trying to sound fierce, but it wasn’t the least bit intimidating.
She was just like his beautiful Ragdoll cat—all show and no substance.
Adorably fierce.
Simon Adler read her messages again and again and couldn’t help but let out a derisive laugh.
He didn’t reply. Instead, he went straight to her Moments feed.
He’d only made a WeChat account in the wee hours of the night before and had just added her as a friend this morning.
He hadn’t had time to check her Moments feed back then.
She didn’t post very often. Her most recent update was from half a month ago—a late-night ramble complaining about the school cafeteria.
The content was mundane, yet exceptionally vivid and full of life.
To be honest, Simon Adler admitted to himself that his first impression of her hadn’t been good, and he didn’t know her well.
’It’s impossible that I like her.’
He thought the idea was absurd.
But that dream... was truly bizarre.
Even now, reading the text from her post, he could still imagine her expressions and tone of voice from his dream.
’What the hell!’