Vanessa Sterling looked up in surprise, just in time to see Miles Sterling snatch the branch out of Riley Raines’ hand.

Then he pulled Riley to a more open area, where fists, feet, and the branch all landed on him.

The previously fierce-looking Riley was now curled up on the ground, holding his head and screaming incessantly.

It was only amidst Riley’s cries that Vanessa came to her senses.

She immediately stood up and ran out from behind the counter, stopping Miles and saying, "Stop hitting! Something’s going to happen!"

Miles heard Vanessa’s voice and promptly ceased his actions.

Then, like a child who had done something wrong, he froze, dropped the wooden stick from his hand, and apologized to Vanessa, saying, "...Sorry for scaring you."

Vanessa looked at him, lowered her eyes, pursed her lips, and remained silent.

Though she couldn’t utter words of thanks, she certainly didn’t dare blame Miles either.

If Miles hadn’t shown up in time, she didn’t know how much more crazy Riley would have been.

Not long after, the police arrived at the scene. As they took Riley away, they also notified The Raines Family.

It was evidently not the first time they’d handled Riley causing trouble after getting drunk.

Watching the police car drive away, Vanessa finally let out a small sigh of relief.

The girls upstairs who had been looking after the children also immediately ran downstairs: "Teacher Sterling, are you okay?"

Vanessa waved her hand and then looked over at Miles.

Another girl hurriedly grabbed Miles’ hand and gratefully said, "Handsome guy, thanks to you this time, thank you so much."

Miles hesitated, exchanged a glance with Vanessa, and fearing she might misunderstand him as spying on her again, he said "You’re welcome" and hurriedly started to walk towards the store’s exit.

"Wait..." Vanessa called out to him.

Miles’ back stiffened, and he stopped in his tracks.

Vanessa looked at the blood dripping from Miles’ fingertips onto the floor and softly said, "...Remember to go to the hospital to treat your wounds."

Miles was taken aback, raising his hand to look at the wound on his palm.

The pain wasn’t worth mentioning, and he hadn’t expected Vanessa to care about his injury.

A girl, unaware, approached warmly and inquired, "The hospital is just nearby; why don’t I take you there?"

Miles softly declined, "No need, thank you. I’ll go by myself." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Vanessa remained silent and turned away to tidy up the mess in the room.

Miles glanced at Vanessa twice before finally stepping away.

"Teacher Sterling, who was that handsome guy earlier? Why does it feel like you two know each other?"

Before Vanessa could answer, another girl said, "Now that you mention it, I think I saw him a few days ago during my early shift, just standing across the street smoking and looking this way."

Vanessa paused and gently smiled, saying, "Hurry back to the classroom for your lessons, don’t worry the children."

Upon hearing this, the teachers gradually headed back upstairs to continue their classes.

Vanessa stopped sweeping the floor and glanced outside.

The car that had been parked by the roadside was nowhere to be seen; he must have gone to the hospital to treat his wounds.

Looking at the blood stains on the floor, Vanessa sighed and fetched a mop to clean the floor.

She thought her hatred ran deep, but seeing Miles like this seemed to inexplicably dilute that hatred.

Or rather, what she hated was the old Miles Sterling, who was selfish at heart and had an irritable temperament.

The current Miles Sterling was a completely different person compared to his past self.

The cautious demeanor he displayed earlier was entirely impossible for the old him.