With an indifferent nce, Juniper withdrew her gaze, stuffed her hands in her pockets, and sauntered out with her little crew in tow. As she passed, the boys she had kicked to the ground lowered their heads, daring not to say a word. The entire restaurant was eerily silent.


    A few minutester, once she was sure the group was gone, Yelena lost control and swept all the tableware off the table with a crash.


    "Aaargh!" she shrieked in humiliation, clutching her head.


    "Yelena," Ynda said, rushing forward with a look of feigned innocence. She took Yelena''s arm, her eyes red and her voice trembling. "Now do you believe me? With Juniper backing her, J dares to yell at you today. Tomorrow, she''ll be fighting you for the title of the Wilcox family''s youngdy."


    "Yelena, to deal with J, you have to get rid of Juniper," Ynda added, fanning the mes. "Once Juniper is out of the picture, what power will J have? Her fate will be in your hands."


    "J... Juniper..." Ynda''s words stoked the fire of Yelena''s fury. Her eyes became bloodshot as she swore viciously, "I will make those two little bitches pay."


    "By the way," Ynda said, hiding a triumphant smile, “that old man Juniper is involved with is just a driver for Shanley Schwartz."


    "So what if he works for the Schwartz family?" Yelena shot her a re. The memory of her humiliation ignited a burning hatred within her. “She''s with a driver, not Shanley himself. Do you really think my Wilcox family should be afraid of some lousy chauffeur?"


    Ynda was satisfied. Her n was working perfectly.


    ...


    After leaving the restaurant, Juniper walked ahead with J quietly by her side, her head bowed, the fierce energy from beforepletely gone.


    "Don''t you want to know why I didn''t publicize Yelena''s secret?" Juniper asked, a lollipop stick hanging from her lips.


    "I know why," J said, lifting her head to look at Juniper earnestly. "You did it to protect me."


    “Oh?” Juniper squinted, a faint smile ying on her lips. "Tell me."


    "My mom is still recovering, and I have my final examsing up. Exposing


    Yelena''s secret right now would certainly hurt her, but it would also bring a lot of trouble to me and my mom."


    "Go on..." Juniper''s smile widened. She hadn''t expected the girl to be so sharp She''d once worried that J was too weak to handle a shrewd man like Melvin. Now, she was beginning to think Melvin was the one in danger.


    "Now we have something to hold over Yelena''s head. I doubt she''ll dare to bully me again."


    "Smart girl Juniper said, patting her


    on the head. "For the next month just focus on your studies. After


    your exams are over, I''ll help you


    take care of anything you war anything you want to


    deal with."


    "Thank you, Juniper," J said, deeply moved. After a moment, she couldn''t help but ask, "How did you find out about Yelena''s family History? Even my mom and ever heard anything about that


    "That''s a secret." Juniper looked away and waved a hand at J. "Alright, head back to ss." The matter of Binary Oracle was not something a kid needed to know.


    "Oh, one more thing," Juniper suddenly remembered, calling J back. She ran a hand through her hair. "What do you think of Melvin?"


    “Huh?” J froze, snapping to attention like a soldier. "Melvin is a good person."


    "And?"


    "And what?” J asked,pletely bewildered.


    Juniper just smiled. J''s reaction reminded her of her younger self. It seemed Melvin still had a long and difficult road ahead of him.