Chapter 172
lan found himself outmatched by Connor, a fighter known for his impressive skills in the underground fighting world. When Connor made his move, lan didn’t even consider resisting, he knew it would just lead to a quick defeat.
Fortunately, Briar noticed lan’s predicament, came over, and pulled him inside, rescuing him from further embarrassment.
“Briar, these guys are brutal! I’m a well–known mercenary, after all. Can’t they show me a little respect?” lan complained quietly, feeling frustrated.
He thought, ‘I may not be able to take them on, but can’t we at least be civil?‘
Briar warned him with a stern look, saying, “If you don’t want Ashton to beat you up, then keep quiet!”
Even she had to admit that lan was practically asking for trouble, thinking to herself, ‘Why is he calling them out directly? That takes real guts.
lan glanced back and caught Connor’s mix of a smile and glare, which made him instantly stop talking.
The group settled onto some sofas, and because lan knew he was the least important person there, he got up to make tea for everyone. When he reached Ashton, he smiled a bit too eagerly while pouring the tea, knowing when to play it safe.
Ashton took a seat and immediately addressed Briar, saying, “So far, aside from lan making accusations about Sawyer, we don’t have solid proof that he’s a problem. Starting today, I’ll make sure you’re protected. What do you think about having Connor protect you?”
Without hesitation, Briar refused, “Ashton, I don’t think that’s needed. With skills like Sawyer’s…”
She thought about Connor, who led Ashton’s overseas mercenary group, and wondered, ‘He can’t just stay here to watch over me, right?
‘Things would get chaotic back where he’s needed. Plus, I can handle Sawyer myself.
‘lan had already seen Sawyer in action, and I don’t take him seriously.‘ Briar even planned to see Sawyer for herself during her classes the next day.
Spotting Briar’s intent, lan quickly raised his hand and said, “Actually, Ashton, I can protect Briar. I’m quite good at this. I’ve already encountered Sawyer. I promise, he won’t dare come near while I’m around.”
lan’s determination was clear–he was resolved not to let Sawyer slip away again, especially without any help.
Briar played along, “I agree. Ian has a lot of free time, so it makes sense for him to stick with me.”
She thought, ‘This is perfect. We could team up and quietly figure out how to handle Sawyer without anyone noticing.
Ashton and Connor exchanged skeptical looks, with Ashton asking, “Are you sure about this? lan’s skills are a bit… lacking.”
His doubt was obvious, and it was clear he didn’t think much of lan’s ability.
lan fell silent as he could practically feel all the bad vibes coming at him from across the sofa.
Briar couldn’t help but laugh and spoke up for lan, “He’s actually pretty capable, trust me.”
“Ashton, have some tea,” lan said as he quickly poured a cup for him. “Don’t worry, Ashton, I swear I’ll make sure Sawyer doesn’t get anywhere near
Briar.”
Of course, if Briar decided to stir up trouble with Sawyer herself, that was out of his hands.
As someone trained by Briar, he knew exactly how their elite instructor operated. Once she set her sights on someone, almost no one made it out
unscathed.
Now that Sawyer had landed on Briar’s blacklist, his days were pretty much numbered.
11:30 Wed, 20 AUG. DIO
Chapter 172
lan was practically salivating at the thought of watching Sawyer get pummeled by Briar and begging for mercy.
Ashton, who always indulged Briar, finally gave a reluctant nod. He said, “Fine, let’s give it a shot. I’ll be at the library whenever I’m free, so if anything comes up, just find me there.”
Just like that, lan had landed his first side gig from Ashton, and that was to protect Briar. For this role, he would be paid with a starting salary of 17 thousand dollars a month.
He was over the moon.
While this was not as much as what he used to earn overseas, looking after Briar wouldn’t take much effort, and this was practically free money.
He’d be a fool to refuse easy money like that.
Their conversation soon shifted back to Sawyer and the investigation into the shady vivisection lab tied to him. Although the cops didn’t have hard evidence yet, that didn’t mean Ashton was going to let him get away with it.
Anyone who landed on Ashton’s radar was as good as done for.
The next day, lan strutted into Shoneport University alongside Briar, making sure his presence was impossible to ignore. He even made a point of wandering around the school infirmary, flashing a cocky grin at Sawyer before swaggering off, leaving behind a back that was practically begging to be punched.
Whatever Sawyer thought, lan couldn’t care less–as long as he was having fun, that was all that mattered.
All morning, lan kept drifting past the infirmary door, and he did that easily a dozen times. Each time, he would poke his head in like he was just curious. He never caused a scene, so the staff had no real reason to ask him to leave. Besides, with Sawyer being the most handsome doctor on campus, there were always girl’s pretending to be sick just to catch a glimpse of him.
As such, there was no way they could throw lan out just because he was a guy, right?
Frank had been keeping an eye on lan all morning, and he almost died laughing at the guy’s outrageous antics.
As they all left the cafeteria after lunch, they noticed lan hurrying off toward the nurse’s office once again. Unable to resist, Frank called out, “Hey, Briar, has this guy always been such a jokester?”
Given lan’s cheeky grin, it was surprising that Sawyer hadn’t lost his patience yet. If it had been Frank in Sawyer’s shoes, he would have snapped a long time ago.
Briar glanced at lan, who was playfully teasing Sawyer at the infirmary door, and a smile appeared on her face. “Pretty much,” she replied.
lan was doing this on purpose; he was trying to bait Sawyer into revealing something he didn’t want anyone to know.
After all, you can’t keep all your secrets safe forever.
Now that lan had some crucial information on Sawyer, the only way to work with it in a place like Dasmieca, where confronting someone directly could backfire, was to push Sawyer into making the first move.
Ashton had cautioned Briar repeatedly about taking unnecessary risks, leaving lan to rely on this strategy to make Sawyer slip up. Then they would finally have a valid reason to step in.
Meanwhile, Frank was starting to appreciate lan more and remarked, “This guy’s got such a wild side—he’s a lot of fun to watch.”
Briar just smiled silently, thinking, ‘Let’s see if Frank still finds him funny once he sees how fierce lan can be when things get tough.“‘
Suddenly, they heard someone call out, “Miss Wade, this way, please.”
Briar and Frank turned to see Jewell guiding Emily toward the entrance of the science building.
213
Chapter 172
The moment Frank noticed it was Emily, he quickly positioned himself protectively in front of Briar and asked, “What’s she doing here?”
Briar met Emily’s barely hidden hostility with a cold stare, remembering it was Emily and her group who had backed Sawyer, helping him avoid trouble with the law.
63
W
AD
