Chapter 17

At this point, she had no choice but to accept his offer. However, she insisted on saying, “But I’ll be the one paying tonight as a token of my gratitude.”

He gave a faint smile. “Alright.”

“I’ll call you then,” she said.

She drove her student back to school. The boy had been silent along the way. When the car ambled through the school gates, he spoke up in a slightly defiant tone, “Miss Carraway, I really didn’t steal the phone. That woman was trying to frame me. She…she…” He seemed to have difficulty finishing his sentence as his face turned a pale shade of pink.

Vivian glanced at him and said drily, “In any case, she’s succeeded in doing that. This means that you have room for improvement when it comes to handling the matter.”

The boy did not retort. He lowered his head and was silent for a moment. He suddenly asked, “Where are you going for dinner tonight?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Hmm?”

“I’ll fetch you there!” He was guileless, but he was not stupid. He could clearly tell that Vivian had no choice but to put up with the man’s whim because of this incident. “Just tell me where the restaurant is. I’ll wait outside for you, and you can give me a call if anything happens.”

She chuckled at him, but she also felt warm inside. “You little brat, what can you do? Hurry up and do your revision! Also, reduce the hours of your part-time jobs, won’t you? I’ll try to get a scholarship for you this semester. If that’s not enough, I can lend you some money, and you can repay me when you’ve landed a job after your graduation. After all, there’s no interest in letting my money sit in the bank. However, we’ll have an I.O.U. drafted out! We have to specify the terms clearly before being that, of course.”

“Miss Carraway…” The boy’s eyes reddened again.

“Hey! Hey! Hey!” She pulled over by the pavement to point a finger at the boy and say jokingly, “Don’t go saying touchy-feely things now. Be a man! Everyone knows that your lecturer, meaning me, is a good person. I don’t need you to tell me that. Also, I have a fiancé, so don’t you have a crush on me either!”

Her words made the boy laugh out loud when he was so close to tears. “Miss Carraway, you’re too narcissistic. I’m not into older women.”

“Get out.” She made a show of being annoyed and shooed the boy to get out of her car. “You’d better get back to your studies, you disrespectful brat!”

The boy got out of her car but would not let go of the door. He bent down and asked, “Miss Carraway, where are you going to have your dinner with that man?

Knowing that he meant well, she looked into his limpid eyes and said with a smile, “Well, I’m not a millionaire, so we won’t be going anywhere too fancy. Maybe somewhere nearby. Uh, what do you think of the place, Unrestrained Heaven? It’s somewhere to the south of here.”

Unrestrained Heaven was right outside the west gate of the school. It was not a huge establishment and was somewhat in the above-average range. It was not crude, but it was not classy either. Vivian was still traumatized by Edward’s resemblance. She also did not like him using his influence against her. Naturally, she did not want to be alone with him in a room, thus she booked a booth on purpose.

She had always been punctual, but Edward Levin was there before her. “I’m in Room 502. Miss Carraway, are you here?”

He had taken the initiative, so Vivian could not possibly force him to meet her at the booth now. She had no choice but to bolden herself and go upstairs.

When she pushed the door open, he was standing by the window. He turned and gave her a dry glance when he heard the sound of the door opening. Then, he returned his gaze to the window and spoke slowly, “I can’t shake the feeling that this city’s like a monster. It’s benign enough during the day, but it comes to life at night. It lures you in with its myriad of colored lights and swallows you whole, trapping you in eternal darkness.”