The raise of Maureen Smith and her Good Luck System
Chapter 81: Don’t stay away from me

Chapter 81: Don’t stay away from me

"Don’t, stay away from me."

Liam glanced at Maureen, then looked at her hand that pushed his arm.

He added, "Remember, it’s improper for a man and a woman to touch each other. Keep that in mind from now on."

Maureen: " Maureen struggled to hide her expression as if an old man was looking at a smartphone.

She unwrapped the candy and held it out to Liam’s mouth,

"What on earth is wrong with you today?!

Just try one.

There are lemon and strawberry flavors, and you need to replenish your energy when you’re sick!"

Liam looked at her listlessly,

"Do you really care if I replenish my energy or not?"

He pressed his lips together tightly and leaned against the cold wall.

As Maureen stepped forward and he stepped back, it looked like she was cornering him against the wall and forcing him, with her hand on the edge of his chair, while he stubbornly resisted.

The whole class was drawn to the spectacle, their gossip-filled glances swiftly falling onto them.

"Maureen’s cheeks flushed, and she quickly withdrew her hand and straightened up.

"Are you still not feeling well?"

Maureen reluctantly popped the candy into her own mouth and mumbled,

"Maybe you should take another day off if you’re still not feeling well?

Did you bring your thermometer, and did you measure your temperature before you left home this morning?"

She thought he was an adolescent boy who should be strong and recover quickly.

He didn’t seem to have the burning fever he had a couple days ago, she could tell just from sitting next to him in the three morning classes.

However, even though his fever had subsided, he still seemed to be somewhat under the weather.

As she pondered, Maureen subconsciously reached out to check Liam’s forehead. But Liam dodged again.

He even reacted greatly and stood up directly. There was a "screech" as the chair made a noise on the floor.

Liam turned around and walked out of the classroom, his expression cold and tired: "My illness is better now, there’s no need to bother about me."

Maureen gazed up at him.

Her neck, pivoting like a sunflower tracking the sun, turned to look at him, inexplicably asking, "Why aren’t you happy then?" Maureen, confused, grabbed his clothes.

Liam turned his head away, "I’m not unhappy."

Should he admit his mortifying truth, saying "Because I misunderstood your affections for me, because I’ve been torturing myself with unrequited love, and now my dreams are broken and my dignity is shattered.

I feel like a self-deprecating clown."?

It was too embarrassing to even face. "Nonsense," Maureen said.

"I can tell what your mood is like, Liam.

Is something going wrong at home?"

"...Nothing happened."

Liam fell silent, prying Maureen’s hand away, "Remember, there should be no physical contact between a man and a woman."

Maureen: "She watched as Liam left the classroom, utterly bewildered. .... At first, she thought Liam was simply listless due to his illness.

But now, it seems that something bad must have happened to him, perhaps even some sort of trouble.

Maybe something had happened at home, but she knew nothing about his family...

Maureen was initially preoccupied with her own terminal illness and had no mental energy to ask so many questions.

Later on, she had just become close with Liam and Niel.

She didn’t know if it would provoke his anger if she, with her humble identity, inquired about his private matters.

So, she had always held back and not asked.

And now— Maureen felt anxious in her heart, she could no longer care about anything else and turned to ask Niel.

"Liam has been acting strangely these days, did something happen?"

As soon as Niel saw Maureen, he felt uneasy, he immediately used a book to cover his face, only to have Maureen take it away: "Don’t avoid the question."

"It must be your misconception."

Niel said in a low voice, "Liam is no different from usual."

He reaches out for the book. "Is this what you call no different?"

Maureen held his book and didn’t let go,

"He almost had the words ’arrogant’ and ’narcissist’ written across his face before, but why is he like a frost-stricken eggplant after he got sick?"

"He was just scolded by his grandfather, so he looks a little upset.

He’ll be fine in a few days." Niel thought, if I tell you, wouldn’t it be equivalent to making Liam embarrassed?

After all, if you said on the phone that you don’t like Liam, wouldn’t you feel awkward after knowing Liam’s thoughts?

A clear refusal after a tender moment? Niel felt that once he said what happened, not only would Maureen and Liam fail to become lovers, but they might not even be able to continue being brothers.

This kind of confusing situation, where ’I’ like ’you’, but ’you’ don’t like ’me’ and ’I’ have been assuming that ’you’ like ’me’ for a long time, only to find out that ’you’ have someone else you like.

With Niel’s straightforward thinking, it is simply mind-boggling.

He felt he would become the scapegoat from being stuck in the middle.

Niel then reassured, "That’s just how he is. It’s not targeted at you.

Didn’t you see how he’s been ignoring us all day today? Just let him digest everything on his own."

Allow him a few days to ’digest’. Maybe he’ll get over the ’sense of betrayal’, and we can carry on as if nothing had happened.

Although Niel had said that, Liam’s recent despondence was due to his grandfather’s influence. Still, Maureen felt something was off. ...

She didn’t want Liam to be unhappy.

She couldn’t bear to see Liam feeling down, but she had no idea how to improve his mood.

At noon, Maureen deliberately dragged Josephine to wander outside the school and bought a pot of small, green succulent plants.

She placed it on Liam’s desk, hoping he’d feel better when he saw the green plant. Liam didn’t throw it away but did not pay it much attention either.

He did not lash out at her like usual for messing up his desk.

The lively and triumphant red bird within Liam seemed to have died, laying flat and lifeless with two strewn tears, unable to appear arrogant and domineering anymore.

And Maureen felt at a loss. As she was constantly concerned about what had happened to Liam, Maureen’s gaze unconsciously fell upon him all day, and she couldn’t help but frequently look over at him during classes.

Occasionally, while she was glancing over at Liam, her pen would pause on her notebook, leaving a dot of ink as she zoned out. ..

That’s when she suddenly discovered that the person next to her was actually quite good-looking.

His flawless features and refined handsomeness, coupled with his expressionless face, exuded an aura of ’strangers keep away’.

Especially after recovering from a serious illness, his face was tinged with the pallor of sickness.

His presence stirred up an indescribable feeling in others.

It was as if ants were crawling in one’s heart, causing an itchy and vague discomfort.

Without realizing it, Maureen’s gaze fell to his tightly pressed lips.

She felt a tickle somewhere on her body but couldn’t identify where to scratch.

It felt like itching through boots - impossible to relieve. Subconsciously, Maureen scratched her chest, only to realize that the itch actually came from within her heart. ...

Meanwhile, Liam rested his head on his hand.

His eyelids stayed low, and he feigned indifference. He pretended not to notice Maureen’s gaze falling on his face and his ears igniting in heat. He thought to himself, he wasn’t ugly, so why had the girl never stared at him before?

Now that Maureen was finally giving him a long glance, Liam wished he could photoshop his profile to look even more handsome.

However, knowing that he was quite attractive, he continued flipping pages nonchalantly.

After a moment, he noticed that Maureen had yet to withdraw her gaze. This lightened Liam’s gloomy mood for a touch.

Changing his position, he held his head up with his left hand and frantically searched on his phone with his right, googling: "From which angle does a high schooler who is 188 cm tall look most attractive to girls?"

As Maureen was still staring at Liam’s Adam’s apple, swallowing unconsciously, the teacher on the podium couldn’t take it anymore and yelled: "Maureen, what are you staring at?

Has your desk mate grown a flower on his face?"

Startled, Maureen sat upright immediately, placing her hands on the desk properly.

Liam chuckled slightly as the feeling of dread in his heart cleared away, just as a resurrection of a dead bird by stirring its legs.