Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 847: One who bestows dreams and the future (7)

The normal exam didn’t take much of Arnold’s energy, as he had already done a lot of preparation before the test.

He even finished the content of the exam early, but he didn’t leave the exam room right away; instead, he left alongside the other candidates.

Originally, according to the plan, after the exam, Arnold would switch identities with Hailey—he still maintained this idea after questioning Hailey last night, as he needed more time to monitor the development of the entire group led by Boston.

However, he changed his mind at the last minute.

There were too many uncertain factors, and considering Hailey’s current mental state, Arnold couldn’t be sure that Hailey wouldn’t suddenly lose control. Moreover, Hailey had an injured hand, which made it difficult to explain… so Arnold decided to temporarily put the identity switch on hold.

There were still two more exams coming up in the following days, so Arnold planned to just let these days pass by while also facilitating his direct oversight of Caroline.

Not only had he installed a tracker on the phone he gave to Caroline, but he also set up monitoring software. So, as soon as he left the exam room, Arnold picked up his phone to see if Caroline had made any contact with the outside world during this time.

However, to Arnold’s disappointment, it was clear that Caroline hadn’t contacted anyone—she hadn’t even made a single phone call.

But Arnold had good patience, so he wasn’t anxious… Taking it slow meant having more time for planning, allowing him to gradually eliminate uncontrollable factors.

“Caroline, I’ve finished the exam,” Arnold directly contacted Caroline. “I’ll be back soon. Are you hungry? What do you want to eat? I’ll bring something back for you… Alright, wait for me for a bit.”Arnold quickly walked down the stairs of the teaching building and into the crowd.

At that moment, a girl who had also just exited the exam room spotted him. She seemed to remember something and hurried over, as if she intended to call out to Arnold, but he quickly blended into the crowd and vanished from sight.

“Shana, what happened?”

Soon, another man walked up beside the girl, affectionately wrapping an arm around her waist and asking with concern.

The girl named Shana shook her head and casually replied, “It’s nothing. I just saw an acquaintance I rarely run into, so I planned to ask a few questions, but then I couldn’t see him anymore.”

The man didn’t mind; he simply nodded and began considering where to take the girl to eat next.

As Shana listened to the man’s suggestions, a smile gradually appeared on her face, and the two slowly left—if Caroline were here, she would recognize Shana as the girl from the photo who was very close to Lucas.

……

Caroline was still bored in Room 403, playing Angry Birds while waiting for ‘Arnold’ to return.

However, before she could wait for ‘Arnold’ to come back, there was a sudden rapid knocking on the door, which made Caroline tense up—if it was ‘Arnold,’ he would have just opened the door and walked in.

But Caroline quickly relaxed when the person knocking slipped a note through the crack in the door and then left. After glancing at the contents of the note, Caroline confirmed the identity of the mysterious person who left: 403.

However, when Caroline saw the contents of the note, she fell into a dilemma. The instructions written by 403 for her next course of action made Caroline feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Fall in Love"

Falli in love?

Caroline was taken aback. Was this suggesting that she should use her charms? She didn't really resist the idea of selling her looks; the key point was that in her nineteen years of life, she had no idea what it meant to be in love.

Being in love wasn’t the same as making love. She was confident that she could be a master in making love, but when it came to love, she could only consider herself a novice—no, a rookie among rookies.

Caroline rolled her eyes and then tore the note into shreds, flushing it down the toilet as if it were dog waste, giving the swirling water a middle finger as she did so.

At that moment, the dormitory door opened normally, and hearing the sound, Caroline rushed out, seeing Arnold returning with a bag of food.

She suddenly walked up to Arnold, placed a hand on his shoulder, and tilted her head, saying, “Hey, buddy, how about going on a date with me?”

“Huh?” Arnold looked extremely confused.

Caroline laughed, “Actually, I’m just bored and want to go out for a walk, just like that masquerade ball you took me to yesterday. Didn’t you say it was pretty safe? What’s wrong?”

Arnold thought to himself about how Hailey was such a troublemaker. Going out meant increasing the variables; it was definitely more stable to just stay in the dormitory. But considering that Caroline could easily slip away when he went out—wait, why was she suddenly asking to go out? Did she have some plan… was it related to the truth about that bank card?

After pondering for a moment, Arnold nodded, “Okay, where do you want to go?”

Caroline rolled her eyes again, saying, “Come on, since it’s a date, it should be you, as the man, deciding where to go! Anyway, we’re probably just ending up at some clock hotel or something, right?”

Date = sex.

That was basically Caroline’s understanding.

Arnold checked the time and nodded in agreement, “Alright, let’s go out after we eat in the afternoon.”

…

However, the places Arnold had arranged were basically spots where couples at the university often went. It’s not that these places had a bad atmosphere, but Caroline felt like there was something a bit textbook about these date locations. Could it be that this guy didn’t even know how to flirt?

After a friendly reminder from Caroline, he finally realized he should go get some water or something… Had this guy really been a gigolo before? How did Livia ever get involved with him?

By the way, they were currently in a grand hall within the university—this place told the history of the university and showcased many famous individuals and outstanding achievements since its founding.

Arnold seemed engrossed in it, but Caroline felt extremely bored and had to force a smile. Maybe it was because he was playing the role of a bookworm that Arnold seemed like such a nerd?

These two brothers were really impressive. Whether it was Arnold controlling a criminal gang behind the scenes, as she learned from 403, or Hailey’s acting while playing Arnold, Caroline felt that the world owed these two brothers a little golden statue.

Hmm... What is this? Caroline's gaze suddenly stopped on an exhibition display.

“What’s wrong?” Arnold noticed Caroline had suddenly stopped and walked over. “Feeling bored?”

“Oh… no, I’m just a bit curious about who this old man is.” Caroline pointed at the display, which had many photos, trophies, and a bronze bust.

Arnold adjusted his glasses and looked over, “This is Dr. Franky, a very prominent scientist in our country. He was once a professor at this university but was later invited to the National Research Institute due to his exceptional abilities. However, he kept his title at the university… I heard there was a major incident that caused Dr. Franky to be depressed for a long time. Hmm… I think I heard he’s coming back to take on the role of honorary dean, but I haven’t seen him.”

Caroline thought to herself, You useless deadbeat gigolo who doesn’t go to class, it’s a wonder if you even get to see him.

However, it turned out that the old man she ran into by the artificial lake that day had such a significant background… she had at least met a true celebrity now.

“So?” Arnold suddenly looked at Caroline.

Caroline was taken aback and curiously asked, “So… so what?”

Arnold replied, “Do you feel bored?”

Arnold had been observing Caroline’s actions in secret and noticed she hadn’t done anything strange or left behind any suspicious signs throughout the whole process. Could it be that he was overthinking it? Maybe she was just too tired and simply wanted to get out for a walk.

Caroline shook her head, “Not bored at all. In fact, it feels quite interesting. Looking at these people feels like I’m watching another world… a world that is completely different from mine.”

Caroline was genuinely speaking from the heart. In this city’s top university, everywhere exuded a sense of her being out of place.

The vitality they possessed was something Caroline both feared and envied.

“Do you want to change?” Arnold suddenly asked.

Caroline opened her mouth; she realized she didn’t know how to answer such a question… as far as she remembered, no one had ever asked her anything like that.

She hesitated several times before finally shaking her head and giving her answer: “I don’t know. Maybe… maybe it’s impossible to change.”

“Maybe it’s just that you’re afraid to take the first step.” Arnold shook his head as well.

Caroline fell into confusion, losing interest in what was to come, and said, “I’m tired. Let’s go back.”

…

…

Ten hours had passed since Dr. Franky’s body underwent meticulous examination.

The hospital established a group of specialists to discuss Dr. Franky’s condition in a long and arduous meeting, with Mr. Alfie participating throughout.

Because of the presence of such a national figure, the experts at the meeting were giving their utmost effort, even more so than when they had taken their medical licensing exams.

During the discussion, the experts struggled, their faces flushed, yet they could not come up with a viable solution that would convince everyone.

“I need to step out for a moment.” Mr. Alfie could no longer endure it; anxious and frustrated, he didn’t want to waste any more time in this meeting.

He walked out to the hallway outside the conference room and sat down, looking exhausted. Dr. Franky, his father, was losing his life minute by minute, which was a long and tormenting emotional struggle for the family.

“Sir, you’re really here.”

“Barbara, you’ve come.”

The Filipino maid, who had always taken care of his family, was very responsible and had brought Mr. Alfie some food in a thermos.

“Sir, Louis will be on holiday tomorrow. About that matter…” Barbara sat down.

Mr. Alfie frowned and finally shook his head in silence, “Just say I’m on a business trip. Don’t come over these next few days; stay home and take care of Louis.”

“Okay.” Barbara wanted to say something more, but at that moment, hurried footsteps approached.

It was a young man in a suit, probably around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, calling out to Mr. Alfie from a distance.

Barbara recognized this young man, recalling that he seemed to be Mr. Alfie’s secretary, having seen him a few times. So, she stood up and excused herself, heading back to the ward to take care of Dr. Franky.

“What’s the matter?” Mr. Alfie glanced at his secretary.

Even with Dr. Franky’s situation, Mr. Alfie hadn’t taken a leave—it's not that he didn’t want to, but in his position, there was essentially no such thing as a vacation. Taking time off required approval from the president, and the process was quite cumbersome.

In the absence of options, he could only arrange his daily tasks through his phone, delegating matters that could be handled by others.

The secretary sat down and asked with concern, “Is there nothing particularly urgent? I just came to check on you and the doctor; everyone is quite worried.”

“Thank you for your concern.” Mr. Alfie forced a smile and then sighed, “I can hold on.”

“Have those experts come to any conclusions?” the secretary asked curiously.

Mr. Alfie shook his head.

The secretary sighed and said helplessly, “If only miracles existed in this world. The doctor has made such significant contributions throughout his life; why hasn’t he been favored?”

Mr. Alfie shook his head and smiled bitterly, “Where would miracles come from in this world? We are people who believe in science.”

The secretary chuckled awkwardly. The security department was known for its emphasis on high technology, but he suddenly remembered a report from the past few days and couldn’t help but say, “Well, that might not be the case. Just a few days ago, someone really did witness a miracle.”

Mr. Alfie looked at him with a puzzled expression—he wasn’t particularly interested in miracles but simply wanted to know about something else to distract himself from his heavy mood.

The secretary seemed to understand Mr. Alfie’s intention and said, “Speaking of which, it was at the memorial service at the theater. I heard that another person claiming to be a divine messenger brought a wealthy businessman, who had been shot in the chest, back to life… Oh, by the way, I have a video that a passerby recorded at that time, though it’s a bit blurry.”

As he spoke, the secretary pulled out his phone and played a shaky video in front of Mr. Alfie…