I Faked My Death—Now I Have to Tame the Crazy Men I Left Behind

Chapter 310 - 308: Don’t You Want to Touch?

The system fell silent.

Mia’s lips curled, her shoulders trembling with laughter. "You don’t act like a system at all."

"Right now, you should be threatening to obliterate me, not getting scared by me."

"If I die, you can just find another person to save this world. You could even find lots of them."

"When you have time, go get an upgrade. Check your code."

The way she said it, she might as well have been telling the system to go get its head checked.

The system let out a crackle of static, as if it wanted to respond, but seeing her listless expression, it quietly shut up.

Silas was back.

Hearing the man’s returning footsteps, Mia didn’t feel the usual warmth welling up in her eyes. Instead, her chest heaved as if she were letting out a deep sigh.

She opened her eyes, and before the light and shadows could come into focus, a hand slid behind her back and lifted her up.

She let him pull her upright and tilted her head back to look at the tall figure before her.

Ignoring the stormy look on his face, she smiled and poked his abs through his three-piece suit.

"Don’t move."

"Change out of those wet clothes."

Mia turned her head and saw the fabric clutched in his hand, realization dawning on her.

’Oh, so he went to get clothes for me.’

She tilted her head, looking at him in confusion. "Do I really need to change?"

"Why don’t we just... do something fun instead?"

As she spoke, she undid a button on his suit jacket.

Her cold fingertips slipped through the gap between his shirt buttons.

The man’s skin was scorching hot. He flinched at her touch.

Mia laughed and fell back onto the bed, but her laughter suddenly died away.

She turned her head, looking wearily at the man standing by the bed. "Brother, I’m hungry."

"What do you want to eat?"

The man looked down, patiently scooping her up from the bed again.

He peeled off her sweater, and it landed on the floor with a dull thud.

She was soaked through, including her undergarments.

He unhooked her bra, and Mia watched as he changed her clothes with a solemn expression, his gaze strictly averted the entire time.

She called out, "Brother," her eyes vacant as she asked, "Don’t you want to touch me?"

Her only response was a low exhale from the man. He stared at her, his fingers gripping her chin to turn her face toward him.

Mia felt certain he was about to hit her.

But what came was a feather-light touch, brushing away a scalding hot tear at the corner of her eye that she hadn’t even noticed.

Her eyes itched, and she couldn’t help but blink.

"What do you want to eat?"

He asked again.

Mia tilted her head. ’He seems to be in a terrible mood today, but he’s also being remarkably accommodating.’

After a pause, a rebellious impulse took over. It was as if she wanted to use the cover of night to be as bad as she possibly could.

"I want to eat Second Brother’s cooking."

"Brother, can you call Second Brother for me? I think my phone is broken again."

Her smile held a brazen cunning, almost like a taunt.

Silas met her gaze for a few seconds, and the hand gripping her chin relaxed.

He let her go, straightened up, and left her with two words: "Wait here."

Half an hour later, as Mia was drowsing at the dining table, there was a sound at the door.

Hayes Hughes had arrived.

Mia blinked, cupped her face in her hands, and looked at him with a sweet smile, just as she always did. She called out obediently, "Second Brother."

Hayes Hughes moved his lips with difficulty, forcing a smile. "I bought some of your favorite dishes. Give me half an hour. I’ll be as quick as I can."

Mia smiled at him without saying a word.

Hayes went into the kitchen, Mia’s gaze following him the whole way. After a moment, she turned her head to look at the balcony.

Through the window, if not for the faint, fluctuating crimson glow at the man’s fingertips, it would have been nearly impossible to spot his figure. He seemed to have melted into the night.

Mia stared at the clock on the wall and began to recall the series of events that had just unfolded.

It had only been an hour, but it felt like a century.

The flame flickered. Her hand, clutching the diary, froze in mid-air.

The system’s notification sounded in her ear.

"What... did you say?"

"Kian Keller is indeed investigating you. In fact, your every move today has been part of his plan. He has been testing you all along."

"Including..." She glanced at the object in her hand. "This?"

The system’s answer was affirmative.

Her fingertips trembled, and she could barely hold on. She tightened her grip, then silently tore the diary to shreds.

Amidst the sound of tearing paper, her voice was as faint as a wisp of morning mist in the mountains. "Do you think he likes me?"

"Of course he does."

"Then why is he investigating? I’m right here. What is he trying to find out? Isn’t it me he wants?"

"These men are so strange. They want to have their cake and eat it too, like a bottomless pit. It’s so boring."

"Maybe he’s just curious?"

"Hah. Some things can’t be explained by science. From his perspective, I’m not Mia Grant. So a new question arises: where did the previous Mia Grant go? Is she dead?"

"How am I supposed to explain that? Should I paint myself as a murderer?"

"Perhaps it’s not as bad as you imagine. The system hasn’t detected any fluctuations in Kian Keller’s corruption level. Maybe you can just act cute and get away with it..."

"Playing dumb doesn’t work on them anymore. Tell me, if I called Kian Keller right now and told him the whole truth, do you think he would cooperate with me to finish the rest of the plot?"

"Host, you’re insane!"

"Want to bet?"

She smiled and made the call.

Mia leaned back wearily in her chair, her turbulent emotions gradually settling into calm.

When she came back to her senses, the aroma of food was already wafting from the kitchen.

Hayes Hughes was bustling about inside by himself.

He must have been serious about making her a full-course meal in under half an hour; he was even using two pans at once.

Sighing, she pushed herself up from the table and walked into the kitchen.

Hayes turned, startled for a moment when he saw her, then smiled. "It’s almost ready. If you’re starving, have a little something to tide you over."

He put down the vegetables in his hand, washed up, and then, like a magician, pulled a box of egg tarts out of a nearby bag.

Mia took it instinctively, her eyes looking vacant.

"They’re a bit cold. I was going to heat them up for you. The shop was about to close when I was on my way over, and these were the only ones left."

"Want to try one? I’m not sure if they’re any good."

Mia took a bite.

A smile played on Hayes’s lips. "If you don’t like it, just leave it on the table. I’ll eat it later so it doesn’t go to waste."

She didn’t say anything, just silently took another large bite.

The smile in the man’s eyes deepened.

"I’m sorry."

She mumbled the words, her head bowed.

She couldn’t see Hayes’s expression, but she could feel the searing heat of the palm he gently placed on her head.

"You didn’t do anything wrong. Don’t apologize."

"But..." Hayes looked up at the figure on the balcony. "You should explain things to your big brother. He’s very worried about you."

"I don’t know how to explain it to him. I just fell asleep in the bathtub. He doesn’t seem to believe that."

Hayes smiled. "Well, I believe you, Mia. But no matter the reason, you need to tell your big brother yourself. If you tell him, he’ll believe you. If you don’t, his imagination is bound to run wild."

"He cares about you, and he’ll be upset."