Chapter 69 - 67: You Are Really Happy [Part 1]As the countdown for the red light began, he unexpectedly felt an impulse not to let her go, because he knew once she crossed the traffic light, she would disappear from his sight in an instant.

    After not seeing her for half a month, he didn''t want to provoke her, even though she was beside him, not causing trouble as before.

    Liam fixated on the girl as she spaced out. The red light had quietly ended, and as Maya saw the pedestrian signal turn green, she began to walk across, completely ignoring her companion beside her.

    Liam watched her leaving and only came to realize that the red light had turned green, prompting him to quickly catch up.

    Indeed, just as he had thought, Maya''s pace was swift, nearly breaking into a run; she wanted to distance herself from him quickly, afraid he would soon trouble her again.

    Maya hurriedly walked, too rushed to notice if there were any vehicles intersecting from either side, and just as she was about to reach the other side of the street, a boy on a bike hurriedly charged toward her.

    Maya noticed the boy out of the corner of her eye, but it was too late to dodge, leaving her frozen in place, terrified.

    She thought she would be injured again and would have to make another trip to the hospital.

    Yet, just as the boy was about to crash into her, someone pulled her wrist backward, causing her to fall into a warm, broad chest.

    His scent was familiar to her, and it gave her a unique sense of safety at this moment. Her small face was close to his, and she could even hear his heartbeat.

    It was then that she became aware that Liam was still beside her!

    She took a deep breath, raised her head, and looked at him with an expression full of complexity.

    The man looked down, seeing the conflicted look in her eyes, pushed her away from his embrace, and took her small hand, leading her to the school entrance.

    The girl following Liam felt very awkward as she sensed the warmth in his palm.

    Liam''s sudden change in attitude left her uncomfortable and confused; she couldn''t understand why he was suddenly being nice again. Didn''t he despise her? Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    After being led by Liam for about ten meters, she withdrew her small hand unceremoniously, looked at him, and graciously said,

    "Thank you!"

    Feeling her resistance and hearing her thanks, Liam felt suffocated and deeply troubled.

    He took a deep breath, glanced at her, stepped forward, and walked away without looking back.

    If he were to be discarded by Maya, he would rather throw her aside first and ignore her.

    Maya watched the man''s departing back, and her tense expression finally relaxed. Being with Liam made her feel immense pressure, always fearing she would somehow unintentionally provoke him.

    Only once Liam''s figure completely vanished from her sight did she move towards the school inside.

    Seeing Liam again, however, reignited her determination; it made her want to excel in exams even more, surpass Elia, drive him out of the Spencer family, and never interact with him again.

    With high spirits, Maya was exceptionally sharp during the exams; she wrote with confidence and swiftly completed the papers without hesitation, contrasting her usual behavior of dozing off during tests.

    To ensure absolute accuracy, she even checked everything before handing in her papers.

    After two days of exams, her mood soared, and she took the watch and handbag given by Hannah and Elia to a second-hand shop and exchanged them for a considerable amount of money.

    Worried that Hannah might check her accounts, she didn''t open a bank account but kept the cash in her dorm room.

    At this time, in the dormitory, Ella pitifully hugged Maya, speaking sweetly: "Maya, in a few days I''ll be going home. I won''t see you for two months, I''ll miss you."

    "Don''t worry, in a few days I''ll visit you and Ethan."

    Maya exchanged the gifts for cash to have somewhere to go during the summer vacation, unlike the winter vacation, where she was ordered around by Hannah at home with no peace.

    "Maya, I love you to death." Hearing Maya would visit, Ella hugged her face and gave her a fierce kiss.

    "Alright then! Tonight, let''s call Ethan, and have a good gathering." After finishing exams at last and finally having money, she naturally wanted to have fun.

    "Maya, are you going out tonight? Can we join?" As the two girls were bonding, two other girls from the dorm returned, hearing about the gathering, hurriedly wanting to join the fun.

    At Maya''s last birthday, they missed it, but this time they wanted to take advantage.

    Before, they definitely wouldn''t mingle with Maya, but now it''s different. With the principal supporting her, and Assistant Reed footing the bill when dining out, they naturally wanted to get close, to cozy up.

    Maya looked at the other two girls, considering that although they didn''t interact much normally, they never troubled her, so she agreed.

    Thus, in the evening, six people crowded into Maya''s car, heading to a restaurant for dinner, then off to a KTV.

    On the way to the KVT, several girls squeezed into the back seat, unable to hold back their admiration.

    "Maya, your car is luxurious, it must be worth quite a bit!"

    "My second brother gave it to me."

    "Maya, your brother is really nice to you, your clothes look great too."

    "My older sister bought them for me."

    "Maya, you''re so fortunate!"

    The girls looked at Maya, filled with envy, thinking that she was clearly well-treated in the Spencer family, not how Elia described it—besides Elia, everyone seemed to be good to her!

    Therefore, the two girls became increasingly warm towards Maya, as if overnight they had become her closest friends.

    By two in the morning, everyone finally couldn''t hold on and began clamoring to go back and rest.

    Maya had already been exhausted to the point where her eyes wouldn''t stay open, eager for the party to end so she could return to the dorm and sleep.

    So, she grabbed her backpack and headed alone to the counter to settle the bill.

    "Sorry, miss, your banknotes are all counterfeit."

    Maya, hearing the cashier''s response, was dazed, thinking how could it be. The money she exchanged at the second-hand shop couldn''t be fake, and she had already used some with no issues. Could the owner have scammed her by mixing counterfeit notes with real ones?

    She instantly found herself in a predicament, reopening her backpack, taking out a wad of notes and handing them to the cashier, saying: "Use this money then!"

    Seeing Maya pull out so much cash, the cashier''s gaze became peculiar, and another girl glanced at Maya, hurriedly stepping back.

    "Miss, I''m sorry, these are counterfeit too."

    When Maya heard that this wad was also fake, she couldn''t help but swallow nervously. She panicked knowing there was still ten thousand dollars in the bag but didn''t dare to take it out, fearing it would also be fake.

    She awkwardly looked at the cashier and said, "Sorry, I''ll come back later to settle it."

    After speaking, Maya hugged her backpack, turned and headed toward the private room. Though unwilling at this moment, she could only seek Ella''s help to cover for her.

    Unexpectedly, she hadn''t taken more than two steps before being stopped by security, who said: "Miss, please come with us to the office to wait for the police. You are carrying a large amount of counterfeit money, and we''ve already called them."