Chapter 134

Avoiding the noisy crowd, Agnes found a quiet place, her gaze wandering to the nameless distance, but her heart was still thinking of Leopold. They hadn't seen each other for days; was he missing her too? On this trip to such a remote place, she didn't even bring the diamond ring Leopold had given her.

The moment of tranquility was soon broken by a gentle call: "Agnes."

This time, it was John.

Agnes responded with a friendly smile, "John." Over the past few days, John's repeated help had made her feel grateful.

John sat down not far from her and asked with concern, "Why are you sitting here alone? Are you cold?"

"I'm fine," Agnes replied softly, feeling down because of the cold war with Leopold, which made her less talkative. And John, who was not good with words, couldn't find a suitable topic, making the atmosphere silent.

John's gaze unconsciously lingered on her somewhat lonely figure, and he couldn't help but ask, "Agnes, are you unhappy?"

Agnes smiled slightly, with a hint of awkwardness, "Well, it's nothing." She then suggested, "Let's go find the others!" The awkwardness of being alone, especially when lacking common topics, was particularly evident.

John watched Agnes, whom he admired, leave, but he couldn't say a word. He really wanted to ask about her relationship with Leopold but felt he had no right to ask such a blunt question. So, he could only silently follow Agnes back to the group.

On the way back, Grace was complaining to another girl about the unsanitary conditions here, fearing she might catch some disease. These days, Grace's complaints were almost daily, but in front of others, she always appeared gentle and lovely. At this moment, when a boy approached and greeted her kindly, Grace immediately restrained her dissatisfaction, responded gently, and accepted his care, which was a freshly changed hot water bottle. After the boy left shyly, Agnes clearly saw the disdain in Grace's eyes for the hot water bottle.

If Agnes and Grace were natural rivals, then since Agnes was born a few months before Grace as the elder sister, she seemed to be at a disadvantage. She had to give in everywhere because of Grace's "younger sister" status, even when facing Grace's immaturity, she could only choose to be tolerant for the sake of family harmony. She sighed softly and teased, "Being pretty has its perks, you even get hot water bottles."

Grace sneered, "Of course, unlike you, no one treats you well, and Austin sees you as an enemy."

She glanced at John, who was following closely behind Agnes, jealousy growing in her heart, "One person following you isn't enough, now there's also the weak John. Agnes, why do you always attract useless men?"

"Was she referring to Justin as the first person? Is John weak?" Agnes glanced at the expressionless John, about to retort, but John spoke first, directly and without giving Grace a glance, "A girl being seen as boyish might be because she's straightforward and cute, not bothering with scheming. Any kind of person is better than those who appear gentle and pure on the surface but are actually dirty-minded and hypocritical. Such creatures, can they even be considered human?"

John's words not only angered Grace but also surprised Agnes. In her eyes, John was like a non-aggressive puppy, but now this "puppy" not only "showed its teeth" but almost "bit." This side of John felt unfamiliar to Agnes.

Grace's face turned red with anger, and she stammered, "You... you say I'm not human?"

John smiled faintly, "Grace, did I say you? Don't be so quick to take it personally unless you fit my description."

Grace was speechless, her anger unrelenting. But John remained unusually calm, even chuckling, then whispered in Agnes's ear, "Thanks for standing up for me, John, but Grace is my sister, let it go."

As Agnes approached, John faintly smelled the sweet scent on her and noticed her increasingly delicate face, momentarily lost in thought, not responding for a while.

Agnes thought he was angry, so she awkwardly distanced herself from him. John snapped back to reality, recalling Agnes's words, and hurriedly said in a flattering manner, "Thank you for the compliment, Agnes. I won't argue with girls, I'll head back now."

Then, as if to prove his words, John jogged into the yard.

As soon as he left, Justin appeared, shivering. Seeing Agnes, he called out unhappily, "I've been looking for you for a while, isn't it cold standing outside? There's a fireplace inside, come warm up."

Agnes felt a warmth in her heart, first from John's help and defense, then from Justin's concern. It was all touching, but something seemed missing.

Until Justin revealed a secret, Agnes realized what she truly desired.

"Insider info, I heard Mr. Neville specifically asked the village chief to take special care of you! Did you know that? Judging by your expression, you didn't. Leopold is really thoughtful."

Agnes was half skeptical, "Who told you that?" She indeed didn't know. Could Leopold's influence extend this far?

"Of course, it was the village chief!" He went to ask the village chief for an electric heater, even an electric blanket would do, but the village chief had nothing. They ended up quenching their thirst with newly brewed wine, and the village chief, not a good drinker, quickly got tipsy and spilled the secret.

Agnes was hinted to be someone who needed special care, and the village chief wasn't sure which big shot gave the order, only vaguely remembering someone mentioning Mr. Neville.

Mr. Neville, the only one in Havenia who could reach into Willow Creek, who else could it be but Leopold!

Knowing all this was orchestrated by Leopold, Agnes couldn't help but smile, but she brushed off Justin's words, "The village chief was just drunk and talking nonsense!"

"Oh, come on, your smile is almost reaching your ears, and you still won't admit you're happy."

Agnes glared at Justin and left with a "Going for a run tonight, to warm up!"

A night run? No way, he'd rather stay in bed with Jeremy.

When Leopold arrived in Lumina City, Agnes had been gone for two or three days, without a call or a message, just left like that.

He took out his phone and called Ethan, "Have they arrived?"

"Yeah, according to Austin, that place is really remote."

Leopold closed his eyes slightly and replied coldly, "She chose it herself." She didn't even discuss it with him before going, he only found out after the list was submitted.

"Don't worry, as per your instructions, she's being given special treatment. I even sent Austin over, so don't worry." Ethan could roughly guess Leopold's thoughts.

It wasn't that Leopold underestimated Austin, "What can Austin help her with?" If it weren't for Austin's twenty-two years of celibacy, making him somewhat suspect of being gay, he wouldn't have agreed to Ethan sending him to help.

Ethan's tone weakened, "Austin is still a man, he can help a bit. Besides, Justin and Jeremy went too, so don't worry."

Worry? He wasn't worried about her safety, just reluctant to let her suffer.

He later learned that Willow Creek was such a lawless place, it didn't even have a decent road.

Agnes had been gone for two or three days without a word, really worrying.

Leopold's anger was unbearable for anyone who encountered it.

Kevin, seeing Leopold's increasingly gloomy face, shivered and thought, "This is bad!" He quickly took out his phone and silently sent a message in the company WhatsApp group: Emergency alert! Mr. Neville is in a bad mood! Very unhappy!

When Leopold entered the company, everyone greeted him and then scattered like avoiding the plague.

Even so, many executives couldn't escape Leopold's wrath!