"Do you understand?" Only after Juniper had spoken did Shanley turn to the officer, his deep, maic voiceced with authority.


    "Yes, sir," Carl nodded hastily.


    "Mr. Schwartz-" Dustin started to protest, but one look into the man''s cold, menacing eyes sent a chill down his spine and he mped his mouth shut. He was terrified that one more word would infuriate the enigmatic head of the Schwartz Group.


    "I don''t want anyone else to know about what happened here today. Understood?" "Understood." Dustin clenched his jaw and fell silent.


    As they were all leaving, Shanley finally asked the question that had been on his mind. "When did you learn to do that withputers?"


    "Guess," Juniper shot him a sidelong nce, a yful, proud smile on her lips that was both cute and cocky.


    "Heh." Shanley chuckled, amused. He pulled a box of candy from his pocket and handed it to her. "This version has less sugar, so you can eat more without it being too sweet."


    Juniper took the box and froze when she saw the brand. "Isn''t this from that shop in Australis? I thought their candy had a fixed sugar content."


    They weren''t supposed to have a low-sugar version.


    "Yes, it''s from Australis," Shanley said, his eyes softening as he watched her excitement bubble up. "From now on, the shop is yours."


    Juniper stared at him, bewildered.


    "I acquired thepany. From now on, you can have them produce any vor you want. Whenever you want some, just have them deliver it."


    Acquired it? Juniper''s mouth fell open in shock. Buying thatpany would have cost tens of millions, at least. And he did it just because she liked their candy? What was this man''s endgame? What did he want from her?


    "Juniper!" Just then, Salma walked over. "We have another ss, we need to head back."


    "Okay," Juniper nodded obediently.


    "Mr. Schwartz, thank you for everything today," Salma said with a polite nod.


    "Of course. After all, Juniper is my... sister," Shanley replied, a slight smile on his lips as his gaze intentionally flickered to the little liar.


    Juniper''s cheeks grew warm for no reason. She shot him a re and turned away. He was really getting into this role.


    Something about the exchange felt odd to Salma, but she couldn''t quite put her finger on it.


    "I''m leaving. Pay attention in ss," Shanley said with a final yful tease. As he walked past Qadir, he paused.


    "M-Mr..." Qadir snapped to attention, standing ramrod straight.


    "Study hard," Shanley said, his voice low and firm. "And don''t get into a rtionship too early."


    It was a thinly veiled threat disguised as concern.


    "Huh?" Qadir was confused but nodded frantically. "You got it."


    Was Shanley worried about him and Juniper? He had to admit, he''d had a bit of a crush, but after seeing her fight that afternoon, he was thoroughly intimidated. A small fry like him was no match for a powerhouse like Juniper.


    Back at Aurora High School, Juniper stood straight in the office, hands at her sides, listening meekly as Salma spoke.


    "Your dance andputer skills are excellent, but your academic scores..." Salma trailed off, looking at her file with an awkward smile. "We''ll need to work on bringing those up."


    Juniper followed her gaze. Her academic record was filled with zeros. It wasn''t that she''d actually scored a zero, but final exams always seemed to coincide with some crisis that only she could solve one moment a medical emergency, the next aputer breach. If she didn''t go, the old men in her various associations would have a meltdown and blow up her phone.