Chapter 418: Chapter 418: Are You Coming to School to Pick Me Up?

Teacher Quinn kept checking his phone during the staff dinner.

Mr. Hawkins noticed and teased him, "Are you in a relationship, Teacher Quinn? You don’t seem interested in eating, just staring at your phone."

A flash of impatience crossed Teacher Quinn’s eyes, but he quickly hid it with a faint smile. "You’re joking, Mr. Hawkins. I just saw an interesting article and couldn’t help but take a closer look."

"You should share it with us, then."

"Alright."

Teacher Quinn nodded.

「Police Station.」

Everyone had finished lunch, but only Renee Jennings and Freya Sterling returned to the conference room.

The phone had been silent.

Freya Sterling stared at the screen, growing anxious. "Do you think he’s moved on to another target?"

"I’m not sure." Renee Jennings frowned slightly, pondering. "He’s messaged you privately twice before. He probably won’t give up that easily."

Freya Sterling nodded. "Let’s wait a little longer, then."

DING-DONG—

At 1:26 PM, the phone chimed with a new message notification again.

Freya Sterling quickly unlocked the screen and handed it to Renee Jennings.

Brother Shawn: [Stella, are you okay? Why did you suddenly stop talking? Brother Shawn is very worried about you.]

Holding the phone, Renee Jennings stood up and pulled open the conference room door. "Henry, he’s messaged us."

Everyone immediately dropped what they were doing and came to the conference room.

"How should I reply?" Renee Jennings asked as she typed. "Is this okay?"

[I’m not okay. I’m not okay at all! I’m so sad I could just die...]

Henry Stark said softly, "Yes, send that."

Renee Jennings hit send.

A minute later, Brother Shawn replied: [Stella, Brother Shawn really wants to help you, to ease your pain.]

[You lied to me! You’re a liar! You won’t help me at all! I hate you!]

Brother Shawn: [Stella, Brother Shawn swears to God he’s not lying to you. Let me think about where we should meet.]

[Can we really meet?]

Brother Shawn: [Yes, we can. Be patient and wait. Brother Shawn will definitely come and give you a hug. Wait for my message, and be good.]

[Don’t make me wait too long, okay?]

This time, nearly half an hour passed without a reply from Brother Shawn.

Renee Jennings felt it wasn’t right to keep Freya Sterling waiting there, as it would interfere with her normal life.

After a moment’s thought, she suggested, "Stella, would you mind if I downloaded Little Blue Book and logged into your account? That way, you don’t have to stay here and can go back to school."

"Of course!" Freya Sterling agreed immediately. She had a part-time job to get to later.

Renee Jennings downloaded Little Blue Book and used Freya Sterling’s phone number to log into her account.

Henry Stark looked at Sawyer. "Take her back to school."

After Freya Sterling left, the others returned to their desks to get back to work.

Renee Jennings sat alone in the conference room, staring blankly out the glass window at the ever-changing clouds.

She sat there until the sun began to set, its gilded light streaming through the glass and casting long shadows across the conference table.

The phone, which had been set aside, lit up.

Renee Jennings reached for it and saw that Brother Shawn was asking about Stella’s personal details.

Brother Shawn: [Stella, are you still in college?]

Instead of replying right away, Renee Jennings left the conference room and knocked on the door to Henry Stark’s office.

"Come in," a deep male voice sounded from inside.

"Henry," Renee Jennings said as she pushed the door open and walked in, holding the phone out to him. "He replied."

Henry Stark glanced at the screen. "You can just reply to him directly."

Hearing this, Renee Jennings took back the phone, typed a few words, and sent them.

[Brother Shawn, are you coming to school to pick me up?]

The reply came quickly: [I’m afraid I can’t. Stella, Brother Shawn is busy, but I can tell you how to find me, okay?]

[Then how can I find you?]

After that message was sent, the other side went silent again.

The sun gradually sank, dyeing half the sky orange.

Renee Jennings sat on the sofa in Henry Stark’s office, her slender brows knitted together.

An unknown amount of time passed. The sky outside darkened, streetlights came on, and the neon lights of the street began to flash.

Renee Jennings went downstairs, took a photo, and sent it to Brother Shawn: [Where are you? I want to see you.]

The man opened the photo, a smirk playing on his lips as his long fingers typed out a few words: [Stella, no matter where I am, my heart is always with you. Stella, I love you.]

[Then how can I get to see you?]

Teacher Quinn finished reading the message, slipped the phone into his trouser pocket, and smiled as he greeted an approaching student.

"I’m heading home for the day. See you tomorrow."

***

On a road at the edge of the forest, Inky flapped its wings, circling in mid-air and shouting anxiously, "Shadow, Shadow, hurry and sniff! Sniff for that bad guy’s scent!"

Listening to Inky, the two Shadows felt immense pressure.

’To be honest, our sense of smell as Shadow-wing Bats isn’t very sharp.’

’Man, if we’d known, we never would have agreed to help Inky find someone.’

They sniffed and sniffed along the road, but they still weren’t sure.

"Inky, we’re sorry." One of the Shadows looked at it apologetically. "We probably can’t help."

The other Shadow chimed in, "Yeah, we’re too dumb."

Inky blinked its eyes and sighed softly. "It’s okay. Don’t force yourselves."

A vampire bat that had been watching them suddenly appeared. "What are you fellas looking for?"

"We’re looking for a bad guy." Inky looked at the newcomer. Although it didn’t recognize him, it didn’t sense any hostility, so it answered truthfully. "He killed a female human here."

"You’re looking for him?" Noctus was a little surprised. "What for?"

Inky: "Robin has a very good human friend. Robin wants to help her find that bad guy."

Noctus was even more surprised. "You’re actually good friends with a human?"

One of the Shadows answered before Inky could, "That human is really nice! We like her a lot too!"

The other Shadow then asked curiously, "Do you two know each other?"

Inky and one of the Shadows shook their heads at the same time.

Noctus said calmly, "The villain you mentioned, the one who killed the female human... I believe I have seen him."

"You’ve seen him?" Inky exclaimed, delighted. "Can you lead Robin to him?"

One of the Shadows muttered in a low, excited voice, ’A vampire bat’s sense of smell is much better than ours. He might really be able to find him!’

The other Shadow: "That’s right, that’s right!"

"And why should I help you?" Noctus asked.

Inky: "What do you want in return? Robin’s human friend can meet your demands."

"Is that so?" Noctus was clearly skeptical. "Are humans really so easy to get along with? Would one truly be willing to satisfy my demands?"

"She would!" Inky said eagerly. "As long as it’s not an outrageous request, Renee will help."

Noctus hesitated for a few seconds before agreeing. "Fine. I will trust you this once. But if you dare to deceive me, the consequences... you should know what they are."

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