恶霸鲁尼 奖学金

[ At Aiden\'s Private Villa… ]

Aiden invited his cousin, Kathleen, to come over. He wanted to talk about their trip going to Country F. He was worried that his cousin would create another trouble involving Nathan.

As much as possible, he wanted Kathleen to stay away from his best friend since Nathan still had animosity towards Kathleen. This happened because of Monica.

"Hey, why are you bringing Abigail with you? Nathan is in Country F for an official business trip. You can\'t disturb him!" The stress was visible on Aiden\'s face. He was uneasy about Kathleen\'s plan.

"C\'mon cousin! Why are you being jittery and anxious about this? We are not doing something wrong. I\'m going there for official business too. Abigail wants to tag along so I\'m going to tour her to the beautiful beaches there." Kathleen justified her plan. "This is not just about Nathan," she added.

Aiden took a deep breath, not buying her explanation. He could tell that the two ladies were up to something.

"Aah! Whatever! I will not tell you where Nathan is staying in Country F. It is a big country so you can\'t find him!" Aiden said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Kathleen just smiled sillily. She didn\'t have to ask Aiden about Nathan\'s location. She also had another person in mind whom she could ask– Stephen Zhao!

"Cousin!" Kathleen moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"What?" Aiden lifted his eyebrow, giving her a side glance. He already made a mental note that he would never tell any information to Kathleen.

"Do you wanna come with us, my dear cousin? There are lots of beautiful women there." She was tempting him to come. But Aiden shook his head vigorously, rejecting her offer.

"No thanks. I\'m not in the mood."

Kathleen was taken aback for a moment. This was the first time she saw her cousin not being enthusiastic about meeting beautiful women.

"Whoa, are you sick, cousin? What happened to you?" Kathleen turned him around to face her. She even placed the back of her palm on his forehead to check his body temperature.

Aiden just lightly hit her hand, brushing it away from his forehead. "Duh. I\'m fine."

Aiden was not in the mood to flirt with other women because his mind was still preoccupied by the fierce woman he encountered a few days ago. Cherry just disappeared without saying goodbye to him. He was still frustrated about that.

"Alright. I\'m not gonna force you. But cousin… don\'t tell Nathan that Abigail and I are coming to Country F! Otherwise, Abigail and I are going to beat you." Kathleen put on her evil smile while threatening Aiden to keep his mouth shut.

Aiden\'s eyes widened when he heard that. He knew that Abigail had the capability to do that. She could beat him into a pulp.

"Of course! I won\'t tell him." Aiden immediately responded. He didn\'t want to offend Abigail. She was quite more frightening than Nathan… sometimes.

Meanwhile, Kathleen just nodded her head, wearing a satisfied smile. She was thinking of surprising Nathan. She wondered how he would react once he saw Abigail in Country F.

The woman was the one who made an effort to follow him. For Kathleen, this was so romantic. Of course, she was rooting for the two. Besides, Abigail already admitted that she liked Nathan the last time they hung out.

"Cousin… what do you think? Should I invite Stephen to come with us?" Kathleen\'s eyes brightened up when she mentioned Stephen. Her cheeks also blushed a little.

"He is busy. I don\'t think he will come. Don\'t bother Stephen and Nathan. Just do your own business, Kath!" Aiden wanted to scold her. She was very persistent sometimes.

Kathleen just pouted her lips and crumpled her face, glaring at her cousin. He was always a killjoy when it came to her suggestions.

"Fine. I\'m leaving. I have to pack my things. I also need to buy swimsuits for me and Abi! I\'m gonna make sure that she will enjoy this trip!" Kathleen raised her fist, feeling determined. She would try to be a bridge to bring Abigail and Nathan closer to each other.

Kathleen had just stood up when Aiden\'s phone rang.

"Speaking of the Devil!" Aiden blurted out when he saw the caller ID. Nathan was calling him at this hour.

Kathleen, who was about to leave, went back to her seat when Aiden showed her his phone screen. He told her that Nathan was calling him so she had to keep quiet.

After a while, Aiden answered the phone, greeting his best friend.

"To whom do I–" Aiden was not able to finish his words as Nathan cut him off right away.

"Where are you going tomorrow?" Nathan asked Aiden out of the blue. His tone was firm and cold as if he was angry.

Aiden: "..."

Aiden fell silent for a moment, just blinking in puzzlement. He wondered why Nathan was asking him where he was going tomorrow. He didn\'t mention to him anything about going somewhere.

"W-Why are you asking Nate?" Aiden asked him, smiling sheepishly.

"Just answer my question, Aiden." Nathan sounded very serious.

\'What\'s wrong with him? He is very grumpy today.\' Aiden thought to himself.

"I\'m staying here at home," Aiden quickly responded.

"Are you sure?" Nathan asked him once again, feeling doubtful. He wanted to know if Aiden would join Kathleen and Abigail on a trip but he was too embarrassed to ask him directly.

"Yes. I\'m certain!"

"How about Stephen? Is he going somewhere?" Nathan continued asking Aiden about their plans for tomorrow.

"I don\'t know. We haven\'t talked yet." Aiden scratched his head because of Nathan\'s strange questions. "Why, Nate? Do you miss us already? Haha," Aiden decided to tease him.

Beep!

Nathan suddenly hung up without answering Aiden. He was not in the mood to joke around.

"Eh? He ended the call just like that?" Aiden watched his phone in puzzlement.

Unknown to Aiden, Nathan was off to ask Stephen about his itinerary for tomorrow. He wanted to confirm whether he would join Kathleen and Abigail as well.

"Is Nathan in a grumpy mood again?" Kathleen asked Aiden curiously.

Aiden just bobbed his head as a response.

"I knew it! He just needs a woman to lighten his mood every day!" Kathleen declared, letting out a soft giggle.

*****

[ At Stephen\'s Private Clinic… ]

Meanwhile, Stephen just finished his session with one of his regular clients when he read Kathleen\'s message. She was asking him whether he knew where Nathan was staying at Country F right now. And she reminded him not to tell Nathan.

Then she received another message from her.

*Kathleen\'s Message*

[ Are you free this week? Do you want to become our bodyguard in Country F? Abigail and I will go there tomorrow and enjoy the beach. ]

Stephen smiled faintly after reading her message. He immediately checked his calendar. So far, no important appointment was scheduled this week.

"Hmm. I\'m free. I would like to join the Ladies." Stephen mumbled. He decided to join them. Aside from Kathleen, Abigail was also there so he assumed that this was going to be an exciting trip.

Stephen was about to type his response when his phone suddenly rang. Nathan was calling him.

The corners of Stephen\'s lips tugged upward seeing Nathan\'s caller ID. He answered the call right away. Nathan asked Stephen the same question he asked Aiden.

"Where are you going tomorrow?"

Since Stephen was very excited about going on a trip together with Abigail and Kathleen, he immediately informed Nathan although he hadn\'t responded to Kathleen\'s message yet.

"I\'m going to the beach with Kathleen and Abigail!" Stephen declared with his cheerful voice.

"......."

*Instant silence*

There was a long silence from the other line after Stephen said those words.

"Nate? Are you still there?" Stephen asked, checking his phone screen whether Nathan got disconnected or not.

"Hey, Nate? Do you hear me?" Stephen called his attention once more.

After going silent for several seconds, Nathan finally found his voice to say another word. "Why are you coming with them? Are you not busy?"

Stephen chuckled at Nathan\'s random questions.

"Why not? Besides, I\'m free and the ladies need a handsome bodyguard like me. I bet Aiden refused to come so Kathleen invited me. Even if I\'m busy, I will make sure to make time for them. It\'s my pleasure to accompany those two beautiful ladies," Stephen said enthusiastically. He sounded like a simp. This made Nathan feel a little bit annoyed.

"With the way you speak… I thought Aiden\'s spirit suddenly possessed you." Nathan said before ending the call.

Stephen blinked his eyes several times, looking at his phone. Nathan didn\'t say goodbye properly and just dropped the call.

"Did I piss him off? What\'s with his tone? Did I say something wrong to upset him?" Stephen asked himself quizzically. After a while, Stephen just shrugged his shoulders. Then he messaged Kathleen.

In Country F, someone had become moody for the whole day. Veronica couldn\'t approach Nathan. She invited him to eat dinner together but she got rejected this time. She could only look forward to tomorrow\'s trip on the beach.

Though Nathan refused to eat dinner with her, the grumpy man agreed to roam around the beach tomorrow.

But unknown to her, someone forced Nathan to go out as he was pissed off knowing that a few people would go to the beach also. Just a mere thought of Abigail and Stephen enjoying the beach together made him boil with rage.