“Exactly, why would it take so long?” queried Damien.
“Well, all we have to do is observe. I’m sticking to my bet of three years.” retorted Darius.
Jeremy grinned and looked at his companions. “The cost of the wager will be three months of our salary. Winner takes all!”
“Deal!”
“No problem.”
While they were gleefully betting on Evan’s progress, the four were not prepared to see the state Evan was in the next day.
Jeremy was the first to be shocked by Evan’s appearance as he made his way towards them.
He rubbed his eyes hard, thinking he was mistaken. “No, that’s definitely Mr. Seet. Are my eyes playing tricks on me?”
“If you mean that he looks so gaunt and ghastly that he might die at any given moment, then your eyes are not playing tricks on you,” said Damien, wide-eyed.
“If what I’m seeing is real, then why does Mr. Seet look so horrible? There’s no real way to describe this, this…”
Jeremy sighed and trailed off, gesturing vaguely at Evan. Meanwhile, the other three were already making their way towards Evan in a hurry.
“What’s the matter, Mr. Seet?”
“My time will come soon,” replied Evan weakly.
The four Hidden Masters were dumbstruck.
“WHAT?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Mr. Seet, what’s happening to you?”
Seeing their extremely shocked expressions, Evan’s eyes flashed triumphantly.
It appeared that his corpse-like makeup and acting skills had passed the test. Even the four of them had fallen for it.
I hope this works on Nicole.
“Just focus on keeping Mrs. Seet safe for now. There’s no need for excessive questioning.”
Immediately, Evan’s usual demeanor returned as he glanced at them icily.
Only then did the four understand that Evan was pretending to be sick.
Even so, they could not understand why he went through such a fuss.
Soon, they noticed that he slowly made his way towards Nicole’s residence.
“What is Mr. Seet doing?”
“Going to scare Mrs. Seet probably.”
“But why?”
“How would I know! Just watch, I’m sure he has his reasons.”
The four quietly followed suit, trying not to alert anyone to their presence.
Evan silently observed Nicole, who was sitting in the corridor by the courtyard. This was a figure familiar to him, but she wasn’t quite as he remembered her.
Upon closer observation, his expression immediately turned cold, and he couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows.
Didn’t the woman say that Nicole was cured? Then why did she look so haggard? She was so frail and thin. A gust of wind could’ve easily swept her away.
Immediately, his gaze shifted into one of pure distress.
Nicole in her current state was in desperate need of care. He had to make sure that she came back to him as soon as possible.
He pretended to bump into random things as planned. I have to make some noise.
Sure enough, the sounds succeeded in drawing Nicole’s attention.
“Who’s there?”
As Nicole looked over curiously, Evan pretended to evade capture. Instead, feigning difficulty, he turned around and walked away from her with his head lowered.
After a few steps, he collapsed.
Nicole looked at his back with surprise. There was some familiarity there.
This person is…
Is it really him? Or am I hallucinating again?
Perhaps this was a dream.
Nicole stood there blankly, unsure of what to do.
Evan who still lay on the ground, felt surprised at her reaction.
Can’t you see that I’m lying here? Are you pretending to not notice?
His curiosity got the better of him as he secretly opened an eye to peek at her. It was then that he realized that Nicole was walking towards him, brows furrowed.
Immediately, Evan closed his eyes and pretended to lie there motionlessly.
Nicole bent over and studied his face. “Is this real?” she muttered to herself. “Or is this a dream?”
She wanted to pinch herself but she was afraid that it was truly a hallucination. Pinching would be of no use then.
