Chapter 7

Rachel's POV

My mother's condition had stabilized.

Though Xavier had a poisonous tongue, he never did things halfway. He directly transferred my mom to a VIP room and hired the best team of specialists.

I owed him more and more.

"There's a class reunion tonight. You're coming with me."

Leaving the hospital, Xavier suddenly threw that sentence at me.

I instinctively refused. "I'm not going. I don't want to see those people."

Those people-they used to orbit around me. Now they probably all couldn't wait to watch me make a fool of myself.

"You don't get a choice."

Xavier looked at me coldly. "You can be my date or my servant. You pick."

In the end, I still went wearing the dress he'd prepared for me.

It was a black velvet gown that made my skin look snow-white but also made me appear even more gaunt and haggard.

The private room was already full of people.

As soon as Xavier entered, everyone stood up, faces full of flattery as they crowded around calling him "Mr. Cole."

Seeing me following behind, those smiling faces instantly stiffened, then transformed into meaningful contempt.

"Rachel Johnson?"

The speaker was a guy who used to like me. He'd written me love letters that I rejected. Now he'd gotten fat with a beer belly.

"I heard after the Johnson family went bankrupt, you started delivering food? How come today you can still follow Mr. Cole around?"

"Could it be... you know?"

The surrounding area erupted in knowing laughter.

I kept my head down, my nails digging into my palms.

Xavier said nothing, just sat down on his own, not having anyone give me a seat.

I stood beside him like an unnecessary decoration, awkward.

Just then, a woman in a red miniskirt walked over.

Jessica Chen.

Once my follower. But as soon as my family had problems, she immediately claimed not to know me.

"You came too."

She held a glass of red wine, pretending to warmly take my hand while viciously tripping me with her foot.

Wearing high heels, already unstable, I stumbled forward.

To avoid face-planting, I instinctively grabbed the only support nearby-Xavier's thigh.

But I still ended up kneeling on the ground.

My knees hit the carpet with a dull thud.

Before I could get up, Jessica laughed exaggeratedly.

No one helped me up.

The whole room burst into laughter.

Flushed with shame and anger, just about to stand, the system in my head came again.

"Random mission triggered! Seize the opportunity to humiliate the male lead!"

"Mission content: Point at your shoes and order Xavier to polish them! Line: 'My shoes are dirty, Xavier. Clean them for me.'"

"Penalty: Public urinary incontinence!"

I'd lost my mind.

System, are you a pervert? Urinary incontinence? I might as well just bash my head in and die.

I looked up at Xavier.

He was looking down at me kneeling by his leg, his expression indifferent, impossible to read.

Tears were already pooling in my eyes.

On one side was dignity. On the other was social death.

I chose shamelessness.

I extended my foot. Those delicate high heels had a bit of dust on the toe from when I'd fallen just now.

Voice trembling, tearful, I pointed at that bit of dust.

"Dirty... it's dirty."

"Xavier, you clean it for me."

The entire room instantly fell silent.

Jessica especially looked at me like I was a dead person. "Rachel, have you lost your mind? How dare you order Mr. Cole..."

It was over.

I closed my eyes, waiting for Xavier's explosion, or for him to kick me away directly.

However, the expected pain didn't come.

I felt a warm, large hand grip my ankle.

I opened my eyes in shock.

That high and mighty Xavier, the one everyone fawned over, had actually slid down from the sofa and knelt on one knee in front of me.

He took out the expensive silk handkerchief from his pocket, wrapped it around his finger, and gently, carefully wiped the toe of my shoe.

The motion was tender, like he was cleaning some priceless treasure.

Dead silence throughout the room.

You could hear a pin drop.

Jessica's wine glass crashed to the floor with a "smash."

After wiping, Xavier looked up at me, the corner of his mouth curving into a wicked smile. His voice wasn't loud but enough for everyone to hear.

"Satisfied?"

He stood and patted my head, as if soothing a startled kitten.

"Don't cry. You'll ruin your makeup."

I stared at him blankly.

In that moment, I couldn't tell if he was playing along or if this was his most thorough humiliation yet.

But he had protected me. That much was real.

The faces of those who'd been mocking me moments before now looked like they'd swallowed something sour.

So did Xavier still love me?