I Faked My Death—Now I Have to Tame the Crazy Men I Left Behind-Chapter 64 - 62: The Blackening Value Has Been Blocked
"Sir!" The butler was scared half to death. Luckily, the pebble wasn’t large.
Kian Keller stared at the smooth pebble on the bed for a long time. In a daze, he suddenly thought he heard someone outside the window calling his name.
"Kian Keller!"
It was a loud voice, as if shouted with every ounce of their strength.
It was continuous, each shout louder than the last.
The butler, afraid of being hit by another pebble, waited a moment before carefully peeking his head out and glancing down.
’Wait, that petite figure standing downstairs... could that be—Miss Grant?!’
"Sir, the person downstairs is..."
"Didn’t she get in the car?"
Kian Keller didn’t need anyone to tell him. He knew that voice all too well.
Normally, he wasn’t one to express himself strongly and didn’t like to share his emotions. As a result, he was a man of few words who preferred quiet—the kind of absolute silence where even the sound of the wind disappeared.
Those around him knew his habits and were careful not to disturb his peace and quiet.
But things rarely went as planned. There was always one exception.
Whenever she was around, he couldn’t hear anything else.
His ears would be filled with the sound of her chattering away.
Yet he never found it noisy.
His turmoil would subside, leaving him more at ease than when he was alone. It was as if a lone boat, bobbing on the surface of the sea, had found its proper harbor—a sanctuary that was his and his alone.
—
The butler was also puzzled. "Yes, I saw Miss Grant get in the car and leave with my own eyes. How could she... be back?"
Downstairs, Mia Grant’s throat was getting sore. She planted her hands on her hips, panting for a few seconds, before shouting again, "Kian Keller!"
’Is this guy deaf?’
She bent down, searched the ground, and picked up a pebble from a flowerbed. She tossed it up and down in her hand to get a feel for its weight, then wound up her arm and threw it with all her might!
"Ouch!" It struck the butler squarely on the forehead.
Mia Grant made a small noise. ’Hey, that had nothing to do with me.’
’It wasn’t that my aim was good, it was just that he was good at catching.’
The butler rubbed his forehead and looked down at her. "Miss Grant, why have you returned?"
"I suddenly remembered I forgot my phone."
"Where did you leave it? I’ll have someone bring it down to you."
Mia Grant crossed her arms, deliberately making things difficult for the miserable guy upstairs. "Sure, you can have Kian Keller bring it down to me. I’ll just wait for him right here."
The butler: "..."
"Miss Grant, I just told you, Sir is resting."
"You think I don’t know his routine better than you?" She completely took charge. "Tell him it’s time for him to come down for breakfast."
"But Sir’s leg..."
"It’s just a fracture, it’s not like he’s crippled."
The butler: "..."
Mia Grant raised her voice, making no effort to keep it down, deliberately speaking for a certain someone to hear.
"Hurry up, hurry up! I can only skip one class."
"I’ll give him five minutes. If he’s not down by then, I’m coming up." Mia Grant stared at the hands on her watch and raised a finger. "The countdown starts now."
—
Ten minutes earlier, the system, which had been offline for several days, suddenly came back online.
[Host! Emergency call!]
Mia Grant had been dozing in the back seat. The voice made her jolt, and she hit her head on the window.
She rubbed her head. ’Am I dreaming?’
Only when the system spoke again was she sure that the damn thing was finally back!
"You finally decided to show up?!"
"Do you have any idea what I’ve been through these past few days?!"
[I...]
"No, you don’t! You heartless system!"
Like a resentful wife whose philandering husband has finally bothered to come home, she let loose with a furious tirade.
She spoke so quickly that the system couldn’t get a word in. It waited silently for her to finish venting before apologizing.
[I did run into a bit of trouble. I will find time to explain it to you later, Host. For now, please return to Kian Keller’s side immediately.]
[Friendly Reminder: Due to a system upgrade, the Corruption Value has been hidden. Please pay close attention to the male lead’s emotional changes and proceed with caution.]
And just like that, without even a chance to ask more questions, Mia Grant put her trust in the system and told the driver to turn around.
She had said five minutes, and it was exactly five minutes.
Mia Grant had just sat down on the living room sofa and turned on her phone when she heard the sound of the elevator door opening.
The butler slowly emerged, pushing a wheelchair.
And the gaunt figure in the wheelchair—who else could it be but Kian Keller?!
’I only came back to complete the mission, not because I feel sorry for Kian Keller.’
’The male leads were all trapped in a vicious cycle. Kian Keller hurt Hayes Hughes, and in the shadows, Yates Donovan was secretly targeting him.’
’None of them were going to get off easy.’
’It’s just karma.’
But now, the moment she saw him, she couldn’t help but stand up, her eyes wide with disbelief.
Her phone slipped from her palm and clattered to the floor, a testament to her current state of mind.
Even though she had been mentally prepared, Mia Grant still couldn’t believe this was Kian Keller.
He must have carefully groomed himself before coming down.
Even though his leg hadn’t healed and he was still a patient, he had specifically changed into a formal suit to see her.
His hair was combed and neatly styled.
So far, everything seemed normal.
But Mia Grant couldn’t ignore the dark circles under his eyes.
’I haven’t seen him in just a few days, and he’s gotten so much thinner.’
His eyes were deep-set, his cheeks slightly sunken, and the suit that had once been perfectly tailored now looked much looser on him.
That flower blooming on a high, unreachable peak seemed to have withered overnight.
Unseen by her, Kian Keller’s hand, resting on the armrest of his wheelchair, tightened its grip.
’He did want to see her. He was going crazy thinking about her.’
’Even if she didn’t care whether he lived or died.’
’But his immense pride wouldn’t allow him to confess how much he missed her.’
’That’s right. He would rather die than appear before Mia Grant like this.’
’He didn’t want to see pity or contempt in her beautiful eyes as she looked at him.’
’Not even a trace.’
’Just like now.’
"Go back," Kian Keller said, desperately trying to keep his voice from trembling.
The butler immediately began to turn him around.
Mia Grant snapped out of it and rushed to block his way, leaning down and planting her hands on the armrests on either side of him.
Their eyes met, and Kian Keller stared intently into hers.
’Seeing me in such a pathetic state, what will she say?’
’Rather than some insincere words, he would prefer to hear her cheerful voice, even if it was to say he deserved it, that this was his just deserts...’
’As long as it wasn’t comfort or sympathy, he wouldn’t care how she mocked him...’
Reflected in his eyes, the little bird couldn’t wait to spread her wings, a wide smile breaking across her face.
Kian Keller closed his eyes, unwilling to look at her any longer.
’It was as if he could already hear what she was about to say.’
"Ethan, you’ll never guess what the kitchen made for breakfast today!"
"It’s sweet potato pancakes! Super, super delicious sweet potato pancakes!"
A bleak autumn wind swept through the hall. In an instant, everything fell silent.
Kian Keller’s eyes snapped open.
Her bright eyes twinkled as she took his hand. "The sun is so nice today. After breakfast, let’s go sit in the backyard!"
