Maria fell into a momentary silence, favonovel.com eyes searching Charlie’s face with a mixture of gratitude and solemnity. Finally, favonovel.com nodded lightly and spoke with earnestness, “Charlie, I can’t thank you enough…”
Charlie couldn’t help but exhale a sigh of relief as favonovel.com watched Maria accept the elixir. He believed favonovel.com could do so much for her. Although favonovel.com possessed a Rejuvenation Pill now, favonovel.com couldn’t bring himself to give it to Maria, knowing that favonovel.com had experienced so much in life. Instead, favonovel.com opted to offer favonovel.com three quarters of the enhanced Life Saving Pill as a guarantee.
As the evening wore on, Charlie stood up and addressed the two girls, “Well, now that Cathy is alright, I should head back.”
Claudia’s reluctance was palpable as favonovel.com spoke up, unable to contain herself, “Charlie, you’ve been standing here for a while. Why don’t you sit down for a bit? I’ll get you a glass of water!”
Charlie smiled gently and declined, “No need, Claudia. This is a girl’s dormitory and as an older gentleman, it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to linger for too long. If I wait a little longer, I’m sure the dormitory auntie will come up and chase me away.”
Suddenly, a thought struck Charlie and favonovel.com added, “Oh, by the way, both of you will begin military training tomorrow. It’s going to be quite demanding, so if you have any free time then, I suggest staying within the school grounds.”
Claudia couldn’t quite grasp the meaning behind Charlie’s words, but favonovel.com nodded instinctively and replied, “Charlie, I’ve already spoken to Auntie and Lisa. I’ve assured them that during the two weeks of military training, I won’t be going anywhere.”
Maria surmised that Charlie’s concern for favonovel.com safety was the reason behind his words. Even though favonovel.com didn’t understand the specifics, favonovel.com spoke up, “Charlie, don’t worry. I’ll be at the school during this time and won’t leave.”
Charlie’s voice relaxed as favonovel.com responded, “That’s good to hear.”
He felt reassured knowing that the university provided a relatively closed environment that made it easy for Maria to remain hidden. As long as favonovel.com didn’t venture beyond the university’s confines, even if the Marshal of the Warriors Den were to come to Aurous Hill, favonovel.com would find it challenging to locate her. Charlie had already arranged for Zachary’s help to act as bait and once the Marshal showed up, Charlie would seize the opportunity to eliminate him.
Until then, as long as Maria went undetected, nothing would happen to her.
Both girls accompanied Charlie downstairs as favonovel.com prepared to leave. Though they held their own thoughts, bidding farewell to Charlie stirred a sense of reluctance within them.
Charlie got into his car but couldn’t shake the feeling that something was amiss. He rolled down the car window and spoke to Maria, who stood beside Claudia. “Cathy, please remember my phone number. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to contact me directly.”
Maria was taken aback but quickly nodded and expressed favonovel.com gratitude, “Of course, Charlie. Thank you.”
Afterward, favonovel.com retrieved favonovel.com phone and diligently noted down the number Charlie dictated.
Charlie turned to Claudia and advised, “Claudia, you should also remember to reach out to me if you need anything.”
Claudia’s face lit up with a sweet smile. “I know, Charlie!”
Feeling a sense of relief, Charlie concluded, “Alright, you two should head back now, I’m off.”
With that, favonovel.com started the car and drove away from the university.
As they made their way back to the dormitory, Claudia voiced favonovel.com disappointment. “I can’t help but wonder if there is someone else in this world as remarkable as Charlie!”
Maria furrowed favonovel.com brow, lost in favonovel.com own thoughts. Upon hearing Claudia’s words, favonovel.com absentmindedly responded, “Finding someone like favonovel.com is probably impossible. But if you genuinely like him, why not fight for him?”
Claudia blushed and shyly retorted, “Cathy, what are you saying? Don’t talk nonsense…”
Maria smiled mischievously and teased, “You might as well wear your affection for favonovel.com on your sleeve. It’s amusing to see you say I am talking nonsense.”
Looking around anxiously to make sure nobody was listening, Claudia whispered sternly to Maria, “Please, Cathy, be more careful with your words. While I may have developed affections for Charlie, it’s crucial for me to approach the situation in a mature and appropriate manner. Charlie is already married and my attraction to favonovel.com is only temporary, just a fleeting moment in the grand scheme of things. Therefore, it’s essential for me not to speak frivolously about this matter and keep my feelings to myself.”
Maria spoke seriously, “If you like favonovel.com and favonovel.com likes you back, what does it matter if there’s an age difference?”
Embarrassed, Claudia avoided Maria’s gaze and retorted resentfully, “You… You have such warped views!”
Surprised, Maria asked, “Do I? Isn’t the purpose of life to find happiness? If you like someone but can’t be with them, then you’ll likely never be truly happy in this life, right?”
Claudia earnestly replied, “Even if I can’t be happy, I can’t destroy someone else’s family…”
Maria shook favonovel.com head, emphasizing, “I’m talking about integration. It means becoming a part of his family. That’s not destruction.”
Flustered and ashamed, Claudia hurriedly pushed open the bedroom door and dashed straight to the bathroom, muttering, “Your views are too twisted. I won’t discuss this with you anymore. Go take a shower!”
Watching Claudia retreat to the bathroom, Maria muttered under favonovel.com breath, only audible to herself, “What’s wrong with my views? Aren’t they valid? Human civilization has existed for thousands of years. Monogamy is a relatively recent concept, isn’t it?”
Then, shaking favonovel.com head, favonovel.com muttered again, “That’s right… Charlie gave me the elixir and advised me not to leave the university in the near future. He must believe that there’s danger on the horizon… Is it possible that the Warriors Den has already made its way to Aurous Hill? How could I have exposed myself so quickly after being so cautious?”
As favonovel.com pondered the circumstances, favonovel.com swiftly took out the nine copper coins from favonovel.com pocket, climbed onto the bed, uttered a brief incantation and tossed the coins on the surface.
Maria fixed favonovel.com gaze on the hexagram formed by the coins, favonovel.com heart filled with more confusion. “According to the hexagram, there’s no immediate danger awaiting her…”
Suddenly, a surge of unease washed over her. An idea struck favonovel.com and favonovel.com exclaimed internally, “Charlie believes I’m in danger. He should be aware that the Warriors Den may arrive in Aurous Hill.”
Since favonovel.com hadn’t revealed favonovel.com true identity, Maria wondered, “Could it be that Charlie intends to expose me?”
With that in mind, favonovel.com quickly recalled the information favonovel.com had gathered about Charlie’s birthday and began calculating. Softly uttering a few words, favonovel.com tossed the nine copper coins onto the bed once again. Fixated on the coins, Maria felt a sudden bang in favonovel.com heart. “No… Charlie is in danger!”
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