The raise of Maureen Smith and her Good Luck System
Chapter 138: Are they in a relationship?

Chapter 138: Are they in a relationship?

Regarding Maureen and Liam, although they did not formally announce their relationship to everyone, their affection for each other couldn’t help but leak out in their actions.

So, a week before the school celebration, gossip swirled across the entire building that Maureen and Liam were dating.

This news also reached Richard’s ears.

Although he had a vague guess that this day might come during that night’s intensive training, when the rumours spread like a slow-acting poison, bit by bit invading the air around him, he still chose to cover his ears and not to listen.

Not until one day, seeing both of them far away entering the school gate, getting out of the same car, the coat on Maureen was Liam’s, and they were holding hands.

Only then did it hit Richard’s brain, that thread of hope had completely snapped.

He stood in the hallway, trying his best to keep a blank face, yet his complexion turned grim bit by bit in the cold wind.

It was hard for Richard to describe his feelings at that moment.

The Maureen who was supposed to be there around him had completely disappeared from his world and had stepped into Liam’s world.

The Maureen who was supposed to be walking with him on the same path was now holding hands with Liam, walking on another path that had nothing whatsoever to do with him.

His path had instantly become lonesome.

Maureen had many small habits. When she was listening to others, she would look attentively, with her beautiful eyes seemingly shimmering with water.

When she was shy, she would sometimes feel a flush in her cheek and tuck the hair near her ear behind it.

However, now, the one evoking these expressions from her was no longer him, but another person.

Richard felt like he was holding a handful of sand in his hands.

Before he realized the preciousness of this sand, it had already arrived in his hands.

He didn’t care, even felt that the sand wasn’t good enough.

But just when he genuinely realized that he wanted her, wanted to hold on tighter, He simply couldn’t hold on.

He could only watch helplessly as the sand in his palm lessened gradually, until it disappeared without a trace.

Richard had always sailed smoothly in everything since his childhood.

Except for this matter, where he met a crushing defeat.

Caleb and the others watched as Richard visibly decayed at an alarming rate.

Richard was originally cold by nature, not one to converse much.

His friends, though gathered around him, making the atmosphere lively, were not ones who understood him deeply.

Because he never let anyone know what was on his mind.

Everyone only perceived him as prideful, excellent, dazzling, shining - everyone admired him, but no one knew what he wanted.

Now, it is clear.

He probably liked Maureen.

He was just too young to realize that his involuntary stares were signs of affection, and didn’t know that the extra glances he spared her in the crowd were telltale signs that he had a soft spot for her— he interpreted all these odd sensations as being "annoyed" by Maureen’s pursuit.

He was always coldly driving Maureen away.

So much so that one day, when Maureen really left, his whole world turned upside down. ...

On this day, Niel carried a wheelchair, Liam hopped on one foot up the stairs, and Maureen followed with a bag of snacks, creating a rambunctious scene.

As they reached the top of the stairs, they saw Richard standing at the back door of the international class.

Although they were in the next class over, Richard often stayed in the lab, and Maureen didn’t actively go look for him.

Having a chance encounter wasn’t that easy, so the last time they met was when Richard and Liam had a fight on the basketball court.

More than a month had passed, Richard had noticeably lost weight. In contrast to Liam’s spirited demeanour, he wore a down jacket over his uniformly buttoned up blue and white school uniform.

The wounds on the corners of his mouth and cheekbones that Liam had punched were all healed, leaving only a faint scar.

His cold eyes seemed rather melancholic.

"Can we talk?"

Richard’s gaze fell directly on Maureen.

"What do you want?"

Liam gave him a glance, full of wariness, and a layer of frost immediately formed on his face.

Did Laurel think he was dead?

He’s still here, and he actually dared to try and steal his girl right in front of him?

Maureen guessed that Richard had heard that she was with Liam, this should be their last conversation.

Everything had to come to an end. Maureen thought for a moment, held Liam’s hand, and said, "I’ll be back in ten minutes."

Jealousy and possessiveness were about to burst out of Liam.

Ten minutes?! Ten minutes were six hundred thousand milliseconds!

Who knows how much can be said and done in that time?!

The fact that Maureen genuinely liked Richard was a constant concern for Liam.

He was always on guard against Richard, his greatest fear was Richard!

Of course, he wasn’t at ease!

However, Liam felt his behavior was a bit petty, which wasn’t suitable for a man.

If he continued this way, he might turn into a jealous husband.

Jealous husbands were easily dumped.

Suppressing his possessiveness, he exhaled a cold breath and smiled at Maureen: "Okay." Maureen looked at him uncertainly: "Are you alright?"

Why was he suddenly smiling in such a creepy way?

"It’s nothing, I’m not that petty," Liam reassured.

Maureen: "Then can you let go——" Liam was still tightly holding Maureen’s hand.

He let go of her hand, intending to walk away while coldly shoving his hand into his pocket.

As he turned around, he noticed that he was still sitting in a wheelchair — he couldn’t walk away with his hand in his pocket. Maureen: "..." Niel: "Liam’s cool demeanor instantly collapsed.

He took out his hand to push the wheelchair, entering the classroom with an expressionless face.

Maureen and Richard headed downstairs. The minute the two were gone, Liam hastily wheeled his wheelchair out of the classroom.

Being wheelchair-bound was immensely inconvenient.

His face was a tinge of black, he said to Niel,

"Push me over to the side of the corridor, quickly!"

Niel: Geez, are we not being petty? He, a single dog, could never understand the world of lovebirds!

==========

Maureen and Richard walked to the alley between the two teaching buildings, the surroundings quieting down, with only the faint sounds of the basketball court echoing from a distance.

The chilly winter breeze blew in from the entrance of the alley, and Maureen took the scarf around her face off.

The scarf, gifted by Liam, kept her neck notably warm.

As the winter season was about to end. She had nothing to say to Richard, so she simply waited for him to break the silence. Richard fixed his gaze on Maureen for a long while.

Long enough for Maureen to not be able to resist pulling out her phone from her down jacket to check the time. Looking up at Richard, she said,

"What is it that you want to say? We’re going to have class soon."

After a long pause, Richard opened his mouth to ask,

"Do you really like him?"

Maureen replied,

"Yes."

Richard did not expect Maureen’s answer to be so decisive and unwavering, as if she did not even need to think.

His hand clenched in his pocket, as if his heart was nicked by a knife.

Maureen didn’t know why everyone was asking this question.

didn’t quite believe that she genuinely liked Liam, the head teacher was also surprised, and the question Richard asked was also "do you really like him?"

"Liam is a person worthy of liking," Maureen couldn’t help but say.

When she said these words, her heart was even filled with emotions, filled with pride, the joy of discovering treasure, and more so the joy of vividly recalling his laughter, anger, scolding...

She didn’t notice the expression on Richard’s face, and said: "To me, Liam is like an onion. Peel away the layers and you’ll find the qualities that I admire, worship, love, sympathize with, and cherish.

You guys don’t understand him, only know about his family background, and only know about his domineering temperament.

So, you guys wouldn’t know that he is the best person I’ve ever met."

And the most pure, the gentlest.

In this whole wide world, only he would carefully guard the vulnerability of Maureen, being unconditionally biased to her whenever.

What Maureen had never received was

"bias".

Only from Liam did she get it. He was only biased to her.

So how can she not be unswervingly biased to him?

Maureen firmly told Richard: "I’m very glad that I like him, and I’m very glad that I can walk the rest of my path with him."

The wind was howling in the alley. What Maureen said could not be clearer. Richard stared steadfastly at her.

His body was cold, his heart felt like it was on fire, he didn’t know what else he wanted to hear—perhaps some kind of a turn of events. However, Maureen gives him no chance to turn things around.

She disregards his feelings, expressing her affection for Liam straightforwardly in front of him.

"But have you ever thought, you may only like him because he treats you well?"

Richard suppresses the anger and jealousy boiling within him, articulates word by word to Maureen,

"He spends money to charter flights to take you home, helps you get rid of the Smith family, celebrates your birthday, all just to woo you! You’re with him because you like the nice things he’s done for you.

Is this what you call love?!" Maureen looks at Richard. She shakes her head,

"You really don’t understand anything."

"You’ve got it backwards."

"He treats me well, not because he wants to woo me, but because I’m important to him, and that’s why he treats me well."

"Likewise, I like him.

Even if he doesn’t treat me well, even if he doesn’t have the capacity to treat me well in the future, I still like him."

"Because he is who he is."

Maureen doesn’t get angry because of Richard’s words, she just finds it amusing. Richard might have gone his whole life without understanding what it means to ’like’ someone.

In his world, he is always looking down on others.

But he is kind of pitiful.

He is used to the flattery of those around him, he thinks the flattery all has an ulterior motive.

That’s why he refuses to believe that Liam’s kind-heartedness towards Maureen, asking for nothing in return, remains intact even when Maureen doesn’t like him or even hurts him, he never once turned his back on Maureen.

Richard himself is not that kind of person, so he cannot understand this kind of affection.

"You’ve been so used to being on top in your own world, you don’t know how to properly treat someone.

The color drained from Richard’s face at Maureen’s words.

His blood was boiling as he fixed his gaze on her.

Maureen didn’t have anything else to say to Richard, so she turned to leave.

But behind her, Richard managed to rasp out, "I don’t know how, but you could teach me."

Richard had never admitted to not knowing something, nor had he experienced such a humble moment in his life.

He stared at Maureen’s retreating figure.

But she didn’t look back.

A chill began to spread in Richard’s chest.

He heard Maureen pause before saying,

"But no one is obligated to wait for you, and I don’t have that obligation either."

"When you meet someone you like in the future, don’t be like this."

Then Maureen walked away. For a long time, Richard stood there, his vision growing dark.

In that moment, he vividly realized that he had irrevocably lost something important.

He could never get it back.

He had lost to Liam.

===========

Liam frowned as he looked down the hallway, keeping his eyes fixed on Maureen as she headed back to the teaching building.

As soon as she entered, he swiftly wheeled himself into the classroom.

Niel: "As Maureen stepped into the classroom, Liam was donning noise-cancelling headphones, adopting an ’I have cut off from the world’ look while monotonously staring at the book in front of him.

When Maureen approached and pulled out a chair to sit, he arched his brow with a court statement.

"Back already?"

Glancing at the clock once he finished speaking, Liam scoffed: "Fifteen minutes, exceeding by three hundred thousand milliseconds."

Maureen: "..." She spared a glance at him, noticing his noise-cancelling headphones were not even switched on, and it compelled her to chuckle: "Don’t you want to know what Richard and I spoke about?"

"I don’t care."

Liam retorted coldly. Digging out her notes and exercising books from her bag, Maureen responded: "Oh, then I won’t mention it."

Liam: "Wrenching at his heartstrings, Liam seemed perturbed.

The mere thought of the quiet whispers exchanged between little-mask-girl and Laurel left him with nightmares for days.

He waited for a whole three minutes, verifying that little-mask-girl had no intention of speaking up.

He snapped his book closed with a "pop", looked at Maureen, pretending to be indifferent: "If you really want to share, I can lend an ear."

Maureen’s gaze met his. Liam’s facade of indifference mixed with the cold aloofness gradually crumbled.

He began to express indignation: "You——"

Before he could continue, Maureen raised her book, covering their heads, leaned over and planted a kiss on his handsome face. Liam: "..." Liam touched his cheek which Maureen had just kissed, indignantly saying,

"Don’t disturb me off with that——" Before his words could fully leave his mouth, Maureen leaned in again and planted a kiss on his lips,

"How about this?" The dry, soft touch was fleeting, like a dragonfly skimming the water’s surface.

Yet, that was enough to stir ripples in his heart.

Liam’s ears turned as red as the setting sun, he couldn’t help but turn away and mumbled,

"That was barely acceptable." Maureen whispered in response,

"What else can I say? Richard and I have nothing more to talk about. I just rejected him for the last time and made it clear that I only like you."

Liam coughed, saying to Maureen, "We’re still in the classroom.

You are the teacher’s prized student, be serious!"

But he himself couldn’t stop the corner of his mouth from curving up until it almost reached his temples.

All the classmates: Damn... ...I must be going blind.

The boss really is terrifying when he’s in love.

=========

As for the matter concerning Richard, Maureen didn’t know if it could be considered over.

But at any rate, Richard didn’t appear in Maureen’s sight anymore from then on.

After all, Richard wasn’t an obsessive maniac. He’d made his point abundantly clear.

If he were to pester her again, it wouldn’t seem like him at all.

In fact, Maureen felt that his affection for her might not be very deep, but there probably was some.

However, this kind of liking in youth, often comes in a vague and unclear manner.

Unable to have her, there wasn’t much he could do.

As time passed, such feelings were gradually buried.

After several snowfalls with no meetings, he would have forgotten about her.