Chapter 164: Chapter 164: Red High Heels
"What are you reading?" Summer Lancaster flipped open the thick book. It was filled with long, tedious, incomprehensible terms—and it was all in English. ’No wonder Ethan Yates is so boring,’ she thought. ’If he reads stuff like this all day, no one will ever notice his good qualities. They’ll just think he’s a bookworm.’
Ethan Yates shrugged nonchalantly. "Philosophy."
"Ethan, you should read less of this stuff. It’ll turn your brain to mush. You should get out more, see the world! It’s better than being cooped up at home all the time." Summer Lancaster tossed the book behind the sofa and began to lecture him earnestly.
Ethan Yates glanced at his watch and stood up. "I’m heading to the university; I have a class this morning. How about you? Want to visit our alma mater?"
Right. Summer hadn’t been back to Aurelian University since she graduated. That place held so many precious, youthful memories of her and Kenneth Yates. Summer smiled. "Sure, I’d love to sit in on Professor Yates’s lecture. By the way, what subject do you teach?" Summer was quite curious. ’Would anyone really attend a class taught by a guy like Ethan Yates, who would blend in completely with the student body?’
"Economics," Ethan Yates said casually, completely oblivious to Summer’s condescension.
Summer sprayed out the mouthful of water she had just taken.
"Sorry! But why are you teaching economics? Didn’t you major in design? Besides, a serious subject like economics doesn’t really... fit your personality. You should teach... the psychology of love. That would be a better fit!" Summer grabbed a tissue and wiped the water off the sofa.
’She was utterly astonished.’
"I majored in design, but I have several degrees. Economics is just one of them, and I happen to like it. Anyway, we’re going to be late. Let’s go!" Ethan Yates really couldn’t understand Summer. ’What’s so surprising about teaching economics?’
「Aurelian University」
The campus was still filled with lush, towering trees and colorful flowers lining the paths. Watching the energetic university students walk by, Summer couldn’t help but reminisce about her own college days.
When they arrived at Ethan Yates’s classroom, Summer was shocked. Class wasn’t supposed to start yet, but the room was already packed, and most of the students were women. ’Aren’t girls supposed to hate boring classes like this?’
Summer scurried to a seat in the back row, near the aisle. Ethan Yates shot her a sly glance before taking a pair of glasses from his pocket, putting them on, and preparing to start the lecture.
Resting her chin in her hand, Summer quietly watched Ethan Yates. He actually looked the part of a professor. With the glasses that made him look more mature, a well-tailored suit, and a serious expression, he was completely different from his usual self.
’A man is most attractive when he’s focused on his work.’ The students below all looked very attentive, even taking notes. Summer wasn’t worried anymore. ’It seems his handsome, cheerful looks are what draw so many female students to his class. Thank goodness his appearance makes up for his boring personality.’
After listening for a while, Summer felt herself starting to drift off. She couldn’t retain a single thing he said—it was all just data and market analysis, things she had absolutely no interest in. Just then, her phone rang. She quietly pushed open the back door and slipped out.
"Hello?" Summer felt a wave of relief as she pulled out her phone. The caller ID showed Kenneth Yates.
"Are you awake yet?" Kenneth Yates’s teasing voice came through the phone. The sun was already high in the sky; he was clearly making fun of her.
Summer pouted and whined playfully, "Why didn’t you wake me up? This is your fault! You can’t say I skipped work, so don’t you dare dock my pay!"
On the other end of the line, Kenneth Yates chuckled. "I saw how soundly a certain someone was sleeping. You were even drooling. I just couldn’t bear to disturb you."
"Nonsense! I sleep like a lady, don’t you lie to me!" Summer cut him off, trying desperately to save face, but she had a sinking feeling he wasn’t kidding.
"Oh? Then how about I send you the picture of you drooling?" Why would Kenneth Yates make such a claim without evidence? He had already taken a photo, just waiting for Summer to deny it so he could present the proof and leave her utterly mortified.
’Just how twisted is this guy?’ Summer thought with a look of disdain. ’How did I end up with such a childish man!’
"You’re such a cunning businessman. Does your family know you’re like this?"
"I am a businessman. If I weren’t cunning, would you be able to live such a comfortable life? And besides, you already know what I’m like." Kenneth Yates twirled a gold pen in his hand, leaning back comfortably in his chair as he chatted with Summer.
"Can you be serious for a minute? You know, I’m at Aurelian University right now. I just sat in on Ethan’s class, and he was surprisingly good. I thought he wouldn’t be able to handle students who might even be older than him, but he was so mature. He’s a lot like you were in college—that same smug, detached expression, giving everyone the same poker face." Summer was walking along a tree-lined path. Since classes were in session, it was mostly empty, so she sat down on a bench that looked like it was designed for couples.
"Would you expect anything less from my little brother?"
A group of people approached, and Summer instinctively looked up. Leading them was a slender girl. When Summer took a closer look, she realized it was Yvonne Lancaster. And there was a lit cigarette dangling from her lips.
"I have to go. Something’s come up." Staring at Yvonne, Summer hung up without waiting for a reply and hurried after her.
"Yvonne!" Summer grabbed Yvonne Lancaster’s arm, snatched the cigarette from her lips, and threw it to the ground. "How can you be smoking? You’re a girl! Have you forgotten your own family name? And dressed like that? Do you look like a student at all?" Summer was furious. Yvonne was wearing a miniskirt so short you could almost see her underwear, and her face was caked in heavy makeup.
"Yvonne, who’s this?" one of the thuggish-looking guys around her asked with interest. The woman who had just walked up was curvy and had an alluring figure, possessing a certain charm.
Yvonne Lancaster shook Summer’s hand off and shot her a glare. "I don’t know her. Let’s go."
"Yvonne, is this how you treat Dad?" Summer didn’t back down, stepping forward to block Yvonne’s path again.
Yvonne was just annoyed, but when Summer mentioned Gregory Lancaster, she flew into a rage. "Summer, don’t you dare mention Dad to me! Do you have any idea how much trouble the company is in? Dad is barely holding it together all by himself! You married into a rich family, so why haven’t you stepped in to help him? All you know how to do is enjoy your life! You tell me, who’s the one letting Dad down?" Yvonne’s lips twisted as she relentlessly accused Summer. Summer froze. She had known nothing about Gregory Lancaster’s situation, and Yvonne’s words filled her with a profound sense of guilt and self-reproach.
Yvonne grabbed Summer’s collar and hissed, "So don’t you dare lecture me. You don’t have the right!" With that, she left in a huff, leaving Summer standing there, completely shattered.
"Yvonne, was that your sister? She doesn’t look anything like you. A lot hotter. Makes a guy want to pin her down and teach her a thing or two," one of the men said, a lecherous grin spreading across his face.
Yvonne’s eyes darted back and forth as an idea began to form.
As Summer wandered aimlessly across the campus, Yvonne’s words replayed over and over in her mind. ’I’ve been so careless about Dad’s well-being. Why didn’t he tell me things were this bad?’
She found herself in front of a small, unfamiliar shack in a part of campus she’d never seen before. A terrifying aura seemed to emanate from it. A reddish liquid was seeping out from under the structure. Summer backed away in horror. It looked like blood. She turned and ran, sprinting in the opposite direction without looking back. She couldn’t recall a place this horrifying at Aurelian University.
’Could it be that urban legend?’ She remembered hearing a story about a girl at Aurelian University who was framed for theft by a teacher. Her classmates began to shun her, and she eventually fell into a deep depression and took her own life on campus. Legend had it that many people had seen her ghost, which would appear at midnight, seeping a blood-red liquid before popping up behind you...
Summer couldn’t quite remember the rest of the story, because back then, she didn’t believe in ghosts or spirits. As she ran, she fumbled for her phone, but it wouldn’t turn on. It seemed the battery was dead. The only way out was a narrow path that led to one of the main university roads. Seeing it was like seeing a ray of hope, and she ran down it without a second thought.
WHAM!
Someone had set a trap. Summer’s foot found only empty air, and she fell hard into a pit. Before she passed out, she saw a pair of bright red high heels... ’Whose are those?’ Her consciousness began to fade, and her eyes closed.
The woman standing above her smiled, a slight curl to her red lips, and flicked her cigarette down onto Summer’s clothes...
After his lecture, Ethan Yates realized Summer had left the classroom long ago. When he tried calling her, her phone was off. He started asking around campus if anyone had seen her.
’What could possibly happen to a grown woman on a university campus?’ Ethan Yates thought, but he couldn’t help the feeling of worry creeping in.
Many people said they had seen Summer, but there was no trace of where she’d gone. And no one had seen her for the past hour. What was going on?
Unsure of what to do, Ethan Yates decided to call Kenneth.
"Brother, Summer’s missing. Her phone’s off, and no one on campus has seen her for the last hour." Ethan Yates was so flustered he could barely get the words out.
"I’m on my way. Don’t panic." Kenneth Yates shot to his feet, startling all the board members. They held their breath, not daring to make a sound. The last incident with Lancer had infuriated Kenneth, and while he hadn’t said anything, he’d had them all under surveillance ever since, which was utterly terrifying.
