Brandy Quinn was discharged on Sunday morning. She was actually fine; she was just scared and ended up staying two extra days.
Serena Sutton went to see her, but heard that Caleb Lockwood was off that day, so she didn't get to see him.
When they came out of the hospital, Brandy saw Serena with her head hanging, all wilted, looking completely out of it.
"Cheer up. So what if you didn't see him this time? There'll be plenty more chances later."
Brandy patted her shoulder. Something seemed to occur to her and she asked, "That thing I asked you to look into, is it done?"
Serena nodded. "I had my second brother look into it. He hacked Hugo Yates's QQ account and found photos of him with other women in there."
Brandy glanced at the phone, narrowed her eyes and gave a small hum. "Good. Let's go find that scumbag and settle the score right now."
Bar 37°.
Caleb Lockwood was in a white shirt and black casual pants, sitting quietly in a small corner of the bar. The lighting was a bit dim; his spot was relatively quiet, except for the colorful lights behind him splashing across the wall and flashing in front of his eyes, a little annoying and distracting.
He frowned slightly, a trace of impatience flickering across that cool, aloof face.
Just then, a man in a black T-shirt walked over and put a glass of plain boiled water in front of Caleb.
"Dr. Lockwood, I seriously don't get you. If you want to drink plain water, you can drink it at home. Why the hell do you insist on coming to my place every weekend?"
The man speaking was Leo Ford.
One of the very few friends Caleb had, and the owner of this bar. A rich second-gen who had zero interest in taking over the family business, so he opened a bar instead.
Leo was the straightforward type—pretty much a textbook rough dude.
Anyone who'd seen him knew he had a skull tattooed on his right arm, menacing and scary. Above the skull was a red spider lily, which made the whole thing look even more eerie. See it once and you'd never forget it.
Unless something special came up, Caleb would show up here every Sunday afternoon.
He didn't drink, didn't smoke, just found a secluded corner, ordered a glass of hot water, and could sit there all afternoon.
Leo felt this guy was downright abnormal. What kind of freak hobby was that?
Caleb looked at the steaming hot water on the table and said lightly, "Can't you turn off those blinding lights?"
They were making his eyes uncomfortable.
Leo leaned against the nearby wall, long legs casually bent. He took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.
"This is a bar. This is the vibe a bar is supposed to have. If you don't like it, what are you doing here every week?"
As he spoke, Leo slowly blew out a smoke ring, the corners of his mouth tugging up in a faint grin. "You here to check out the beauties?"
Caleb stared at the water in the glass—clear and pristine. After a moment, his thin lips parted. "I come to unwind."
Leo raised a brow at that, then took a step forward and very casually sat right on the table in front of Caleb.
Catching a strong whiff of smoke, Caleb frowned in distaste, his gaze turning icy. "Keep the cigarette away from me."
Leo looked at the cigarette in his own hand, sighed, and stubbed out the barely smoked stick.
"If anyone else said they came here to relax, I might believe them. But you?"
"You don't drink, don't dance, don't hit on girls. Is that what you high-achiever types call…a state of mind?"
Caleb didn't respond to Leo's teasing. He had no intention of explaining anything.
He picked up the glass of hot water on the table and took a sip.
Leo glanced at him, knowing this guy had a weird personality. He chuckled, shook his head, pulled out his phone, and sat down opposite Caleb to play games.
On the other side of the bar.
Serena and Brandy were sitting at a small table. Brandy was still holding a kraft paper envelope.
Inside were all sorts of photos proving the scumbag's cheating.
Serena squinted at the man and woman sitting not far away with their backs to them. "So that's Hugo Yates and his new girlfriend?"
Brandy snorted coldly. "That's just some shameless homewrecker, a fake white-lotus green-tea bitch."
"In that case, we don't have to be polite." Serena took the envelope and pulled out the photos inside.
"These are of that woman cheating, taken with another man. I'll show those to Hugo. These are of Hugo two-timing—you give them to that woman. Let's make them rip each other apart. Trash deserves trash."
Brandy agreed wholeheartedly. The two of them grabbed the photos and headed straight for Hugo Yates.
Hugo had been Brandy's boyfriend back in sophomore year. He looked gentle and handsome, but in the end he cheated. Now that they'd checked, he was juggling who-knows-how-many girls. A scumbag like that couldn't be allowed to walk away unscathed—they had to do their civic duty and clean up the human garbage.
"Well, well, you two look pretty cozy."
Serena pressed her lips into a small smile. Hugo recognized her instantly and asked nervously, "W-what are you doing here?"
"We're here to bring you a gift." As soon as Serena finished speaking, Brandy walked out from the shadows.
The two of them each flung the photos in their hands at the cheating couple. With a loud slap, the photos scattered across the table and the floor.
The woman had sharp eyes and snatched up a photo first, glaring as she demanded, "Hugo Yates, what's this? Who is this woman?" In the photo, the pair were hugging intimately—it clearly wasn't some normal relationship.
Hugo was dumbfounded. "T-this, she's just a friend of mine…"
"And this one? Do 'friends' kiss like that?" The woman grabbed another photo of them kissing and questioned him loudly.
"And you still have the nerve to question me? Look at these—look at all of them. Who the hell is this random guy?"
"Fuck, you actually dared to cheat on me?" Hugo cursed, then grabbed the woman by the hair and slapped her hard across the face.
After being hit, the woman snapped and lunged at him, kicking and punching.
Serena and Brandy quickly stepped back a few paces. Brandy muttered, "This is way too low-effort. We haven't even said anything yet. Guess these two are true love."
"Don't block me, I'm filming this for TikTok." Serena pulled out her phone, pointed the camera at the couple, and the corners of her lips lifted in a gleeful smirk.
Leo saw the whole thing unfold. He hadn't expected anyone to dare stir up trouble on his turf. And it was even two little girls.
"Fuck! Making trouble on my turf?" Leo scoffed and shot to his feet, ready to go deal with those two girls.
This bar had been open for over two years, and no one had ever dared cause a scene here. Guess they had a death wish.
But then Caleb suddenly spoke up. "Leo."
"What, you planning to stick your nose in this? Or…you know them?" Leo stared at him suspiciously, trying to pick up any hint of emotion on the man's face. He'd never seen Caleb bother with this kind of drama before.
But Leo was disappointed. Caleb's expression was as blank as ever. His long fingers pinched the clear glass, idly turning it. There was a faint, almost invisible smile in his eyes as he said mildly, "It's pretty interesting."
"Huh?" Boss Ford was totally baffled.
What's interesting? Wait, what exactly does this guy find interesting?