Joshua found himself in a dilemma as he shifted his gaze from Mnie to Simon. After pondering for a while, he finally came up with an excuse and said to Mnie, “Since you don’t feel like eating, how about I take you inside to see some paintings? I’ve mentioned them before. I think you’ll like them.”


    Although Mnie was still somewhat ufortable, considering it was Joshua’s birthday, she


    nodded slightly and went inside with him.


    As they passed by Eugene, Mnie could feel his icy gazè scanning her. However, she did not spare a single nce at him.


    The paintings in Joshua’s house were all the work of a contemporary artist. Mnie had seen


    information about this artist from Xander before.


    Joshua rubbed his hands awkwardly. “Mnie, Simon is just like that. Don’t take it to heart.”


    Mnie did not respond. She knew Simon better than anyone else.


    Joshua realized he should not apologize on Simon’s behalf. Hesitating, he was just about to attempt to change the topic when he heard his phone ring. He checked his phone and noticed that it was a call from hispany.


    ncing at Mnie, he hesitated before saying, “I’ve some business to attend to. I’ll take the call


    outside.”


    Mnie nodded, engrossing herself in the paintings.


    Worried that Mnie might be bored, Joshua said, “Stephen went out for a bit. I’ll ask him toe and keep youpany.”


    With that, he scurried away.


    Mnie did not mind it. She had no intention of going out and running into Simon again. Instead, she


    focused on admiring one of the paintings.


    The muffled voices outside asionally reached her ears, but they were indistinct.


    Suddenly, footsteps approached her. Mnie thought it was Stephen. She took out her phone, snapped a photo, sent it to Xander, and asked Stephen, “Did Xander confirm when he’ll be returning to Jepton?”


    She recalled Xander mentioning that the artist’s uing exhibition would being to Jepton


    when he made the introduction to her. When she did not hear Stephen reply to her after some time, Mnie turned around. However, instead of the man she was expecting, she saw Eugene.


    His dark eyes were fixed on her, and his tone was casual. “You seem to be in a good mood. Is it because Xander ising back to Jepton?”


    The calm expression on Mnie’s face turned a bit chilly as she countered, “And if it is? What’s it to


    you?”


    Eugene’s eyes narrowed. He nced at her casually for a moment before replying, “Doesn’t matter much.”


    The frustration in Mnie’s heart surged again. Keeping any emotion from entering her voice, she said to Eugene, “Since it doesn’t <b>matter </b><b>much</b>, kindly ask your <b>friend </b>to mind his own business.”


    That was a reference to Simon.


    Eugene’s brows twitched slightly. He was about to say something when a loud thunderp rang outside, followed by Simon’s displeased voice. “Damn, it’s raining!”


    Summers in Jepton were rainy, and sometimes, it would storm all of a sudden.


    Large raindrops began to fall at the end of Simon’s cursing. The people outside rushed into the house in a panic. They did not care about Mnie and Eugene, who were inside, as they were too busy seeking shelter from the rain.


    Although Mnie and Eugene were not initially standing that close, the crowd moved them a few steps closer. She could now smell the cedar scent on Eugene.


    As she stepped back a couple of paces, Mnie suddenly heard a loud thud from outside, followed by Vi’s yelp.