Freddie feigned guilt as he said guilelessly, "Did I accidentally say something wrong again? Mr. Crossley, as you know, I've been away from Highside for a long time. So, I am ignorant about many things. I hope you won't take offense at my words."
Lloyd dispassionately replied, "It's nothing. It's all in the past."
Freddie glanced at the time. "I still have other things to do later, so I'll take my leave now. See you next time."
After he said that, he nodded to both of them and departed with a smile on his face.
He felt his entire body relaxing as soon as he stepped out of the Crossley Group.
The moment he got into his car, he dialed Aidan's number. "I've done everything you asked me to do. When will you be treating me to lunch?"
"Why are you in such a hurry?"
"There's something wrong with you if you're not interested in eating."
Aidan said, "Eat by yourself and send me the bill. I'll reimburse you."
After he finished speaking, he curtly ended the call.
Freddie stared at his phone speechlessly. The sayings 'burning the bridge after crossing the river' and 'killing the donkey as soon as the work is done' must refer to people like him who toss people aside once they cease to be useful.
On the other side, the results of the competition were out.
The final champion was Queenie. Although she was the most popular contestant this year and had many supporters backing her, there was an uproar among the audience when the organizers announced that she was the champion of the competition.
Leanna's loss was not a big deal, but it would be a blatant slap to Aidan's face.
Everybody carefully turned their attention to Leanna and Aidan. To their surprise, the expressions of those two remained the same as usual. In fact, the two of them seemed utterly unaffected. It was as though they were not surprised by this result.
On the other hand, many reporters gathered around Queenie for an interview after she was announced as the champion of the competition.
Leanna observed the situation. "What comes next doesn't have anything to do with us anymore. Let's go."
Aidan raised his eyebrows, leaned toward her, and whispered something in her ear.
His words left her speechless. Lunatic.
The words he just murmured in her ear were, "Since you didn't win the championship, then I'll just have to humble myself and give myself to you."
He curled his lips into a smile and took her hand. "Let's go."
When they left the venue, somebody called Leanna's name as they were leaving.
Leanna turned to look behind her. Sofia walked over, seeming nervous to see Aidan. "P-President Aidan…"
Aidan nodded lightly in acknowledgment and turned toward Leanna. "I'll wait for you in the car."
"Okay."
Once Aidan left, Sofia finally breathed a sigh of relief. "The competition is finally over. Do you have time for a meal together?"
Leanna replied, "I have a prior appointment with my friend. Why don't we meet up at another time?"
"Sure," Sofia agreed." Speaking of which, I'm glad I could come this far. I'm happy that I managed to take third place in the competition, but I can't help feeling it's a shame. You should have gotten first place instead…"
Leanna chuckled at those words. "There's nothing to regret. My skills were simply inferior. It's normal to lose for that reason."
Sofia pouted unhappily. "Your work was much better than Queenie's. There's something wrong with the judges this year. I seriously wonder what is going through their heads." After her brief rant, she continued, "But that doesn't matter. It's just a competition. I'm sure your future will be even brighter."
Leanna thanked Sofia sincerely, "Thank you."
Then, Sofia made a 'work hard' gesture at Leanna. "I'll be going first. Bye! Let's meet up next time!"
"Bye."
Leanna watched Sofia leave before she got into the car.
Aidan inquired, "Are you very close?"
She replied, "Not really. We talked twice."
He didn't say anything else after that and instructed the driver to return to the studio.
After a while, she suddenly voiced out. "Wait, I… want to go somewhere."
When she mentioned the address, he frowned. "Why are you going there?"
"I'm… just going to check on something. Don't worry about it."
He repeated her words. "Don't worry about it?"
It felt very troublesome to explain the situation to him. However, she noticed that his expression had turned gloomy, and he seemed to be sulking. She murmured softly, "I didn't mean it that way. In any case, I'll explain it to you later, okay?"
"Up to you."
Half an hour later, the car stopped in front of the hospital entrance.
Leanna opened the door and said, "Wait here for me. I'll be back soon."
Although she hurried into the hospital, she was completely clueless about the situation. Therefore, she had no choice but to ask around at the nurse's station.
A few days had passed since Ron went missing. But, even if he needed to hide, he would never abandon Queenie's father.
When she recalled the name she saw on the medical record the other day, she made her inquiry, "I would like to ask about a patient named Leo Wojzicki. Which ward is he staying in?"
The nurse searched for the information on the computer and frowned at the results. "Who are you to the patient?"
"I'm… here to visit on behalf of a friend."
"Leo Wojzicki has been dead for a few days now. His corpse has been lying in the morgue, and no family members have come forward to claim him. If you are acquainted with his family members, please let them know about this."
Leanna involuntarily widened her eyes in surprise at those words. She was filled with absolute shock. "When did that happen?"
The nurse mentioned the exact time of death.
Leanna mulled over this information. That's one hour before Ron called me the other day. So, at that time, Queenie's father had already…
She pursed her lips tightly. If I had known earlier, I would not have asked Ron to come and help me search for Louis.
When she did not respond, the nurse reached out and waved a hand in front of her face. "Excuse me?"
She collected her scattered thoughts and apologized, "I'm sorry." After a while, she continued with an additional question. "Have you contacted his family?"
The nurse complained in resentment, "It's said that he has a daughter. But, although we've tried calling her number several times now, our phone calls have never gone through. What kind of daughter is she? Her father has passed away, but she didn't even bother to visit the hospital."
Leanna pleaded, "Please try to contact her again. If… you can't get in contact with her, please just follow the hospital's procedures. I will pay for all the expenses."
The nurse nodded. "Come with me."
After she left the hospital, she looked up at the night sky in the distance with a slight sense of dissociation. She suddenly felt that everything in the world was easily changed with a quick snip of Fate's scissors.
Queenie was currently immersed in the joy of winning the championship, utterly ignorant of the fact that her father was no longer in the world of the living.
Aidan walked over to her. "Are you done?"
"Yeah. Let's go."
He glanced behind her. It was not difficult to guess what she came here to do. Thus, he asked, "Did you get any information on him?"
She shook her head. "Mr. Wojzicki is… gone. His corpse has been left in the morgue. It looks like Ron has not returned. I'm sure something happened to him."
"What if he ran away?"
"He won't. No matter what happens to him, as long as he can still stand up, he will never abandon Mr. Wojzicki here without a care."
He nonchalantly remarked, "You sure understand him well."
She was confused by his reaction. What? No way. Is he jealous?
Nevertheless, she tried to explain and defend herself. "It's not that I understand him; I just…"
"I'm not interested."
"Okay." She glanced at him, the corners of her mouth curling into a smile. "Are you still angry?"
He replied, "I'm not as petty as you are." He opened the car door and tilted his head toward the car. "Get in the car."
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