"In your opinion, how many people disappeared during that time?" Mike asked with a confused expression.

"There are not many," Neo said with a smile, but his smile disappeared when he noticed that a lot of people requested leave at the same time. The time they left also varied from one week to one month.

Tommy returned completely after around three weeks, during which he also occasionally appeared in the school. Seeing the list reach thousands, Neo didn’t know what to say anymore. Why did everyone ask for a leave at the same time?

"It’s not far after Valentine’s Day. A lot of people have their honeymoon," Mike explained as if he could guess what Neo was thinking.

"How do you know about this? Are you thinking about taking that girl out on a date?"

Mike smiled. "Who knows?"

"Mike, it’s not that I oppose your relationship, but do you think you can manage to have two lives at the same time?" Neo asked.

Hearing that, Mike froze for a second before smiling as usual. He put his knife back in his pocket. "You don’t have to worry. I’ll make sure that I won’t make the same mistake."

Neo didn’t think much about it anymore as he browsed the list of names. His eyes stopped on their school name as he noticed that there were several people who skipped classes during the same time. His eyes lingered on their names when his phone rang.

"What is it?"

"Fiore Group’s Rei and Oro appeared in the Lighting Gang’s hideout. Should we confront them?"

Neo was stunned. He was currently hypothesizing that their members also attended their school, but all of them had alibis tonight. Well, except for Tommy.

"No, there’s no need to make additional enemies. Just focus on the other task."

"Yes, Sir."

Neo pondered over something as he typed on his laptop. He turned his head towards Mike. "When are we going to finish?"

"It should be morning if we hurry."

"Then you better hurry."

Mike didn’t understand why this man wanted them to finish that fast. Did he get influenced to overwork from their Boss?

"Sure."

...

Kale Company

Kanae woke up the moment the sun rose. Her eyes blinked at the familiar surroundings as she recalled what happened last night. She slowly sat up and looked towards the window. It was dawn and the sky was a beautiful bright red. Seeing the sunrise from this height was surprisingly very satisfying.

"You’re awake?" Kevin glanced towards the girl as he asked softly. Her messy hair covered part of her face. Even though she didn’t move much when she slept, her hair was still slightly disheveled.

"Yes. Did you have enough sleep, President?"

"I did."

Kanae met Kevin’s gaze. Did she see wrongly? Why did she feel his eyes looked far kinder than before? Her eyes must be playing tricks on her.

She stretched her body slightly. "It’s already morning. I will change my clothes first before going back."

"Mhm," Kevin nodded slightly. After realizing his newfound feelings, he was still unsure of what he should do when faced with the girl.

Suddenly, the door opened and Lou stepped in. "President, there’s a report from Mike..."

His gaze landed on the girl and her clothes. They were obviously Kevin’s and not hers based on how big it was on her body. His eyes widened. Did she with Boss...? No way, tell him that this was not true.

Kevin noticed Lou’s gaze and frowned. "Lou, give it to me."

"Excuse me," Kanae scurried away with her bag. She was feeling rather embarrassed to be seen in Kevin’s clothes. Although nothing happened, it was still inappropriate for her to wear them.

Lou’s mouth gaped but no words came out. He was too shocked to say anything right now. At this point in time, he wanted nothing more than to wake up. This all must be a dream.

"Nothing happened, Lou. She just slept over because the roads are dangerous," Kevin said in a cold tone.

Hearing that icy tone, Lou knew better than snoop into his Boss’s private life. He nodded his head and handed the report in his hand to Kevin. "Yes, Boss. This is the report."

Lou felt unease wash over him as he watched as the young man before him browse through the report. He tried so hard to convince himself that Kevin was telling the truth, but felt like it was impossible. His mouth opened, and then closed again in the next second without uttering any words.

Seeing his subordinate act like that, Kevin was rather annoyed. "If you have something you want to say, you should just spit it out."

Towards Kevin’s rather harsh words, Lou smiled wryly. "Boss, do you mind if I ask you about your opinion regarding Miss Kanae?"

"She’s a good person."

"Is that all, Boss?" Lou asked hesitantly.

Kevin glanced up and stared back into Lou’s eyes. His dark irises seemed to pierce deep into Lou’s body. Nothing could be hidden; everything seemed to turn bare in front of this man. Under Kevin’s gaze, Lou felt very uncomfortable and he wanted nothing more than to hide in the ground.

"You shouldn’t worry about this matter, Lou."

"I know, Boss," Lou hurriedly answered. Hesitation wavered in his eyes, but he decided to go on with it. "This may overstep my bounds, but I need to remind you that it is for the best if you don’t get closer with any girls outside of our clan.

The rules in our clan are not made without any reason. Boss, do you want to repeat the tragedy that befell Yuki?"

Hearing that name, Kevin’s eyes shook for a brief moment. It was a name that was taboo in their clan, and Lou knew how much Kevin regretted that incident. Still, that was also the biggest reason why Kevin shouldn’t pursue any girl outside the clan. He was not allowed to get close to another girl, or she might experience something they could not imagine.

The young man slowly raised his head again. His face was still as expressionless as ever, but this time, a trace of coldness emanated from his body. Remembering this name brought so much pain to his heart and the only way to suppress it was by burying the matter deep within again.

"Lou, do you forget that you’re not allowed to say her name anymore?"

Kevin’s cold voice caused Lou to shiver in fear. He gritted his teeth and kowtowed to the ground. "This subordinate apologizes, but I can’t let the same thing happen to another girl again."

He cared about Kevin’s well-being, and he knew that feeling was something Kevin couldn’t control. If Kevin treated Kanae as more than just a coworker, there was no doubt that the same thing would happen.

Kevin averted his gaze. He knew that Lou had been treating Kanae with an unfriendly attitude because the latter was worried about him. After all, he shouldn’t get too close with anyone outside the clan.

"I know about the rule. There’s no need to worry so much. I won’t let the same thing happen again," Kevin answered calmly.

"Yes, Boss."

He had just realized that he cared for her, but he knew that he had to maintain his distance with her and treat her as usual. Silently, he sighed deep inside his heart as he knew that he might not be able to stop the growth of this budding feeling.