Chapter 167 Asking for Help Requires the Right Attitude
Suddenly, voices came from outside, and the two quickly pulled apart.
Lily scrambled to her feet. "I... I'm going to change."
Dennis sat up, watching her flee in a panic.
He lay back down. He hadn't been much better off just now—his heart had nearly jumped out of his chest.
He turned his head and saw the sunset outside. It really was beautiful.
But not as beautiful as her.
Lily returned to the locker room.
She sat in a chair, covering her face with her hands, taking a long while to calm down.
Had her heartbeat really been that loud?
Did he hear it?
Lily rubbed her face and went to shower. Her whole body was incredibly sore.
She came out after changing, her blow-dried hair draped over her shoulders, looking very quiet.
She instinctively glanced around, but didn't see Dennis anywhere. Had he left?
Lily took out her phone, about to send a message, then stopped.
"Not leaving yet?" Dennis stood ahead, already changed into fresh clothes, his hair still damp and not yet dry.
Lily put down her phone and walked over. The two slowly headed outside, both carrying the same scent of the gym's body wash.
Outside, the sun had set, and everything had gotten much darker.
They walked downstairs. Lily stopped. "I need to go back to my dorm."
"OK. Remember to put something on your arms when you get back. You can't do high-intensity training every day—you'll hurt yourself."
Lily heard his low, slightly stern voice in her ear.
She lowered her eyelids, her gaze falling on his chest. "I know my own business."
"Training so hard, people who don't know better would think you're heading to a battlefield, desperate to save your life."
Lily thought to herself: 'This guy still has such a sharp tongue!'
Lily looked up at him. "Yeah, I am desperate to save my life."
"What are you afraid of?" Dennis sensed her change, but now she was deliberately keeping her distance, making it hard for him to read her thoughts.
Was she worried about the Harper family?
But he'd already put pressure on them, and Samantha had publicly apologized to her today.
Lily acted casually. "I'm not afraid of anything. I just want to make myself stronger."
Only by becoming stronger could she protect herself and those around her.
"I'm heading back to school now." Lily noticed someone looking their way and turned to leave.
Dennis stood there, watching Lily's retreating figure—small but carrying a certain determination.
He still remembered when he first met her in the infirmary—she'd been depressed and down.
Now she'd developed quite a temper.
After returning to her dorm, Lily thought about their sparring session at the gym, how they'd almost kissed.
She raised her hand to cover her eyes, feeling the soreness in her arms.
"Lily, something for you."
Lily got up and saw Zoey handing her a package. "I didn't order anything."
"But the delivery has your name on it. Why don't you check?"
Lily took it and opened it to find medicated patches inside, along with a boxing practice book titled "How to Practice Boxing Without Getting Injured."
Seeing this, she guessed who had sent it.
Lily took a photo and sent it to Dennis. [Did you send this?]
[Very effective.] His reply was simple.
Lily applied the patches, with Zoey helping her with the ones on her back.
Zoey asked nosily, "Who sent these patches? Your boyfriend?"
"No, a friend."
Lily looked at the book on the desk, feeling like Dennis was mocking her.
She picked up her phone again and sent Dennis an e-gift card.
Dennis replied with a [?]
[I don't accept favors without earning them.] After Lily sent the message, she waited a long time for a reply, but he didn't seem to have claimed the e-gift card either.
When she woke up the next day, Lily's soreness had doubled.
But the areas where she'd applied the patches felt much better.
Dennis had guessed pretty accurately.
Lily grabbed her textbooks and went downstairs with Zoey to head to class.
But outside the dorm building, she saw Austin.
Austin was tall with decent features. Standing there, he attracted quite a bit of attention from girls.
Lily just glanced at him and kept walking straight ahead.
But sometimes, you can't avoid what's coming.
"Lily, wait."
Lily frowned. "Move. I need to get to class."
"I'll just talk to you for a minute, won't take much of your time. I can also wait until after your class."
So he was insisting on talking.
Lily was very impatient. "Speak."
Austin's expression was somewhat unnatural. His voice was hoarse. "This whole thing was something Sophie and I did. It has nothing to do with Michael. He invested half his fortune in this project. If he loses the bidding qualification..."
"Stop. You're here to plead for him, right?"
Austin nodded, his eyes cautious. "I can make it up to you, but can you not hold Michael responsible?"
Lily's face showed mockery. "So what do you want me to do to not hold him responsible?"
"Tell the organizers that the Roberts Group didn't plagiarize your idea, that we're family, and it was just a little joke."
Lily laughed out loud. "Only someone from the Roberts family could make such an absurd request."
"Lily, I don't mean anything by it." Austin tried to explain.
Zoey couldn't take it anymore. "Mr. Roberts, you're asking Lily to say that to the organizers—have you thought about what consequences she'd face? Would her company's people continue to trust her?
You're only thinking about clearing your own name, making Lily bear all the consequences alone. Where do you get off asking for something like that?"
Zoey was angry.
That day at the team selection, it was obvious how biased the Roberts family was. She hadn't expected them to be this ridiculous!
Austin was left speechless. He looked at Lily. "I know this request puts you in a difficult position."
"If you know it puts me in a difficult position, you shouldn't have said it. But you still said it, which means you think it's no big deal for Lily to be put in a difficult position. In your heart, you don't care about Lily at all. You don't deserve to be her brother!"
Austin was backed into a corner, unable to respond.
Zoey looked at Lily. "Let's go. We're going to be late for class."
Lily turned to look at Austin. "Did you receive the lawyer's letter?"
"Lawyer's letter? Are you really planning to sue us?" Austin's eyes showed disbelief, as if he couldn't believe it.
Lily's lips curved into a mocking smile. "You'd better get yourself a good lawyer."
Lily and Zoey left together.
Austin stood there with a bitter expression.
He'd thought that no matter how angry Lily was, she wouldn't go this far. He hadn't expected her to actually plan to sue them.
Just then, Sophie rushed over, her tone anxious. "Austin, Lily really did sue us. The lawyer's letter has been delivered to David. What do we do? What did Lily say when you just talked to her?"
Austin's back was curved, unable to straighten.
His eyes were completely red. "Sophie, this is all your fault."