Watching Julian slowly walk up to her, Hannah's emotions were far more complex compared to his calm expression.
She felt joy at seeing Julian again, but at the same time, she didn't want him to see her in such a disheveled state. As a result, she couldn't help but avert her gaze slightly.
Julian looked her up and down—she was as elegant and beautiful as ever, and she didn't seem injured. So he asked, "Why didn't you contact me after graduation?"
Hannah was a year older than Julian, which meant she naturally graduated a year earlier than him. Back when they were in university, she often visited his villa. But after graduation, she didn't even send a single message. Julian had even wondered if she had already gotten married.
And now, when they met again, she had actually been forced to jump off a building.
"You didn't contact me either," Hannah retorted, her voice tinged with grievance.
As Julian's achievements grew greater and greater, the gap between them only widened. Compared to him, the only thing she could take pride in was her looks.
But even in that, Nicole was no worse than her—and Nicole's family background was far superior.
At first, Hannah hadn't known that Nicole's grandfather was Duke, the strongest Champion of Drakoria; she only found out by chance later.
Even someone as exceptional as Nicole was pursuing Julian, and Hannah felt she couldn't compare to her in any way.
On top of that, after graduation, her family's business encountered major difficulties, which made her even less inclined to reach out to Julian. So, she never contacted him.
Hearing her response, Julian felt somewhat helpless.
'I just asked you a question—how did it end up with you questioning me instead?'
"So it's my fault?"
Seeing Hannah's slightly flushed face and the tears welling up in her eyes, Julian felt a headache coming on. He had never been able to stand seeing women cry.
"No," she said. "I just didn't expect to see you here."
Hannah quickly wiped away the tears that were about to fall and gave Julian a bright smile.
"I was having dinner with a few friends."
"Celebi and Jirachi were the ones who told me about what happened to you," Julian explained.
Celebi, now perched on Julian's head, puffed up proudly and said, "I saved your mistress, so can you transfer me a hundred bucks?"
"Julian, I want some too! I was the one who went to notify you. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to see your mistress," added Jirachi, nestled in his arms.
The two little ones kept throwing around the word "mistress," and Julian's face darkened slightly.
Fortunately, Hannah couldn't understand what they were saying.
And since when had Hannah become his mistress? Sure, she had once sent him a few rather suggestive pictures…
"Thank you, Celebi and Jirachi," Hannah said to the two little ones.
Celebi grinned widely, while Jirachi looked a little shy.
Seeing Julian and Hannah chatting so happily, Adam, his three lackeys, and Sharon all felt a chill run down their spines.
Hannah actually knew Julian—and their relationship didn't seem ordinary at all.
Adam shot a murderous glare at Sharon—was this woman trying to get him killed?
Sharon, on the other hand, felt utterly wronged. If she had known that Hannah had connections to Julian, she would never have made such a foolish move. Besides, Hannah had never mentioned knowing Julian from start to finish.
The only thing she was grateful for was that no major mistake had been made yet—otherwise, she wouldn't even know how she died.
Even though Julian wasn't paying them any attention, the five of them didn't dare to move.
"Let me see what kind of people dare to bully our renowned campus belle," Julian said as he turned to look at Adam, Sharon, and the other three.
Thump!
Adam dropped to his knees instantly, and his lackeys and Sharon quickly followed suit.
"Young Master Walker, I swear I didn't know Miss Hannah was your woman! Otherwise, even if I had a hundred lives, I'd never have dared to do such a thing!"
He was telling the truth—and Julian knew it.
"It was all this woman! She said Miss Hannah's family had fallen on hard times and needed a large sum of money, making her an easy target to control," Adam said, pointing at Sharon. He inwardly to strangle her, feeling that she had dragged him into this mess.
Sharon couldn't care about anything else now. Adam was someone she couldn't afford to offend, but if she didn't survive this ordeal, she'd die anyway. Glaring furiously at Adam, she shouted, "It was you who thought Miss Hannah was beautiful and seductive, so you used me to try and control her with underhanded methods!"
Slap!
Adam struck Sharon across the face and roared, "You're spouting nonsense!"
"Ah! I'm going to fight you to the death!" Sharon lunged at him, her sharp nails clawing at Adam's face.
Julian naturally paid no attention to their dog-eat-dog squabble.
The commotion had long since drawn attention, but no one dared to intervene. Nobody had the courage to step in and discipline anyone on Julian's behalf. Besides, the man was clearly in the middle of a "hero saves beauty" moment—anyone who interfered now would be an idiot.
"Enough!"
Julian snorted coldly.
Adam, his face covered in scratches, and Sharon, her hair disheveled, immediately froze.
"Slap yourselves until she forgives you."
The five of them immediately complied, slapping their own faces hard.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
For a moment, the sound of slaps echoed continuously.
"Celebi, Jirachi, you two keep an eye on them. If anyone slaps themselves too lightly, you step in and slap them."
The two little ones nodded excitedly and flew over to the five individuals, exercising the supervisory authority Julian had granted them.
Now, the five dared not hold back at all, hitting themselves even harder.
Although they weren't clear about Celebi and Jirachi's strength, but since they were Julian's Pokémon, so they figured they had to be at least at the Elite-level.
A slap from an Elite-level Pokémon would probably send their heads flying.
Watching Adam, who had been so arrogant just moments ago and bragged about wanting to sleep with her, now kneeling on the ground and slapping himself over and over without daring to show the slightest resentment, Hannah felt a mix of emotions.
This was the benefit that power brought.
As she gazed at Julian's calm and composed face, Hannah's heart grew even more tangled.
Initially, she had indeed approached Julian for her own benefits. But as she spent more time with him, she had unconsciously fallen for him.
If her rival hadn't been someone like Nicole, with her extraordinary background and looks and figure no less impressive than her own, she would never have chosen to withdraw halfway.
Yet when she had finally given up, she never expected that at her most desperate moment, Julian would appear and pull her back from the abyss.
It felt as though fate itself was toying with her.
As she watched Julian's calm yet stern face, Hannah's turbulent emotions gradually settled, and the sound of slaps once again reached her ears.
By now, all five of them had swollen into pig-faced messes, the corners of their mouths split and bleeding—a truly miserable sight.
But Hannah did not call for them to stop. She had compassion, but not for these five. If Julian hadn't shown up in time, her fate would have been a hundred times worse than theirs.
"If you're still upset, go over and slap them a few times yourself. It's fine even if you end up killing them," Julian said.
"No… there's no need."
Hannah shook her head gently.
*****
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