I Faked My Death—Now I Have to Tame the Crazy Men I Left Behind-Chapter 24 - 22: The One Kissing Downstairs Was Her

Chapter 24: Chapter 22: The One Kissing Downstairs Was Her

On the other end of the video call.

Mia Grant blinked, seeming not to quite understand what he was saying.

The confusion in her eyes was perfectly played. She lowered her gaze and rubbed her bottom lip with her hand.

"Are you talking about..." She then showed him the glistening sheen on her fingertip. "This?"

"It’s a lip mask."

"I just put it on with the rest of my skincare after my shower. This way, my lips will be nice and moisturized for lipstick tomorrow morning."

Kian Keller didn’t understand skincare. In truth, the camera was blurry, and he couldn’t see any trace of it on her hand anyway.

But he did vaguely recall that she always spent quite a while busy with her routine before bed.

She wasn’t actually a very patient person. She just pretended to be well-behaved, but in reality, she hated troublesome things more than anything.

And yet, every day, she would painstakingly apply a whole assortment of products from various bottles and jars to her face in a specific order.

Morning and night, without fail.

"When did you get back?"

"I didn’t check the time," Mia Grant said. "The taxi we took couldn’t drive up to the building, so we had to run back from the gate. We even got a little rained on."

"I went to shower as soon as I got back, and I only saw your missed call after I was done..."

Hearing that she’d been in the rain, Kian Keller sounded displeased. "Go dry your hair."

"Oh, there’s no rush." She lay down, hugging her phone, and rolled over onto her stomach.

She propped the phone up on her pillow and studied his background. As expected, he was still in the car.

"You’re not home yet?"

"No."

"How much longer will you be?"

"I don’t know."

"Okay." She wrinkled her nose. "Is it still raining outside?"

"Yes."

He seemed distracted, like he didn’t want to talk to her.

Mia Grant pouted, her eyes holding a playful reproach as she complained, "What’s wrong with you? We were having a nice chat. Why are you suddenly so cold?"

The girl was lying on her stomach on the bed. The wide, doll-like collar of her blue and white nightgown gaped, outlining a curve that made it impossible to look away.

Kian Keller had never claimed to be a perfect gentleman.

But out of respect, he still averted his gaze.

However, that flash of pale, smooth skin was just too dazzling. It would have been one thing if the image just lingered in his mind, but to make matters worse, she was completely oblivious and kept shifting around.

Taking a deep breath, Kian Keller forced himself to meet her eyes. "From now on, get properly dressed after you shower."

"Huh?" The change in topic was a bit abrupt, and for a moment, Mia Grant couldn’t follow his train of thought.

She blinked and blinked, not understanding what he meant.

Kian Keller’s chest heaved. "You need to wear your undergarments."

"..." Mia Grant looked down.

Kian Keller lowered his phone’s volume.

One second, two seconds—

Suddenly, a shriek erupted from behind the bed curtains.

Her roommate on the bunk below was startled and came over to ask what happened.

Mia Grant poked her head out from behind the curtain, her face flushed. "N-nothing, I just spilled some water."

After answering her roommate, she stumbled back onto her bed, not daring to look at her phone, which she had flipped face down.

She tugged at her collar, fiddling with it left and right, but no matter what she did, she felt awkward.

She didn’t like wearing a bra after showering... It felt a little uncomfortable when she was still damp.

Besides, her dorm room was full of girls, and she was just going to sleep after her shower, so it wasn’t a big deal not to wear one.

Mia Grant closed her eyes in frustration. ’Tsk.’

She finally understood why Kian Keller had been so distracted earlier.

After the short scream, a long silence fell on the other end of the line.

Knowing she was embarrassed, Kian Keller gave her time to recover.

A few minutes passed before he finally spoke. "When your military training ends next week, I’ll come pick you up."

She played dead.

"Dry your hair before you sleep. Get some rest."

"..."

"Mia Grant."

Her name being called, Mia Grant subconsciously answered, "Here!"

There was a moment of silence on the phone, then the corners of Kian Keller’s lips turned up. "Good night."

"G-good night."

—

The call ended, and the partition was lowered.

The assistant peeked through the rearview mirror. ’Mr. Keller... seems to be in a good mood?’

’Should I still ask about the matter Mr. Keller was about to give instructions on?’

Sensing his gaze, Kian Keller lifted his eyes. "What is it?"

The assistant’s breath hitched, and he swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue. "I just noticed you seem to be in a good mood. As expected, it must be because of Miss Grant."

He had been working by Kian Keller’s side for several years, and the usual Mr. Keller rarely showed his emotions.

He wasn’t someone whose mood could be swayed by others. He even felt that being led around by the nose was a very foolish thing.

But then he met Mia Grant, and now, whether their Mr. Keller was angry or happy, it was usually because of Miss Grant.

’Mr. Keller has probably been troubled by his inability to control his own emotions in this relationship.’

’But as an outsider, I believe that more than being troubled, Mr. Keller is actually enjoying it.’

A flicker of light crossed Kian Keller’s eyes.

’Indeed, Mia Grant just has that kind of ability.’

A moment ago, he had been uncontrollably wondering if the person kissing a boy in the rain beneath the dormitory... could have been her.

The mere thought of that scene made the violent impulses in his body threaten to shred his nerves.

It was like insects were gnawing away at his entire body, making it hard to breathe. His fingers trembled uncontrollably, his fingertips digging so hard into the uneven Sanskrit engravings on the Buddha Beads that they left deep imprints.

He had reached his breaking point.

But she had arrived at just the right moment, as if by some magic she could sense his emotional state and had flown to his side at the first opportunity.

She gazed at him with that worldly-unaware face and those pure, smiling eyes.

Like a bottomless sea, she had effortlessly swallowed a storm.

Even the ripples stirred up on the sea’s surface were silently smoothed away... 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

She would never know that she had saved herself with just a single video call, with just one of her usual glances.

Kian Keller looked out the car window. The rain in his heart had stopped.

The rain was still falling outside. Mia Grant pulled her gaze back from the window and collapsed onto her bed, her limbs feeling weak.

She knew better than anyone what she had just been through.

’So close. It was just that close.’

The system had warned her that Kian Keller’s "blackening value" was about to go off the charts.

She had scrambled back from the bathroom in a panic.

’He was fine when I left, so why did his value fluctuate on the way back... Did he find something out?’

’Judging by his reaction just now, it doesn’t seem like he knows anything.’

"Did his blackening value drop?"

[It is currently decreasing steadily. It has reached eighty.]

"?!" Mia Grant’s eyes lit up. She flipped over and sat up. "It dropped that much?"

[That’s right, Host.]

"Hiss... I guess I’m just too normal. I can’t understand these psychos."

’It was just one phone call, but the effect was so dramatic.’

’If I’d known he was this easy to appease, I would’ve called him eight hundred times a day.’

Mia Grant rubbed her lips, wiping off the layer of lip mask to reveal her red, swollen lips from being kissed.

She looked in the mirror and stuck out the tip of her tongue.

A small cut was clearly visible.

’I didn’t even notice before. Felix Sinclair sure has a hidden wild side.’

’He actually bit my tongue!’

’Good thing it wasn’t visible on the video call...’

Mia Grant let out a breath. Before she could fully recover, there was a knock on their dorm room door.

Her roommate opened the door. The dorm manager from outside craned her neck in and asked, "Is Mia Grant here?"

"I’m here!" Mia Grant poked her head out from her bed.

The dorm manager glanced at her, then pointed outside. "Downstairs. Your family is here to take you home."