Emily started complaining after the fact, “Mom! Dad’s gone too far!”

Sarah ignored her and turned to Brian, “Brian, has your father encountered some trouble recently?”

He wouldn’t be this furious without a reason.

“Not exactly trouble,” Brian gave Emily a sidelong glance. “The Board of Directors is about to have an election. We need to be extra cautious.”

Sarah understood immediately. She clasped her hands together and turned to smack Emily forcefully, “You nearly ruined everything!”

David Quinn was just a collateral relative of the Quinn Family. Despite his efforts over the years, he was still suppressed by the main family.

A few years ago, he had managed to climb to the position of chairman of Quinn Group, giving their family a bit of breathing room.

Now, with the new chairman election approaching, if any scandal broke out and was used against them...

Having figured it out, Sarah turned and smacked Emily a few more times.

Realizing the severity of the situation, Emily turned pale. “Mom, what... what should we do?”

Sarah looked at Brian. “Brian...”

“Just wait and see,” Brian squinted his eyes, watching the car drive away in the pouring rain. “Send Emily abroad for a few days. Everything else is manageable.”

Relieved, Sarah dismissed the maids and went back to the bedroom with Emily.

A few minutes later, Brian’s phone vibrated.

He opened the message.

“Everything is arranged.”

Brian deleted the message before heading back to his room.

...

Ashley was taken to the hospital, and by the time all the examinations were done, it was nearly dawn.

When she woke up, it was already afternoon, and she was almost wrapped up like a mummy.

“Ashley?”

The butler was by her side. Seeing her awake, she smiled. “You’re finally awake!”

Ashley opened her mouth to speak, but all she tasted was iron.

“Don’t talk. Your throat is inflamed, causing capillary bleeding. It must be very painful.” The butler said as he poured her a glass of water.

Ashley looked around.

“This is a hospital,” the butler said, bringing a cup with a straw to her lips. “Do you remember what happened?”

Ashley nodded.

The butler sighed. “Don’t worry. Sir won’t let you suffer in vain. He said he would make it up to you and your mother.”

Mother?

Ashley froze. Her mom was hospitalized too?!

She struggled to get up, but the movement made her head spin like scrambled eggs.

The weightless dizziness stopped her, and Ashley leaned over the bed, dry heaving.

The water she had just drunk came right back up, and she saw stars.

The butler hurriedly put the cup aside and patted her back.

“Hey, don’t move, and don’t worry. Your mom is fine. She just caught a cold and has a slight fever. She’s in the next room getting an IV. She’ll come see you after her treatment. Don’t worry, okay?”

Once she felt better, Ashley lay back on the bed.

The butler explained her condition. “The doctor said you have a concussion, cervical disc herniation, and a spleen injury. These all need rest. You also have many scratches on your body—”

Ashley’s pupils tightened, and she instinctively reached for her face.

The butler knew what she was worried about and quickly grabbed her wrist. “Don’t touch it, or you might get an infection.”

“My face...”

“Don’t worry,” the butler reassured her. “I asked the doctor. Although there are many wounds, luckily, the Miss don’t exercise much, so her strength is small, and didn’t damage your dermis. You need to rest well, and in a few days, the doctor will arrange laser treatment. There won’t be any scars.”

“Really?”

“Really, I confirmed it with the doctor.” The butler smiled. “Our Ashley wants to be a dancer. You can’t have scars on your body.”

The butler had watched Ashley grow up and knew how hard it was for her.

Ashley felt relieved and thanked the butler.

The butler had many things to do, and it was already commendable that she had stayed until Ashley woke up to explain her condition.

After confirming Ashley was okay, the butler told her to rest and left.

As soon as Ashley closed her eyes, her phone vibrated.

She picked it up and saw a message from her class group.

The class monitor had sent a notification saying that the school was suddenly organizing a competition that all students had to participate in, with the preliminaries scheduled for this week. The class monitor had already signed her up.

Ashley thought for a moment and sent a message to the class monitor, “Monitor, I can’t participate in this competition.”

Class monitor, “? Don’t you want to study abroad anymore?”

Ashley explained that she was hospitalized and couldn’t even go to school this week.

The class monitor sent a disappointed emoji and said he would ask for leave on her behalf.

Ashley sent a thank you message and was about to ask for more details about the competition. But she received a message from Teacher Eva.

“ ‘Ashley, female, 21 years old, Huai University; Junior of Department of Dance. Height: 167 cm, Weight: 46 kg. Measurements: 35, 21, 35. Special note: First time.’”

Eva, “Did I get the information right?”

Ashley frowned. “Miss White, what’s this information for?”

“I’m compiling student profiles. We dancers need to keep track of our figures. Making a file makes it easier to compare.”

Ashley, “You can have the measurements, but why is there a special note?”

Does dancing require noting if you’re a virgin?

Eva quickly replied, “That note means your debut performance.”

What’s the point of noting this?

Ashley felt something was off, but her head hurt too much. After some thought, she replied, “The data is correct,” and turned off her phone.

Ashley leaned weakly against the headboard, looking at the bandages on her arm and chest, recalling what happened the previous afternoon.

Vaguely, she remembered something about a vase. Could it be that her mother got caught stealing the vase?

As her head throbbed with the thought, her phone vibrated again.

Ashley answered the call, “John?”

“Why aren’t you at class?” John seemed to be in the classroom; his voice echoed.

“I got injured and am hospitalized.”

“Hospitalized?” John’s voice rose. “Which hospital and ward? Wait, I’m coming over!”

“No need to come. I’ll be discharged in a few days. You—”

“Tell me, or I’ll search every hospital!”

Ashley had no choice but to give him the address.

Half an hour later, John arrived, out of breath.

“I told you not to come,” Ashley said helplessly. “I’ll be discharged soon.”

“You’re wrapped up like a mummy and still say that?” John glared at her, seeing the blood seeping through the bandages, and felt a pang of pain. “How did you get hurt like this?”

Ashley didn’t want to explain. “Well...I accidentally fell down the stairs.”

John pulled a chair to the bedside and looked at the scratches on her neck and the footprints on her arm, remaining silent.

Whose stairs have hands and feet?

Ashley, feeling guilty, avoided his gaze. “I’m really fine. Go back to class.”

Seeing she didn’t want to talk about it, John didn’t press further. “I’ve already asked for leave. Going back now wouldn’t make it in time. I’ll stay with you for a while.”

Ashley sighed. “You shouldn’t be so attentive to me. What if your crush sees and misunderstands?”