Chapter 35 - Strange Man

Chapter 35: Chapter 33: Strange ManHe only hesitated for a second before stepping on the brakes, stopping the car. He looked at her indifferently, opened the door, and got out.

He didn’t warn her that it was dangerous here on the road, nor did he comfort her.

Yesterday, his kindness to her was an accident. He would not allow her to be willful in front of him and would not spoil her.

So, after Maya Spencer got out of the car, he didn’t give her another glance, stepped on the gas, and left.

Standing in the middle of the road, watching the car fade into the distance, she suddenly felt so angry. He left without saying a word, but hadn’t they reconciled? She actually felt a bit wronged.

After feeling wronged, she realized it was she who shouldn’t have expected anything from him.

On the road, Maya stood up straight, looking ahead, walking aimlessly forward. This kind of walk wasn’t her first time, but it was her first time in the middle of the road.

After half an hour, she began to feel pain in the soles of her feet, and her calves started cramping.

She turned around, looked behind her, and saw no taxis to flag down. Helplessly, she had to continue walking forward.

"Snap!"

However, bad things always come one after another. Exhausted, hungry, and aching, her sandal strap broke.

She looked down at the sandals on her feet, wanting to cry but without tears, thinking, bad things come in pairs—no, in heaps. If she had known, she wouldn’t have put on airs or stubbornly argued with Liam Spencer; she would’ve obediently gone home.

She angrily kicked the sandal forward, and it landed squarely on a passing sapphire-colored sports car. Maya recognized the logo; it was a Bentley.

She swallowed nervously, pretended not to see the car she had hit, and slowly walked forward while pulling out her phone from her backpack. She wanted to call Elijah Reed for a rescue. Tragically, her phone was dead.

Moreover, the more she wanted to avoid things, the more unavoidable they became. The Bentley sports car she’d hit stopped.

A young man got out of the car, walking toward her unhurriedly. As he approached, Maya got a clear look at his features—very handsome, comparable to Liam Spencer, but with a less stern expression.

She quickly withdrew her gaze, pretending nothing had happened, walking forward, pretending the sandal wasn’t hers.

Soon, the man stopped in front of her, blocking her way. When Maya went left, he went left; when Maya went right, he went right.

Finally, Maya had no more moves. She looked up with her wide eyes, staring directly at the man, but her gaze was neither angry nor indifferent, rather innocent, as if waiting for the man to pronounce her sentence.

"Is this your shoe?" The man’s Mandarin sounded a bit awkward, as if he hadn’t spoken it in a long time.

"Yes!"

"I think we need to discuss how you damaged my car."

"..." As expected, she couldn’t escape this situation.

Although Maya was proud, as she once said, she was clear about right and wrong. Wrong is wrong, and this time, she was in the wrong.

Seeing the man’s helpless eyes, she took a deep breath, swallowed, and explained, "I don’t have money, how about I write you an IOU? I’ll pay you back when I have money."

"Do you know it’s dangerous to throw things around on the road?"

"An accident! It broke and flew out." Maya pointed at the broken sandal in his hand, lying.

"Sigh..." The man sighed deeply, helplessly saying, "You’ve defeated me. Get in; I’ll give you a ride."

"Thank you, no need!"

Maya dared not get into a stranger’s car. Who knew if this man had anything to do with Hannah and the others? Once she got in, who knew if she’d be able to get out again? She was very cautious around strangers.

"Classmate, get in! Judging by your uniform, you’re from Indigo College, right? I studied there, so I’m sort of an alum. Besides, you’re barefoot. If you want to get off the overpass, your feet might be ruined, or worse, something more serious might happen."

"Thank you, no need!"

"OK! OK!" Seeing Maya refuse again, the man picked up her hand and solemnly handed her the broken sandal, patting her shoulder to say goodbye, "Take care of yourself!"

The man left without looking back at Maya, got in the car, started it, and drove off.

Today, Maya had been ditched by a man on the road for the second time. She thought if the man had asked one more time, she might have softened and gotten in his car.

However, as the man said, if she walked off the overpass, her feet would be ruined. After walking barefoot on the asphalt for just ten minutes, Maya felt her soles going numb. It was summer now, and the road, baked all day, was scorching. Maya, with her delicate skin, soon had blisters on her feet.

She limped along the road, and when she could no longer walk, she sat cross-legged on the side, placing her backpack a meter away as a warning to prevent distracted drivers from hitting her.

The second time she sat down to rest, the light in front of her suddenly dimmed. She looked up to see that blue Bentley stopping in front of her again.

From the car, the man said, "Last chance, if you don’t come, I’m really leaving."

Maya looked at the man’s appearance, quickly grabbed her backpack, opened the car’s passenger side door, and crawled in.

Even if it were a fiery pit ahead, she’d jump; it was better than suffering on the overpass.

Inside the car, she hugged her backpack tightly, staring straight ahead, her whole demeanor defensive.

"Pfft!" The man looked at her tense appearance and couldn’t help but laugh.

After laughing, he said, "Are you silly? No matter who you’re mad at, you shouldn’t torment yourself. It’s too much of a loss; the one who suffers is you."

"Okay!" she answered perfunctorily.

Seeing she didn’t want to engage, the man didn’t continue talking and focused on driving.

"Gurgle, gurgle!" Shortly after, Maya’s stomach growled, making her extremely embarrassed.

Lately, whether because she was growing, she felt hungry very quickly, and her stomach often protested, making her feel awkward.

"Pfft!" The man chuckled again upon hearing her stomach.

Listening to the man’s laughter, Maya helplessly rolled her eyes at herself, turned her head, and looked out the window.

"Ugh!" But soon she began to hiccup, feeling like jumping out of the car.

"I think we should get something to eat first."

"Um... um..." She was embarrassed, not knowing how to say she only had 200 yuan and might not afford a meal.

The man looked at her troubled expression, smiled warmly, and then, at the next intersection, exited the overpass and drove directly to a large department store.