Chapter 49: Carrying Out the Plan

Before carrying out my plan, I glanced to the right and left. Right on the left side, next to an escalator with steps moving downward, stood a security guard. I immediately ran over to him and asked for directions to the place I was heading to. He answered kindly while pointing out the location I meant.

“Thank you for the information, sir.”

“You’re welcome,” he replied with a smile.

I then turned around and approached Kevan, who had been watching me with a confused expression the whole time. I smiled and returned his gaze, as if to reassure him that everything was fine.

“Alvin, Ari, have a drink first,” I said while holding out the cup of drink that I had still managed to bring out of the theater. “You must be thirsty. Just share it between the two of you. Luckily, I haven’t drunk from it yet.”

Alvin raised one eyebrow and looked at me suspiciously. I tried to remain calm and act casual.

“Relax, it’s not poisoned.”

When Alvin and Ari started scrambling over the drink, without them realizing it, I quietly grabbed Kevan’s hand and pulled him away. We hurried down the escalator as fast as I could.

I could not imagine how the two of them would react if they found out we had disappeared first, especially the troublemaker named Alvin.

Would he get angry or throw a fit?

I did not care.

What mattered was that we managed to get away.

We stopped in front of a bookstore on the second floor. Kevan’s laughter immediately burst out. He laughed while shaking his head.

“I’m glad you could get back at Alvin’s antics. He really does go overboard sometimes when he jokes,” he said, still struggling to hold back his laughter.

“That’s his own fault. Who told him to interrupt our date?” I grinned widely. “Come on, let’s go inside.”

“Of course.” Kevan chuckled before finally fixing his gaze on me. “Anything you want.”

Could I scream and jump right now? Kevan had just tried to flirt with me, hadn’t he?

I felt incredibly happy today. If I were not in a public place, I would gladly let my excitement burst out. Still, I had to try hard to suppress the blush on my face and hope that Kevan did not notice how flustered I was just because of the simple sentence he had said.

I deliberately walked ahead, with Kevan following behind me. I scanned the rows of books neatly lined up on the shelves. My eyes immediately lit up when I found several young adult novel titles.

Without realizing it, I took hold of Kevan’s fingers and pulled him toward the section of shelves I was heading to.

“Wow, there are so many new ones,” I said cheerfully while picking out a few titles.

“You like novels?” he asked. “What kind of stories do you like?”

“I really like them,” I replied, glancing briefly at Kevan. “Grandma always said that if you like reading, you should read stories that contain encouragement for life and the cheerfulness of youth your age. And I always follow that advice.”

“Oh, really? On what basis did she say that?”

I picked up a novel whose cover showed a girl laughing as she ran after a rabbit.

“I don’t really know either,” I answered softly. “Grandma only ever said, never let anyone influence your life later on. You have to stay cheerful and keep smiling no matter how heavy your problems are. Maybe she meant that she did not want me to get carried away by sadness in the story. Grandma always wanted me to be happy. I know that.”

“But isn’t it true that from a novel, even if it contains a sad story, we can still take a lesson from it?” he said. “For example, about someone’s struggle in life?”

I turned around and stood right in front of Kevan, then smiled. “Yes, you’re right. But I also know Grandma did not say that to criticize novels. She just wanted me to stay safe in her own way. She did not want to see sadness on my face, even if it was only because of a novel. She wanted me to always smile even though....”

My words trailed off for a moment. My eyes stared blankly toward the cashier, where a married couple stood with a teenage child about my age. I continued in a faint voice, “Even without both parents.”

Kevan flinched. He followed my line of sight for a moment, then looked back at me. “Frel, I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” he said with a face full of regret. “I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s okay,” I cut in gently, trying to keep smiling. “I understand.”

Kevan held my shoulders, looking at me earnestly. “Hey, even though you’re only living with your grandparents now, from what I see, they’ve succeeded in shaping you into someone strong and cheerful like this.” He smiled softly. “You know, there are many kids out there who live with both parents but don’t receive as much attention and affection as you do, Frel. So don’t be sad anymore, okay?”

I fell silent.

Kevan’s words were true. Maybe there were still many children out there who were not as fortunate as I was. Besides, I should not be sad just because of the absence of parents whose fate I did not even know, whether they were still alive or already gone.

I looked at Kevan and gave a small nod. “Thank you.”

We smiled at each other. But that smile vanished instantly when my eyes accidentally caught sight of the person I least wanted to see right now. A man I truly hated.

What was he doing here? Could it be because of that girl with glasses again?

My gaze swept across the room. And sure enough, the girl with glasses and two braided pigtails was here as well. She was sitting while reading a book.

“What’s wrong?”

“Shh.” Reflexively, I pressed my index finger to my lips. My panic grew when I saw the girl with glasses stand up and walk toward us. “Please, for now don’t ask anything and just follow what I do. I’m begging you.”

Before Kevan could answer, I had already pulled his hand closer. My heart was pounding, but I had no choice. I quickly opened the novel I was holding and raised it in front of our faces, pretending to read.

There was no time to turn around or look for a hiding place. I was not worried that the girl with glasses would see us, but rather afraid that our presence would be noticed by Kenn, whose eyes had been following her movements all along.

The girl with glasses passed by us and walked toward the cashier to pay for the book. Meanwhile, I remained standing stiffly with the novel as a shield. I kept watching Kenn. His manner made him look like a skilled detective pretending to be casual while observing his target. Truly annoying.

Not long after.....

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