Not long after Holis finished speaking, a group of plain clothes officers burst into the school. Most of them were subordinates of her uncle, and knowing Holis's background,they were eager to curry favor with the niece of the station chief.Without a second thought, Tatiana followed them."Ms. Tatiana!"Tara's worried voice called out from behind her."Don't worry, I'm fine," Taitana reassured her, but next to her, Holis couldn't contain her amusement."At this point, you still have the energy to comfort others? Your scandal is about to hit the news!”Tatiana seemed completely unfazed. Under everyone's watchful eyes, she walked confidently into the "special car" that had been arranged for her.By the time the school administration caught wind of the situation, Tatiana had already been taken away.Aaron slammed his hand on the table."This is outrageous!""How can we have such a student in our school?"The board members fell silent, especially Holis's father, the legendary powerfulbo
Holis was taken aback by Vance's fierce tone, stammering, "I—I was just defending myself. She started it."Vance quickly pieced things together.He knew that Holis sometimes used his name to get away with bad behavior, but since she was still young, he usually turned a blind eye. He never expected her to directly offend Tatiana this time."Apologize to Tatiana now!"Vance pointed at Holis's nose, commanding her.With her eyes reddening and her nose tingling, tears began to spill down Holis's cheeks.Wasn't Vance her uncle? Why was he siding with an outsider?"Hurry up!"Vance urged sternly, but just then, he heard several cars screeching to a halt outside the police station. A sense of foreboding washed over him.The first to enter was Maxim, and the people outside couldn't even stop him; his intimidating presence left them paralyzed."Chief, he barged in—""Get out of the way!"Vance quickly ushered Maxim inside, just as he was about to close the door when he noticed a significant f
He forced a few agreeable words out, but suddenly, everything he ate didn't taste as good anymore.Meanwhile, the old man was busy serving Maxim food, even encouraging Riley to give some to Tatiana."I think I'll pass. I'm feeling a bit under the weather," Tatiana said, trying to hold back her laughter as she watched Maxim struggle to eat everything on his plate.But soon, she couldn't laugh anymore.The old man was determined to see her and Maxim in the same room tonight.After sending Jamie off, Stefan refused to go to bed, insisting on staying up to work with Maxim, worried he might not return to his room.With no other choice, Tatiana shot Maxim a look for help."Grandpa, you should really go get some rest," she said, trying to steer him away from his plans."I’m heading back to my room too."Stefan's face instantly lit up with a big smile."Hey! Go on, go on!”When Maxim entered the room, he noticed an extra layer of bedding on the floor, while Tatiana was comfortably sprawled ou
For Tatiana, this first experience of "sharing a room" with Maxim wasn't exactly pleasant, leaving her feeling quite exhausted so early in the morning.Fortunately, the following days were not as eventful as today. Grandpa seemed to have been convinced that the couple was very much in love and harmonious.Tomorrow is the weekend, and the students are excitedly discussing their plans for their free time. Tatiana finishes packing her books and teaching materials, getting ready to leave for the day.“Ms. Tatiana.”Tatiana looks up to see Tara, whom she hasn't seen in a while.“Teacher, I had to take a leave of absence recently, and I’ve been wanting to thank you in person but didn’t have the chance.”Tatiana shakes her head.“It’s no problem at all. I understand you had your reasons.”By the way, teacher, my dad is coming back soon, and we’d like to invite you to dinner. Would that be okay?”Tatiana waves her hand dismissively.“No, that’s not necessary. It’s just part of my job. You s
For Tatiana, this first experience of "sharing a room" with Maxim wasn't exactly pleasant, leaving her feeling quite exhausted so early in the morning.Fortunately, the following days were not as eventful as today. Grandpa seemed to have been convinced that the couple was very much in love and harmonious.Tomorrow is the weekend, and the students are excitedly discussing their plans for their free time. Tatiana finishes packing her books and teaching materials, getting ready to leave for the day.“Ms. Tatiana.”Tatiana looks up to see Tara, whom she hasn't seen in a while.“Teacher, I had to take a leave of absence recently, and I’ve been wanting to thank you in person but didn’t have the chance.”Tatiana shakes her head.“It’s no problem at all. I understand you had your reasons.”By the way, teacher, my dad is coming back soon, and we’d like to invite you to dinner. Would that be okay?”Tatiana waves her hand dismissively.“No, that’s not necessary. It’s just part of my job. You s
Today, Orion, usually the cheerful one, was unusually quiet. He sat on the couch in Benson's office, staring at the door for a long time.Miles, filled with curiosity, sat next to Ophelia, firing off questions."What does the boss look like?"Ophelia, growing impatient with the questions, finally snapped, "Aren't you going to see for yourself soon?""But I just want to be mentally prepared! What if the boss walks in and scares us?We’re not exactly built to handle that!"Ophelia couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh."Well, you all better brace yourselves. It's definitely not what you expect.""You guys can guess all you want. I'm heading to the restroom."Since Tatiana always used a deep voice during online meetings, the management team speculated wildly. They thought the boss was either a delicate-looking guy who envied muscular men or a true tough guy.So when Tatiana stood at the office door, they all asked in unison, "Who are you looking for?""I'm looking for Ophelia."S
As Jamie spoke, there was a sound at the door. He looked up to see Tatiana standing in front of them."You're back!”Maxim stood up and naturally took the bag from her hands, hanging it on the coat rack.Stefan squinted at the scene, feeling quite pleased. In the next moment, he stood up."Tatiana's back, so let's eat!"Seeing them so relaxed, Tatiana thought they must have already had their meal."You guys haven't eaten?"Stefan nodded toward Maxim. "It's because Maxim was worried you wouldn't have anything to eat when you got back, so we all waited for you.”Tatiana felt a warm flutter in her heart, but she kept her demeanor light as she washed her hands for dinner."I should probably freshen up a bit before heading to Anna's performance. I don't want to embarrass myself as an old man in front of the kids."After Ralph finished his meal, he began to ponder."Grandpa, don't worry! There's no need to make such a big deal out of it," Jamie said while helping to clear the plates. "Bes
Drey, with his sharp gaze, spotted Tatiana in a heated argument with the paparazzi from a distance.Tatiana wasn’t afraid of them, and Drey knew that. However, if he stepped in to help her, it would be a timely rescue. After all, it could lead to his next script.Without a second thought, Drey approached, and the cameras of the paparazzi instantly turned toward him.“Tatiana, this must be Grandpa Stefan, right?”Tatiana nodded, clearly still fuming and her mood far from cheerful.Stefan felt a pang of guilt, thinking he had caused trouble for his granddaughter, and he quickly turned to leave."Wait," Drey saw through the old man's thoughts and hurriedly grabbed his arm."It's rare for you to be here. I've heard so much about you from Tatiana; I've been wanting to meet you for a long time. A large part of her success is thanks to you. How can you just walk away now?"Tatiana nodded in agreement, softly urging Stefan to stay.This left the group of paparazzi nearby utterly confused.Ho
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 were almost o
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
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,
Tatiana listened to him while glancing at the well-dressed Delany beside her. She smiled and shook her head. "It's fine. Just show me the case files, all of them, including the information on the previous victims. I need everything, but I don't have much time to go through it here. I’ll need to take the files with me to reviewat my own pace. Is that okay? Please let the higher-ups know about this.""They mentioned from the start that they were aware of your preferences, so they just asked me to cooperate with you. If there are any other issues or needs, just let me know directly. You don’t have to worry about anything else," Vance replied.After saying this, he observed Tatiana's expression, unsure why she had agreed this time. The higher-ups were anxious that she might suddenly withdraw her help, which would make the case much harder to crack.Rebecca was well aware of the internal dynamics but felt it was unnecessary. She had always been someone who kept her word. Mason's behavio
"Developing games? I remember someone from our company was quite interested in that area. As for the film side, isn’t Jayden the only one under your wing? If you want to avoid losses, you’ll need to bring in more people later on."Maxim looked a bit confused by Tatiana's comment. He didn’t quite understand why she suddenly mentioned her company alongside his.Seeing his puzzled expression, Tatiana smiled and clarified, "I mean, we shouldcollaborate again on our projects.”"We're collaborating again. By signing the contract with the company you need now, it's like signing with two companies at once, right? This way, the money we make will surpass what John can offer all at once. It’s a win-win for us, while John will only end up losing both money and resources."After hearing Tatiana's words, Maxim finally understood. This approach was something he hadn't encountered before, so whether it would work was uncertain. However, given the current situation, it seemed like the only option. If