D******d the Apps

Leif stayed expressionless. “I don’t have my phone with me.”

Raina let out a quiet breath of relief. “Oh, okay, then… I’ll get going.”

But then Leif held out a hand. “Give me your phone.”

Not sure what he planned, she handed it over. Leif tapped a few times with his sharp fingers, then handed it back—on the screen, a call was being placed.

“This is my number,” he said.

“…Oh,” Raina replied.

She was about to leave when Leif said, “Aren’t you going to save it under a contact name?”

Ha! The CEO of Vexley Corporation begging like a regular person to save his number!

Raina twitched a smile, typed a few characters, then held her phone up to him. “Is this okay?”

The screen showed a simple, straightforward “Mr. Vexley.”

He nodded. “Good.”

She didn’t think anything was weird and, seeing he was satisfied, put her phone away and drove off from Wexford Lane.

After driving a bit, Raina glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Leif standing alone in the garage.

She furrowed her brows, but when she looked again, he was gone.

Just then, her phone rang.

She looked at the caller ID, answered with a smile, “Senior, didn’t I just call you last night? I just got back to the country and really don’t have time to visit our teacher yet…”

“You’ve got time to crash parties but no time to see this old man? Hmph! You ungrateful apprentice! You blocked me on W******p and won’t pick up my calls…”

Wait—Did Senior Brother just sell him out?!

Raina’s head started to hurt, but hearing the old man’s increasingly dramatic complaints, she felt bad and quickly buttered him up, “Teacher, you’re mistaken! I love you the most. I just got back and have a lot to handle, but as soon as it’s done, I’ll come see you first thing.”

Even though she knew he was full of it, the other side seemed soothed and huffed proudly, “Hmph! If you’d just get married and give me a grandson to carry on my legacy, I wouldn’t bother you!”

Raina was speechless.

‘Teacher, you know why I avoid you, right? Because you never stop nagging about marriage, and I’m barely dodging it!’

“Alright, enough chit-chat…” The voice on the other end suddenly grew serious. “What’s really going on with that VIREXIN? How did that worthless Carrington family manage to make it? Didn’t your mom ever tell you it’s poisonous?”

“Screeech—”

Raina slammed on the brakes, the car skidding into an S-curve before coming to a steady stop. She gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands, her movements slow as she turned her head toward her phone.

The voice on the other end, clearly startled by the sudden braking, hurriedly called out, “Raina! What’s wrong? Raina—”

“Quiet.” Raina took a deep breath, bloodshot lines flickering in her eyes. She rubbed her temples and said, “I’m fine. It’s just… Teacher, my mother…”

She hesitated, lips curling faintly as she closed her eyes. “What kind of person is my mother, really? You’ve never told me all these years, and… I truly want to know.”

There was a long silence on the other end. Then the voice returned, sounding much older, heavier somehow.

“Your mother… is a good person, Raina. Remember that, and nothing else matters.”

Raina wanted to ask more, but the call abruptly ended.

Her knuckles whitened from gripping the wheel so hard. After a long moment, she finally let go, leaning back against the seat. Time passed before she started the engine and drove off again.

…

Wexford Lane.

The Study.

The moment Rael got the call from Leif, he rushed over anxiously. Bursting into the study, he shouted, “Mr. Vexley, what’s going on? Is that shallow, trivial Raina finally showing her true colors and trying to seduce you?!”

Leif stared silently.

Rael was left speechless.

Leif looked up at him and said calmly, “No.”

That sounded almost… disappointed?

Rael' was confused but a bit let down. “Oh, so why did you suddenly call me here…”

Leif responded evenly, “D******d W******p and I*******m.”

His phone was a specially customized model, loaded with classified software. It never had any social apps like W******p or I*******m installed.

Rael had suggested installing W******p before, but Leif always refused.

Why the change now?

But Leif was always deliberate in his actions. It had to be for some important contact — definitely work-related.

Rael imagined all kinds of reasons and quickly grabbed the phone. Within minutes, W******p and I*******m was downloaded, registered, and logged in. Then, slyly, Rael' pulled out his own phone and sent him a friend request.

"Done." He handed the phone back. “There. Oh, by the way, W******p usually links to a phone number, so you don’t need to add friends manually.”

He demonstrated how to add friends on I*******m. Leif glanced over, then found Raina’s number in his call log, and sent her a friend request.

“Mr. Vexley, who’s that you’re adding?” Rael asked, watching closely if Raina would accept. Seeing Leif’s initiative, he felt a pang of jealousy.

Leif stared at the screen for several seconds, but no response.

Could she not see the request? Or just won’t accept it?

After a while, Raina still hadn’t verified the request. Leif pursed his thin lips, somewhat petulant, then put down his phone. “Someone very important.”

Rael looked even more sour, giving Leif a mournful glare.

Leif glanced at him. “Prepare the car. We’re going to the hospital.”

Rael': “…”

This job was really tough, ugh.

Minutes later.

Rael, scowling, drove up to pick them up.

Leif helped Gale into the car. Once inside, Leif’s fingers hovered over the phone screen but didn’t open it. His expression was unusually restless.

After a few more minutes, he finally opened I*******m again. The interface was spotless. Raina still hadn’t accepted.

Leif swiped away the screen and put his phone away, rubbing his forehead with force. Closing his eyes, he seemed to want to block it all out

***