Chapter 24 Just Treat It as the Last Farewell
"Just a coincidence," Benjamin replied curtly.
A coincidence that he saw Steven and Nancy going into the old equipment room?
His answer was ambiguous, leaving Rachel guessing.
Rachel didn't dwell on it. "Thanks for earlier."
"Heather is investigating the connection between the informant and us," Benjamin said flatly.
Rachel was shocked. "She's investigating us?"
Rachel had anticipated that Heather would look into who reported Radiant Beauty Spa to the tax authorities, but she hadn't expected Heather to investigate her and Benjamin.
"Did she find anything?"
If Heather knew that Rachel had hired Benjamin to handle her divorce from Steven, it wouldn't be a big deal. After all, Rachel already had some evidence against Steven. But if Heather discovered Rachel's knowledge of the illegal operations, that would be a whole different story. Rachel still didn't have solid proof of the illegal activities.
"She didn't find anything," Benjamin said with a slight smirk. "But there might be some misunderstandings."
"Misunderstandings?" Rachel was puzzled, but Benjamin didn't elaborate.
As long as Heather didn't find anything, it was fine.
"Since she can investigate us, she should know we know each other," Benjamin reminded.
Rachel frowned slightly. "I'll be careful."
Benjamin nodded lightly. "Alright, I'm leaving."
"Okay."
Rachel watched him leave, then took out her phone and sent a message to Nancy. Since they were putting on a show, they had to keep up appearances.
After calming herself for a while, Rachel walked towards the old equipment room. Just as she turned a corner, she bumped into Steven and Nancy.
All three of them were momentarily stunned.
Rachel quickly composed herself and asked, "What are you two doing together?"
Steven's eyes flickered with a hint of nervousness. "Rachel, where were you just now?"
Nancy, standing slightly behind Steven, licked her lips nervously but looked at Rachel with a hint of smugness and defiance.
Steven explained calmly, "I saw Nancy here and thought you might be around, so I came over."
Both of them were neatly dressed, with no signs of disarray. On the surface, there was no indication of what they had been doing inside.
Nancy had even reapplied her lipstick.
Rachel used the excuse she had prepared. "Nancy went to the bathroom. When she didn't come back for a while and didn't respond to my messages, I got worried and came to check."
"Nancy, are you okay?"
Nancy checked her phone and saw that Rachel had indeed sent her a message ten minutes ago. She smiled and shook her head. "I'm fine now. My phone must have been on silent. Sorry, Rachel."
Rachel smiled warmly. "Never mind."
Steven was still carefully observing Rachel's expression, but he couldn't detect any suspicion in her tone or demeanor.
"Rachel, where did you come from?" he asked cautiously.
Rachel blinked innocently. "The basketball court. I was planning to go watch the students play basketball with Nancy."
The basketball court was behind the old equipment room, the direction she had just come from. But she and Benjamin had taken a different route to avoid being seen.
Steven still couldn't read anything unusual from her face and finally relaxed. He smiled and walked over to her. "Shall we go watch the game?"
As he got closer, Rachel caught a whiff of Nancy's perfume on him. It was a floral scent, slightly strong with a hint of grassiness in the undertone.
She frowned slightly and asked, "Why do you smell like Nancy's perfume?"
A bit of confusion would make him lower his guard.
Steven stiffened, but before he could respond, Nancy quickly said, "Maybe my perfume was too strong today, and it rubbed off on him when we were standing close."
"Probably," Steven said calmly, raising his arm to sniff. "Is it very strong?"
"It's fine. If it rubbed off, it'll wear off soon," Rachel said, changing the subject. "Let's go check out the art department. We haven't been there in a while."
"Sure."
"You two go ahead. I don't wanna be a third wheel. I'll go check out the basketball game. Text me when you're done," Nancy said, sensing the opportunity to leave them alone.
Before Rachel could respond, Nancy waved and walked towards the basketball court.
Steven noticed the unopened coffee in Rachel's hand and asked with a smile, "Is that for me?"
"Yeah, but it's not hot anymore," Rachel said, handing it to him. "Want me to grab you a fresh one? It's not far."
"No need. It's warm out, and something cold sounds good," Steven said, opening the coffee and taking her hand.
Feeling his warmth, Rachel frowned. The memory of him kissing Nancy earlier made her feel nauseous.
How could he act so calm and affectionate after what he had just done?
He had been passionately kissing Nancy just moments ago, and now he was holding her hand, reminiscing about their past.
How hypocritical and disgusting.
What did she and Nancy mean to him?
Rachel couldn't understand how a love that was once so intense could change so drastically.
She resisted the urge to pull her hand away and asked softly, "What did Harold want to talk about?"
"University of Dawnlight is organizing a foreign language competition and wants me to invest," Steven said with a smile. "It sounds promising, but I need to see their proposal. I knew Harold had more in mind than just inviting us to the anniversary event. He's always got something up his sleeve."
Rachel nodded, not saying more.
The art department was surrounded by cherry blossom trees, especially the one near their old classroom. It was a beautiful tree.
Now, as winter drew near, the branches were bare, making the courtyard look desolate.
"I remember the first time I saw you, you were sketching under this cherry blossom tree," Steven reminisced.
It was April, and the cherry blossoms were falling gently. She had long hair, a beautiful face without makeup, and wore a white shirt and an orange skirt, sitting there sketching.
That scene was so beautiful and romantic, it was etched in his memory forever.
Rachel paused. She used to love this cherry blossom tree and had painted it many times.
In the rain, on sunny days, at sunset, at night.
She remembered the cherry blossom's symbolism: love, a lifetime of happiness, never giving up, elegance, and purity.
"We can't go back," Rachel said softly, her voice calm. "Those beautiful moments are gone."
"It's okay. Those memories are precious, and we have the future. When spring comes and the flowers bloom, we'll come back and see them together," Steven said.
Rachel smiled faintly but didn't respond.
She knew there was no future for them.
As for the past, if she couldn't forget it, she'd throw it in the trash.
Rachel and Steven walked for over an hour, retracing the paths they used to take in college.
It was like saying goodbye to their love. Or was it a deception?
She couldn't find the right word.
Memories flashed through her mind like a slideshow.
It used to be so good. How did it become so unfamiliar?
She couldn't understand.
People's hearts were so uncontrollable and easily changed.
Since the end was inevitable, this could be their final farewell.
That was fine.
Rachel turned her face away, unable to stop her eyes from reddening.
The evening event was at a hotel, attended by many prominent figures.
Steven thrived at such gatherings, and Rachel mingled gracefully with the other ladies.
Her phone buzzed with a text message.
Rachel's heart skipped a beat, but her smile remained. She excused herself, "Sorry, I need to step away for a moment."
In the restroom, she read the message.
[Radiant Beauty Spa's underground prostitution operation currently has 36 clients, with four clients each keeping a male escort. Client list: Seraphina Shaw has kept two male escorts and is interested in a new recruit from last month. The other four clients are Calliope, Isolde, Thalia, and Elowen. There are also three new clients in the past two months: Xanthe, Ophelia, Persephone, etc.]
The message continued with a long list of names.