Chapter 61

"Fidelity Tower Technologies..."

Lucia sat back down in her chair, her eyes shining with an unprecedented gleam. "Mr. Carter, since you've given me this opportunity, I'm going to send him a gift too."

She quickly powered up her computer, her fingers flying across the keyboard as she continued tracking down even more hidden information about Fidelity Tower Technologies.

This time, her movements were faster and more aggressive than ever before...

Dusk.

The setting sun, like a giant ball of molten gold, slowly sank behind the city's towering buildings, painting half the sky a deep and vivid orange-red.

Jack arrived at his old high school.

Originally, Jack had planned to go straight to the reunion venue, but Allison called to tell him everyone was meeting at the school first, so Jack had to come here.

Looking at the school before him, years had passed, and the walls had become somewhat weathered.

A hint of nostalgia flickered in Jack's eyes.

"Are you Jack?"

Just then.

A sweet fragrance drifted over.

A beautiful, enthusiastic voice sounded behind Jack.

Jack turned around. Standing before him was a girl dressed in an extremely provocative outfit.

She wore a fire-red halter mini dress with barely any fabric. Large expanses of snow-white, smooth skin were exposed in the evening glow, radiating a sensual sheen.

The tight dress perfectly outlined her breathtaking S-curve figure. The neckline plunged extremely low, her full chest rising and falling slightly with each breath. Her long legs were displayed without reservation, and she wore a pair of high-heeled sandals. The whole look was incredibly sexy.

"I'm Jack."

Jack nodded. Although Allison was dressed very provocatively, Jack's gaze only lingered on her for a moment before looking away.

"It really is you!" A flash of delight crossed Allison's eyes, then she walked forward boldly, her gaze carefully examining Jack. "You're so much more handsome than before, I almost didn't recognize you."

Jack politely stepped back half a step, maintaining a proper social distance, a hint of detachment in his smile. "Long time no see, Allison. You're even more beautiful than before, still so eye-catching."

Allison covered her mouth and laughed softly, seeming quite pleased with Jack's compliment.

Then Allison said to Jack, "Let's go. Everyone's already waiting inside. It's been so many years since graduation, everyone really misses the school, so we specially arranged to come back here first to look around and recapture those old feelings. We'll head to the hotel for the formal dinner later."

Jack nodded, his face calm.

He followed behind Allison without showing any emotion, passing through the school gate and heading toward the playground.

From a distance, Jack could see the crowd gathered in the center of the playground. There were about forty people, men and women, clustered in small groups of twos and threes.

Allison pulled Jack into the center of the crowd, clapped her hands, and enthusiastically introduced him to everyone. "Hey, everyone, look who I brought! This is Jack. He only attended for one year before dropping out. Do you remember him?"

However, the response was rather cold.

Everyone's eyes swept over Jack, most wearing perfunctory smiles. A few girls were even whispering to each other, their eyes showing little interest.

After all, in most people's memories, Jack had been nothing more than an unremarkable person back then. He had neither a prominent family background nor outstanding grades. Nobody really cared whether he came or not.

Just then, a tall, muscular man emerged from the crowd.

The man's chin was slightly raised, carrying an air of natural arrogance.

"Jack?" The man looked Jack up and down, a malicious smile curling at his lips, his eyes full of provocation.

"I remember you. You used to sit in front of Allison. Back then, you were so short, only this tall, and you wore glasses. Didn't expect you to look somewhat presentable now."

As he spoke, he deliberately moved his hand from above Jack's head down to his own chest, the gesture dripping with sarcasm.

Seeing this, Jack's expression immediately hardened.

He remembered this guy.

This guy was Marcus Caudill, the class bully from back then. Relying on his physical strength, he often bullied his classmates. Jack had suffered plenty at his hands.

After all these years.

He was still just as awful, still a bully.

However, the Jack of now was not the Jack of back then.

Marcus's reason for stepping forward to mock Jack was quite simple.

Because of Allison!

He had been madly infatuated with Allison during high school. After all, he was the captain of the school basketball team, and Allison was the cheerleading captain. As the saying goes, "First come, first served." He had pursued Allison relentlessly, but although Allison appeared outgoing and enthusiastic, she had always kept her distance from these boys, neither cold nor warm.

Not just him—Allison had never accepted any man's pursuit, even to this day.

This was the first time Marcus had seen her so enthusiastic toward a guy, which really bothered him.

"Marcus,"

Allison's brows furrowed slightly as she stepped forward to stand in front of Jack, her tone tinged with displeasure. "We rarely get together. Can't you just keep quiet for once?"

Seeing Allison so protective, Marcus's jealousy burned even fiercer.

He snorted coldly, his gaze moving past Allison to fix on Jack. "What? Are you feeling sorry for Jack? I'm just catching up with an old classmate."

Then he deliberately raised his voice, loudly proposing to the crowd watching the show, "Since we still have some time before the reunion, how about we warm up with a basketball game? Jack, do you dare to play against me?"

Marcus looked at Jack as he spoke.

The people around them immediately perked up at this.

"Great idea! Marcus was a basketball star back in the day!"

"Yeah, we haven't seen him play in so long. Wonder how good he is now."

Everyone started egging them on, their eyes gleaming with the excitement of watching drama unfold.

Jack looked at the arrogant Marcus before him, then scanned the faces around them, all eager to see him humiliated.

Deep in his otherwise calm eyes, a trace of barely perceptible coldness flashed. He hadn't wanted to cause trouble at this boring reunion, but Marcus's insulting gestures had clearly crossed Jack's line.

I won't attack unless I'm attacked.

But if someone attacks me, I'll definitely strike back.

"What's wrong? Are you scared?"

Seeing Jack's silence, Marcus assumed he was afraid, and the mockery on his face grew thicker. "Well, I guess that makes sense. You barely even attended PE class back then."

"Fine."

Before Marcus could finish.

Jack let out a soft breath, cutting off his rambling.

"Jack."

Allison walked up, concerned.