novelraw Chapter 844: One who bestows dreams and the future (4)
Chapter 844: One who bestows dreams and the future (4)
“Wait a minute.”
As they passed by a classroom building, Hailey suddenly stopped and told Boston that he wanted to use the restroom. Boston shrugged and said he would wait outside.
Hailey quickly walked into the building, and just before leaving Boston's line of sight, he quietly glanced back and saw Boston about to light a cigarette. He then stepped inside, out of Boston's view.
Once inside, Hailey quickened his pace and then broke into a run—there were many entrances and exits in the sprawling classroom complex.
Hailey kept glancing back and finally stopped at another exit. He turned around and saw no sign of Boston, letting out a slight sigh of relief.
So, what’s next…
“Hailey, where are you planning to go? Is the delivery this way?”
Unexpectedly, at that moment, Boston's hand landed back on Hailey's shoulder—he had no idea when Boston had caught up to him!
Hailey took a deep breath. “Hey, I was just about to look for you! How did you get here?”
He quietly clenched his fist, planning to take advantage of the moment to strike Boston in the face—however, before he could do that, a powerful force slammed into his nose… Boston was even faster!After landing a punch on Hailey’s nose, Boston immediately followed up with a knee strike to Hailey's abdomen. Hailey doubled over in pain, and at that moment, Boston grabbed his hair and yanked him up. “Tsk tsk tsk, Hailey, Boss Arnold said to keep a close eye on you.”
Hailey struggled a few times but was easily knocked down by Boston—being the toughest member of Arnold's team, it was all too easy for Boston to take Hailey down.
“It seems you’re hiding something from us.” Boston grabbed Hailey, who was spitting blood. “I think I need to have a little chat with you.”
In the darkness, a pair of cold eyes silently watched everything unfold, observing as Hailey’s resistance proved futile, ultimately being taken away by Boston, before quietly retreating back into the shadows….
…
In front of dormitory 403, Arnold came to a stop. His gaze swept across the gap in the door, catching sight of the loose thread left behind, and he said nothing.
Arnold's eyes shifted, and he opened the door… He could see the dorm environment at a glance—no one was there, but he could hear sounds coming from the bathroom.
Arnold narrowed his eyes, keeping a certain distance from the bathroom, slowly moving while never taking his eyes off the bathroom door.
It seemed someone was about to come out… Arnold moved to the desk, quietly picked up the knife from the tabletop, and hid it behind his back.
Click.
Caroline emerged from the bathroom, her head lowered as she dried her hair with a towel. When she saw Arnold in the room, she paused in surprise and instinctively said, “Didn’t you say you were going to the library?”
“Library?” Arnold glanced at Caroline, then slowly walked over to the couch, sat down, and shook his head. “I’m feeling a bit unwell and suddenly don’t want to go.”
Arnold, sitting down, quietly tucked the knife into the gap of the sofa, then casually turned on the TV, keeping his back to Caroline.
Unexpectedly, Hailey... Arnold narrowed his eyes again.
"Not feeling well?" Caroline paused for a moment, then thought for a bit and poured a glass of water, placing it in front of Arnold as she sat down and continued drying her hair.
Aside from the sound of the TV, there was no conversation.
Suddenly, the phone rang—it was Arnold's mobile. He glanced at it and saw it was Boston calling. Caroline, curious, asked, “Aren’t you going to answer?”
“Oh, it’s not showing a caller ID. It’s probably a sales call,” Arnold chuckled and casually turned off the phone while asking, “By the way, how are you feeling today?”
Caroline comfortably leaned against the sofa and said relaxedly, “Pretty good. Thanks for taking me out. Otherwise, I’d be bored to death.”
“That’s good to hear.” Arnold nodded and added, “You’ve had a tough time these past few days.”
Caroline shook her head. “What’s up with you? Why are you suddenly so sentimental?”
Arnold said, “I guess it’s because it’s nighttime. I tend to think more and overanalyze… Besides that, do you have any other thoughts?”
Caroline opened her mouth, recalling what ‘Arnold’ had said to her at the masquerade ball, and replied, “Can I think it over… about that matter?”
“Of course.” Arnold nodded. “I should give you some time…”
With that, Arnold stood up and walked toward the refrigerator. After opening the door and taking a look, he asked, “Do you want something to drink? I can go buy something downstairs.”
“Beer, I didn’t think of that when I just got back.” After Arnold left his seat, Caroline immediately lay down. “I’ll die without beer.”
“Then wait for me. I’ll be back soon,” Arnold smiled and walked out.
Something felt off… Caroline furrowed her brow but suddenly noticed something hard pressing against her leg.
Curious, she reached into the gap of the sofa and pulled out the TV remote control… Caroline stared at it blankly for a moment, then shrugged and turned her attention to the TV.
…
When Arnold arrived, Boston was busy playing a mobile game—only this time, he was sitting on top of Hailey.
Hailey's mouth was swollen, one of his eyes was bruised, and he was drenched in sweat—he was in so much pain that cold sweat dripped down continuously.
Seeing Arnold arrive, Boston quickly got up, but still stepped on Hailey's back, pressing him down firmly. “Boss, this guy won’t say a word. He says he’s waiting for you.”
Arnold nodded, glancing around—Boston obviously hadn’t left the university in such a short time. They were in an activity room inside the teaching building.
“You can go out now,” Arnold said calmly.
Boston nodded, flipping Hailey over before walking past Arnold. “Boss, I’ll wait for you outside.”
At this moment, Arnold dragged a stool over and placed it beside Hailey, sitting down. He looked at Hailey lying on the ground for a moment, then bent down to grab Hailey's chin, shaking it left and right as he examined the injuries on his face.
Their eyes locked for a brief moment.
Finally, Arnold released his grip. “Caroline.”
Hailey moved his lips but didn’t speak. Arnold sighed. “You know I’m looking for her… So tell me, why are you hiding this from me?”
Hailey remained silent.
Arnold seemed to have plenty of patience. He looked at Hailey and said indifferently, “If you won’t tell me, I’ll take a guess… When I went back, she called my name, which means she doesn’t know you’re Hailey, and she certainly doesn’t know you killed Livia. Hmm… you’re hiding this from her…”
Arnold observed Hailey’s evasive gaze and suddenly asked, “Do you have feelings for her?”
Hailey suddenly let out a cold laugh. “How is that possible? How could I be interested in a whore who sleeps with anyone? Even if I was interested, it would just be for fun.”
“Just like how you played with Livia?” Arnold replied casually.
“Just like Livia,” Hailey said expressionlessly.
Only then did Arnold nod and smile. “I thought so. How could you do anything against me? You also wouldn’t have thought about running away secretly, right?”
“Yes… yes, I won’t,” Hailey murmured, nodding.
But Arnold suddenly knelt on the ground, grabbing Hailey’s hand. A flash of cold light appeared, and Hailey let out a long, piercing scream… His scream was prolonged, his eyes wide open, his face contorted in pain. He gasped for breath, and what he saw was… a small knife plunged into his palm.
It was the same knife from room 403.
Arnold leaned in closer to Hailey, making a ‘shh, shh, shh’ sound. He touched Hailey’s face and whispered, “Don’t remember who helped you deal with Livia’s body?”
Hailey struggled a few times but found Arnold pinning him down.
Arnold said coldly, “Do you not remember who killed your parents?”
Hailey suddenly roared, as if triggered by a mad nerve, “I didn’t!!! He came at me himself! He… I didn’t!! I didn’t!!! He wanted to hit me!! I didn’t!!”
“Didn’t? Then why did you come begging me?” Arnold forcefully grabbed Hailey by the hair, lifting him up and slamming him to the floor. “You begged me to help you? Want me to remind you how you knelt before me, saying you regretted it, that it wasn’t intentional, asking me for help?”
“I… I didn’t…” Hailey stopped struggling, staring blankly at the ceiling. “I didn’t… I didn’t…”
Arnold pulled the small knife from Hailey’s palm, the action tearing the wound open and causing Hailey to cover his hand in agony, curling his body.
“It’s okay now.”
Arnold helped Hailey up and seated him on the stool, gently stroking Hailey's hair as he slowly said, “It’s okay, it’s okay. Hailey, you won’t betray me, right?”
“We’re both accomplices, stained with the blood of our loved ones. We came into this world together… and we will never be separated.”
“Dear brother.”
Hailey remained motionless.
“Has Caroline said anything to you…” Arnold, standing behind Hailey, gently pressed his hands on his shoulders, leaned in close to his ear, and whispered, “About that bank card?”
“She…”
Arnold tightened his grip slightly.
“She said the money was entrusted to her by a mysterious person, but the money cannot be used; otherwise, there would be big trouble, huge trouble… It could possibly be dirty money.”
“Is there anything else? Any contact information?” Arnold continued to ask.
Hailey shook his head.
Arnold released his hands and suddenly said, “Don’t worry, I won’t hurt Caroline. After the exam tomorrow, I’ll leave and bring you back… You can do whatever you want.”
With that, Arnold left the activity room and said to Boston outside the door, “Take him to treat his wounds, and bring him back tomorrow. Be careful, and don’t let him escape.”
“Got it, boss.” Boston nodded quickly.
He glanced at Hailey in the activity room, noticing his hands hanging down with blood dripping from his fingers, yet he remained motionless, thinking to himself that the boss was impressive… This Hailey might really end up a useless person.
……
“Sorry, I ran into a classmate downstairs and chatted…” Arnold opened the door to find Caroline already lying on the sofa, asleep.
After putting the beer in the refrigerator, he grabbed a blanket and covered Caroline with it, then sat down at the desk.
He turned off the main light, leaving only a lamp on, and started taking books and reference materials off the shelf, burying himself in the questions from the books.
……
……
A click.
The sound of the light being turned on.
In a private hospital room, Mr. Alfie, who was sleeping on the sofa, woke up suddenly due to the light.
“Oh, I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to wake you…” Barbara offered Mr. Alfie an apologetic look.
Dr. Franky went missing from the hospital during the day and was returned by an ambulance just before evening.
“It’s alright, but I still owe you an apology for making you work overtime,” Mr. Alfie said, shaking his head. “Don’t worry, I will pay you for the extra hours.”
“That’s no problem,” Barbara replied with a smile. “You can’t manage all of this by yourself. By the way, I brought some clothes and food from home… you might want to use the bathroom inside to wash up; it’ll make you feel better.”
“Thank you,” Mr. Alfie nodded gratefully.
Barbara shrugged and said, “If you really want to thank me, then you should find yourself a wife soon. That would make things a lot easier for me.”
“Then you might end up unemployed,” Alfie replied casually.
“Let’s drop this topic,” Barbara rolled her eyes and began to sort through the things she had brought from home. When she pulled out a brown notebook from her backpack, Mr. Alfie curiously asked, “What’s that?”
“I think it’s the doctor’s notebook. He woke up once during the day and said he wanted to find it. I found it in the pocket of the doctor’s coat when I was cleaning at home, so I brought it along… He seemed quite anxious about it.”
“Did it contain anything written in it?” Mr. Alfie asked while rubbing his face.
“I didn’t look,” Barbara shrugged. “It’s against the rules for a servant to read their master’s private belongings. I’m quite a person of professional ethics.”
“I will still pay you the statutory overtime rate; nothing more.”
Barbara showed him her middle finger.
Mr. Alfie chuckled, feeling a bit more relaxed. He walked over to the table, picked up the notebook, and sat on the sofa to open it… It seemed to be some sort of diary.
“Sir, I’ll go wash these fruits first.”
“Oh… you go ahead,” Mr. Alfie waved his hand.
**First Page.
**7:30 AM**: I left home. Barbara made pancakes for breakfast today, along with a cup of milk. I ate three pancakes and one and a half cups of milk.
**8:55 AM**: I arrived at the research institute, 17 minutes later than usual due to traffic. The traffic was bad today; there was a car accident on Third Avenue.
**9:45 AM**: I attended the routine meeting; I put the meeting notes in the third drawer of my desk.
**10:16 AM**: Matthew called and invited me to dinner this Saturday night. I agreed.
Gradually, Mr. Alfie started to frown… He had read diaries before, but he rarely came across one that was so meticulous about every detail.
Mr. Alfie began to feel something was off.
**5 PM**: I finished work on time…
**9:17 PM**: Alfie still hasn’t returned; I plan to sleep now. I feel a bit tired today. I’ve nearly finished the medication the doctor prescribed; I need to remember to go to the hospital tomorrow.
My memory is getting worse and worse. I don’t know how long the medication can keep it under control. I hope... I hope that while I can still remember some things clearly.
Even if I forget who I am, even if I forget the way home.
I hope I can still remember Alfie.
I hope I can still remember Louis.
I hope that when I see them, I can still call out their names.
“Father…”
---
“Sir, what’s wrong?” Barbara came out with the washed fruit and saw Mr. Alfie with his head down, covering his eyes. She couldn’t help but walk over curiously.
Mr. Alfie wiped his face and replied, his voice a bit hoarse, “It’s nothing… I might just be a bit tired.”
“Sir, you…” Barbara looked at Mr. Alfie’s reddened eyes, “…were you crying?”