Chapter 357

Chapter 357 “Elysia, are you seriously going to be so polite with me? Faelan said with a chuckle, his tone light and teasing. But Zane’s expression immediately shifted. He shot Faelan a sharp look, his eyes filled with unmistakable displeasure.

Faelan felt the weight of Zane’s cold stare like a physical force. His skin prickled. What did I say? Did I mess up? he thought.

He replayed his words in his head. It was just one sentence... right? he wondered.

He pondered it for a moment, then forced a nervous smile and tried to salvage the situation. “Well, as a senior. I should take care of these little things for her, right?”

Elysia glanced at Faclan, her gaze drifting over him before settling on Zane. Something felt off, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

While she was lost in thought, Zane suddenly turned his head to look at her. His smile was cool, almost imperceptible, but enough to make her pause.

The more Elysia thought about it, the stranger it seemed.

Sensing the awkwardness in the air, Vincent followed Elysia’s line of sight. When he saw Zane standing there, his brow furrowed.

“When did you get here?”

Zane didn’t say a word, just standing there silently.

The atmosphere thickened, and Faelan’s smile faltered. He thought, ‘Mr. Hartley came in with Elysia, but why is Vincent only acknowledging her? With Mr. Hartley here, there’s no way he should be so invisible.

‘Mr. Hartley’s status may have been low before, but now... he’s almost irrelevant, Faelan thought, sighing inwardly. Well, I can’t just sit here while things get uncomfortable. I’m Vincent’s student. I can’t just do nothing.

“Uh, Vincent, Mr. Hartley came with Elysia,” Faelan said quickly, trying to smooth things over.

Vincent nodded curtly, his expression tight. “I figured as much. I turned around and only saw you.”

There was a hint of disdain in his voice, and then he added, “If you don’t have anything important next time, you don’t need to come.”

Faelan couldn’t help but think, ‘Does Vincent really dislike Mr. Hartley that much?”

He sighed internally, thinking, ‘Vincent, could you just say a little less? You’re fine, but I’m stuck in the middle, feeling uncomfortable.‘

He tried to ease the tension, but it was clear that it wasn’t working. If the situation didn’t change, Faelan was going to feel even worse.

Out of the corner of his eye, Faelan glanced at Zane. Fortunately, Zane’s expression hadn’t shifted. Faelan breathed a small sigh of relief.

But just as he thought the situation might calm down, Zane’s deep voice broke the silence. “Actually, I brought Elysia here.”

Vincent raised an eyebrow, his gaze shifting to Elysia. If Zane brought her here, it had to be something important.

“In that case, I won’t say anything more,” Vincent replied, his tone softening slightly.

Faelan felt a rush of relief, thinking, ‘Finally, Vincent’s keeping quiet.’

It was clear–whenever anything to do with Elysia came up, Vincent was much easier to handle.

1/3 Chapter 357 <393%

They didn’t leave Iskoria Villa until late that night. By then, Elysia was sitting in the passenger seat, unable to stop herself from laughing as she thought about Zane’s day.

She had never thought that someone like Zane, who ruled the business world, could end up being totally ignored by his grandfather.

If she wasn’t mistaken, the way Vincent had looked at him today had definitely been a little judgmental Actually, it wasn’t just today. Vincent always looked at him like that–with complete disdain.

Elysia turned her head to glance at Zane’s profile. He was so handsome. How could his grandpa not like him? she wondered “Can you see clearly from this far away?” Zane’s voice interrupted her thoughts. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he spoke, and for some reason, Elysia found herself staring at it. Before she even realized it, her hand started to reach toward his throat Just as her fingers were about to touch the Adam’s apple, Zane’s hand shot out and grabbed hers.

He turned his head toward her, his gaze full of charm and a hint of teasing. Elysia’s heart skipped a beat, and she froze. He looked away, but he still didn’t let go of her hand.

A slight smile curled up at the corners of his lips as he kept his other hand firmly on the steering wheel, guiding the car into a nearby parking lot.

It wasn’t until the car came to a complete stop that Elysia realized something was off. She tried to pull her hand away, but as soon as she moved, Zane’s deep voice came through the silence. “Don’t move. It’ll hurt,” he said.

What he meant was that the more she struggled, the tighter he’d hold her hand.

That one sentence, though, was easy to misinterpret, and Elysia’s face turned bright red immediately.

‘Did he even realize what he had just said?” she thought.

Seeing her blush, Zane seemed to realize his slip–up, but he didn’t show any sign of wanting to explain himself.

It was clear now–Elysia wasn’t as clueless as he’d thought.

His mood lightened as he parked the car and unbuckled his seatbelt. He turned to look at Elysia, his voice lowering slightly with a teasing tone as he said, “So, Elysia, what were you trying to do just now?”

Elysia’s gaze dropped to where he was still holding her hand. As she recalled what she had just done, her face turned even redder.

Is it too late to tell him it was an accident? she wondered.

Seeing that Elysia didn’t respond, Zane piped up again, “If you can’t remember, Elysia, I can help jog your memory.”

With that, he gently took her hand and placed it on his throat. He spoke slowly, almost teasingly. “Elysia, do you know that a man’s Adam’s apple shouldn’t be touched? If it is, you’ve got to take responsibility for it Take responsibility? Elysia thought, her eyes flicking up to meet his. She didn’t quite understand what he meant by that.

Zane’s lips curved into a sly smile. “Elysia, if you’re staring at me like that, does that mean you’re not planning on taking responsibility?”

She blinked, shaking her head slightly. “But I didn’t touch it on my own. You grabbed my hand and made me do it. Isn’t that just you being tricky?” She said this with complete seriousness, convinced her logic was s 1 09.32 W Chapter 357 It was true. He grabbed her hand and made her touch it earlier. Now, he was turning it into some big deal. Even though she didn’t quite get what he meant by “responsibility,” something in her gut told her it wasn’t anything good.

Zane’s smile deepened with a playful glint in his eyes. “I was just helping you, Elysia. You wanted to do it, didn’t you? If you didn’t, you could’ve pulled your hand back.”

Elysia frowned. “But you’re holding my hand! How could I pull it back?” She protested, still trying to make her point. But before she could push any further, her hand slipped right out of his grasp as if it were nothing.

Looking at her now free hand, she started to doubt it. “You’re cheating,” she said, her voice quiet but accusing.

“Huh?” Zane raised an eyebrow, clearly confused.

“You said if I tried to pull away, it would hurt,” she pointed out.

Zane’s lips curled into a playful smile. He couldn’t help but find her adorable.

If she really had tried to pull away, he wouldn’t have held on so tightly.

He had no intention of hurting her. He would never do that.

Slowly, Zane leaned closer to her with a teasing look still in his eyes. Elysia instinctively sank deeper into the seat, her eyes wide with clear panic. “Zane, what are you doing?”

Zane didn’t answer. He simply continued inching closer until he stopped, leaving just a fist’s distance between them.

“So, Elysia... you don’t want to take responsibility anymore?” His voice was low and full of mischief.

“You’re just trying to trick me!” she exclaimed, her voice rising in frustration. “How am I supposed to take responsibility for that?”

He grinned, his voice dropping to a near whisper. “You can do whatever you want.”

The atmosphere in the car suddenly shifted, charged with tension. Elysia’s heart raced as she tried to focus on Zane’s handsome face, trying to block out the whirlwind of thoughts swirling in her mind.

In a desperate attempt to regain some control, she reached out and pushed him away. “Then stay away from me.”

Zane chuckled, the sound warm and soft. If he hadn’t kept just a tiny bit of control, Elysia never would’ve gotten the chance to break free.

He knew better than to act on his impulses. But when it came to teasing her, he just couldn’t help himself.