BXBX NOVEL Chapter 38
An excited girl raised her hand in hesitation after listening to their conversation.
“I... I am willing to help Ronan with his artwork!”
“...”
Ronan’s sexy lips curled up in victory. He flashed an excessively sweet smile at the girl and said “Thanks” with a wink. The girl practically melted into a puddle of water on the floor.
Lucien barely held himself back from rolling with his eyes.
Encouraged and maybe blinded by Ronan’s single-word gratitude, the other students started to chime in.
“Of course, we all want to help!”
“Ronan, don’t be shy. I can even help you with sketching!”
.....
“And I can help you with coloring! Mr. Clearwater always praises me for my good eyes in balancing colors!”
Shy?
Sketching?
Coloring?
Then what exactly was Ronan Silverback going to contribute to this so-called artwork?
Later on, his girlfriend might just pay and then drag art critics over to appraise his painting. How was that going to be fair for everyone?
Lucien glared at Ronan. The latter was here not only to mess up with his life but also his students’ life. To top it up, the students were all victims of Ronan’s charm. The focus of the annual art exhibition had shifted from getting public opinion for the first time to pleasing Ronan Silverback.
You must be kidding me.
Lucien praised himself in his heart for the extraordinary self-restraint that he exercised at that very moment.
“Let’s just continue,” he said with repressed anger.
The rest of the period went without a hitch. Lucien did not even have to go over to Ronan’s and Lillian’s anymore because they kept getting frequented by female and male students alike who kept offering their help.
Never mind that Ronan and Lillian looked like a couple of lovers. As long as they did not confirm their relationship, they apparently were still on the market.
Lucien could feel a headache coming up. He was thus more than glad when the class was finally over.
“Please tidy your workplace up before leaving,” Lucien clapped his hands to get the attention of students who were preparing to leave.
“Yes, Mr. Clearwater!!!” came the reply of the students. After the students put away their masterpieces, they practically stuffed everything into their bags and rushed out of the classroom.
“Bye, Mr. Clearwater!!!” they said one by one while waving at Lucien. Lucien waved back with a smile.
A group of students were teasing each other on the way out. One of them accidentally bumped against Lucien’s easel and sent a bunch of painting materials crashing onto the floor.
“Oh, no...”
“Man, how clumsy you are.”
The students bent down and started collecting the items from the floor, but Lucien stopped them.
“You have another class after this. Go, I will handle them.”
They looked immensely guilty.
“So sorry, Mr. Clearwater.”
“No worries,” Lucien said with a smile.
From the back of the classroom, Lillian Woodland tucked a strand of golden hair behind her ear and walked toward Lucien with a smile.
“Mr. Clearwater, let me help,” she offered.
Without waiting for Lucien to answer, Lillian picked up the color tubes from the ground and lined them up on the teacher’s desk neatly.
“No need,” Lucien said. “It is not much.”
Lillian turned deaf ears to Lucien. She continued tidying up Lucien’s desk. Of course, that was not what she was there for. And Lucien also knew it.
Lucien swept the classroom with a gaze. Ronan was not there. Lucien and Lillian were the only ones who were left.
“Ronan had to take a long call,” Lillian answered Lucien’s silent question with a smile. “I thus decide to get to know Mr. Clearwater better. Or maybe, since we are all close in age, can I call you Lucien instead?”
“What do you really want to tell me?” Lucien asked directly while looking into Lillian’s eyes.
Lillian’s lips curled up in amusement.
“I am the eldest daughter of the Ironclad Claws Pack,” she explained. “Our two packs have a marriage arrangement. I am supposed to be the Infinite Eclipse Pack’s future Luna.”
Lucien had nothing to say but “Ah”. It was not surprising, really. “Congratulations then.”
“Thank you, Lucien. I wonder if you can help me.”
Help her?
“Help you with what, exactly?”
Lillian’s eyes wandered from Lucien’s eyes to his nape. Lucien’s hand automatically moved to straighten his collar and hide the hideous mark on his neck. Not that it was necessary. Lillian smelled Lucien’s scent on Ronan when the latter came back the previous night. There was no need for an explanation. Lillian chuckled.
Lillian took some tissue papers from the desk and rubbed the red and blue paint off her fingers.
“Mr. Dane Silverback spoke highly of you, Lucien. He said that you were very... reasonable.”
The beautiful she-wolf emphasized the word “reasonable”.
Lucien knew what she meant. He also knew why Dane Silverback’s name fell into the conversation. Lucien curled up his fingers into fists behind his back.
“Please relay my thanks to Mr. Dane Silverback for the undeserved praise. I shall continue being... reasonable.”
Lillian flashed Lucian her most charming smile.
“That is great.”
But Lucien was not done with what he wanted to say. “On the other side, I want to emphasize that me being reasonable has nothing to do with you becoming the future Luna of the Infinite Eclipse Pack.”
Lillian’s smile drained from her face. She unwittingly ended up glaring at Lucien, who had a wide grin plastered all over his face.
“If I were you, Ms. Woodland, I will pay more attention to my future husband. Maybe you too should become more... reasonable.”
Lucien did not have the chance to see whether Lillian had anything to say to him. Just at that moment, the door to the classroom creaked open and Ronan Silverback showed up again. His eyes shifted from Lucien to Lillian and then settled on Lucien.
Lillian, on the other side, burst into tears and drew both men’s attention to her immediately.
“I am sorry, Lucien. I didn’t mean to be condescending or anything. I had no hidden agenda, really... Please forgive me if I said anything insensitive...”