"Can we still be friends in the future?"
Lily asked carefully. She also felt that Avery had changed a lot and wasn't sure if they could still be friends.
"We can be friends in private, but in public, don't get too close to me. Otherwise, you'll get dragged into my problems."
Avery knew she wasn't the type to suffer losses quietly. She would often get into conflicts with others.
Keeping someone like that around would only hold her back.
But this Miles… Avery didn't think she was just an ordinary person. At the very least, her identity probably wasn't simple.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have dared to speak up for her in front of so many people.
They were already in college, and by now, people knew how to avoid trouble. Without being sure of the outcome, she wouldn't have stepped up.
"Alright, I'll go back now."
Lily saw that everything was made clear and quickly returned to her seat.
"If you want to make friends, do it openly. Why be all sneaky about it? What's the point of a friendship like that?"
Miles saw her leave and said with some confusion.
Making friends wasn't a crime. There was nothing to be afraid of, unless their friendship wasn't strong enough yet.
"Everyone's situation is different. By the way, what does your family do?
I don't mean anything by it. I just want to be clear, because I tend to get into trouble a lot.
If you stick too close to me, I might get you into trouble too."
Guessing was one thing, but Avery still wanted to confirm it.
Miles glanced around, then leaned close to her ear and whispered,
"My dad is Commander Jiang, but he doesn't allow me to tell people. I hope you can keep it a secret."
"No problem. So why are you only transferring to this school now?"
When Avery heard that her father had such a high rank, she felt relieved about becoming friends with her. Anyone trying to mess with her would be out of their mind.
No matter how rich someone is, they can't compare with someone who holds power.
"Sigh, it's a long story. Basically, my grandparents didn't want to let me come to the capital, so they kept me with them.
This year they both passed away, so my dad rushed to bring me back."
When Miles mentioned her grandparents, her mood dropped a little.
"Sorry."
Avery saw her feeling down and didn't know how to comfort her.
In the post-apocalyptic world, she had already seen so much death. And in this world, the elderly mostly passed away from natural causes, which was actually very fortunate.
"It's fine. Class is about to start. I'm going back to my seat."
Miles saw the other students entering the classroom and quickly rushed back to her seat.
"Mm."
Avery went back to reading her book.
Asher was still sitting in his seat and hadn't moved.
He had been observing Avery for a long time but hadn't found any clues so far.
He mainly wanted to know where this flirty girl had come from.
He really wanted to understand her. If he could make her work for him, she would definitely be a powerful weapon.
At lunchtime, Miles pulled Avery along to the cafeteria.
"Your meal card has no money left. Go top it up."
Avery was at the front of the line, but when she handed over her card, there was no money on it.
"Don't worry, use mine."
Miles handed over her own card without hesitation and even looked happy about it.
"Thanks."
It was just the cost of one meal, and Avery didn't bother being polite.
No wonder the original host wanted to end her life. Living in such poverty, it really was hard to go on.
"Little sis, you don't have to be polite with me from now on. Not just one meal, I can afford to treat you to three meals a day, haha."
Miles happily sat down to eat with her.
"Miles, do you like Asher or something? Is that why you're trying to get close to him through that cheap girl?
But open your eyes. Do you really think that cheap girl has what it takes? Don't end up with nothing in the end."
Marga carried her tray and sat down not far from them.
She had just been happy hearing that the cheap girl didn't have money for food.
But then Miles came in acting like a saint again. She wanted to strangle her. Always ruining her mood.
She couldn't mess with that cheap girl right now, but at least she could pick on Miles.
"What's with your mouth? Smells like you didn't brush your teeth. You're stinking up the place. This is a cafeteria, stop grossing people out."
Miles didn't hesitate to snap back after hearing Marga's nasty words.
"Miles, who do you think you are? You actually dare to talk back to Marga?
Just wait till school's over. You think her dad won't crush you?"
Rose also came over with her food and sat down, a few other girls following behind her.
"So annoying. Why are there so many buzzing mosquitoes in the cafeteria? It's so loud and irritating.
Avery, hurry up and eat. Let's go somewhere else after. There are probably a lot of flies here, must be super filthy."
Miles waved her hand in the air.
"Haha, great minds think alike. You eat too, Miles. The longer we stay here, the harder it is to keep our appetite."
Avery laughed seeing how Miles clapped back.
Even people on your side shouldn't be too weak. Otherwise, they'll only drag you down.
"Bitch, don't get cocky. The day the Ice King gets tired of you is the day you die."
Marga cursed fiercely.
"Asher, I'm over here."
Avery spotted him walking in and waved at him on purpose, clearly wanting to piss off Rose and the others.
"What is it?"
Asher didn't even get his food. He just walked straight over and sat beside her. More contact meant getting to know her better.
"Nothing. I just wanted to say hi and let you know I'm here.
Asher, don't you think I'm obedient and well-behaved? Wouldn't I make a great girlfriend?"
Avery was a little surprised that he listened so easily and sat down beside her.
From the original host's memories, this man was not someone easy to deal with.
And judging by the cold aura around him, he definitely didn't seem like someone who'd play nice. The only explanation was that he was up to something.
"So desperate? Go to Century Bar tonight. I'll set you up with ten, twenty if you want."
As soon as he finished speaking, a man brought over food for him.
"Doesn't matter how many. None of them compare to you. I'm not interested in other men. I only want to sleep with you."
Avery glanced at the man who brought the food. He was clearly a trained fighter.
And he had definitely killed before. He wasn't a student — he was Asher's bodyguard. You wouldn't notice unless you looked carefully.
She didn't expect Asher to bring a bodyguard with him to school.
"I'm not interested in you. But we can talk business."
Asher noticed how she looked at his bodyguard and realized she must have figured something out.
She was that alert?
And still claimed she liked him?
Then they could make a deal. Once it was done, he'd give her a big payout.
With money, she could play with as many men as she wanted.