QT: Against My Will

Chapter 4: 1.04 – Milk Tea – Crimson Academy

+—-Author’s note—–+

Edited by Psycho S

Proofreaded by P.D Webb.

+——————-+

Mark looked up at the logo of the cafe then stepped inside. When he saw the group of girls staring at him inside, he stepped back a little. He wanted to leave, but-

“So loud...” Grace whispered to herself.

Mark turned his head to look at her; he had somehow heard what she said. He approached Grace with a joking smirk on his face. He taunted Grace in good fun, “But don’t they remind you of yourself, whenever you see Xavier?”

.....

Mark sat on the seat opposite his childhood friend. Since Grace was here, her older sister should be here too.

“I’ve asked my parents to break my engagement with Xavier,” Grace said with irritation in her tone. She didn’t bother looking at Mark at all. Her insides were boiling with anger and annoyance. First, she wasn’t able to break her engagement in the morning, then her sister decided to be annoying, and now she had to deal with this?!

“Sure, sure...What are you plotting Grace? Have you found a new way to seduce your man?”

Grace’s nostrils widened as she took in a deep breath, “What do you mean?! Who’s seducing who?”

“Give up already. Whatever you do, Xavier will never notice you.”

“Shut up! You’re getting on my nerves!” Grace shouted at him. She stood up, took Olivia’s milk tea, and poured the whole content on Mark’s head.

‘I didn’t plan this... My milk tea, you were well sacrificed.’ Bing Shi rubbed her fake tears as she awkwardly positioned herself in the stall so she wouldn’t be seen by nosey bystanders. It was a surprise that Grace wasn’t suspicious yet of how long it took for Olivia to go to the bathroom.

Everyone gasped in shock- then the whole cafe went silent. Mark froze. He was far too stunned to move.

[Hidden quest: Make Grace kiss someone else besides Xavier.]

‘No way!’

‘I’ll skip this one, thank you. A girl’s first kiss is a serious matter! Not to mention, Mark doesn’t suit Grace at all. ‘

‘I haven’t even finished my first quest yet...’

Grace was shocked too. She thought she had her emotions under control but she burst out without thinking again. ‘Calm down, calm down, calm down,’ she repeated to herself.

While taking a deep breath, she took out all the paper money from her purse. There wasn’t much, she usually used her credit card, “Here. Use this for cleaning service. If this isn’t enough, feel free to call my family. I’m sure you know Olivia’s number.” She stood up and went to pay for Olivia’s part too, leaving the flabbergasted Mark behind.

“Are we going home already?” asked Bing Shi, appearing out of nowhere.

Grace shrieked at Olivia, “You! It’s all your fault! I wouldn’t be here if you didn’t forget your stupid wallet!”

· · ———- · ???· ———- · ·

Mark was slowly recovering from the frozen state. He looked at the money on the table, grabbing them, he crushed them hard. Because he was Xavier’s best friend, Grace always treated him well since he was close to her fiance. ‘Grace... You just wait... don’t think you’ll get out unscratched...’ Nobody had ever treated him like that!

A waitress grabbed this as a chance to interact with Mark and handed him a towel, “Sir, do you need a towel? You can also use the staff’s shower .”

“Thank you,” Mark gave her a grateful smile.

“What a flirtatious wet chicken.”

“You!” Mark turned to the voice. He saw two girls leaving the cafe. The voice came from one of the two’s mouths. It was Grace and the other one should be her sister. He immediately stood up, “Olivia!”

Bing Shi realized that he was calling out to her and turned around, “We’re going to the airport. Do you need a lift?”

“I’m never sitting in the same car as him!” Grace protested.

“That’s fine by me.” Bing Shi teased her little sister and glanced at Mark, “Can I get a lift?”

“Of course,” remembering how Olivia needed some company, Mark crushed the money in his hand harder. Did Grace ever realize that her sister was going through a tough time with her arranged marriage too?

“Olivia! Your reputation!” Grace followed after the both of them, “You can’t just get into a random man’s car alone,” she pointed at Mark, “And you! Stop following my sister, you stalker! Don’t you know that she has a fiance?!”

“Who’s a stalker?! I was just passing by!” The accusations of him being a stalker shot through Mark’s ego. He looked oddly at Grace. Since when did that girl become so protective over her family? Grace was always so full of herself and not to mention that her obsession with Xavier knew no limits.

Bing Shi observed their bickering. Grace remembered how Mark took a part in her family’s bankruptcy; of course she would be wary around him.

‘At first, I thought of avoiding the male leads at all costs...’

‘But that will be tough. I am, after all, their childhood friend.’

‘There’s going to be business banquets, birthday parties, school... So many social events will be happening, and as the oldest daughter of the Bracchus family, I have to attend them all..’

‘I can’t avoid the male leads forever, but I can at least switch their focus from me to Grace.’

· · ———- · ???· ———- · ·

Olivia’s fiance moved so elegantly and gracefully. His manners were impeccable as he watched her move inside the cabin. He rested his chin on his left palm while his right fingers were tapping on the seat’s arm, obviously bored, “You’re late, my dear fiance.”

“Is that so? Let me thank you for the wait...Thank you, I appreciate it,” Bing Shi sweetly answered her fiance as she tried to decipher the look in his blue eyes. Unfortunately, his eyes gave nothing away.

Oddly enough, she got the feeling that he was waiting for his plaything to arrive. She held the strength pill under her tongue and hid her pepper spray inside of her left sleeve. Instead of enjoying the perfect sculpture of this gentleman, she analyzed his character in the story instead.

Bacchus’ daughters only ‘deserved’ the best and that naturally extended to Olivia’s chosen fiance: Victor Egerton. Victor was 18 years old and was the eldest son of the Egerton family. He didn’t come from royal blood like Xavier, but his father was a high ranked politician.

For his own safety, Victor attended the same school as Olivia under a different name. He didn’t appear in the original story but he was a hidden target in the novel when Grace’s reincarnated. There was not much information about him.

Victor Egerton was a perfect shield against the main capture target, Xavier. He had nothing to do with her mission, and she could care less about his feelings towards her. Seating herself opposite of him, she glanced at the huge white box in front of her.

The moment Victor met her intense gaze, he felt like she was peering deep into his soul as if she was searching for some cryptic secret, “Your present. Open it,” He vaguely gestured towards the box while gazing at her intently.

He tried to see deep into her soul; to reflect the feeling she gave him, but sadly, he could only look at this girl on the shallow surface. She was so hard to read: her walls were as high as all the world’s sky towers stacked atop each other.

Bing Shi didn’t mind his open staring. She opened up the box and gaped at the number of sweets and desserts packed inside, “Woah! This is all for me?”

He nodded in response to her question. With a grin, Bing Shi picked up a fork that’d been placed aside her. Was Victor trying to buy her favor with what Olivia was infamously known to like, or was he trying to kill her with a sugar overdose?

[“Are these safe to eat?”]

[Yes.]

Bing Shi remembered how her milk tea had been poured over Mark’s head before she could even drink it. She then remembered that Grace had eaten the one cupcake she ordered in LéCaffe. She should have brought two cupcakes instead of the one. After reflecting on herself, she began to eat the first sweet with gusto.

‘I shall celebrate my revival with a huge feast!’

‘On us!’

‘Cheers!’