"What are you up to! When people do good deeds, they don't leave their names. Everyone in the bar knows you saved me, what more do you want?"
Maya, being pulled up from the sofa by Liam, complained impatiently to him, entertaining the onlookers at the bar.
"Maya, you have some nerve, haven't you? Have you reached adulthood yet? How dare you run away from home and spend the night at a bar?"
Liam always knew he had a sister, but he had no idea she turned out to be quite attractive; he didn't know her age, height, weight—in short, he knew nothing about her.
"Is the third young master showing concern for me?"
Liam's reprimand was very much like a brother scolding his sister, but to Maya's ears, it was rather displeasing. If this man really intended to treat her as a sister, how could he have disregarded her objections and conducted such a thorough body search last night?
Furthermore, despite her not stealing anything, he punished her by making her write a self-reflection and also deliver speeches in each class.
Maya had never been subjected to such indignation before. She wasn't afraid of losing face; her dignity had been buried along with her mother the moment she passed away. She just felt it was a waste of her breath.
Nevertheless, Maya knew Liam's care for her was merely out of fear that she might do something scandalous outside and bring embarrassment to the Spencer Family. Even though he's with the Owen Family, he's still the third young master of the Spencer Family.
"Care? Are we even that familiar? You can embarrass yourself however you like, but don't disgrace the Spencer Family."
Sure enough, Maya's guess was spot on; he only cared about the Spencer Family's reputation.
Heh, the more the Spencers cared about their family's face, the more she wanted to humiliate them, to let everyone know that the Spencer Family's illegitimate daughter was homeless, sleeping in bars and internet cafes! The bigger the scandal, the better. Once Grandpa sees the news, let's see how Hannah manages to wrap this up.
Liam issued his cold warning, but Maya didn't respond and shook off his hand, hugging her backpack and continuing to lie back on the sofa, sleeping.
Liam looked at Maya, who resembled a dead snake, his mood hitting rock bottom. His mood for the upcoming party was affected too, he gave Maya a cold, disdainful glance and turned to leave.
On the way back, he felt inexplicably irritable, a feeling he'd only experienced once in his life, which was when that woman left.
He didn't expect to become agitated over a 'sister' he hadn't seen for most of his life.
Earlier, when he entered the bar and saw Maya being bullied, he initially had no intention of intervening. But he found it hard to watch that somewhat familiar face being slapped repeatedly.
So he stepped in and saved her, but ended up making himself unhappy.
He admitted that this morning when he saw her getting hit in the living room, his heart was slightly touched for a moment, but it was only for that moment.
After a couple of rounds of interaction, he returned to normal; they merely had some resemblance, but their personalities were worlds apart. The more he looked at her, the less he liked her, and the more he saw, the more he found her annoying.
When Liam returned to the other residence, Hannah and Elia were in the living room showing off the new bags they acquired today to the servants.
The servants looked at the mother and daughter, with full insincerity and flattery, making Liam feel nauseous. Yet, he admired his father; how could he have been taken with a woman like Hannah? Thinking of Maya's demeanor, her mother should have had more of Madam Spencer's presence, how come she couldn't rise to power?
"Liam, you're back! I went shopping today and bought you several sets of clothes and ties, I left them in your room. See if you like them?" Hannah quickly tried to ingratiate herself with Liam as soon as he returned.
Elia had told her that Liam stood up for her at school today, making Maya write a self-reflection and deliver speeches, which made her extremely happy. She felt her money spent today was worth it; this young man was indeed on her side, and he disliked Maya too.
Among the Spencer Family's children, Hannah liked Liam the most, not out of genuine affection but because he was self-reliant. At 16, he went to the Owen Family and naturally took over the Owen Clan Group, completely uninvolved with the Spencer Family's affairs, and did not participate in dividing the family assets. Thus, she liked Liam.
"Third brother, have you eaten? I'll have the kitchen prepare a late-night snack for you."
Liam turned his head and glanced at the mother and daughter trying to ingratiate themselves with him; it seemed they hadn't noticed Maya's absence, or rather, they were celebrating her absence.
Though he disliked Maya, he disliked the hypocritical mother and daughter before him even more; compared to them, at least Maya was straightforward.
So, he said, "All my clothes are custom-made by personal designers."
He then turned to Elijah Reed and said, "Elijah, have Joe prepare a late-night snack for me, something light."
Joe was the chef Liam brought over from the Owen Family.
Hannah and Elia looked at Liam with full awkwardness at his aloof and unappreciative attitude, but didn't dare to voice their discontent.
Not until Liam returned to his study and Elijah disappeared from their sight did Hannah finally mutter with a darkened face, complaining, "What a joke, bringing a chef over here, as if someone is planning to poison him!"
"Madam, did Miss Maya come back tonight?" Elijah mysteriously appeared behind her, inquiring about Maya's whereabouts right after Hannah finished complaining.
"Miss Maya? Which Miss Maya?" Hannah was startled and hadn't even realized who Elijah was referring to.
"Maya, Miss Maya."
"That little brat, she's staying at school. Every time her dad's not home, she goes out to party; who knows if she's back at school."
"Oh!"
Elijah brushed it off lightly, taking steps toward Liam's study on the second floor. Without much thought, he could guess that Maya had been driven out, and she didn't have a dorm at school at all.
Thinking of the girl sleeping alone with injuries in a corner of the bar, Elijah suddenly understood why she could be so ruthless; she was merely borrowing Liam's protection for herself.
At the study door, Elijah knocked on it and, hearing the words "come in," he opened the door and stepped in.
"BOSS, Miss Maya seems to have been driven out; she has no place to sleep at school and no money. How should we handle this?"
"Did she ask you to help her?"
"No!"
"Then why are you meddling in other people's business?"
"I understand." Then, Elijah retreated.
Liam initially thought he could ignore Maya, regardless of her fate, thinking no one at the bar would dare touch her.
But remembering that stubborn figure curled up in the corner of the sofa seeking sleep, he found it hard to stay calm.
He took a deep breath, closed the book in his hand, and threw it aside heavily. He had known Maya for less than 24 hours, yet he had been disturbed by her repeatedly.
Liam didn't like the feeling, nor did he like the arrogant and unmannered sister.