Chapter 385
“No p>
Lisette Cavendish shut them down on the spot.
Face blank, she walked right past them and went to the very end of the line.
Standing in front of her was the class monitor, Evan Miles.
She gave him a small smile, then pulled out her phone and texted Owen Scott: “Where are you p>
Ring.
Instead of replying, Owen called her directly.
The second Lisette picked up, she started roasting him. “Seriously, are you a pig? I asked you to type a few words. What, your hands gonna break or what?” Back then, who was it that kept blowing up her phone with nonstop spammy messages? And now he couldn’t even be bothered to send one word?
Wow.
Men.
Owen was clearly chewing on something, his voice all muffled as he muttered, “I’m gnawing on a pig trotter. My hands are occupied p>
Lisette’s mouth twitched. “Then maybe, just maybe, you could finish your pig trotter first and call me after? I really don’t want to talk to someone who’s multitasking with a pig trotter p>
Owen swallowed what was in his mouth, then said, “No can do. I really miss you right now. I just wanted to hear your voice p>
Yeah right.
More like you want to hear me curse you into emotional damage.
She checked the time. “It’s three in the afternoon. Isn’t this ‘afternoon meal’ of yours a little too early p>
“Shenshen is eating lunch p>
From the phone, Owen’s voice was suddenly replaced by that of a middle-aged woman. “You must be Miss Shen, Shenshen’s manager, right? I’m Owen’s mother. I’ve heard so much about you from him. Our whole family would love to invite you to a simple meal. I wonder when Miss Shen might be free p>
Lisette’s eyelid twitched.
“Ahhhhhh p>
“Owen Scott, you absolute pig p>
Chewing on a pork trotter while calling was bad enough, but he had to put it on speaker too? And speaker was one thing, but doing it right in front of his mom?
Seriously p>
What a total scammer.
In front of Owen, Lisette Cavendish had always been the full-on savage manager type, zero mercy, all smoke. But in front of elders? Yeah, she still wanted to keep some dignity.
And just like that, the whole fierce, snapping-at-him image from a second ago had been heard by his mother.
How was she supposed to face an elder after that?
Even her voice turned awkward. “Auntie, sorry, I wasn’t actually yelling at Owen just now, I was just p>
“It’s fine p>
To her surprise, Owen’s mother didn’t mind at all.
She even laughed. “I’ve scolded him so many times before, and he never listened. If you hadn’t straight-up beaten some sense into him, he’d probably still be loafing around doing nothing p>
Lisette Cavendish: p>
She decided right then and there—next time she saw Owen, she was absolutely going to beat him to death.
Damn it, why did he blab everything to everyone?
Was getting beaten up something to be proud of? Why was he running to tell his parents like it was an achievement?
If a moment ago she’d only been awkward and at a loss for words, now she didn’t want to say a single thing.
She just wanted to hang up.
Owen’s mother was still talking on the other end. “Nanzhi, his father and I both really support you disciplining him p>
Only then did Owen finally finish gnawing on the pork trotter and snatch the phone back. “Mom, I need to talk to her. No more chatting, okay p>
After a burst of rapid footsteps, Owen Scott spoke again. “Hey, don’t listen to my mom, okay? I still like the gentle, nice version of you p>
Like hell he did. It wasn’t like he had some weird masochist streak, enjoying being bossed around and smacked.
He waited a bit. Seeing Lisette Cavendish stay silent, he asked, “Why aren’t you saying anything p>
“Is Auntie still next to you? Is your phone still on speaker? Can she hear what we’re saying p>
Three questions in one breath.
Owen answered them one by one. “No. I’m out in the yard. There’s nobody around. I’m the only one who can hear you p>
The very next second—
Lisette’s fierce voice blasted through the phone. “Owen Scott, are you three and a half years old? You even told your mom about me hitting you, word for word? What’s wrong with you? You asking for another beating p>
Owen rubbed his poor, nearly deaf ear and tried to explain, “I’m a grown man. Getting hit by a woman is embarrassing enough already. Why would I go around announcing that p>
Lisette shot back, “Then how did Auntie know p>
Owen’s confidence instantly dropped a notch. I accidentally let it slip last time p>
Lisette rolled her eyes so hard she almost saw the back of her head. She still wanted to smack him. “You ‘letting it slip’ and you ‘coming clean on purpose’—is there even a difference? Is there? Seriously p>
Owen gave an “Mm.” “Of course there is. One was accidental, one was on purpose. That’s a huge difference p>
Lisette: p>
Please, somebody hand her a knife.
And not just any knife.
A really sharp one.
White blade in, red blade out.
She was seriously about to die from this king of sophistry.
She took a deep breath, forced herself to calm down, and softened her tone. “Get some proper rest today. After your thesis defense tomorrow, I’ll treat you to a meal p>
Owen sounded flattered. “Come on, I’m the man here. If we’re eating, I should be the one treating you p>
Lisette Cavendish smiled a little. “Doesn’t matter who’s paying. I only care about the outcome p>
Owen Scott reacted on instinct. “What outcome p>
“See you tomorrow p>
The call ended, and Lisette slowly clenched her fist.
Hmph.
What outcome?
Obviously the outcome where she beat him up.
Her tiny fist was basically starving for action.
Evan Miles hadn’t meant to eavesdrop on Lisette’s call, but she was standing right behind him, and she hadn’t lowered her voice at all. So whether she sounded fierce, polite, fake-sweet, or flat-out annoyed, every bit of it landed in his ears.
By the time the whole call was over, a smile had already crept onto his face.
Lisette had taken a year off school, repeated a grade, then transferred into their class. She showed up to class on and off, never consistently. What he knew about her was pretty limited: her family was rich, she played piano insanely well, and she was basically the school’s pride and joy.
It had always felt like there was some natural distance between her and ordinary students like them.
Later, when she got dragged into those scandals, he’d thought that someone that beautiful, that bright, couldn’t possibly have done those things.
Then later still, news broke that she was the daughter of the richest family in Veridia, the Cavendish family. A proper heiress. That was when it finally clicked for him—he understood where that distance had come from.
And yet, one phone call had smashed that invisible wall to pieces.
For the first time, Evan felt like she was just… a girl.
The smile on his face had barely stayed there for long before something moved in front of him.
Clara Adams and Lucy Judd, the two who’d just been turned down by Lisette, came over again anyway, shameless as ever.
The two of them had loudly announced they were joining a talent survival show, and for a while they’d been riding the hype hard. He’d even sent messages to congratulate them, but neither of them had replied. It was like the second they caught a lucky break, they’d deliberately started putting distance between themselves and people from their past.
At first, Evan hadn’t thought much of it.
But with Lisette Cavendish as the comparison, the gap was obvious at a glance. In terms of family background, status, or class, Clara Adams and Lucy Judd weren’t even close to her league. And yet every single time Evan Miles texted Lisette about class stuff, she replied fast, politely, and properly. She had never once treated him like some disposable errand guy who only existed to pass on notices.
Put side by side like that, Clara and Lucy’s character really showed.
The moment he saw the two of them walking over, Evan instinctively stepped forward, wanting to block them off from Lisette.
“Clara, Lucy, the thesis defense is about to start. Please go back and wait patiently p>
The two of them were stopped on the spot.
Both their expressions turned ugly, brows knitting tight.
Lucy gave a cold little snort, clearly annoyed. “The thesis defense is inside the classroom. We’re not disrupting anything. Evan, don’t you think you’re being way too overbearing with this class monitor authority thing p>
After saying that, she deliberately took a step forward.
Just one more bit and she would be right up against Evan.
Evan, being the textbook decent guy, stiffened the second a girl suddenly moved that close. Almost on reflex, he stepped back.
And just like that, he accidentally gave Lucy and Clara the opening to slip past him and face Lisette directly.
Only, what happened next was not what anyone expected.