“She’s practically identical! I heard that Ms. Calder is still single, I wonder what kind of man could match her?”
“A man who can match Ms. Calder must have money and be handsome! Greasy old men definitely can’t match our Ms. Calder.”
“What do you guys think about Leo? I feel like he and Ms. Calder would make a good pair.”
“I have the same feeling. I don’t know if Leo is married or not…”
Hearing his classmates’ discussion, Leo could only shake his head with a bitter smile.
After class, Leo went back to the pharmacy with medicine in hand to return it to that same teacher, Willow.
Just as Leo was about to leave the pharmacy, a loud and piercing shout rang out, “Willow, get your ass out here!”
The one shouting was a man around Leo’s age who gave off an air of carelessness and disrespect towards everyone around him.
Leo disliked this kind of behavior very much and couldn’t help but give him a cold look as he reminded him, “This is school; please refrain from shouting.”
“What’s wrong with school? If I want to shout then let me shout! You don’t have any right to tell me what to do!” The man sneered at Leo disdainfully.
The man’s attitude made Leo frown, “I am one of this school’s teachers. Why are you looking for Ms. Calder?”
“Why am I looking for Willow? It’s none of your damn business!” The man looked at him again impatiently before yelling loudly at the pharmacy once more, “Willow, if you don’t come out now, then I’ll go on your school broadcast system and call out your name!”
The commotion caused by the man not only attracted students’ attention but also several teachers who walked out from their offices curiously towards the pharmacy.
Willow walked out from behind the counter with an expressionless face as she looked at Demarien Ted – using a disgusted tone – saying, “Demarien Ted, I’ve already made myself clear enough; please stop harassing me.”
What Willow hated most were men who were both rascals and persistent pests.
Demarien glared back at her hatefully before saying, “Willow, everything can be discussed calmly between us; why did you run away here just so that we wouldn’t meet up? Today no matter what happens, we need talk things through.”
Demarien approached Willow and tried to grab her hand. Instinctively, she stepped back and ended up behind Leo. Demarien attempted to go around Leo to get to her, but he intervened.
“You’re getting on my nerves! Get out of my way!” Demarien yelled at Leo.
Leo’s face turned cold as he spoke in a frigid tone, “Ms. Calder just told you not to bother her anymore! What’s your relationship with her? Why do you think you can come here and grab her?”
“What am I to her?” Demarien puffed out his chest and pointed at himself, shouting loudly, “Listen up, I’m her man!”
“I never thought Ms. Calder was married. The rumors about being unmarried must be false,” someone said.
“At first, I was surprised that so many people were pursuing Ms. Calder but she’s not interested at all. It turns out she’s married,” another person added.
“This guy looks like a ruffian. How could the pure goddess Ms. Calder fall for him?” yet another person chimed in.
The teachers who came out to watch the commotion started discussing what they saw among themselves.
Some female teachers who were average-looking couldn’t help feeling a bit smug because Willow’s beauty posed a threat to them.
Demarien’s words made Willow turn black with anger. She quickly stepped forward from behind Leo and denied his claims, “Demarien, don’t talk nonsense! We have no relationship!”
“Don’t talk nonsense yourself! If you have guts, let’s go ask your uncle right now. Let him tell us whether we have any connection or not!” Demarien retorted confidently while giving Willow an evil look.
“To tell you the truth, your uncle took 200 thousand dollar from me as dowry and already promised me that we would get married soon.”
With an air of entitlement on his face, Demarien continued speaking, “So you must marry me and become my wife!”
“That man is not my uncle; I have no relationship with him whatsoever,” Willow explained calmly while trying hard not to lose control of herself emotionally. “I’m also not anyone else’s property; how dare he use me for trading purposes?”
Willow, being a woman, had no choice but to reason with the unruly Demarien.
Demarien approached Willow again, adopting a self-righteous attitude as he said, “Willow, your mom is dead, your dad ran off with another woman, and it’s your uncle who’s paying for your education. In other words, your uncle is now like your parent!”
“Since your uncle has accepted my dowry, you are now my wife. Recognize this reality and come with me to the civil affairs bureau to get our marriage certificate,” Demarien said, reaching out to grab Willow.
But his hand never touched her because Leo slapped it away.
A sharp pain shot through Demarien’s hand as Leo’s slap landed on his backhand. He winced in pain.
“This is a society ruled by law. Ms. Calder has made her stance clear, and you cannot harass her here! Your dowry was paid to her uncle, not her. If you continue bothering her, don’t blame me for being rude!” Leo coldly rebuked him.
If this had happened outside of school or if they weren’t both teachers at the same school, Leo might have ignored it. But since they were colleagues at the same school, he felt compelled to intervene.
“The person standing in front of Ms. Calder is our new teacher at school – Leo right? Rumor has it that he conquered the people from Riceland Medical Research Society; he’s really domineering!”
“You mean that young medicine doctor who was personally invited by our principal?”
“Yes! That’s him! It is said that his medicine skills are amazing!”
“Leo stood up for Ms. Calder; do you think they might be together…”
“I think so too! But let’s not say anything more about it; Leo and Ms. Calder make a great match – like a talented man paired with a beautiful woman.”
Gossip knows no gender or profession; teachers love discussing things like these with great enthusiasm.
After recovering from the pain caused by the slap on his hand, Demarien pointed angrily at Leo and shouted, “Do you know who I am?”
“Even if you’re King Kong himself, get lost before I make sure you crawl out of this school!” There was no doubt in Leo’s tone when he spoke.
“All right then – You win.” Demarien let go of Leo’s pointed finger, turned his body, and seemed to be preparing to leave.
However, in the next moment, Demarien suddenly turned around, holding a gleaming switchblade in his right hand and thrusting it directly towards Leo’s abdomen.
Leo didn’t move at all, as if he were waiting for Demarien to stab the knife into his own body.
The reason Demarien immediately resorted to using a knife was to intimidate the onlookers and Willow. He wanted Willow to understand how dreadful the consequences could be for crossing him.