Chapter 30 Melvin’s Guilt
Katie always felt that Ryan had an air of mystery about him.
When she asked out of curiosity, Ryan answered plainly, “Well, the place you’re staying in belongs to him.”
A good friend is meant to shield you from harm.
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Ryan turned and headed into the nearby VIP room. The waiter respectfully entered and handed him the menu. “Mr. Ashford, here’s the menu.”
“Give it to her.”
Ryan sat down lazily, leaning back in his chair, his arm exposed slightly.
Katie didn’t take the menu. “Just bring out some of your specialty dishes.”
She’d been to this restaurant once in her previous life, and she knew the menu was unique; the dishes changed every day, so customers ate whatever was available when they arrived.
But the waiter handed the menu to Ryan, which confirmed that his friend’s status was extraordinary.
At that moment, Katie’s phone kept vibrating.
She glanced at it and saw that Eddie was calling. She didn’t answer.
Soon after, Eddie sent her a message, “Katie, the restaurant had to clear out and shut down temporarily. We’re outside in the parking lot. Where are you?”
Clear out?
Katie was puzzled. The restaurant was still open as far as she could tell.
It must be that Ryan had asked his wealthy friend for help.
She quickly replied, “Then you should leave.”
When Eddie followed up with a question about where she was, she didn’t respond.
She looked up and met Ryan’s deep gaze. “Eddie?” he asked.
“Yeah, he left.”
“Alright, now we can eat.”
Ryan was completely calm, as if everything that had just happened was entirely normal.
Katie found it a bit odd. Was he really just a school doctor? Something about him made her feel like his background was far more complicated than it seemed.
But then again, if Ryan had such a powerful background, why would he be working as a simple school doctor at a high school?
Maybe he was just helping her out, using his friend’s connections to do so,
She couldn’t help but ask, “What did you say to Eddie?”
Ryan rested his hand on the table, revealing part of his wrist as he replied casually, “Just some small talk.”
Small talk? But she had clearly seen Eddie’s displeased expression.
Ryan was turned slightly to the side, so Katie couldn’t see his expression at that moment.
No matter how she looked at it, it wasn’t just small talk.
After a brief hesitation, Katie spoke up again. “Mentor, I know you’re looking out for me, but this is Hillcrest. If Eddie start1/4
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Chapter 30 Melvin’s Guilt
watching you, you’ll get into trouble.”
She didn’t want to drag anyone else into her mess.
“So that’s why you’re moving back?” he asked.
“Yeah, there’s not much time left. After the exams, I’ll be free.”
Katie’s face lit up with anticipation.
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She wanted to start living like the confident female protagonist she’d dreamed of after her rebirth, but real life wasn’t that
easy.
In her past life, she had always depended on her brothers. This time, she wanted to be independent, get into a good university, and pursue her own dreams.
Seeing the smile on her face, Ryan knew she had her own plans.
There was something he wanted to say, but in the end, he held back.
He had no right to interfere with her life.
After the meal, Ryan looked at her. “What do you want to do next?”
Katie thought for a moment. “Play some games, raid dungeons.”
At this point, raid dungeons were the only way she could relieve stress.
Ryan got up to leave. Katie watched his tall figure. “How come you’re here today? Were you eating with someone?”
She had seen him arrive with a beautiful woman.
Ryan paused for a second before replying, “Just some business.”
Katie bit her lip. Just some business?
That date seemed like quite an important matter.
Her mood shifted slightly, and she quickly adjusted her thoughts.
She realized the person she should have a crush on was probably that online acquaintance.
The man who would appear after the college entrance exams.
Ryan was nice to her, probably out of sympathy at first, but he had helped her so much since then.
She couldn’t let the relationship between them become awkward or complicated.
The two went straight back to the apartment.
Katie logged into the garne and received a friend request notification.
She looked at the name–it was Melvin.
A few days ago, she had turned down Melvin’s invitation to join his team. She hadn’t expected the proud Melvin to actually come looking for her personally.
Katie didn’t accept the friend request and instead continued to team up with Ryan on raiding dungeons-
They were randomly paired with three strangers, and after completing the dungeon, one of them sent a friend request.
Katie glanced at the profile. It was one of the teammates from earlier, and since their gameplay had been solid, she accepted.
The next moment, the person messaged her, “Hello, I’m Melvin, the captain of the MadSky Team. I thought you were really
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Chapter 30 Melvin’s Guilt
skilled during the raid. Would you be interested in joining our team? We can work out the details.”
Katie frowned. “Why won’t he leave me alone?”
She hadn’t expected Melvin to use a smurf account to send her a friend
Ryan turned his head slightly. “What’s up?”
request.
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“Melvin just sent me a request using his smurf account. He wants me to join his team, and he doesn’t even know who I am.”
After all, it was her smurf account.
Ryan glanced at her. “If they can’t find strong external help, they’ll lose the first round of the finals.”
“So Melvin is getting desperate. With his pride, he won’t recruit famous players. He’ll have to pick up talented rookies and train them.”
Katie knew Melvin’s personality all too well.
After all, the Ashfords‘ Striker Team was incredibly strong. If Max, the captain, hadn’t skipped the finals last time, Katie wasn’t even sure if she could have won.
“The Striker Team from the Ashfords is strong. I heard their captain is King’s disciple, she said.
“Not that great. He can’t even learn the Twelve–strike Combo.”
Katie was shocked. “The Twelve–strike Combo isn’t something just anyone can learn!”
“Well, you learned it, didn’t you?”
“That’s because … ”
Katie realized she was about to slip up, as her past life events hadn’t happened yet.
Ryan narrowed his eyes. “Because of?”
Katie paused. “Because I admire King a lot. I really like him, so I must have just lucked into the Twelve–strike Combo. It was just a stroke of luck!”
Ryan shot her a look, clearly not believing her.
She really taught herself? Or was there someone else who taught her?
Katie ignored Melvin’s message and continued the dungeon raid with Ryan.
On the other side, Melvin, having received no response, rubbed his temples in frustration, his jaw covered in stubble.
His training results hadn’t been ideal.
He couldn’t find a decent gunner.
He stared at the video of Katie participating in the revival competition. She pulled off the Twelve–strike Combo, her figure leaping in the air–a moment he wouldn’t forget.
He was proud of her. She was his sister.
He had practiced the Twelve–strike Combo countless times, but failed each time.
He had to admit Katie’s natural talent.
But that slap had ruined everything.
Melvin called Eddie, and after a long silence, asked, “Eddie, how’s Katie doing lately?”
\\“Same as always. She won’t listen to anyone. Her ranking in the recent monthly exams was tenth. She’s improved a lot.”
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“Tenth, huh? That’s impressive progress.”
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Melvin thought back to when Katie had ranked 100th. At the time, he had assumed she was just bad and had even accused her of cheating.
Now, looking back, he realized he’d been too harsh.
Katie had always been smart and had good grades when she was younger.
When did things start changing? It seemed to have happened after Sally lived with the family.
Eddie sighed, looking at the Verdant Jewel necklace in the box. “Melvin, do you think we neglected Katie too much?”
“Do you feel the same way, Eddie?”
The brothers on opposite ends of the phone fell into silence.
“Eddie, do you think if I apologize to Katie, she’ll forgive me?”
Melvin asked this with a lot of preparation.
He truly wanted to reconcile with Katie.
He regretted hitting her that day. He hadn’t meant to.
