Chapter 872: You are going to die young.

"Bennets!" Lily grinned as she saw that all the Bennets were present. Her face brightened when she saw Slater and Hugo, who were always so reliable and supportive in situations like this! When she saw Mark, her mouth stretched even wider.

"Mark, you made it!" Lily rushed outside, stopping in front of Penny. "Penny, let’s go in — oh! Everyone’s arriving one after another. Hi there~!"

Lily happily waved at the people approaching the gymnasium from a distance before turning her attention back to Penny.

"Penny, let’s go in! I want you to see the venue and everything! There’s even a mascot of you — it’s so cute!" Lily exclaimed excitedly. "Let’s go in! Let’s go in!"

"Aight~!" Slater mused happily, bumping his shoulder against Atlas. "First Brother, let’s go in!"

Atlas’s expression froze, the weight of his decision finally sinking in. But before he could say anything, Penny suddenly hooked her arm around his. Slowly, Atlas turned to his sister, only to see her smiling.

"First Brother, I’m so thankful that you motivated me to come today," Penny said, smiling at him. "How about I be your muse today? Or should I make you my muse?"

"I was just teasing you," Atlas blurted out in panic, but Penny had already turned away from him to face Lily.

"Lily, show us around!" Penny said, which Lily happily agreed to. And just like that, Lily led them inside the gymnasium, with Penny still holding onto her first brother’s arm.

As soon as they all stepped inside, Slater’s eyes sparkled when he saw Penny’s face everywhere!

"Is this Heaven?" Slater wondered genuinely, looking around in awe. "Lily, you’re amazing."

"She’s a genius, indeed," Hugo nodded in satisfaction.

"Second Brother, look!" Slater tugged at Hugo’s arm, pointing at the mascot. "There’s a mascot over there! Let’s show her your wings!"

Slater didn’t wait for his second brother’s response as he already dragged Hugo with him. Penny’s and Atlas’s faces twitched, both in disbelief at Slater’s and Hugo’s reactions. They were clearly Penny’s biggest fans, unable to see what was wrong with the situation.

"Lily, is there anything else we need to do?" Ginnie asked Lily, and the latter reassured her that everything was fine now. "Well, then, I’ll welcome everyone! I told Miss Sandford that I’d wait for her. Even Penny’s dad and uncle said they’d come, so I’ll join the welcome team."

Lily nodded at her, watching Ginnie wave before heading back to the entrance. "So! What do you think?!" she asked, looking at both Penny and Atlas with hope and curiosity.

Penny and Atlas looked around, with Penny nearly fainting from shock. They almost forgot that Mark was still standing behind them, sharing the same horrified look on his face. Mark didn’t know whether this pleased him or not, knowing that this was Penny’s karma.

"It’s..." horrible, but Atlas couldn’t bring himself to say it as he felt a pinch on his side. "Ouch."

Atlas turned to Penny, only to see her flash Lily a bright smile.

"It’s good!" Penny blurted out, as if it took a lifetime of energy to say it. "Lily, it’s amazing!"

"Aww..." Lily placed a hand on her chest. "You’re welcome, Penny. Anything for you, of course. I’m so glad you liked it."

’No, she didn’t like it,’ was what Atlas and Mark wanted to say to Lily, but Atlas was afraid he’d get another pinch on the side. As for Mark, he simply didn’t want to speak out of turn.

"Anyway, your husband!" Lily clapped. "Where is he? Isn’t he coming?"

"Oh, him...? Haha. No, he’s busy," said Penny, but more like she didn’t invite Zoren because this was embarrassing!

Lily frowned. "That’s weird. I thought he was coming. This is a big day for his wife. He should come. Don’t worry. I’ll arrange that!"

"Arrange, what?"

"For now, I’ll show you guys around — oh, wait!" Lily paused, not explaining how she would "arrange" Zoren’s spot. She turned to the side, catching someone waving at her. "Oh, right."

Lily faced Penny and Atlas, smiling. "I’ll show you around later. I mean, there are already drinks and food ready. You two can check out the bulletin and the posters. I just need to do something. I’ll see you around!"

Having said that, Lily didn’t wait any longer and fled. But just as she was a few meters away, she sprinted back to them.

"Hehe. I forgot something," she said before reaching out to grab Mark’s arm. "Marky, help us for a bit. We need a hand."

"But—"

"See ya~!" With that, Lily dragged Mark away, leaving Penny and Atlas standing in the same spot.

Atlas and Penny stared at Mark and Lily, and Atlas shook his head. "Should I feel sorry for him?"

"Don’t." Penny shook her head. "I’m sure he’s thinking that this is my karma."

"It is your karma."

Penny faced her first brother and smiled. "You too, First Brother. This is your karma."

"How is it my karma?"

"Didn’t you just have a change of heart when you saw this place?"

He did.

Atlas pressed his lips together and slid his eyes to the corner, avoiding his sister’s gaze. Atlas had only agreed with Slater’s idea because teasing Penny sounded fun. However, he had initially planned to leave after dropping his younger siblings off.

"Hehe." Penny tightened her hold on his arm, smiling from ear to ear. "You’re stuck with me the whole day, brother. You should’ve let Zoren come here so I could drag him around and greet everyone. But since I have no one else but you, let’s share this misery."

"You’re vengeful."

"That’s why we’re siblings."

"..."

"..."

"You have other brothers."

"But they didn’t come here with the same evil intention as you."

"I’m sorry, Penny."

"Too late, First Brother." She maintained her smile, which slowly turned evil.

Penny and Atlas stared at each other, with Atlas thinking of ways to apologize. However, just when he accepted he was trapped in his own prank, he realized getting stuck with Penny wasn’t all that bad. After all, a fly around here would surely want to land on a beautiful flower like Penny.

"Pen—" Ray stopped when Atlas suddenly hooked his arm over Penny’s shoulder, turning her around.

Atlas then started walking away with Penny, pointing in a random direction. "I saw an intriguing poster over there. Let’s check it out."

"Ahh..." Ray blinked repeatedly, his arm still spread wide, watching Atlas and Penny sneak away in the opposite direction. "What now? Don’t tell me even Atlas doesn’t like me?"

"Hey." Just then, Ray heard Hugo’s voice from the side. When he turned, the first thing he saw was Hugo’s wings. "The only thing with wings that can come close to my sister is me, not a fly like you. Stay in your lane."

After saying that, Hugo huffed and walked away as if he’d only come to deliver that message.

Ray: "..."

"Pfft—" Standing nearby, Dean couldn’t help but laugh as he watched Ray get those obvious warnings even before he could approach Penny.

Looking back at Dean, Ray’s face darkened as he dramatically yelled, "I’m just welcoming her! I have three girlfriends! I won’t hit on her! Besides, she’s not thirteen anymore! What’s wrong even if I do?"

"You are going to die young." Dean shook his head, leaving Ray in hopes the latter would find his brain where he left it.