It was early morning when Juniper finished her breakfast and headed out the door. Shanley followed close behind, her school zer in one hand and her backpack in the other.


    "Juniper, good morning!"


    J Wilcox was justing out of her house when she spotted Juniper, and her face lit up with a cheerful wave. But when her gaze shifted to the tall, imposing man with a stoic expression beside Juniper, her smile vanished instantly.


    "Mr. Schwartz," she greeted cautiously.


    The man might be handsome, but his stern, unsmiling demeanor was genuinely intimidating. J couldn''t imagine how Juniper dared to live under the same roof with him.


    "Mm," Shanley acknowledged with a slight nod, his voice deep. "Heading to school? I can give you both a ride."


    J usually left for school much earlier, so it was rare for them to run into each other. She didn''t dare respond, instinctively looking to Juniper for a cue.


    "Let''s go," Juniper said, raising an eyebrow as she pulled a handful of candy from her pocket and offered it to J. "The mock exam is tomorrow. How are you feeling about it?"


    "Juniper, your review notes are amazing!" J eximed, falling into step beside her, her face beaming with excitement. "I learned so much after going through them."


    Many of the points were things she''d never even noticed before.


    "Just do your best," Juniper said, ruffling her hair with a faint,zy smile. "With a little


    push, your scores are good enough for Era University."


    Era University was the most prestigious university in Era City, with an incredibly high admission threshold.


    "I''ll try my hardest," J nodded emphatically. "I definitely won''t let my mom or you down."


    "Don''t put too much pressure on yourself," Juniper said, her tone softening as she nced at her. "How''s Saskia beentely?"


    "She''s doing well," J replied, then paused. "It''s just... she''s beenining about headaches recently. I told her to get it checked out, but she keeps putting it off."


    "Headaches?" Juniper frowned slightly. "Howe neither of you mentioned this to


    me?"


    Saskia''s work schedule meant she left early and came backte, so they rarely crossed paths.


    "Mom told me not to tell you," J sighed with worry. "But she promised she''d go to the hospital this weekend."


    "Okay," Juniper said, her brow


    and her voice subduedet


    furrowed a


    "Let me know when Saskia gets home tonight. go check on her."


    "You''ll check on her?" J asked, confused. "Juniper, you know how to treat people?"


    Juniper seemed to know how to do everything. At this point, J would probably believe her if she imed she could fly.


    "A little," Juniper replied with a smile, getting into the back seat and patting the spot next to her. "Come on, get in."


    "Okay."


    J obediently slid into the car and sat beside Juniper, cing her hands primly on her knees.


    Walking behind the two girls, Shanley nced into the car, his deep eyes narrowing slightly.


    "The little brat didn''t even think about where I''m supposed to sit did


    she? cant possibly squeezedid


    in the


    back with them!" he thought.


    Juniper stared back at him, blinking innocently.


    "Hah," Shanley let out a helpless chuckle and walked to the driver''s side.


    Flint was just buckling his seatbelt when he looked up and saw his boss''s menacing expression. A quick nce at the back seattold him everything.


    "Boss, here," he said, quickly unbuckling and getting out of the car.


    Just then, Felton got into the driver''s seat, revved the engine, and sped off, leaving


    a cloud of dust behind.


    Left standing on the curb, Flint pointed at himself in bewilderment.