"Tax Bureau Chief?" Lila gasped, her eyes widening. "Dad, you actually know Mr. Prescott? That's amazing!"
"Not possible," Bennet replied, shaking his head. "There's no way I have that kind of connection with Director Huang. Someone must have intervened on our behalf to speak to him. But as far as I can tell, none of the people I asked have any clue who did it. I wanted to repay whoever helped us, but I haven't found a single lead."
"What?" Lila was stunned. How could that be?
"Lila, didn't you say you called your friends earlier? Could one of them have helped?" Bennet suggested.
Lila's mind started racing. Of course—if no one from Dad's side reached out to Director Huang, maybe it was one of her friends.
After hanging up, Lila gathered everyone together and shared the news.
Immediately, everyone's interest peaked.
"No way, Lila! Someone did you guys such a huge favor, and you still don't know who it was?"
"If it were me, I'd hunt them down and thank them properly."
"It shouldn't be too hard, right? Lila, who did you tell, and who did you ask for help? By process of elimination, you can figure out who it was," someone suggested.
Lila thought it over. That made sense—use elimination.
"Alright, everyone here knew about my family's situation at the time. Jace, was it you?" she asked.
Jace quickly shook his head and forced a smile. "I did call my parents, but as soon as they heard it was the Sterling Gate Group, they said they couldn't help."
"What about Indie, Avery, Maya?" Lila turned to them.
The three shook their heads as well.
She asked a few other friends that Grayson didn't know; they all said it wasn't them either.
"Could it be you guys?" finally, Lila looked at Miles and Tyler.
Even as she asked, it was clear she was only being polite. Miles and Tyler both waved their hands, saying that although they had called around, no one had been able to help either.
Lila didn't even bother asking Grayson—it was obvious she had no doubt he couldn't have done it. He sat there silently, excluded from the search for their mysterious benefactor. It stung.
Jace and the others noticed how Lila deliberately left Grayson out. They felt a little hurt, but no one said anything.
"Okay, if it wasn't any of you…" Lila furrowed her brow, lost in thought. "Could it be—"
Before she could finish, her phone buzzed with an incoming call.
"Ryan Walker?" she answered.
"Lila, I spoke with my dad about your family's situation. He said he knows the Tax Bureau chief and went to the bureau this morning to see him. I don't know if it worked, but I wanted to let you know right away—"
Before Ryan could finish, Lila interrupted, practically trembling with excitement. "Ryan, I knew it was you! It worked, it worked—my family is in the clear now. Your dad must have played a crucial role! Thank you so much!"
Lila's eyes welled up with tears. No matter what people might say about her, she was truly grateful in her heart. After all, the Sterling Gate Group had tried to ruin them. Without this help, her family might have ended up living on the streets. It was a lifesaving favor.
"Oh, it's nothing, really—just a small thing," Ryan said, a bit taken aback before he demured.
"Ryan, come to The Ivory Room near our school. I'm treating—you have to get over here!" Lila insisted.
"Okay, sure," Ryan replied without hesitation.
Although Ryan didn't attend the same university as Lila, he went to a nearby community college. He'd liked Lila for a long time and had been pursuing her, but she never really responded to his advances. Now that he'd helped her and Lila was calling him to dinner, how could he refuse?
Soon, Ryan arrived. He was of average height with a bit of extra weight, wearing a Nike shirt with a big logo and a pair of Yeezy-looking sneakers—definitely high-end gear.
"Hey, Ryan, over here!" Lila called, standing up as soon as she saw him at the entrance and waving enthusiastically as if they were old friends reuniting after years apart.
"Oh, wow, this is a big group," Ryan said, expecting to be Lila's only guest so he could get closer to her.
Instead, he walked into a table already filled with people and felt a twinge of jealousy. "I was hoping to sit next to you, just the two of us," he said, sounding a bit sour.
"No, no—these are all my friends, here to keep us company. But today, you're the VIP!" Lila quickly soothed, catching his mood.
The rest of the table felt uneasy, but no one spoke up. Technically, Lila was right—Ryan's father had rescued her family, so he deserved to be the guest of honor.
Ryan's mood brightened at that, satisfaction shining in his eyes. "But the table's already full. Where do I sit?" he asked, standing awkwardly to one side, palms up.
There were already eleven people: four from Lila's dorm, four from Grayson's dorm, and a few of Lila's other friends. The round table only comfortably fit ten. With Ryan's arrival, twelve would have to cram in, which was impossible.
"Well…" Lila hesitated a moment, then pointed toward Grayson. "Grayson, could you move over? Let Ryan sit there."
She indicated a small two-person table nearby. "You can sit there by yourself, and I'll ask the waiter to bring your food over."
Silence fell over the table.
Miles and Tyler's faces flushed red—this was humiliating. How could Lila treat Grayson like this? Jace frowned, too.
"I'm fine—go ahead and eat." Grayson didn't say that he'd been the one quietly helping Lila's family all along; he didn't intend to claim credit or receive her gratitude. Let her believe whatever she wanted. He'd only helped this once and didn't want any further involvement.
He stood up. "I have something else—so I'll go first."
"Grayson!" The three brothers from his dorm rushed out after him.
"If you're not eating, I won't eat either!" Miles fumed. "This is outrageous! Lila really looked down on you."
"Yeah, let's go hit the cafeteria!" Tyler agreed.
Jace looked torn—Indie was still inside, and if he left with Grayson, he wouldn't know how to explain it to Lila.
"Just go back if you want," Grayson told them. After some persuasion, Jace and the others returned to their seats, and Grayson finally walked away.
He had nowhere particular to go, so he wandered aimlessly along the tree-lined campus paths. A sense of loneliness washed over him.
He couldn't help thinking about Sienna. They used to eat together after class, then stroll around campus. Wherever Sienna went, he followed. If she wanted a snack, he'd tag along to the street vendors. If she got her hair done, he'd wait in the salon's lounge, reading a book. If she got tired walking, he'd carry her. Everything revolved around Sienna.
Now that she and he had broken up, he felt adrift.
Just then, his phone rang. It was Jenkins.
"Master Grayson, Sebasti an Caldwell, the head of our family's Western branch, found out you're studying in Oregon and is eager to meet you in person, to admire your talents. What do you think? Would you like to see him?" Jenkins asked.
Grayson knew the family had five regional branches—East, South, West, North, and Central—to cover the entire country. His university in Oregon fell under the Western branch's jurisdiction.
"All right, I'll go," he replied. If he refused, it might seem rude. Besides, these relatives worked for the family; meeting them would be a courtesy.
"Good. I'll tell Caldwell that you'll meet him on campus," Jenkins said.
"No, Grandpa Jenkins. Tell him not to come to the university. Pick a neutral location off campus, and I'll go see him there," Grayson replied quickly.
Jenkins hesitated. "Young Master Grayson, if you go to meet him, Caldwell might feel overwhelmed—he won't know how to handle it."
But Grayson insisted. "It's fine, no need for formality."
Seeing his resolve, Jenkins said nothing more. After hanging up, he called back saying, "Young Master Grayson, I've spoken with Caldwell. He's booked a table at Celestia Grand Hotel's rooftop restaurant."
"Perfect. I'll head there now," Grayson said with a smile. He'd been turned away by Lila and wondered where to eat, and now someone was inviting him. How could he refuse?
Celestia Grand Hotel was one of the nation's five seven-star hotels and the best in Oregon. Its rooftop dining room was renowned: all the ingredients were imported directly from overseas, and even a single dish could cost a month's worth of normal groceries.
When the taxi dropped him off, the driver gave him a thumbs-up. "Kid, not bad—working at such a nice place. Keep it up!" Then the driver drove off.
Grayson just smiled and didn't explain.
Stepping into the hotel lobby, he couldn't help but marvel at the lavish décor: Italian white marble floors inlaid with gold, ten-meter-high walls covered in brass relief and South African ruby-encrusted murals. Above hung an eight-meter-wide Swarovski crystal chandelier shaped like rolling waves. The ebony reception desk had a fingerprint-activated touch screen; the seating area featured Hermes leather sofas with climate-controlled crystal coffee tables. In the center, an eighteen-meter holographic water wall projected a floating galaxy. The air was scented with custom incense and rose notes.
The staff were all extraordinarily beautiful, dressed in identical uniforms, every one of them the same height and build.
Just as Grayson was marveling at the opulence, a force from his side suddenly shoved him aside.
"Move!" someone demanded.
A rush of perfume followed as a stunningly beautiful woman passed him and dashed into the closing hotel elevator.