恶霸鲁尼 奖学金

At 5:00 pm…

Nathan stayed at Stephen\'s clinic the whole day. He left the mansion after eating breakfast as he wanted to avoid Abigail. The two kept ignoring each other. The atmosphere around them felt so awkward.

"Do you want to hang out with us tonight? Aiden invited me. Are you interested? You can join us," Stephen offered Nathan. He just came back inside his office after his session with his patient. He was surprised as Nathan was still there, sitting on the couch while working on his laptop.

Nathan raised his head, shifting his gaze from his laptop to his friend, Stephen. He contemplated for a moment, thinking whether he would join them or not.

Since he wanted to avoid seeing Abigail, Nathan had decided to go with them. He also needed something to divert his attention. He didn\'t want to be alone, otherwise, he would keep thinking about the scene that transpired last night between Abigail and him.

"Count me in," he plainly said, moving his gaze back to his laptop.

Stephen blinked in amusement. It was very rare for Nathan to agree right away. Aiden and Stephen had to bug him first and keep convincing him before he would say \'yes\' to them.

"Good! I\'ll inform Aiden." Stephen smiled at his friend. He picked up his phone and typed a message. He sent it to Aiden.

Soon, he approached Nathan, and with a wide grin on his face, Stephen joined him on the sofa.

"Is there something wrong, Nate?" Stephen asked him quizically. Nathan often hang out in his clinic whenever he was bothered by something.

"Do you want to talk about it? I\'m just here to listen," Stephen added, urging Nathan to confide with him.

Nathan\'s fingers that were tapping the keyboard a while ago stopped midway when he heard that. Stephen knew him very well. Indeed, he was bothered by something. This happened because of Abigail.

He was no longer under the influence of the aphrodisiac drug but he couldn\'t help but feel something whenever he would recall how Abigail helped him relieve himself last night. Her hands were so soft and very delicate.

Nathan\'s face contorted, shaking his head as he pushed the thought to the back of his mind. Here he was again, thinking about Abigail.

"C\'mon, Nate. Tell me. Your expression alone is not enough for me to know that you are troubled." Stephen looked at his best friend with probing eyes.

"Sigh!" Nathan exhaled sharply, closing his laptop. Then he raised his head, meeting Stephen\'s eyes.

"Do you think an aphrodisiac drug can extend its effect even though a person already took the cure, countering its effect?" Nathan threw him a question, curiosity resurfacing in his eyes.

Stephen parted his lips only to close them again. He was too shocked to say a word. \'Why the hell Nate is asking me this?\'

"You dummy! What is the use of a cure if it can\'t counter the effect of that kind of drug? Of course not! It can\'t extend its effect. By the way, why are you asking me this?" Stephen folded his arms over his chest, lifting his eyebrow as he interrogated his aloof and cold best friend.

"Nothing. I\'m just curious…" he nonchalantly said, shrugging his shoulder. He didn\'t want Stephen to think something. Fortunately, Dr. Zhao hadn\'t mentioned to his son about what happened to Nathan last night.

"Nate…" Stephen called his attention while staring at him intently.

"Hmm?"

"Why don\'t you try to date Abigail even just once?" Stephen brought it up. He still needed to convince Nathan to date Abigail for one day to fulfill her request.

"No!" Nathan firmly replied, his expression turning ugly. "Why should I do that?"

"Because we are your friends!" Stephen answered matter-of-factly.

"Then I am cutting our ties now," Nathan mumbled.

"Eh? Seriously?" Stephen asked him in disbelief.

Nathan just smirked while raising his eyebrow.

Stephen took a deep sigh. "Alright. Just listen to me. I\'m not suggesting this just because we lost to a bet. It\'s regarding with your dream."

Nathan frowned when he heard that. He turned at Stephen with a questioning gaze.

"You said it felt so real, right? What if it was not a dream and the girl you saw in your dream was not Monica, but Abigail. Didn\'t you consider this possibility?"

Nathan fell silent, thinking. Yes! That dream felt so real as if he could touch Monica. He just missed her so badly. But Stephen had a point. Abigail was there when he dreamed of her. And he was delirious. What if he had just imagined her as Monica?

Nathan shook his head. He didn\'t want to think about those thoughts. He felt like he was betraying Monica for getting involved with another woman like Abigail.

Nathan was still in his deep thought when Stephen spoke again. "Date her! Find out if she was the woman with whom you got intimate that night!"

Nathan just crumpled his face, still undecided what he would do. But it seemed that he only needed a little more push!

The corners of Stephen\'s lips tugged upward, forming a mischievous smile. With a meaningful thought in mind, Stephen voiced out, "Fine, if you don\'t want to date her for one day. I will volunteer myself. I will go with her and hang out!"

The crease on Nathan\'s forehead deepened as soon as those words caught his ears. \'Don\'t tell me… this guy is trying to hook up with her? Does he like her?\' A cold glint flashed through his eyes while giving Stephen a sharp glare.

Stephen just shrugged his shoulders before letting out a loud chuckle. Nathan had an ugly expression on his face as if he didn\'t like the idea of Stephen dating Abigail even if it was just for one day.

"Why are you giving me such a look? Are you getting jealous?" Stephen teased him. "If you don\'t want me to do that, then you should go on a date with her on my behalf." Stephen was taunting him, hoping that Aiden\'s suggestion would work out! Stephen was testing Nathan if he cares.

"Just shut up, Steph!" Nathan exclaimed, feeling annoyed.

Stephen let out another crisp laughter. "I will give you two more days to think about it. Give us your final decision, otherwise, I will have to free my weekend and ask her out by myself." Stephen\'s voice had a hint of threat but at the same time, a teasing tone.

Nathan just stood up and ignored Stephen, pretending he was not interested at all. \'Stephen can do what he wants. This has nothing to do with me,\' he murmured inwardly but deep inside, he felt bothered once more.

​ Seeing that Nathan was no longer in the mood, Stephen stopped teasing and provoking him. Who knows Nathan would suddenly change his mind and not join them for tonight\'s leisure activity. They would go clubbing!

Three hours had passed, and Aiden didn\'t show up at their meeting place. They were supposed to go together. Stephen was wondering as to why Aiden was very late tonight. It was unusual for him to do so as he was always the first one to come to the meeting place every time.

"Where is Aiden? Don\'t tell me he stood us up or he went ahead without waiting for us?" Nathan asked Stephen, feeling impatient. His brows were drawn together and his lips already formed a thin line.

Stephen just smiled awkwardly. He didn\'t have an idea either. He already texted him numerous times but he didn\'t get any reply. He also contacted him via phone call but he was not answering the call.

"I will call him once more," Stephen replied, dialing Aiden\'s phone number again. He kept darting his gaze from left to right, searching for Aiden but there was no sign of him.

*Ring* *Ring* *Ring*

After three rings, finally, Aiden answered the call.

"Hey! Where are you now? Are you intentionally making Nathan wait for so long?" Stephen exclaimed, reprimanding Aiden. However, instead of hearing Aiden\'s voice, he heard a loud screeching sound. Aiden suddenly stepped on the brake, producing a loud noise.

"Aiden! What is that? What are you doing? Are you car racing?" Stephen asked him again. He was puzzled as Aiden was not responding to him. He could still the speeding car in the background. It seemed like Aiden\'s car started moving again after an abrupt stop.

Noticing that Stephen was having a hard time talking to Aiden, Nathan snatched the phone from Stephen\'s hand. He decided to talk to Aiden himself.

"Aiden, it\'s me. Where the hell are you?" Nathan asked him in his cold and authoritative voice.

As soon as he heard Nathan, Aiden\'s panicked voice resounded from the other line. "Nate! Help! They are following me!"

"Following you? Who?"

Another loud screeching sound was heard. Nathan heard Aiden\'s cursing as he maneuvered his car.

"I became a hostage driver! A beautiful woman hijacked my car! And those men are chasing after her!"

Nathan: "..."