I sighed. I had been keeping all that frustration within me as I didn''t have anyone to rant to.


    Perhaps it was because of the ambient music, or the fragrance of her perfume that smelled nice, but I ended up sharing all that had happened with her.


    After listening to my sharing, she was floored. "I can''t believe that such a thing happened. In that case, it really isn''t that suitable for you to reveal who you are.


    "Shall I get my dad to give her a call?"


    "No need for that. I''ll just let this go."


    As we neared my school, I requested her to stop the car. "I don''t want people in school to see that a beauty gave me a ride back. I don''t want rumors about me having a sugar mommy to go around again."


    Although Joshua had been missing in action for a number of days, I still felt afraid.


    Lucy burst outughing. She took a nce at me and said, "If both of us were to get together, I can''t be sure who would actually be sugaring who."


    Oh?


    Was she flirting with me?


    Without waiting for me to respond, she opened the door and got out of the car. Then, she opened the trunk and handed a small box to me.


    "This is a gift that I prepared for our first meeting. It''s just some imported fruits. Don''t refuse. Take it back with you and share it with your dorm mates."


    Since it was just fruits, I epted them from her.


    "Thanks."


    I had wanted to see her off, but to my surprise, she simply leaned back on her car and stared straight at me after handing the fruits to me.


    Feeling embarrassed being stared at like that, I scratched my head and said, "I''ll be heading back to school now, then."


    Just as I got to the university entrance and was about to walk in, I saw Matthew, Benjamin, and Liam running out hastily. They even almost bumped into me.


    "What are all of you doing thiste at night?"


    "Will, your timing is impable. Come along, Charlotte was hurt and she''s been hospitalized!"


    Oh?


    Without giving me time to ask my questions, the three of them dragged me into a cab and rushed straight for the hospital.


    Along the way, I found out what had happened.


    It turned out that Charlotte and Lucas went on a date after dinner.


    Lucas liked to participate in underground racingpetitions that were organized privately. In order to show off to Charlotte, he brought her along specially to apetition tonight.


    As a result, he got too excited and wasn''t able to step on the brake in time, causing them to crash and end up in the hospital.


    I probed urgently, "Was the crash bad?"


    She had been too unlucky, hadn''t she? Bad things kept happening to her one after another.


    However, she couldn''t me it on me this time.


    Matthew sighed. "Who knows? I only found out after Isabelle called me. But Will, Charlotte was truly in the wrong today.


    "After you left, the few of us gave her a dressing down."


    I chuckled. "No need for that. I''ve let it go."


    "This woman... How should I say this? Truth be told, she''s not one of those snobbish women. That being said, she has been attractive and the center of attention ever since she was young.


    "She has always had men revolving around her, so she''s a little biased against poor losers. She''s quite polite toward women who are poor, though."


    Hah. So, I was a poor loser to her?


    I took a quick look at Matthew. I really wanted to tell him to quit trying to rify things. He was just making things worse.


    The moment I stepped into the hospital ward, I saw Charlotte leaning back against the headboard of her bed. She had bandages wrapped around her head, and her lips were extremely swollen.


    It looked like she had also injured her arm as her arm was in a sling.


    Isabelle and Lina were present too. They were right by Charlotte''s hospital bed,forting her.


    Matthew went up and ced a box of milk, which he had prepared earlier, onto the table.


    It was at this moment that I noticed that even Benjamin and Liam had bought a fruit basket each. I didn''t have any time to prepare anything as I was forced toe over spontaneously. This thought didn''t evene across my mind.


    I took a nce at the box in my hands. I pondered over whether someone at Lucy''s level would have given me bad quality fruits just to go through the motions.


    I figured not, so I put the box of fruits on the table too.


    Charlotte didn''t even take a look at the other items that the others had ced on the table.


    To my surprise, she turned her head to examine the box from me.


    After that, she lifted her head and stared at me. For some reason, she had a sarcastic tone in her voice. "What''s this?"