Ken drove the motorbike as fast as he dared.The speedometer kept climbing, while the wind mercilessly battered his face. His hands gripped the handlebars tightly, and every time a vehicle appeared in front of him, he immediately changed direction with a sharp movement without giving himself too much time to think.[Route Optimized activated.]The transparent red screen appeared again in the corner of his vision.The fastest route formed in his mind, cutting through several smaller roads before leading toward a longer main road. Ken did not know whether those people were still chasing him, but one thing was clear: he could not stay on an easily predictable route.“If I get caught again…” he muttered as he swallowed. “I really need to start looking for a more normal job.”The motorbike traveled farther and farther away from the building.The main road indicated by Route Optimized turned out not to be too crowded. Several vehicles were still passing by, but they were spaced far enough a

Audrey had not expected someone dressed in ragged clothes to suddenly grab her hand and pull her into a run.Her reflexes immediately kicked in. She yanked her arm hard and twisted her body, intending to break free from the stranger, but the voice she heard a few seconds later made her stop.“It’s me.”Audrey froze. She looked at the person beside her. His face was covered by a tattered piece of cloth, his hair was a mess, and his clothes were far from decent. But after hearing his voice, Audrey immediately recognized him.“Ken?”“Yeah, it’s me. You can be surprised later. Let’s run first.”Ken was still pulling her hand as they ran. Audrey did not argue or try to break free anymore.She quickly matched his pace, but her eyes briefly glanced behind her. The man who had been standing near the car was still chasing them for a few steps before finally slowing down.She raised one hand, giving the man a brief signal to stop following them because she was safe.Sure enough, the man, her dr

Audrey showed no surprise. After all, she knew how the people at Bright Horizon operated. It could be said that the subsidiary was the opening into the darker side of the Anderson family’s company, which was also the family of Miles, Miles Anderson.It was not surprising that someone like Adrian was targeting them.Audrey looked calmly at the man, as if putting the pieces of information together in her mind. After a few seconds, she said, “I understand.”The man looked at her and asked, “That’s it?”Audrey ignored him and stood up as she said, “Help Adrian’s side.”The man was silent for a moment.“You want me to get involved?”“Yes.” She nodded slowly.“All right, all right. I’ll do my best.”The man then gave a faint smile.“Besides, Young Miss… You’ve been wandering around outside for too long. Don’t you think it’s time to come home?”Audrey did not answer immediately. Her hand was already on the doorknob as she opened the door.She glanced at him and said, “Just take care of your

The bathroom door finally opened. Audrey stepped out while drying her hair with a small towel.Her steps stopped when she saw Ken, who had been pacing back and forth around the room, his eyes tightly shut while his lips moved, muttering something that wasn’t even clearly audible.Audrey’s forehead immediately furrowed. She watched Ken for several seconds, as if trying to determine whether the man had just suffered something worse than being kidnapped and beaten.“What are you doing, pacing around like that?”Ken immediately stopped. His eyes opened wide, and his head lifted so quickly that he almost lost his balance. His gaze met Audrey’s, who was standing a few steps in front of him.“...”For a moment, the two of them simply stared at each other.Audrey’s hair was still slightly damp. A few strands clung to the side of her face, while the clothes she wore made her look much more relaxed than she had a few minutes earlier.Ken swallowed. His face, which was already slightly flushed f

He let out a breath and said, “I’ll sleep on the floor.”Audrey turned toward him.“No need.”“It’s fine. You sleep on the bed. Besides, it’s summer and the floor feels cool.”Ken took an extra pillow and the thin blanket available in the room, then took another blanket from the small closet and laid it on the floor as bedding.Audrey had actually been about to say that they could sleep together on the bed. After all, they had been living in the same house for months, and nothing had ever happened.But seeing Ken so seriously preparing his own sleeping place, she ultimately said nothing.Ken smiled slightly.“Good night.”The lights were then turned off, and the room became dark.Several minutes passed. Audrey was already almost entering the world of dreams when Ken’s voice came from the floor.“Audrey.”There was no answer. Ken waited.“Why are you in this area... and what are you actually doing?”Still, there was no answer. Ken thought Audrey was already asleep. He pulled the blanke