"You..." Melvin stood at the doorway, phone in hand, staring quizzically at the girl inside the infirmary.


    "Fancy seeing you here, Mr. Steele," Juniper said, tossing her empty ice cream cup into the trash. She casually held her hand out to the man beside her to be wiped, a subtle curve ying on her lips.


    "Melvin,e on in, have a seat," Kurt said. He genuinely admired Melvin, and hearing that he was transferring his nationality to Orient Country had boosted his opinion even more.


    "You already know Juniper. This is my cousin, Shanley Schwartz," Kurt introduced.


    Cousin? One was his coach, the other his cousin. It seemed normal for them to show up when Kurt was injured.


    "It is a coincidence," Melvin said, relieved. He walked straight to the empty seat beside Juniper. Just as he was about to sit, Shanley''s icy voice cut in. "Flint, get Mr. Steele a chair."


    Flint''s eyes darted between the two men, instantly getting the message. He brought a chair and ced it a very, very long way away from Juniper.


    Kurt was a bit puzzled. What was going on? His cousin seemed hostile towards Melvin! Was this... jealousy? Then again, the way Melvin looked at Juniper wasn''t exactly innocent.


    "J will be here shortly." Melvin nced at the distant chair, chuckled, and sat down. "You won''t go back on your promise to me, will you?"


    "Of course not," Juniper replied, leaning back and studying Melvin with a faint smile. Ever since she learned of his patriotism and love for his family, she found him much more agreeable. Especially now that he might be her long-lost brother.


    Shanley watched her stare at Melvin with a smile on her face, and a sense of crisis washed over him. He quickly pulled a piece of candy from his pocket, unwrapped it, and held it to her lips, coaxing softly, "Mango vor. Your favorite."


    "Oh." Juniper obediently opened her mouth to ept it, her eyes still fixed on Melvin. She had just been scrutinizing photos of Jimmie, carefully examining his features. Maybe it was just wishful thinking, but she felt that Melvin bore a slight resemnce to him. Especially... his eyes.


    "I''m thrilled you''re joining the S Team." Receiving her confirmation, Melvin was overjoyed. He stood up walked over to Juniper, and extended his hand. "No should say, wee to the Orient Country team."


    Juniper hesitated, looking at the hand before her. Before she could


    decide whether to shake it, the man beside her intercepted, gripping Melvin''s hand with a voice that was terrifyingly cold. "Thank you."


    Melvin turned to Shanley, his smile vanishing. He tried to pull his hand back but found the other man''s grip was incredibly tight. Tsk. This old man was seriously possessive.


    "Don''t mention it," Melvin said, feeling a pang of sympathy for the young girl. He felt Shanley was unworthy of her.


    "Now that Juniper is joining the team, we''ll be seeing each other often to exchange techniques," he said with a hint of provocation. "It''s my honor."


    Hearing those words, Shanley''s handsome face clouded over. He knew the way Melvin looked at Juniper was off; he was clearly harboring ulterior motives.


    "By the way, Juniper, while we wait for J, let me tell you a bit about J Melvin tried to wiggle his hand free "Mr Schwartz, what is the meaning of this? Can''t bear to let go?"


    Juniper nced over and saw their hands were indeed sped tightly. Or more


    urately, Shanley was gripping Melvin''s hand and refusing to release it.


    Shanley''s face went frigid. He abruptly released Melvin''s hand with clear disgust. "She doesn''t need you to introduce J to her."


    Melvin retracted his hand, ncing at the red marks on his wrist. The man hadn''t held back.


    "I don''t need to?" Melvin looked at Juniper, and after a few seconds of silence, his eyes slowly widened. "Don''t tell me you''re—"


    Juniper pressed her lips together, saying nothing. Unexpectedly, he turned out to be quite sharp.