The waiter dared not show any negligence; he immediately packed up the fruit platter, placed it into a bag, and respectfully handed it to Grayson.
"Mr. Caldwell, allow me to send Young Master back!" Victoria volunteered.
"Very well—be mindful of Young Master Grayson's safety," Caldwell nodded in agreement.
The group left the hotel. Caldwell and the others bade farewell to Grayson one by one, each departing in their own cars. Only Victoria and Grayson remained. Somehow, now alone with Victoria, Grayson felt oppressed rather than the initial excitement and nervousness. Perhaps it was Victoria's striking figure—visually imposing—and her height: she seemed almost as tall as he was. Grayson stood a full 1.88 meters tall, after all.
But Victoria wore high heels, and women often appear taller than they actually are, so she certainly wasn't taller than him. Even so, she must have been around 1.72 meters. Such proportions were truly a feast for the eyes. Moreover, Victoria exuded a mature "big sister" aura—a kind of subtle allure born of experience. That too added to Grayson's sense of being slightly overwhelmed, as if this woman could see through everything.
"Please, Young Master Grayson, get in."
Victoria opened the car door.
It turned out to be a Mercedes G500—a bold, domineering model that few women drive. Once inside, Grayson felt awkward. Now it was just the two of them. At the banquet earlier, neither had brought up the elevator incident's details. Although they'd defused the situation amid so many others, on the surface agreeing to set it aside, alone together the memory resurfaced. Grayson felt he ought to clarify matters, lest the silence grow more uncomfortable.
His mind raced, searching for a way to broach the subject.
"By the way, I must apologize again—Young Master Grayson, I'm sorry I was late today," Victoria suddenly spoke.
"Oh, that's all right."
Grayson replied on autopilot, though his heart pounded. He and Victoria both knew why she was late.
Silence settled in the car once more.
"Ah, speaking of which, I have something funny to tell you. Just now in the restroom by the sink, I was about to dab water on a tissue to wipe my shirt at the chest when a cleaning auntie beside me suddenly asked why there was a man's semen on my chest. She even asked if I wanted to call the police to catch that defiler. Ha! Isn't that hilarious?" Victoria said, throwing Grayson a playful glance.
Instantly Grayson's face flushed again as he recalled his own erection pressing against his pants in the elevator. She was still hinting at what had happened back there!
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Victoria. In the elevator…I really did peek at you, and I did soil your clothes. It was my fault—please forgive me," Grayson steeled himself and admitted.
"Haha—Young Master Grayson sneaking a peek at me is my honor! I couldn't possibly accept your apology. So don't you ever say sorry again. Besides, I was the one who slapped you—I should be the one apologizing, shouldn't I? By the way, Young Master Grayson, which part of my body do you think is the most beautiful?"
Victoria now seemed in a very good mood, her eyes charmingly flicking over to Grayson as she asked with a smile.
"Well…" Grayson's blush wouldn't fade. He thought: Victoria was an absolute knockout—perfect breasts, round hips, long legs, and a first-rate face. He wanted to say that every part of her was beautiful.
"Enough—I won't tease you more," Victoria said with a slight smile, focusing on the road.
Half an hour later, the car arrived at the gates of Hawthorne University.
"I'll get off here."
Grayson didn't ask Victoria to drive onto campus; a Mercedes G500 would draw far too much attention. Victoria watched his back until he disappeared through the gate, a small smile on her lips as she murmured to herself, "I didn't expect Young Master Grayson to be so innocent—and to blush. Interesting. I quite like it… it's just a pity that, given my status, I can't do anything too improper." Only after his figure vanished did she drive away.
Grayson entered the campus and suddenly heard a roar as a motorcycle sped past, its flashing lights, booming engine, and loud stereo drawing many students' stares. On the bike were Lila and that Ryan Walker. Walker rode up front, Lila perched behind—like a couple.
So they were together now? Walker had stolen Grayson's credit, and maybe Lila was grateful and thus seeing him. Quite possible. Grayson smiled inwardly; he had no real feelings for Lila anyway.
He continued toward his dorm. At the door, he saw Jace, Miles, and Tyler rushing out, clutching a huge bouquet he didn't recognize and some snacks.
"Grayson!"
"What are you guys up to?" Grayson asked, puzzled.
"Bad news—Lila's in an accident!" Jace said anxiously. "Indie just called: Lila got hurt in a crash and's in the hospital!"
"No way!" Grayson froze. He'd just seen Lila on Walker's motorcycle—then it hit him: that recklessly driven bike must've crashed!
"Since Lila's in the hospital, we thought we'd get some things and pay her a visit," Miles said.
"Grayson, although Lila's been cold to you, I've known her a while. She's not really like that; I don't know why she treated you that way. Why don't you stay back and let us handle this?" Jace suggested gently, not wanting to put Grayson in an awkward spot.
"I'll come with you," Grayson insisted. Though Lila had looked down on him, having heard of her accident, he felt obliged to visit.
Time was tight—there wasn't time to buy a gift. Fortunately, he still carried the fruit the Celestia Grand hotel had packed for him, originally meant to share with friends. He might as well use it as a get‑well gesture.
They hailed a taxi, Jace paid, and they arrived at the hospital. In Lila's room, she lay in bed with bandages wrapped around her head, receiving an IV drip. Indie hovered at her bedside feeding her snacks; other friends were gathered around too. A table groaned under the weight of gifts—beautifully wrapped, high‑end items, as Lila's friends came from well‑to‑do families.
Jace and the others placed their bouquet and snacks among the gifts.
"Lila, sorry—it was rushed, so I only brought some simple snacks," Grayson said as he added his hotel‑packed fruit to the corner of the pile.
"What? You brought just this to visit a patient?" one of Lila's friends sneered, pointing at Grayson's plain plastic bag. Instantly everyone's eyes turned to that bag—while the others' gifts were in elegant wrapping, his was the hotel's throwaway plastic.
"Look at what everyone else brought—and look at this shabby thing! How embarrassing."
"Might as well have brought nothing."
"Using a grocery bag—isn't that humiliating?"
"How dare he!"
Grayson bristled inwardly. He'd asked the waiter to use any available bag to save waste rather than the hotel's branded gift bag. The fruit platter was small—a few pieces in a small box—so the plastic bag was all it needed, but it did look cheap. Even so, visiting empty-handed shouldn't have earned mockery.
"Hah—this is the guy who mooches off others for meals. What gift could you expect?" Lila himself sneered, as always showing contempt.
"I'll see what he brought," said another girl, prying open his bag with a teasing expression.
"What is this?" She pinched one of the fruits between her fingers, lifting it with a look of disgust, as if it were a worm.
In truth, the fruit was beautiful: purplish-red, about the size of a marble, gleaming like a berry.
"Did he pick these wild from the mountain?" someone remarked.
"Probably—he's too poor to afford real gifts, so he scavenged wild fruit to fill his gut! Haha," another chuckled behind her hand.
Behind Hawthorne University lay mountains where such wild berries grew.
"Definitely. I've never seen fruit like this. Too cheap to buy a gift, so he foraged in the hills!"
"Are they even edible? Mountain fruit could be poisonous!"
"I'm not eating them. They might look pretty, but they're suspicious."
"What if someone ate them and got sick? Who's liable then?"
Lila's friends chimed in one after another. Grayson had only met these girls once—at a mixer—where they'd seen how Lila treated him. They all looked down on him, though Avery and Maya were less vicious; they still thought him a loser. Protected only by Jace and Indie's friendship, they refrained from being outright cruel. But in their minds, Grayson was brainless—visiting a hospital without a proper gift, instead picking random hillside berries and plopping them into a plastic bag. So small-minded and bizarre.
"Throw them away," Lila said coldly, interrupting.