"He escaped?" Xavier was initially confused, but when he walked over to where Quinton was standing and looked up, he saw an air vent around seven meters above the ground in the dark room. It was about the size of a well, and though it was quite small, an agile person might be able to escape through it. Additionally, there were some footprints on the wall."Those look like Stefan's!" Xavier observed the footprints, realizing they were from a pair of hiking shoes Stefan had worn before leaving home."He escaped from here?" Silas looked up at the narrow air vent incredulously. "No, it can't be. This air vent is so small, and it'd be hard for someone to crawl out of it. Plus... it's a straight cliff beyond this passage without anything to lean onto. If anyone tried escaping, they'd surely fall to their death!" "What... What did you say?" Xavier's eyes grew wide, and he quickly crawled into the passage and punched open the iron grill on the air vent. Dim light entered the room, making i
"We don't know what happened, and there's no point in fighting. We need to find him first!" Quinton sighed. "Nothing's confirmed yet. I was supposed to die at sea back then, but I'm standing here in front of you, aren't I?"Xavier glared at him, but gradually calmed down. "You're right, nobody knows what happened to him. He's an amazing person, so I'm sure he's fine!"After he had calmed down, he discussed the situation with Quinton and the villagers, and they started looking for Stefan around the mountains. They must see him even if he was dead. If not, it meant that there was a chance that he was still alive.-A week had passed.Renee took the medicine on time every day in Beach City. She was getting better, and could now get out of bed on her own and eat. She could even walk up and down the stairs. Owen gave her a check-up and smiled happily. "It's good news, Ms. Everheart! Your body mass index is back to normal. If everything goes smoothly, you won't even have to take the m
Both Leia and Renee walked to the back garden, where the warm sunlight and fragrance of flowers seemed to make the world a better place.Leia finally decided to bring up Stefan when she saw Renee so gloomy. "Don't worry, Ren. They're probably not back yet because that place is far away. Since we haven't heard anything yet, it's probably good news. Plus, Stefan isn't an ordinary man, and Quinton and that dog Xavier have gone to help him. I'm sure they're fine.""I know... I know they'll be fine." Renee nodded and forced a smile. "I just feel like… the weather's so nice, and the flowers will wilt if he doesn't come back soon. It'll be a waste of good time.""It's okay. Flowers will blossom again even if they wilt. It's fine as long as you're happy and healthy when you welcome him home," Leia said brightly, hoping to cheer Renee up. She felt bad because Renee was sulky all the time. "Are you worried about Xavier?" Renee asked curiously."Why should I be worried about a dog?" Leia sc
Renee chuckled. "Of course I'm happy to have you with me. I don't find you annoying. I just feel that you guys have been taking care of me all the time like I'm a baby, and it made me rely on you. I don't want to keep on being like this. It's time for me to face the world alone." "What did you say? What nonsense is that?" Leia asked anxiously, frightened by Renee's words. Both Stefan and Quinton were not around, so Leia was responsible for taking care of Renee. What if something happened to Renee, or she became even more unhappy? If that happened, Stefan and the others might hack Leia into pieces, and she might even kill herself."Do you remember the last time I left Everheart Manor?" Renee asked Leia vaguely."Let me think about it..." Leia frowned contemplatively, and realized that it had been a very long time since Renee had gone out. "It was probably the time when Shirley's fans attacked us, but that wasn't your fault. I was careless, and it gave them the opportunity to attack
"Ah... it's not a good idea to go out now. Why don't you wait a little?" Leia suggested hesitantly, but in actuality, she couldn't say no to Renee when she asked her something so coquettishly. After a while, she agreed."I heard that Miss Band is coming to Beach City for a performance at Hill Pub. Let's go check it out!" Renee said excitedly, sounding like she had just been released from prison. Miss Band was an old band from Eliwern, and it was the band she and Leia loved the most during their college days. It was an old band from Eliwern. Renee, Leia, and Liam formed a band because they idolized them, and they had then become a legend in BC University and gained a lot of fans. But a few years ago, Miss Band had disbanded, upsetting many of their fans. After being low-key for a few years, the band had now started going on tours around the world with its original members. It was such a rare chance, and Renee didn't want to miss it."Yes, we can go there but... Why don't we just watch
The pub was overcrowded, and everyone was eagerly waiting for Miss Band to appear. Leia and Renee wore dark punk clothes with large sunglasses and dreadlocks. They looked like cool young women who loved rock music."Ren, it's cramped and stuffy here. Why don't we go back?" Leia held Renee's hand firmly the whole time, and the noise nearly drowned her voice. "Okay, let's go in!" Renee didn't hear Leia. She looked happier than she had been for a long time. She kept feeling things around her as she moved through the crowd, trying to get closer to the stage. As she did so, she accidentally stepped on the foot of a young woman."Hey, what are you doing? Are you blind? You stepped on my foot!""I'm so sorry!" Renee kept nodding and apologizing. "Do you think saying sorry will help? Have you never watched a performance before? Why do you keep pushing me? What's the rush?" The lady's friend demanded as she chewed her gum, trying to seek justice for her friend. Leia bristled and immed
"Thank you." Renee breathed a sigh of relief and stood up straight using the man's support.The man was silent as if he was staring at her for a long time. After that, he whispered to her, "Do you like Miss Band?" "Yeah!" Renee adjusted her sunglasses and pretended to be calm. "Miss Band is my rock enlightenment band—I fell in love with rock because of them. To be honest, I learned from them and came up with a band myself!""I know." The man explained calmly, "I recognized you, and I'm your fan.""Really?" Renee was surprised. It had been a while since she had been in a band. Even if it was very popular back then, it was so long ago that people had probably forgotten about it. But somehow, Renee had bumped into a fan of hers."I know all your band's songs, and I can sing them all." "Well... that's quite unusual!" Renee pushed her hair behind her ear awkwardly. Back then, she had been confident and direct, but after going through so much, she'd become humble. When she was in a b
"You can't reach her? How come?" Renee held out her hand. "Give me my phone. Let me call her."However, the man refused to do so.At that moment, Renee knew that something was wrong. "Who... are you?" She asked the man coldly. "I thought you could tell from my voice...""Are you... Jovan?" Renee asked tentatively. At first, she'd found his voice familiar, but the place was very noisy, and she felt like someone as successful as Jovan wouldn't come to a pub to watch a performance.. At that moment, a lively melody came from the stage downstairs. Jovan chuckled softly. "Let's listen to the song. The music is nice, so let's not ruin the moment.""So it is you." Once Renee confirmed that it was Jovan, some of her anxiety faded. She had expected him to come find her sooner or later, and knew what to do if he did. Truthfully, she'd thought they would meet sooner, but fortunately, they had met in a nice place. She hoped they could remain on good terms. Jovan was absorbed in the mus