Chapter 717

John raised his eyes to meet Frederick's gaze, his voice dripping with menace. "Whoever dares to set their sights on Jane I'll make sure they regret it. Doesn't matter who they are. Anyone scheming against her will walk in on their feet and be carried out on a stretcher." Frederick felt his chest tighten at the dark glint in John's eyes. There was an unspoken warning in those words, as though they were directed at him. Yet he kept his composure, replying calmly, "No need for you to handle this, Brother. I'll get to the bottom of it." —— Harold descended the stairs after leaving Huan's study and spotted the tall, golden-haired, blue-eyed Maia leaning casually against the doorframe. He tried to brush past her without a word, but she stopped him. "You're Mina's twin brother, aren't you?" Harold turned, his expression icy. His dark eyes were sharp and unreadable, his lips pressed into a thin, silent line. Maia smirked, unfazed by his cold stare. "I just wanted to tell you your sister’s still a kid. A little schoolgirl should stick to schoolgirl things." She tilted her head, her tone laced with mockery. "She shouldn’t be trying to steal men especially not mine. That’s a game she can’t win." Harold’s fists clenched in silent fury, but words had never been his strength, let alone arguing with women. He could only watch as Maia sauntered away. When he returned home, his face still stormy, he marched straight into Mina’s room. Mina jumped at the sight of his darkened expression. After a moment, she cautiously inched closer. "Harold, what’s wrong? Did someone at school mess with you?" He remained silent, his jaw set. Taking his silence as confirmation, Mina rolled up her sleeves, her temper flaring. "Damn it! Who’s got the guts to lay a finger on my brother?" She grabbed his arm, pulling him toward the door. "Come on, let’s go teach them a lesson they won’t forget!" Harold's cold eyes met hers as he hesitated for a moment before hardening his resolve. "The ones who bullied me were Huan and his girlfriend. Still planning to go beat them up?" Jane and her brother had just reached their sister's doorway, about to ask her to play outside, when they froze at Harold's words. Hadn't they all silently agreed to keep Huan's situation from Mina? What was Harold doing? Jane instantly understood Harold hadn't gone to the lab at school earlier. He'd gone to see Huan. She sighed softly. Well, some secrets couldn't stay hidden forever. Besides, Mina had been talking about "Little Mute" nonstop lately it wasn't like she'd forget Huan anytime soon. Maybe it was better to tell her the truth now and let her face reality. Mina stood frozen for a second before suddenly clutching her stomach in laughter. Pointing at Harold between giggles, she said, "Harold, you're ridiculous! Little Mute's still in the U.S. how could he bully you? And his girlfriend too? That guy's as quiet as a clam where would he even find a girlfriend?" She tilted her head, feigning seriousness. "Wait, Harold... did you fall asleep during an experiment and dream that Little Mute and his imaginary girlfriend picked on you?" Convinced by her own theory, she reached out and patted Harold's head like a child. "There, there, pet the floof, no more scary dreams!" Harold didn't bother arguing. He simply tossed his phone to her, pulling up the video he'd recorded at Huan's place. When he'd gone to confront Huan, he'd already decided: if Huan denied the girl was his girlfriend and honored his past promise to Mina even if he had some unavoidable reason to stay with that girl and avoid Mina, Harold would keep covering for him. But if Huan had truly cast Mina aside... then she deserved to know the truth. Bryan glanced at Jane and quietly tugged her into Mina's room. If Mina ended up crying later, they'd be ready to comfort her. If Mina cried too hard or seemed too heartbroken, he'd go straight to the Smith household and give Huan a good beating to vent her anger. Jane listened to Huan's voice coming from Brother Harold's phone, spouting nonsense about "just playing along with a kid," and her heart leaped into her throat. She was terrified her sister might feel hurt or upset. To her surprise, Mina watched the whole thing calmly, then clicked her tongue in disdain. "Seems like Little Mute's got some questionable morals. Gets himself a foreign girlfriend and suddenly forgets all about his old friends. And here I was, feeling sorry for him back then even gave him a rabbit. Should’ve just roasted it myself instead. Would’ve been way tastier." With that, she smoothly changed the subject. "Speaking of roasted rabbit Jane, I’m craving grilled fish. Let’s go fishing! Tonight, we’ll set up a tent in the garden, dig a pit, and have ourselves a proper fish roast!" Seeing her sister act as if Huan’s betrayal meant nothing to her, Jane nodded eagerly. "Okay, okay! Let’s go right now!" "Brother Harold, you take the tent and set it up outside." "Brother Bryan, go grab the small hoe from the toolshed and dig us a pit. Then ask William for some firewood we’ll need it for grilling later." Harold and Bryan immediately sprang into action at Jane’s instructions. "Wait here, sis. I’ll go get our fishing rods!" Jane volunteered enthusiastically, dashing off to fetch their custom-made rods. As Mina watched the tiny figure of her sister scurrying away, she quickly wiped away two stray tears that had escaped her control. By the time Jane returned, her face had settled back into its usual proud expression. When Jane came back with the rods, she stole a careful glance at her sister’s face. She seemed completely normal no trace of sadness. Jane’s big, grape-like eyes flickered with confusion. *Maybe she really did just see Huan as a friend?* She quietly let out a sigh of relief. But as they fished, Jane noticed her sister rubbing her eyes every now and then. Tilting her head, Jane asked in her soft, cautious little voice, "Sis, what’s wrong? Do your eyes hurt?" "Hmm!" Mina responded vaguely, rubbing her tired eyes. "Don't know what's wrong today my eyes start aching the moment I focus on the float." With that, she tossed her fishing rod aside and stood up abruptly. "Forget it, Jane. You handle the fishing. I'll go clean the fish. How do you prep them for grilling?" "Just scale them and gut them that's all," Jane answered earnestly. Mina clapped her hands together. "That simple? No challenge at all." "Wait five minutes, Jane. Once I'm done cleaning, you start grilling. And make mine spicy today I mean face-melting, tear-jerking spicy!" she declared with exaggerated bravado. Watching his sister march toward the kitchen with their catch, shoulders squared like a warrior heading into battle, Jane suddenly understood. It wasn't that she no longer cared about Huan. She was pretending indifference just so they wouldn't worry.