From Villain to Virtual Sweetheart: The Fake Heir's Grand Scheme(BL)-Chapter 719: The Names That Returned (part two)

Micah slowly slipped his phone out of his pocket while the conversation around him continued to buzz with gossip and speculation.

Melissa and the others were still talking excitedly about the Sullivan brand, the mysterious acquisition, and the sudden rise of Shimi Chemical Company. Voices overlapped, theories piled on top of one another, and half of the information being shared sounded like rumours that had already been exaggerated three times.

Micah leaned back slightly in his chair, his thumb unlocking the screen of his phone. If the news had spread this widely already, it meant the information was probably online. He opened the browser and typed a few quick words. Within seconds, multiple headlines appeared on the screen. His gaze scanned the headlines silently.

Yes. The news was real.

The articles confirmed exactly what Melissa had been saying. The Sullivan brand, once a prestigious name in the fashion and textile industry, had indeed been acquired by Shimi Chemical Company.

Not only that, but the reports also mentioned that the Sullivan group had been suffering financial difficulties for months before the acquisition. Several subsidiaries had been quietly collapsing one after another, though the company had apparently tried to suppress the information.

Now the truth had finally surfaced.

Micah stared at the screen for a moment, his thumb hovering above the display. Then he typed another name. Evan.

Several results appeared immediately. Micah opened one of them. The article was short but detailed enough. Evan had been officially charged with theft. More specifically, the theft of classified corporate information belonging to Shimi Chemical Company.

The investigation claimed he had illegally obtained internal data related to production technology and attempted to sell it to competing businesses.

Micah’s gaze lingered on the text. His expression didn’t change. After a moment, he closed the page and typed another name. Julian Miller. More results appeared. Micah clicked the first article.

Apparently, the bar Julian had opened using the money Micah had given him had recently come under police investigation. Authorities suspected the establishment of distributing illegal drugs to customers under the guise of high-end nightlife services. The bar had already been temporarily shut down while the investigation continued.

Micah read the short report quietly, his eyes scanning each line. Then he locked his phone and lowered it onto the table. For a few seconds, he simply stared at the dark screen. If he couldn’t connect the dots now... Then he would truly be an idiot. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

The pattern was too obvious. Shimi Chemical Company had suddenly purchased the Sullivan brand. Evan had been charged with stealing information from that same company. Julian’s bar, one of the places that had humiliated and hurt Micah in the past, was now under investigation.

Micah slowly leaned back in his chair. There was only one person behind all of this. Aidan.

It didn’t take much imagination to understand what had happened. Aidan had gone after them. Every single one of them. The people who had hurt Micah in the past lives. The ones who had mocked him, betrayed him, or tried to destroy him. Aidan had simply... removed them. One by one.

Micah lowered his gaze slightly. Strangely enough, he didn’t feel anything while reading the news. No satisfaction. No anger. No excitement. Just a quiet emptiness. Those people had hurt him terribly. But the hatred he used to carry for them had faded a long time ago. The memories still existed, but they no longer burned the same way.

Micah slipped his phone back into his pocket. Melissa was still speaking animatedly with Amy and Russell, discussing how shocking it was that a chemical company had suddenly swallowed such a well-known brand.

Micah listened for a few more moments. Then he stood up. "I’m going to grab lunch," he said casually.

Melissa waved him off without even looking away from the conversation. "Bring me a drink if you see something good!"

Micah chuckled quietly and left the workshop room. The hallway outside was quieter. Students passed by carrying books or chatting in small groups.

Micah walked slowly toward the cafeteria. There was someone he wanted to see. Darcy.

When Micah entered the cafeteria, the lunchtime crowd had already gathered. Tables were scattered across the large room, filled with students eating, talking, or staring down at their phones. Micah scanned the room briefly. It didn’t take long to find him. Darcy was sitting at one of the long tables near the window. Alone. Completely alone. What stood out even more was the empty space around him. It wasn’t that the cafeteria lacked seats. There were still places available at other tables.

But around Darcy... There was a strange circle of emptiness. As if an invisible boundary had been drawn around him. Students passed nearby but none of them sat down. It almost looked as if someone had drawn a line on the floor that no one dared cross.

Micah raised an eyebrow slightly. Interesting. He walked toward the table at a relaxed pace. Darcy was eating quietly, his head slightly lowered as he focused on his tray.

Micah reached the table and pulled out the chair beside him before sitting down casually. The sound of the chair scraping lightly against the floor made Darcy react instantly.

Darcy snapped his head up. His expression was cold and clearly irritated, the look of someone ready to tell off whoever had the audacity to invade his space. But the sharp words never came out. They stopped halfway in his throat. Because the moment his eyes met Micah’s hazel gaze, Darcy froze. The hostility on his face disappeared almost instantly. Instead, his brows furrowed slightly.

"Why are you here?" Darcy asked. His voice was calmer now, though still faintly confused. "I thought you didn’t have class today." He lowered his head again and continued eating.

"I was bored to death at home, so I came to a workshop." Micah rested his chin on his hand and stared at him with amusement. "Why the long face?" He asked lightly. "Are you trying to scare everyone away?"

Darcy calmly scooped another spoonful of rice into his mouth before replying. "After your incident spread around campus," he said flatly, "people started thinking I had something shady to do with it."

Micah blinked.

Darcy continued speaking with the same indifferent tone. "Some people came to curse at me. Others came to congratulate me." He paused briefly and glanced up. "Apparently they think I’m some genius who manipulated everything to climb my way into the Ramsy Empire."

Micah couldn’t help smiling.

Darcy continued. "Then there are the ones who suddenly want to be friends. They keep saying they always believed in me and want to ’join my future success.’" His expression darkened slightly. "I don’t have time for this circus." Darcy shrugged faintly. "So I gave them a piece of my mind, telling them exactly what I thought of their behaviour." He gestured vaguely around them. "This is the result."

Micah’s smile widened until his eyes curved into crescents. "Are you sure that’s the reason?" he teased.

Darcy glanced at him suspiciously.

Micah continued in a dramatic tone. "I thought people genuinely wanted to get close to you."

Darcy’s eyes narrowed.

"You’ve become their idol, after all," Micah added with mock seriousness. "You’re the man who rose from ashes and became a Phoenix man."

Darcy stared at him silently for two seconds. Then he spoke with complete deadpan seriousness. "At least stay updated, that phrase has long turned into a negative label." Darcy continued. "Now a Phoenix man is someone who marries above his class, usually to a peacock woman. He’s known for being stingy and having an inferiority complex."

Micah froze for a moment. Then he burst out laughing. "Oh right!" he said between chuckles. "That peacock woman would actually be me, the pampered young master."

Darcy looked at him like he had lost his mind.

Micah continued laughing. "I heard something hilarious from Aria," he added.

Darcy reluctantly asked, "What?"

Micah wiped the corner of his eye dramatically. "Your mother and Nora apparently thought we were together."

Darcy went completely silent.

Micah slapped the table lightly. "Can you believe it?!" he laughed. "If that were true, you’d officially qualify as a Phoenix man!"

Darcy stared at him, speechless. For a long moment, he didn’t say anything. After the surgery... Micah’s brain seemed to have developed several loose screws. That was the only explanation Darcy could think of. Darcy sighed deeply and pushed his tray slightly toward Micah.

"Aren’t you hungry?" he asked. "Eat something."

What Darcy didn’t say out loud was that if Micah filled his mouth with food, he might stop saying such ridiculous things.

Micah didn’t refuse. "Sure," he said cheerfully.

He picked up a chicken wing from the tray and started nibbling on it. But behind the relaxed smile on his face... His thoughts were far from calm. Micah didn’t mention the news he had just seen. He didn’t mention Shimi Chemical Company. He didn’t mention Evan or Julian. And he definitely didn’t mention Aidan.

Because Micah was worried. He was worried about how Darcy might feel if he discovered the truth. Aidan was openly targeting people connected to Micah’s past. People who had hurt him before. But the person who had hurt Darcy the most was Aidan himself.

Micah feared that if Darcy realised Aidan was doing this for Micah’s sake, it might look disgusting. Hypocritical.

After all... Aidan had been one of the worst people in Darcy’s past.

Micah lowered his gaze slightly as he chewed. Even though he never said it out loud... He was almost certain about something.

Darcy remembered. Not fragments. Not vague impressions. Darcy remembered everything from the past. Every detail.

Micah could feel it in the way Darcy sometimes looked at certain people. The way his eyes occasionally carried a quiet weight that didn’t belong to someone their age.

If that was true... Then it must be unbearable. To see the same man who once acted like a predator toward him now shamelessly flattering someone else. Instead of kneeling down and begging Darcy for forgiveness... Aidan was busy trying to please Micah.

Micah’s grip tightened slightly around the chicken wing. A bitter feeling rose in his chest. He hated them. All of them. No matter what life they were in... They always found a way to hurt Darcy.

Micah’s jaw clenched slightly. In his mind, he had already killed Aidan a thousand times. He wished Leo would step in faster and give an earful to Aidan.