CHAPTER 53: CHAPTER 53: [GAZE]

The dispute was set aside.

Ramon led his people away.

But Ethan’s participation in the school celebration naturally had to be temporarily abandoned as well.

Loren expressed his apologies for this, but Ethan could sense the scrutiny in his eyes.

What was he expecting?

Upon leaving the principal’s office, El finally spoke. He seemed a bit angry, somewhat troubled and helpless, which ultimately turned into a single sentence: "Ethan, how could you..."

"Dean El, don’t worry, I have great confidence. Besides, didn’t you also think I’m an artistic genius?"

"Well, that’s true..." El wanted to say more.

Ethan had already taken his leave.

Sofia, however, followed him out.

"Ethan..."

"What’s up?" Ethan turned to her.

She truly was a very pure girl, well-protected by her family.

"What Assistant Dean Ramon said isn’t true, right?" Even though she asked this, Ethan could already see from her eager eyes the answer she wanted.

"Of course it’s not true. I’ve always been a law-abiding citizen. I really don’t understand why Assistant Dean Ramon would target me."

Ethan’s tone was somewhat innocent.

"That’s good." Sofia breathed a sigh of relief, "I believe you too, Ethan. After all, your paintings are so soulful. By the way, I’ve actually been invited to the school celebration too, just that I feel my paintings aren’t quite good enough. If you’ll have the time, maybe we could meet up and you could take a look at my paintings?"

"Of course, no problem at all. I’d be delighted to help. You can call me Ethan."

"Alright, Ethan. You can also call me Sofia."

They exchanged phone numbers afterwards, making it easier to schedule a meeting later.

"Oh, Ethan, if you do run into any trouble, perhaps I can help you. Because my father... he has some influence in the Judicial Hall."

"Thank you, Sofia, but I hope that day never comes."

After Sofia left as well.

Ethan glanced at Anya and said, "Investigate that Ramon. He wouldn’t target me for no reason, and I’ve got a bad feeling about this."

The two didn’t leave Winster University straight away.

Since they were already there, they simply headed to Gustav’s lab.

It was evident that Gustav hadn’t left the lab even once over the past two days. He was somewhat disheveled, with leftover bread on a side table.

It wasn’t until Ethan and the others stood before him did he finally react.

Seeing it was Ethan, sudden excitement flared in his otherwise apathetic eyes.

"You’re here, great, great. Just wait a bit longer, I’m about to decipher the last character, and then you’ll give me the new ones."

As he spoke, Gustav handed Ethan a paper.

On it was the meaning of the ancient words he had deciphered.

Ethan looked at it, using it to decode part of the true names relating to the sun he remembered, surprisingly managing to interpret segments of two subsequent true names.

From the paper, Gustav had classified these words, he evidently aimed to create something akin to an alphabet.

If he truly succeeded in creating it, then ancient language would become a walk in the park for Ethan.

And it had only been two days.

Ethan couldn’t help but admire, this truly was genius at work.

Without waiting for Gustav to decipher the subsequent characters, Ethan left new true names and left.

After all, this was a vast project that couldn’t be expected to be completed overnight.

————————

Time flew by, another two days had passed.

During these two days, Ethan’s illicit liquor business continued unhindered, as if the Prohibition Agents had forgotten about him.

Their focus was entirely on others.

The Evans Clan continued to suffer losses despite the reopening of two hotels; one of their underground distilleries was shut down.

Meanwhile, the Murich family’s business was back on track, thanks to John Hott’s swift actions.

Which is why Haska felt incredibly grateful to Ethan.

Ethan even suggested a new idea to him: making liquor sales more discreet, included as an auxiliary service, preventing detection.

This idea had Haska pounding the table in approval, even offering Ethan a share of the profits for it.

Ethan refused; he wasn’t concerned about such petty gains.

Moreover, Sofia called to schedule a meeting with him in four days.

Also, Anya had expended considerable effort investigating Ramon but hadn’t uncovered much useful information.

Ramon had been teaching at Winster University for quite some time, taking up the role of assistant dean of the law school after Loren became principal.

He rarely left campus, focusing on teaching, without much socializing outside of school, except for attending church services.

He was a devout follower of the Sun God Sect, very strict and serious with his conduct at school, frequently using religious doctrines to regulate students’ behavior, greatly disdaining indulgent actions, and utterly detesting illegal activities.

Perhaps he just disapproved of Ethan’s Mafia background?

For now, Ethan could only draw this conclusion.

Naturally, painting had to be prioritized on his agenda.

To continue at Winster University, even to graduate smoothly, he had to win this gamble.

In the afternoon, Ethan was at home painting Anya’s portrait; he’d just finished an outline when a call came in.

It was from the distillery, Walt.

He had results.

"Boss, boss, I’ve succeeded! I’ve done it! It’s truly a genius invention. You’ve got to see this, I swear, with this, we’ll dominate the market!"

Consequently, Ethan had to set down his brush temporarily.

But before leaving, he still completed Anya’s eyes on the painting.

Undoubtedly, he liked Anya’s eyes; pure, clear, yet emitting a certain secret allure.

That allure reminded him of that never-ending night.

He caught Anya as she jumped from the window; her body felt light as velvet, as did her lips.

Perhaps Anya also remembered that night as she approached to take a look at the painting, her face seemed slightly flushed for a moment.

Then she unexpectedly asked, "Young master, could you give me this painting?"

"Of course, once I finish it, I’ll give it to you."

After finishing the last stroke, the two went out.

Meanwhile.

Far across from Bolita Manor, a pair of eyes peered through binoculars at the building that had stood through three generations.

The eyes soon spotted Ethan driving away.

"Well, did you see your brother?"

"I saw him."

"Does he look any different than you remember?"

"He’s grown up, his gaze is different."

"Indeed, his gaze... haha, like a lion, ready to devour its prey," Lewis commented insinuatingly.

But Vincent, the owner of the eyes, remained silent, merely gazing at Bolita Manor, as if caressing the house with his gaze.