CHAPTER 48: CHAPTER 48: ADRIAN HAS BEEN PLANNING THIS FOR A LONG TIME

Wendy Hollis was a quiet, gentle girl who was so frightened at the time that she hid behind Talia.

When Dylan Langley saw that Talia Rhodes was much prettier than Wendy Hollis, he started pestering her, not letting her leave, insisting that she give him her contact information and date him, all while making lewd remarks and saying many shameless things.

Talia remembered being terrified at that moment, with so many students passing by the school gate, yet none came to help them.

She hadn’t learned self-defense back then and didn’t dare to confront Dylan Langley.

In her desperation, she gathered her courage and bluffed to Dylan Langley, claiming she had a brother in the underworld. If he dared to bully her, her brother wouldn’t let him off.

If memory serves her right, she actually called Adrian Jennings at the time.

"Brother, didn’t you say last time that if anyone dared to bully me, you’d break their legs? Yeah, someone’s bullying me. You have to come quickly."

"There are a lot of them. Just two little girls like my classmate and me can’t match them."

"Where? Oh, oh, at Oakhaven’s Seventh Experimental Middle School."

After hanging up, Talia made a great effort to boast about how formidable her underworld brother was.

"I’m telling you, my brother has over a hundred guys under his command, all trained fighters, way tougher than your little lackeys. They’ve never lost a fight. You, you better not come any closer. If you dare to lay a finger on me, my brother won’t let you off!"

Dylan Langley took two steps forward, closing in on Talia with a swagger, "Oh? Really? Then call your brother over, let’s see if he’s the real deal or not."

"You—" Talia puffed her cheeks in anger and glared at him, "You’re the real mule!"

Adrian Jennings was already in college by then, at Oakhaven University, which was over twenty kilometers from Wendy Hollis’s school, so even if he rushed over immediately after receiving the call, he wouldn’t have made it in time.

Talia never really expected him to come to her rescue.

She called just to scare Dylan Langley.

However, just a few minutes after that call, the vice principal and the disciplinary director of Wendy Hollis’s school hurriedly arrived and took Dylan Langley and his group away.

Later, Talia heard from Wendy Hollis that after that day, she never saw Dylan Langley at school again.

It was also from that day onwards that she began to learn some self-defense skills.

At this point in her recollection, Talia took a sip of fruit wine and turned to ask Adrian Jennings, "Was it you who called the vice principal and the disciplinary director that day?"

The man had eyes as deep as ink and devoid of emotion, "Yeah."

Talia continued to ask, "Did you end up beating Dylan Langley?"

Ryan Quinn perked up, his eyebrows dancing, "Yeah, yeah, beat him up. Adrian was really vicious that time. You didn’t see, Dylan Langley almost lost his life there, but he deserved it. Who told him to court death like that? I was there too, and he really needed to be beaten for saying those filthy things."

Ryan Quinn recalled the events of that day carefully.

The day Adrian Jennings got the call from Talia, he was playing basketball with Ryan Quinn.

After hanging up the phone, Adrian looked tense and, without a word, dropped the basketball and left. Ryan caught up to him to find out what was going on and then followed Adrian, driving over twenty kilometers to find Dylan Langley.

Dylan Langley didn’t know Adrian Jennings’ background. He was extremely arrogant, and even had the audacity to provoke Adrian to his face, "That chick really suits my taste. Her skin looks so tender you could squeeze water from it. Her waist is so slim, I bet she’d have no problem twisting on the bed for me...ah—"

Before he could finish his sentence, his words were abruptly cut off by a scream. The rest of his filthy words, and the obscene fantasies, were beaten back into his stomach by Adrian Jennings.

Adrian Jennings attacked like an enraged lion, aiming for the vital spots, fast and ruthless. After a brief resistance, Dylan Langley was left to be beaten one-sidedly.

Nobody could say how long the beating lasted, but Dylan Langley’s screams gradually weakened until he lay motionless on the ground.

At this point, Ryan Quinn patted his chest, "That scene really scared me. I couldn’t pull him away, and I almost got accidentally hurt. After the fight, Adrian had blood all over his fists and face, looking like a ghost. Dylan Langley was carried off for emergency treatment and I heard he was in the hospital for several months before he came out."

"After he was discharged, he was expelled from school. The Langley Family’s company was also affected by this and soon went bankrupt. The whole family slinked out of Oakhaven in disgrace."

"Ahem, around that time Adrian ended up in jail. The old man was furious, and specifically arranged for him to be detained for a few days. However, the old lady felt sorry for him and cried in front of the old man every day, making him annoyed enough that Adrian was brought out by the old man later. The Jennings Family even paid a hefty compensation to the Langley Family to gain their forgiveness. Adrian even got a beating from the old man for this incident."

After saying this, Ryan Quinn gave Talia a meaningful look, "Sis, back then I was blindly oblivious, thinking Adrian was only beating people because you, his sister, were bullied and he was standing up for you as a brother. I didn’t realize until recently that Adrian had been harboring feelings for you for a long time."

Talia felt very conflicted after hearing all this, her grip on the wine glass turning her knuckles white.

She never expected that Adrian Jennings had beaten someone up for her, almost to death.

A cold fear swept through her heart.

She feared she was dragging him down.

Adrian Jennings had been a model child in the eyes of parents and teachers, a student with a bright future, a person looked up to by his peers. If he had to bear the burden of a death because of her, she wouldn’t be able to forgive herself ever.

Talia blinked, her nose tingling with a sourness.

...

By the time they returned to Brighton Court, it was already early morning.

The night wind was chill, and the moonlight felt cold and desolate.

After getting out of the car, Talia walked ahead silently, her head down.

Adrian Jennings followed behind her into the community, "Talia, don’t be mad."

Talia remained silent.

Once back at the apartment, she tried to close the door, but Adrian slipped in sideways, looking hurt, "Talia, are you afraid of me now?"

He hastily explained, "Don’t be afraid of me, I don’t have violent tendencies and I would never commit domestic violence. That day I just... was enraged by the things he said, I couldn’t stand hearing someone talk about you like that..."

Talia looked up at him, sighed helplessly, "Adrian, I’m not afraid of you, nor of domestic violence. I’m just worried about you..."

Adrian gently pursed his lips and reached out to pull her softly into his arms, "It’s over now, all gone."

Leaning against his chest, her eyes stung, and her voice was choked with a hint of a sob, "Promise me you won’t be so impulsive in the future. If you actually killed someone, your life would be ruined... it’s not necessary to do this for me..."

Adrian softened his voice, "Well, I didn’t kill anyone, did I?"

Furious, Talia punched him, "You’re still talking about this!"

Adrian’s warm, broad palm gently stroked her back, soothing like he was comforting a child, "Alright, alright, I know, I won’t do it again."

Talia sullenly asked him, "How many days were you in there?"

"Not many days."

Talia’s voice was thick with tears and nasal, "Was it awful? I’ve heard the meals in jail are just pickles, porridge, and bread. You’re not used to such things, are you?"

Adrian chuckled, "Yeah, I’m not used to it, it was like going on a diet."

Hearing that, Talia broke into a teary smile, couldn’t help but punch him again, "You’re not even fat, what diet are you talking about, are you just trying to piss me off?"

"Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore, okay?"

With red eyes, Talia looked up at him, "Adrian, why didn’t you tell me?"

"I didn’t want you to feel any mental burden. These were all my choices, it had nothing to do with you."

Talia’s nose tingled, and crystalline tears clung to her lashes before slowly sliding down.

Adrian cupped her face with his hands, gently wiping away her tears with his thumb, "Why are you crying now?"

"Don’t cry. When you cry, it makes my heart ache too."

With that, Adrian lowered his head, his warm, soft lips kissing away the girl’s glistening tears.