That morning, Alice finally had a chance to go to the orphanage and chase her dream of being a teacher, quietly slipping along the wall as she left.
Life was harsh, but it had to go on.
If there was no way to change the circumstances, then the only choice was to learn how to enjoy it.
And Alice was slowly learning to do just that.
Meanwhile, Veil, at Lisa's invitation, was headed to a banquet.
Because of the relationship that had developed between Lisa and Veil, the rift between Lisa and her best friend Daisy had quietly healed.
Daisy wasn't the type to forget a favor either. To thank Veil for what he had done for her at the Queen's Bar, she had specially asked Lisa to extend an invitation on her behalf.
When the Bentley pulled up to the entrance of the hotel, Daisy and Lisa were already waiting.
At the very first glance, Daisy frowned and said, "Why do you look so pale? You look just like my dad when he's overworked."
Veil rolled his eyes.
Could he not look pale?
He had drained quite a bit of energy last night!
"Don't worry about it," Daisy said, thumping her chest confidently. "I asked the kitchen to prepare something special for you today—you'll be feeling better in no time!"
The three of them once again headed toward the same private room where their 'plastic sisterhood' had previously unraveled.
Daisy picked up a glass of wine, turned to Veil, and said with heartfelt emotion, "Thanks for saving me that night. If it weren't for you, I probably would've been locked up by those bastards. I won't say anything more—the gratitude's all in this drink."
Gulp!
Down went the small glass of wine, not a single drop left.
Setting the empty glass down, Daisy looked at him seriously.
"Veil, from now on, if you ever need anything, just come to me. If I can help, I absolutely will."
She sat down after making her vow.
Veil pondered for a moment, then asked, "The best private hospital in Veyport City—is that owned by your family?"
Daisy nodded. "Yeah, it is. How'd you know? Anyway, Veyport's basically our Falkner family's stronghold. Luxhaven City's too packed with big names and heavy competition, so our family decided to shift the economic center over to Veyport."
Lisa blinked in surprise. "Daisy, is there anything money-related that your family isn't involved in? You guys are that good at making money?"
"Hehe, of course!" Daisy said proudly. "The Falkner family—business geniuses, every last one of us!"
"No doubt about that," Veil chuckled, chiming in.
If there was ever a family that knew how to make money, Veil would definitely vote for the Falkners with both hands.
When it came to making money, it was simple:
The more shameless you were, the more you made.
And the Falkners? They had shamelessness practically baked into their DNA.
Their old patriarch had been one of the richest men of his time—not quite enough to rival nations, but close.
And how had he made that fortune?
Grave robbing.
Stealing treasures.
To him, treasures were more valuable than life itself.
Even on his deathbed, even when he was blown to pieces, he still clung to the thought of his buried treasure.
Now that was dedication.
Veil smiled lightly. "I might need a favor from you soon. Just giving you a heads-up."
He wasn't planning to bring in any top-tier specialists for Carlin's situation.
Those kinds of experts drew too much attention, which would complicate his future plans with Carlin.
Besides, after Veil's careful treatments, Carlin's leg was already seventy percent healed.
All that remained was a minor surgery to realign a few displaced bones.
Any halfway competent doctor would be able to handle it—no need to call in a superstar surgeon.
He'd only made the situation sound complicated to Carlin and her mother on purpose.
Later, he could work with Daisy to set up a grand-looking scene, and that would do the trick nicely.
As they chatted, a steady stream of dishes arrived.
Soon, a stir-fried dish was placed in the center of the table, glistening with aroma and color, looking mouthwateringly delicious.
Veil's mouth twitched as he eyed Daisy suspiciously.
"This is the special supplement you were talking about?"
Daisy nodded enthusiastically. "Yep! My dad's face always turns pale when he's overworked too. Every time that happens, he eats this dish. Works wonders!"
Lisa, curious, picked up a piece with her chopsticks and studied it carefully, but couldn't quite figure out what it was.
"What dish is this? I've never seen it before, let alone tasted it."
Uh...
Daisy opened her mouth, unsure where to even begin explaining.
Veil, however, chuckled and said teasingly, "It's an organ. A supplement."
"An organ?" Lisa tilted her head, intrigued. "From a human? Is it something we have too?"
Veil suppressed a laugh and answered with a straight face,
"Well, I have it. Daisy doesn't."
Lisa leaned closer, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. "What about me? Do I have it?"
Veil solemnly replied, "You... sometimes have it, sometimes don't."
"Huh?"
Even as inexperienced as Lisa was, the hint finally clicked.
Her hand trembled, and the piece she had picked up dropped onto her dress with a soft plop.
Veil raised an eyebrow, smirking mischievously.
"Well, well. Looks like even after being diced and stir-fried, it still knows the way home."
"You're such a bully!"
Lisa's beautiful cheeks flushed bright red.
She shot Veil a playful glare and quickly used her chopsticks to flick the fallen piece off her skirt.
With a mix of bashfulness and mock annoyance, she lightly smacked Veil's shoulder and pouted,
"You're so annoying..."
Veil shrugged innocently. "Fine, next time I'll just make sure it doesn't find its way home."
"You're still talking about it? Someone else is here!" Lisa gasped, embarrassed, reaching out to cover his mouth.
Both of them turned their eyes toward Daisy.
"..."
Daisy looked utterly heartbroken.
She opened her mouth but no words came out.
Seriously?!
Why did it feel like she had been lured into a slaughterhouse?
A poor, unsuspecting single dog being ruthlessly ambushed!
"Can you two not flaunt your love right in front of me?"
Daisy pouted, looking utterly aggrieved. "Lisa used to be my bestie, you know. Now she's been snatched away, and you're still rubbing it in my face?"
Her chest ached, a deep, dull pain, as if something important had been torn away from her heart.
"Daisy, you may look small and cute, but you're not exactly young anymore. It's about time you found yourself a boyfriend," Lisa said, a little embarrassed. She gently placed a few more dishes into Veil's bowl as she spoke, her tone soft and earnest.
Daisy rolled her eyes dramatically. "Find a boyfriend? Please. Those scumbag men out there aren't worth a dime. I've got money, I've got a killer figure. If I wanted to date, I could have my pick. It's just that the guys my parents keep introducing me to? Ugh. Total trash compared to Veil."
Talking about marriage prospects clearly struck a nerve. Daisy launched into a tirade, grumbling nonstop.
Halfway through her rant, she cast a sideways glance at Veil—and suddenly, a wicked little idea sparked in her mind.
She grinned slyly.
Brilliant.
Veil was a second-generation rich kid, a top-tier troublemaker in Luxhaven City. If she showed up to her next forced matchmaking date with him on her arm, who would dare to keep pushing her into blind dates?
Perfect plan!
Unfortunately, before she could even open her mouth, Veil casually shot her a glance and flatly rejected, "Don't even think about it. No chance."
He didn't need to guess to know exactly what Daisy was scheming. She wasn't exactly subtle.
Same old trick—getting some poor sucker to play the fake boyfriend and deepen the relationship through proximity.
Now that Roy, the so-called protagonist, had been thoroughly crushed into irrelevance, Daisy was trying to pull the same stunt on him?
Fat chance.
Veil wasn't about to complicate his life for no good reason. Especially not for a girl like Daisy, who probably had a few masochistic tendencies tucked away.
Just as Daisy was gearing up to argue, the private room door was suddenly pushed open. A hotel staff member rushed in, face full of panic.
"Miss Falkner, bad news! Someone just collapsed at the hotel entrance! They're claiming it's food poisoning from our restaurant!"
"The lobby manager's already gone to deal with it, but the family's insisting on seeing someone in charge!"
Daisy's expression darkened.
Seriously?
First she got annoyed by Veil, now some low-level scammer was trying to cause trouble?
Instead of calling an ambulance right away, they came here demanding compensation? Couldn't be more obvious—they were fishing for a payout.
"Let's go take a look," Lisa said, ever sensible. "We'll go with you."
Daisy nodded, and the three headed down together in a direct elevator to the lobby.
When they arrived, the scene was already a mess.
The hotel's lobby manager and several staff members were there, along with a growing crowd of gawking onlookers.
"You! Who's in charge here?"
A loud, brash woman was yelling, pointing furiously.
"My husband ate your food and now he's passed out! You'd better take full responsibility!"
The lobby manager leaned closer to Daisy and whispered, "Miss, it's obvious. The guy looks like he had a pre-existing condition. His wife knows it too, but she's here stirring up trouble. She's just looking for a payday. Best to ignore them until the ambulance arrives."
The loud woman wasn't having it.
She shrieked even louder, riling up the crowd:
"Look at this! A big fancy hotel like this, but when something bad happens, they just whisper among themselves and refuse to step up! Is this how rich folks behave?! How can we ever eat here again if this is the kind of service we get?!"
Stirring the pot...
Even though Daisy technically had no official link to the Falkner hotel operations, the woman's theatrics were infuriating.
This was a clear shakedown!
"I'm a doctor. Let me take a look,"
A young man in cheap clothes and worn-out sneakers suddenly stepped forward, full of confidence.
Veil turned and gave him a casual glance.
Hah.
Trying to help a sick stranger to win favor and build connections?
Classic protagonist behavior.
This guy… Caden Voss?
Veil almost laughed out loud.
The legendary "protagonist" had finally come down from the mountains, and the first girl he tried to approach... was Daisy?
Veil coughed lightly and slowly stepped forward too.
"I'm a disciple of a divine physician from Luxhaven City," Veil said coolly. "I've seen dozens—no, hundreds—of cases like this. Let me handle it. No need to scream and yell like a damn chimpanzee."
The brash woman instantly turned toward Caden Voss, jabbing a finger at him.
"Fuck you! Who the hell are you?! You think just because you say you're a doctor, we'll let you mess around? Are you trying to finish my husband off?! You're probably in cahoots with this hotel!"
Caden Voss stood there, dumbfounded.
What the fuck?
He hadn't even said much, but somehow all the fire was directed at him?
Meanwhile, the real troublemaker—Veil—was completely ignored.
The woman pointed at Caden again, shouting,
"I'm warning you! If my husband dies, you'll be the first one we drag to jail!"
She wasn't stupid. Even while throwing a tantrum, she knew how to pick her targets.
Compared to a cheap-looking kid in worn-out shoes versus a polished, handsome young man with an air of wealth and power... who would she dare to scream at?
Obviously, she picked the easier target.
"You guys hold her back. I'll handle the patient," Veil said to a few of the security guards nearby.
Daisy hesitated, but Lisa gave her a look, and she quickly nodded, silently directing the security team.
The guards quickly isolated the woman, creating space for Veil to approach the unconscious man, who was twitching on the floor.
Veil knelt down and casually checked his pulse. His brow furrowed, then relaxed. In the dead angle of the crowd's view, he deftly jabbed a few acupuncture points with silver needles before swiftly pulling them back out, so quickly that no one even noticed.
Veil stood up, casually brushing a few wrinkles from his suit jacket.
Daisy approached curiously, whispering,
"You really know medicine? What's wrong with him?"
Veil waved it off lazily.
"Nothing serious. Not worth mentioning."
"Then why don't you cure him properly? That woman's making a huge scene. It's terrible for the hotel's reputation," Daisy murmured, frustrated.
Veil rolled his eyes.
"Not my specialty. Not my problem."
Then he turned to the noisy woman and said loudly:
"Stop causing a scene. It's not a big deal. Just call the funeral home, have them bring a car, and haul him off to get cremated."