The moment she finished speaking, Riley felt a firm grip close around the back of her neck.
Seriously?
Adrian'd hooked his arm over her shoulder again, dragging her in close like she was one of his bros.
She hated it.
Riley puffed her cheeks, struggling to break free—but couldn't.
She stopped chewing her drumstick and reached behind her, searching—
Nothing.
Great.
She had just showered and changed. She'd forgotten to tuck the wrench on her.
Meanwhile, Adrian had no idea what was going through her head. Watching her innocent face, his mood lifted. The earlier stress from the company's cyberattack seemed to fade away.
"I'm leaving on a business trip tomorrow," he said casually. "A week. Stay home, listen to Mrs Rose and Mr Yeardley. Other than going to class, don't wander off. Got it?"
"Oh." Riley's expression barely changed.
A business trip?
Good.
Stay out forever, why don't you?
That way, Riley wouldn't have to keep a wrench on standby in case his hands got too bold.
Her calm response made him pause.
"You'll be that obedient?"
He hadn't forgotten how she'd "gotten lost" on her first day at campus. With her supposed mental age, his trust in her was basically zero.
Riley blinked, pretending not to understand the implication. "I'm always a good girl."
He hummed.
Then added—
"Good girls get candy. Bad ones…" his tone turned faintly cold, "get their legs broken."
Are you kidding me?
Riley nearly exploded.
"I'll break yours!" she shot back.
Adrian paused, slightly surprised. "You can talk back? Maybe you're not that dumb after all."
That only made her angrier.
Where's my hammer?
Before she could retaliate properly, he flicked her forehead.
POP!
Pain shot through her skull.
Her eyes watered instantly.
Without hesitation, she shoved the half-eaten drumstick straight into his mouth.
Then, she set her bunny aside, climbed right onto his lap, and grabbed his face with both hands—
Rubbing hard.
And tugging his hair for good measure.
Her forehead definitely had to be red by now. Maybe even bruised.
The first time they met, Adrian was cold and intimidating.
Now he was overbearing, constantly threatening her bunny—
Absolutely intolerable.
Her sudden attack caught Adrian completely off guard.
They ended up pressed tightly together—
Body against body.
Her scent lingered in the air.
Fresh from the shower.
Soft. Clean.
With a faint, sweet warmth to it.
Distracting.
Did she really have to sit on my lap?
From the outside, this didn't look like a fight at all.
It looked like… something else.
And Adrian cared about his image.
Sure enough, the servants in the living room were all suppressing laughter, heads lowered as they pretended to be invisible.
Mr Yeardley, on the other hand, had no such restraint.
He walked in with a wide grin, chuckling loudly as he passed through—then walked right back out, still smiling. It was practically dark outside, and yet he was praising the "beautiful weather."
Adrian's face darkened.
"Get down. Stop touching my face. Stop pulling my hair."
Riley ignored him completely.
She was having way too much fun.
In the next second, his hand, which had been resting on the armrest, suddenly wrapped around her waist.
His other hand went straight to her head—
Ruffling her hair hard.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
Her already messy hair turned into a complete disaster.
"Ahhh!" Riley yelped, clutching his head in retaliation.
Her carefully styled, soft waves—
Ruined.
Gone.
Destroyed.
Before she could strike back—
He grabbed both her wrists, pinning them firmly in place.
She couldn't move at all.