"This doesn''t make any sense. It''spletely illogical. Maybe I just ran too fast and my brain hasn''t caught up yet. Yes, that must be it.”


    Rachel patted her head, backed out of the room, and took several deep gulps of air. Once she felt clear-headed, she pushed the door open again.


    "If you''re too tired, you can have someone else do it," Jimmie said, his face pale and his tone even more deferential than before.


    Rachel stood frozen, so bewildered she didn''t know what to do with her limbs.


    She wasn''t hearing things. She wasn''t seeing things. Mr. Tate was actually asking Master Lunar to hit him. The tone, the look in his eyes, the attitude... It was intimate, gentle, doting.


    In the dozen or so years she''d worked for Mr. Tate, she had never seen him wear such an expression.


    Could it be...


    Rachel''s mind went nk for a few seconds before a shocking thought struck her. "Are these two... dating? And am I just part of their role-ying scene?"


    Before Rachel could snap out of her wild fantasy, she heard Jimmie speak again. "From now on, your big brother will never hurt you again."


    What?


    Big brother!


    Rachel''s eyes widened, her mouth fell open, and her eyeballs nearly popped out of her head. Her expression changed faster than a chameleon changing colors.


    If Jimmie was calling himself her big brother, then Lunar must be his... sister?


    Holy crap!


    Rachel stumbled, her body swaying violently as her back mmed against the door.


    "CRASH "


    The loud noise made both Jimmie and Juniper turn their heads to look at her.


    Oh, my god! Seeing their faces together was a visual shockwave. He was strikingly handsome, and she was breathtakingly beautiful, each with their own unique appeal.


    More importantly, looking at them closely like this, they really did look alike.


    "You... you two..."


    Rachel pressed herself against the doorframe, barely managing to stay upright, too shocked to form aplete sentence.


    "Are you tired?" Jimmie patted the chair beside him, which he had padded with his own jacket for his sister. "Sit down and rest for a bit. Your big brother will go see what''s going on."


    "Hm?"Juniper stared at Jimmie, her starry eyes narrowing slightly.


    Brother?


    "Ahem."


    Jimmie ced the wooden stick next to her hand and awkwardly looked away.


    Even if his sister hadn''t officially called him ''brother'' yet, he could call himself that. It sounded nice.


    After making sure Juniper wasfortable, Jimmie finally walked over to Rachel, closing the blinds of the dance studio on his way.


    The crowd of onlookers exchanged confused nces.


    "What happened? Why didn''t Mr. Tate do anything?"


    "Not only did he not do anything, he let Lunar sit down!"


    "Rachel must have gone in and sorted it out. Besides, Mr. Tate is a gentleman. He wasn''t really going to get violent."


    "I agree. Rachel will definitely handle this for Mr. Tate. Terminating the contract will be a piece of cake."


    "By the way, Elvira, didn''t Rachel ask you to stay?"


    "Yes." Elvira, no longer concerned with what was happening inside, sat scrolling through her phone, asionally humoring Ynda.


    "Congrattions." The others, understanding the implication, started to tter her. "When you be the lead, can you make sure we get a little more screen time?" "It''s not a done deal yet," Elvira said modestly, but inwardly she was already celebrating.


    Mr. Tate had asked for her name, and Rachel had told her to wait. The meaning was obvious.


    Everyone was happily congratting Elvira, except for one girl who had been ostracized. She was the only one who seemed to notice something odd.


    Didn''t they think... that the way Mr. Tate helped Master Lunar sit down was incredibly gentle?