Chapter 18

Lina's POV

After finishing playing with the cat, Maggie pulled me to the courtyard to sunbathe.

The bench had been warmed by the sunlight. When I sat down, I could feel the warmth seeping through the fabric of my school uniform into my skin.

Maggie leaned on my shoulder, and within a few minutes, her breathing became even, just like a cat taking an afternoon nap.

I didn't sleep.

A killer's instinct prevented me from sleeping easily in open places—that would expose my weakness.

I leaned back on the bench, quietly watching the plane tree overhead.

Most of its leaves had already fallen. The few remaining ones hung on the branches, swaying in the wind, ready at any moment to let go of the branch and complete their only flight in life.

One leaf finally couldn't hold on anymore. It broke away from the branch, spinning in the air, slowly falling down.

The trajectory it traced through the air wasn't a straight line, but an irregular, random curve arbitrarily modified by the wind.

Its posture was so graceful, yet it still fell to the ground in the end, unable to escape the fate of being trampled.

I let out a slight sigh, shifted my gaze away, and committed that leaf's trajectory to memory, like remembering a brief and beautiful dream.

"Lina." Maggie's voice carried the hoarseness of just waking up.

She rubbed her eyes, lifted her head from my shoulder. There was a red mark on her cheek pressed by the wrinkles in the school uniform.

"You didn't sleep?"

"Not tired."

She made an "oh" sound, yawned, then suddenly sat up straight as if remembering something. "Right, Saturday! Remember to give me your address, I'll have my dad drive to pick you up."

"No need, I can get there myself."

"No, no, the roads around my house are really winding. You'll definitely get lost the first time. Where do you live?"

I hesitated. Upper East Side Manhattan, Luca Moretti's apartment—giving out this address would probably be equivalent to revealing my carnivore identity among a group of herbivores.

But Maggie looked at me, her eyes without any probing or calculation, only the pure seriousness of waiting for an address so she could arrange for her father to pick me up.

"Upper East Side," I said.

Maggie blinked. "Where in the Upper East Side?"

"Near Fifth Avenue."

She blinked again, then nodded, taking out her phone to note it down. Her expression was no different from when remembering a cafeteria window's signature dish.

"Then I'll have my dad pick you up at ten Saturday morning. Just text me the specific address."

Just that simple.

She didn't ask "what does your family do," nor did she ask any unnecessary questions.

I turned my head to look at the row of plane trees across the courtyard. A few more leaves had fallen.

The last class in the afternoon was self-study.

I sat at my desk, took out the test paper Luca had assigned me and started working on it.

I remembered the knowledge Luca had taught me very well, and quickly finished all the questions.

I was a bit bored, staring blankly at the empty space on the test paper, then wrote down a line.

"Before the crocodile opens its eyes underwater, the water surface is calm."

I needed to constantly remind myself that I was just experiencing normal life. I had to maintain maximum vigilance, or sooner or later Dmitri would find me.

The dismissal bell rang.

Maggie packed up her school bag and walked with me to the school gate.

At the school gate, just before parting, she didn't forget to repeatedly confirm our Saturday plans with me. "Saturday morning at ten, it's settled! No backing out!"

"I won't back out." I nodded with a smile.

Maggie cheered, and bouncing with her backpack, ran toward the car waiting for her by the roadside, the charm on her backpack jingling.

After running a few steps, she didn't forget to turn back and wave at me.

I stood there, watching her car disappear into the traffic, the smile slowly fading from my face.

That dark, malicious gaze appeared again, at the alley entrance across the street, hidden in the shadows, staring fixedly at me.

I didn't show any abnormality, just slowly walked forward carrying my school bag, my fingertips reaching into the bag, once again gripping the folding knife hidden in the inner compartment.

Just as I was about to turn into the alley next to me, to lure the person to a place with no one around to deal with them, a black sedan slowly stopped in front of me.

The car window rolled down, revealing Luca's face.

He was wearing a black coat with a dark gray turtleneck sweater underneath—exactly the same as what I had seen in the morning.

Luca lifted his chin slightly. "Get in."

I hadn't expected him to suddenly appear, so I was stunned for a moment. When I looked again at the alley entrance across the street, the gaze in the shadows had already disappeared.

I withdrew my gaze, opened the car door and got into the passenger seat.

The car cabin had the heater on, very low jazz music was playing from the speakers, and the interior space was filled with the faint scent of his cologne.

The car smoothly merged into the traffic. I turned my head to look at his hand gripping the steering wheel—distinct knuckles, slender fingers.

It was these hands that had graded my math test papers, touched the top of my head, and when I lost control, shielded me from all the trouble.

Of course... they had also given me some punishments that only children would receive.

I shook my head, shaking out the events from that evening from my mind.

"Why did you come?" I spoke first.

"On the way." Luca looked straight ahead, his tone very flat, exactly the same as when he said buying breakfast was on the way this morning.

I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows. "I remember the places you usually go are in the opposite direction from my school."

He turned his head to glance at me, the corners of his mouth lifting in an extremely faint smile. "Then it was a special trip to pick you up."

My heartbeat skipped a beat, and my ears started burning again. I quickly shifted my gaze, looking at the flowing street scenery outside the window, pretending not to care as I brought up the chocolate in the desk. "Was that box something you had someone put there?"

Luca seemed momentarily stunned by my question, then let out a low laugh.

That laugh resonated from his chest, low and pleasant, echoing in the quiet car cabin, making my heartbeat quicken a few more beats.

"It was specially placed for you." He didn't make any more excuses, openly admitting it, his gaze falling on my face, carrying a gentle smile. "A reward for being a good girl."

"A reward for what?" I asked instinctively.

"A reward for making a friend," he said. "A reward for attending classes seriously, a reward for... slowly moving forward."

I looked into his eyes, which held the light of the setting sun, so gentle it was almost overflowing.

Those anxieties and expectations I hid in my heart that I dared not speak aloud, those stirrings I myself couldn't understand—in his gaze, they all seemed to have found their home.