After finishing, Adrian initially planned to drive Maxim and the others home. However, after Tatiana politely declined, Adrain had no choice but to leave with Conrad.Maxim didn’t say a word the entire way home.“What’s wrong with you?” Tatiana couldn’t contain her curiosity. As soon as they arrived, she stepped right up to Maxim and looked into his face, asking.“Want to know?”Hearing Maxim’s rhetorical question, Tatiana nodded eagerly.“Yeah... um…”As she stood so close to Maxim, feeling the warmth of his presence, Taitana found his lips on hers, unsure of what to do next.“I’m jealous,” Maxim said after their kiss ended, pulling Tatiana into his arms. The hint of jealousy lingered in his voice. “I saw the way Conrad looked at you. He likes you, and it seems like you two know each other. You didn’t tell me who he is, and that makes me unhappy.”It took a moment for Tatiana to process what Maxim had just said, still reeling from the kiss.After a long pause, she finally managed t
After seeing Landen leave, Lucien was about to exit the study to rest. Being an elderly man, he moved slowly, so when Delany came out, she bumped into Lucien, who was just about to leave.Seeing Delany, Lucien's expression was far from friendly. He was about to ignore her and walk away when Delanh spoke up."Grandpa, who are you to send me back? I don't want to go back, and I won't go back."Her words infuriated Lucien. He turned around to face Delany and said, "Whether you want to or not, you have to go back. Is this how a police officer should act? If police officers are like this, then who will catch the bad guys?!""What does that have to do with me? Their lives or deaths are none of my concern! Itold you from the start that I didn't want to be a police officer, and you kept pushing me into it!" Delany was already in tears. "What I really want is to be a star! I don't want to be a police officer just because Dad is one and Grandpa was in the military! Why should I have to do t
While waiting for Tara to return, her phone buzzed at least five times, and Tatiana became genuinely curious about who this friend was that kept chatting with Tara online.It didn’t seem like a roommate... As that thought crossed her mind, Tatiana quickly shook it off. This was Tara's business, and if she wanted to share, she would. There was no need for Tatiana to dwell on it.So the two of them spent the afternoon at the bubble tea shop, with Tatiana mostly listening to Tara’s phone buzz throughout their time together.As it started to get late, they said their goodbyes and headed home.On her way back, Tatiana's phone rang with an unfamiliar number. Worried it might be someone she knew, she answered the call without thinking too much."Hello?""Tatiana, can you do me a favor?"Tatiana frowned, unable to recognize the voice on the other end."I'm the director of City A. I've heard from higher-ups that you're quite impressive. I want to ask for your help with something. We're re
Tatiana tossed the snack bag into the trash and walked toward the dining room. This house was bought a long time ago by Maxim when he came here for work. Not wanting to stay in a hotel, he chose to live here instead."It smells amazing," she said as she sat down. Maxim handed her a pair of chopsticks and replied, "Try the lobster you wanted. It's delicious."With that, Maxim put on some gloves and skillfully began to peel the lobster."Go ahead and taste it. I’ve never made this before, so it might not be that great.”Hearing this, Tatiana looked at the perfectly peeled lobster in her bowl and felt a wave of emotion.Not long ago, she had wanted to eat lobster but couldn’t get any, only drowning in endless studying. Now, she could finally enjoy it, and someone was even peeling it for her. So this is what it feels like to be cared for?Tatiana blinked and took a bite of the lobster. "It’s really good; I love it."Upon hearing this, Maxim’s eyes lit up with joy, and he seemed genuin
Tatiana had been asleep for several hours, and when she finally woke up, the sky was already darkening.She glanced at the time—it was past seven. It seemed she hadn't slept well the night before.As these thoughts crossed her mind, she noticed a message from Tara pop up on her phone.Feeling a surge of happiness, she read that the person Tara mentioned was Roman, the one who had saved her. Saved her? Rebecca recalled that during their first meeting, Tara had mentioned that someone had approached her on her first day here. It seemed there was more to it than just a casual chat; otherwise, Roman wouldn't have been in a position to rescue Tara.With this in mind, Tatiana replied, "He sounds like a really nice guy! If we have time later, maybe we could meet up. I’d love to get to know him better. What do you think?"On the other end, Tara read Tatiana's message and considered it. The teacher wouldn’t be around for long; she hadn’t come here just for fun and would likely be heading ba
Hearing this, Delany felt a bit uneasy, but at least he wasn’t showing her those disgusting photos anymore. With that thought in mind, she was more than willing to go make copies of the documents.With that in mind, Delany headed to the copy room with the files in hand. Vance had a lot on his plate. After Delany left previously, he had been assigned a great partner, which made things easier for him. He hadn’t expected Delany to return, and he had heard from higher-ups that he should make sure she didn’t have to take on too much work.Vance didn't have a great impression of Delany. If she was a rich girl, then she shouldn't even be here. Coming here and doing nothing was just putting on a show for others, right?With that thought in mind, Vance continued to focus on the case in his hands.In such a short time, several incidents had already occurred, yet the killer was still at large. This puzzled him. Previously, the murderer had been killing someone every few days, but now it had
Hearing this, Tatiana raised an eyebrow, seemingly unconcerned. "I know, I’ll be back early."After saying that, she intended to turn and leave, not wanting to interrupt Maxim’s work. However, to her surprise, Maxim turned around and asked, "You seem to be pretty close with Tara."After a moment of thought, she replied, "Yeah, her dad asked me to look out for her. Plus, I really like Tara’s personality, so it’s no trouble at all.""You know Tara’s father?" Maxim furrowed his brow, a shadow of something flickering in his eyes.Perhaps Maxim's tone was too shocked, or maybe Tatiana caught the brief flash in his gaze. She frowned slightly, then looked up and casually asked, "Are you surprised? The last time I went out to eat, it was with Tara and her dad. That’s when he asked me to keep an eye on her.""I'm not that surprised," Maxim said, realizing his emotions had slipped out. "It's just unusual for a professor like you to take the initiative to meet a student's parents.""Well, it'
Originally, Tatiana had planned to head back for dinner, but Tara's persistent coaxing made it impossible for her to refuse. In the end, the three of them went out for dinner together.After finishing their meal, it was already quite late, and the streets were nearly empty. Standing at the entrance of the restaurant, Tatiana turned to Tara and said, "It's late. Make sure to get some rest; you have class tomorrow. I'm heading back now. Goodbye!""Goodbye, teacher."As she watched her teacher walk away, Tara turned to Roman and asked, "What do you think of my teacher? Isn't she really great? When I was bullied at school, she was the one who stood up for me."Roman looked in the direction Tatiana had gone, deep in thought. After a moment, he replied, "Your teacher carries herself very well. I imagine her family must have placed a lot of importance on that.”Roman thought about the Gold family and their dynamics, as well as the teacher's husband. He turned to Tara and said, "Well, I g
As she walked toward the body, Tatiana replied, "Exactly. This time, the person he's imitating just happens to be a cannibal."As she spoke, Tatiana looked at the corpse on the autopsy table. The body was almost unrecognizable; aside from the flesh that had been cut away, she could hardly see what the person's face looked like."Have we figured out who this person is? Did someone come to report it today?" she asked."It's an elderly man who discovered it while passing by that alley. We're still investigating who this woman is, but we should have results by this afternoon at the latest," Vance said, moving closer to Tatiana."Can you tell who the imitator is yet?" he asked."There are many famous cannibals in the world. I'm still looking into it," Tatiana replied.Using a specialized tool, Tatiana flipped the body over and examined it closely. "Dismembered, raped, and partially eaten," she noted grimly.She looked at Vance and murmured, "Many of these twisted cannibals operate this wa
Asking herself this question wouldn’t yield any answers. After half an hour of lost thoughts, she couldn’t fight off the sleepiness any longer and slowly drifted off.The next day, Tatiana still had her mind on last night. She intentionally stayed in bed late before finally heading to the living room, thinking that by now, Maxim must have already retreated to his study to focus on his work.However, to her surprise, as soon as she stepped out, she found Maxim sitting in the living room. She was taken aback. "What are you doing in the living room? Shouldn't you be working in the study at this hour?"Perhaps Tatiana's tone was too filled with surprise and confusion, as Maxim glancedat her and kindly reminded her, "Did you forget that my work on that project is already done?"Hearing this, Tatiana finally remembered that Maxim had indeed completed his work earlier. She slapped her forehead, cursing herself inwardly for her poor memory. How could she forget something like that?Althou
Feeling the sting, Tatiana finally snapped back to reality. She rubbed her forehead and looked at Maxim, saying, “Why did you flick me?” “Who told you to zone out? Do you remember what I just said to you?” Maxim didn’t need to guess that she hadn’t been paying attention, so he reluctantly repeated himself. To his surprise, Tatiana replied, “I was talking to you, but you didn’t hear me. You were busy chopping vegetables, and I was worried you’d cut yourself, so I didn’t want to distract you. I just wanted to help, but I didn’t realize the water was hot and ended up burning myself.” After saying that, she felt like she had only added to Maxim’s troubles. With a pout, she said, “Fine, I’ll just leave you to it. Take your time.” With that, Tatum waved her little hand and walked away. Watching her retreating figure, Maxim couldn’t help but feel helpless. He lowered his head and continued chopping vegetables, but the love in his eyes and the smile at the corners of his mouth
While Tatiana was absorbed in the movie, she didn’t notice that Maxim, who had previously worn a serious expression, broke into a smile the moment he felt her lean closer. The film was a classic, and as it wrapped up, Tatiana finished the last of the fruit on the platter. The softness of the couch made Tatiana reluctant to move, so she just stayed seated. "Are you not getting up? Do you plan to skip dinner tonight?" Maxim asked, looking at the person still lounging on the couch with irritation. "Um..." Tatiana's originally cool tone took on a sweet, childlike quality due to her lazy demeanor, and Maxim found himself surrendering. With no other choice, Maxim said, "Alright, if you want to keep sitting, then go ahead. Do you need any fruit?" "Yes, please." Handing the fruit platter to Maxim, Tatiana looked up and smiled at him. After Tatiana finished a small plate of fruit, Maxim insisted on taking her to the supermarket. The two of them pushed a shopping cart together.
While Tatiana was absorbed in the movie, she didn’t notice that Maxim, who had previously worn a serious expression, broke into a smile the moment he felt her lean closer.The film was a classic, and as it wrapped up, Tatiana finished the last of the fruit on the platter.The softness of the couch made Tatiana reluctant to move, so she just stayed seated."Are you not getting up? Do you plan to skip dinner tonight?" Maxim asked, looking at the person still lounging on the couch with irritation."Um..." Tatiana's originally cool tone took on a sweet, childlike quality due to her lazy demeanor, and Maxim found himself surrendering.With no other choice, Maxim said, "Alright, if you want to keep sitting, then go ahead. Do you need any fruit?""Yes, please." Handing the fruit platter to Maxim, Tatiana looked up and smiled at him.After Tatiana finished a small plate of fruit, Maxim insisted on taking her to the supermarket.The two of them pushed a shopping cart together. Looking at the
"I have a high tolerance for you, but I also hope you won't keep showcasing your limited intelligence in front of me. It only makes me look down on you more, and it’s utterly pointless."With that, Tatiana turned on her heel and walked away, not bothering to glance back at Delany. There was really nothing more to say to someone like her.As Tatiana walked down the street, she initially planned to head home. However, she remembered Tara and realized she hadn’t seen her in the hospital earlier. She took out her phone and sent Tara a message. It didn’t take long for Tara to reply, confirming that she was back at school and not in class. Tatiana decided she would go visit her. Tara was happy to hear that.Putting her phone away, Tatiana hailed a taxi and headed over.Meanwhile, Tara had just finished her meal and put down her empty plate. She left the cafeteria, planning to wait in a small garden behind the school for the hot pot delivery to arrive.Just before Tatiana arrived, Tara s
Vance was taken aback by Tatiana's words. The Tatiana he knew always seemed aloof, quiet, and regal, but hearing her comfort Emily made him realize she wasn't the person he had imagined.Tatiana, however, was too focused on the girl in front of her to notice Vance's daze. As Emily began to lower her guard, Tatiana smiled warmly."What's your name?" she asked kindly.Emily looked at Tatiana's face, shyly smiled,and replied, "I'm Emily, just an ordinary sophomore here. I know the girl who saved me; her name is Tara. She just came to our school not long ago. Funny enough, we're from the same city. I went to high school there too, but I ended up here for college after the entrance exams."Emily had initially thought Tara had always studied in that city, not realizing she had moved there for college. But she felt there was no need to explain that. Instead, she asked, "So, your parents don’t know about what happened? I haven’t seen them come to check on you."When the topic of parents cam
As Tatiana read about his background, she learned that he had a very reclusive and troubled adolescence, suffering from various illnesses and often being abused by his mother. Even after marrying and having children, he was plagued by depression, which eventually led him to commit his first murder.From there, the list of victims continued to grow. As Tatiana read through the details of how the killer had murdered these individuals, she looked down at the case file in her hands. She was now certain that this murderer was mimicking Luca's methods—specifically, the pattern of rape andmurder.However, Luca had truly developed a mental illness due to his sickness. As Tatiana looked at the photos related to the case, she couldn't determine if this murderer was indeed him. It seemed like a highly skilled impersonator; so far, there had been no details discovered about the actual person involved—everything pointed to Andre. At this rate, it felt utterly useless.Putting down the case in
As she pondered this, Tatiana thought about what it would mean if she chose to help them. She would be working alongside Vance. However, it was clear that the higher-ups wanted Delany to stick with Mason too. Tatiana didn’t like the idea of having someone she didn’t get along with hovering around her. With that thought in mind, she decided to call someone on her phone, hoping to have Delany reassigned to another location for a while. It wouldn’t hurt to make that change.Once she settled her thoughts, Tatiana finally focused on the heavy case file in her hands.The next day, Tatiana called Vance to let him know she would be stopping by in the afternoon. The reason for the afternoon visit was simple: she had a meeting with Maxim in the morning to sign contracts with a company. It seemed everything was progressing smoothly.However, when she saw John walk in, her brows furrowed in confusion. She couldn't understand why he was here at this time.Maxim was clearly a bit surprised,