The atmosphere in the academy had become tense, and the students were trying to have less contact with the clerks and store workers.

In the electronic section of the Violet Star Mall, a familiar chubby clerk leaned against the counter with a bored look.

He rarely had customers anymore, and the way the students treated him with suspicion was annoying.

’It’s not like I’m Taeko, who decided to attack a beautiful girl.’

Mulling over that thought, he noticed a brown-haired student approaching him.

Surprised, he sat up straight and gave his best smile.

"Good evening, there. How can I help you?"

Liam stopped before the counter, offering a warm smile.

"Hello, could you fix the cracked screen of this phone?"

He asked with a bitter smile, pulling out a phone that obviously belonged to a lady, judging from its pink pouch.

This was Ysabella’s phone, which had fallen to the ground and cracked when she was attacked.

Now, Liam was doing her a favor by voluntarily repairing it.

The chubby man’s eyes sparkled. "Oh, this? This is my specialty!"

Grinning, he gently collected the phone from him, then asked,

"Hmm, it’s going to be easy to repair. That’s going to cost you 700 credits, though."

"700?" The price surprised Liam, as it was quite affordable. "Alright, no problem."

"That’s good." The man smiled. "If you want to wait, you can just wait on the chair over there."

Pointing at a comfortable bench close by, he turned away and entered his workshop.

Apart from being an electronics seller, he was also an electronic engineer. This was what he had learned after dropping out from the Awakened Academy he was attending years ago. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

It was also his passion, and his ability fully supported it.

Searching through his collection of spare materials, he quickly found a suitable replacement for Ysabella’s screen.

He peeled off the old, cracked screen, skillfully disconnecting the touch-pads and touch-sensors from it.

Then, he carefully aligned the new screen on it, completely filling the gap. The phone looked new.

Turning it on, he easily bypassed the password with his ability, then tested the touch-pads to see if they were working perfectly.

’Ah, it’s really refreshing doing something like this...’

His smile froze when he came across a familiar calculator app that was meant for hiding files.

’This phone belongs to a girl, right? Could it be...’

His breathing became hurried, and he immediately bypassed the security on the app.

Instantly, he was dazed and puzzled.

The nudes he was expecting weren’t there, but rich information about several students. They were secrets that would definitely cause chaos when exposed.

’What the...? Who the hell owns this phone?’

Appalled, he could only press his lips together and read through.

The more he read, the colder his heart became.

’Really! Are these even students anymore? How could their hearts be so dark about each other. Tch, humans are vile regardless of age, aren’t they?’

Disgusted and turned off, he exited the app, then removed all the passwords from the phone.

’I’ll mess with whoever this bitch is for a while.’

Coming out, he called out to Liam.

"Boy, I’m done with the repair. You can have it now."

Liam immediately came over, checking the phone and admiring how fast the man had worked.

’Wow. It’s really working. But no passwords?’

Seeing his confused expression, the man continued.

"Ah, don’t worry about that. The passwords simply cleared because of the repair process. You can ask your girlfriend to set new passwords on it."

Liam froze, then hurriedly explained.

"No, she isn’t my girlfriend. She’s just a classmate that got injured and her phone cracked. So I wanted to repair the phone on her behalf."

The man’s eyes narrowed, but he retained his smile.

"I see. You’re a good person. That’s rare."

Liam smiled at the praise, then transferred the 700 credits as payment.

"I hope she recovers quickly."

Smiling, the man waved him off. Once Liam was gone, the man’s smile disappeared.

’Could it be the girl that Taeko attacked yesterday? Hmm... so she’s actually that shrewd.’

That thought sparked something in him, like a trigger to remember something.

His face went blank for a moment, then he lowered his head with a determined look.

"For the lord, our God."

He began packing up and closing the store. Night had already fallen, and it was time for him to act.

.........

Liam returned to the infirmary, then headed to the room where Ysabella was staying. She was going to get discharged tonight.

Grabbing the doorknob, he paused and looked around.

It felt like someone was watching him, but he couldn’t find anyone in the hallway.

Blaming it on a misconception, he pushed the door open and entered.

Ysabella was already sitting at the edge of her bed, wearing her shoes.

Raising her head, she was surprised to see Liam.

"Oh. You really repaired it?"

She could see the phone in his hand.

Liam nodded with a smile, then passed it to her. Her beautiful smile widened.

"Thank you. How much did it cost? I want to pay you back."

Already expecting this, Liam stepped back and refused politely.

"Nah, it’s fine. I repaired it for you. You don’t have to pay me back."

"Ah?" Ysabella was startled. "I... you’re really the nicest person I know. Thank you."

She took quick steps forward, then hugged him tightly. His body felt warm, unlike Kaiser.

Liam froze, then hesitantly patted her shoulder. He was still conscious that he had a girlfriend.

Ysabella felt his resistance and stepped back, then checked the phone, only to freeze.

"Eh? What happened to my password?"

Liam looked at her and explained just as the chubby man had told him.

"Ah... I-i see." She forced a smile, looking visibly shaken.

Then, she turned to him. "You didn’t check my phone on your way back, right?"

There was a dark, restrained undertone in her voice. Although she believed Liam wasn’t the type to spy on her phone, she was paranoid and had trust issues. What if Liam was just like her—friendly on the outside but dark on the inside?