Chapter 124 Unfamiliar FacesÂ
She didn’t want that.Â
Vincent froze for a second. “I’m not gonna be anybody’s lackey.”Â
Maya crossed her arms. “Then there’s nothing to talk about.Â
“I don’t need friends right now. I just need a lackey.”Â
Vincent flushed with anger.Â
He stomped his foot. “I’d rather get beaten to death than be someone’s lackey.”Â
Just like that, Maya lost interest in him.Â
She dropped her gaze again and went back to flipping through the overly dramatic novel in her hands.Â
Before long, though, something in a nearby conversation pulled her attention away.Â
“Something feels off about our school lately.” Phoebe’s voice was light, like she was just making casual conversation.Â
Maya looked up.Â
“What do you mean?”Â
87Â
FurshedÂ
“I keep seeing people I don’t recognize,” Phoebe said, frowning slightly, her tone laced with confusion. “They don’t look young either. Dressed pretty normally. They don’t seem like parents, and they’re definitely not teachers.”Â
Harmony International School had a lot of teachers.Â
Since it was a private academy, there were countless classes and instructors—just the foreign teachers alone numbered in the dozens.Â
One or two unfamiliar faces wouldn’t mean anything—but this many showing up all at once? That wasÂ
strange.Â
Maya thought of the homeless man who’d been blocking her path earlier.Â
Her jaw tightened slightly.Â
“Maybe they’re drifters or criminals pretending to be staff,” she said.Â
“That can’t be right…” Phoebe shook her head, still sounding like she wanted to believe in the school. “Security here is supposed to be pretty solid.”Â
Maya had never trusted this place. Not even for a second.Â
“Are you sure?”Â
“When this school hires people, they care a lot about education and background, right? But if someone’sÂ
2Â
OÂ
OGRÂ
ĐžÂ
1/3Â
13:03 Sat, MayÂ
Chapter 124 Unfamiliar FacesÂ
good with computers, faking an identity isn’t that hard.”Â
Phoebe blinked, like that actually made sense to her.Â
“And besides,” Maya went on, “there are plenty of ways for someone shady to slip in.”Â
FinchedÂ
“They don’t even have to pose as teachers. Janitors, maintenance, cafeteria staff-even contracted security. Those roles are a lot easier to get into.”Â
She thought of George-the way he seemed to drift in and out of campus like a ghost.Â
If he could do it, then anyone could.Â
Phoebe stared at her for a moment, a little stunned, before nervously curling her fingers. “Then… should I carry something to protect myself? Like a weapon?”Â
“A weapon?” Maya tilted her head, getting sleepy from reading. “That wouldn’t really help you.”Â
A kid carrying a weapon wasn’t protection.Â
It just made you a target.Â
“Then will you protect me?” Phoebe leaned a little closer, her expression soft and gentle, almost fragile.Â
Maya looked at her.Â
Phoebe was a strange girl.Â
She was timid, the kind of person people naturally pushed around-sending her on errands, making her copy homework, cleaning up after them.Â
Even when she got picked on, she never fought back. She’d just tear up, her eyes going red.Â
And that was usually enough to get people on her side.Â
At first, Maya had thought she was pitiful.Â
But over time, she realized-it wasn’t just weakness. Phoebe seemed to crave attention.Â
She used her helplessness to pull attention toward herself, her tears becoming a way to make sure peopleÂ
noticed her.Â
What a twisted way to live.Â
Who actually enjoys being bullied?Â
Maya didn’t answer her question directly.Â
Come on.Â
If something really happened, of course, she’d run with people she knew.Â
Staying alive was what mattered most.Â
CÂ
OGRÂ
|||Â
2/3Â
OÂ
13:03 Sat, May 2 MÂ
Chapter 124 Unfamiliar FacesÂ
Who was going to risk their life protecting someone else?Â
“We can run together,” Maya said seriously. “As for protection… let’s skip that. I’m still a kid.”Â
Phoebe looked at her, her tone turning thoughtful. “Really?”Â
87Â
finishedÂ
She paused.Â
“I kind of think you’re pretty capable.”Â
Maya’s face stayed blank. “That’s your imagination.”Â
“I’m just a kid.”Â
Phoebe fell silent.Â
Sometimes, she truly couldn’t understand Maya’s stubborn indifference.Â
In this class, Maya and Alfred were the most mysterious-and the most intriguing.Â
Aside from giving her some bread once, Maya had never interacted with her. As for Alfred, he looked at her like she was some kind of enemy.Â
And every time she tried to start a conversation, Maya would shut it down almost immediately.Â
It left Phoebe feeling a little frustrated.Â
“Criminals pretending to be teachers? Who’s pretending to be teachers? A few boys leaned over, curious.Â
Guys always gravitated toward anything even slightly dangerous. Vincent and the others jumped in right away. “What are you talking about?”Â
Phoebe explained, “We were talking about all the unfamiliar people showing up around school lately.”Â
“Oh, there are tons of people here I don’t recognize,” Vincent said with a shrug. “What I don’t get is how this school makes so much money but still can’t hire competent staff.”Â
He was sick of those security guards.Â
They got paid well and still didn’t do anything useful. So many important people had been shot, and those bodyguards just standing around didn’t seem worth anything at all.Â
594Â
SATÂ
2Â
OÂ
GRÂ
(li)Â
|||Â
OÂ
<Â
3/3Â
87Â
13:03 Sat, May 2 MÂ
This Time Ll Be the Villains Favorite DaughterÂ