One of Lila's friends casually tossed the bag onto the floor.
"Just leave it here for now. When the cleaning lady comes, she can sweep it away with the rest of the trash," she said.
Just then, the door to the hospital room opened, and someone walked in.
"Lila, it's all my fault. How are you? Is it serious?"
It was Walker. His wrist was wrapped in gauze, indicating he'd been injured too, but it didn't look too serious.
"It's nothing major, just a bit of bleeding on my head. They checked — no concussion. Just need a couple of days in the hospital to rest."
Seeing Walker, Lila's cold expression bloomed into a radiant smile.
"You're hurt too, are you okay? Does it hurt a lot? This is all my fault. If you hadn't taken me on the motorcycle, this wouldn't have happened."
Then, Lila began fussing over Walker with deep concern.
To be honest, seeing this scene made Miles and the others quite upset.
Even Indie felt that Lila was being a bit too much.
Grayson had come to visit Lila — the gift he brought wasn't particularly impressive, but still, he came to see her. Yet Lila treated him coldly.
In contrast, the accident was basically all Walker's fault, yet Lila was so warm and caring toward him.
She even took the blame onto herself.
Everyone knew that after the meal, when they had come outside, it was Walker who had invited Lila to ride on his motorcycle, saying he wanted to take her for a cool spin.
But still, considering that both Walker and his father had helped Lila's family, no one felt they could criticize Walker too harshly.
"Well then, Lila, get plenty of rest and recover well. We'll get going now."
Jace knew that if Grayson stayed, he'd only feel more and more awkward. Plus, Grayson, Miles, and Tyler all had classes that afternoon at the business school.
So the group left the hospital.
Not long after they left, a woman burst into the room in a whirlwind.
"Lila! What happened? I heard you were in an accident?!"
The woman looked to be in her twenties, wearing a light yellow short dress and high-heeled sandals, with earrings dangling from her ears. She was charming and attractive, exuding the aura of a high-quality career woman.
"Auntie!"
If not for the injury on her head, Lila would've thrown herself straight into the woman's arms.
This woman was Lila's aunt, Julia Harrington.
Although Julia was technically Lila's aunt, she was only three years older. Calling them peers wouldn't be a stretch. Their relationship wasn't like that of an elder and a junior, but more like best friends. Julia didn't seem like an aunt — she was more like an older sister.
Lila hadn't dared to tell her parents about the motorcycle accident with Walker, so she called Julia instead.
"Auntie, it's no big deal. The doctor said it's just a surface wound. If I'd known it wasn't serious, I wouldn't have troubled you to come all the way here!" Lila said.
Julia's tense expression finally relaxed a little.
Then she glanced at the bandage on Walker's arm and frowned.
"Let me guess — her injury has something to do with you, doesn't it? I heard you were riding the motorcycle with her. You knew you had a girl on the back, and you still rode so fast? Totally irresponsible. Luckily it wasn't anything serious this time, but what if it had been? Could you take responsibility?"
Julia was distressed for Lila. Plus, she was older and already working, with more life experience. Just one look at Walker's face, and she felt he didn't seem like someone dependable.
"Auntie, don't scold Ryan. It was his dad who helped our family out of trouble!"
Lila knew her aunt was eloquent and persuasive, and she worried Walker would be upset, so she quickly gave a brief explanation to Julia.
Julia, of course, was familiar with what had happened in Lila's family.
At the time, she too had been anxious for her brother-in-law's family and had pulled every string she could, but none of it helped. Later, she got a call from her sister saying the matter had been resolved.
That had put Julia's mind at ease, but also made her curious: what kind of connection had her brother-in-law found that could solve such a serious issue so effortlessly?
Who would've thought — it turned out it was this classmate Walker who helped?
But Julia wasn't someone who could be easily fooled like Lila.
"Lila, that's just your guess."
Julia, being more mature, couldn't confirm anything just from Lila's story. She turned to Walker.
"Walker, call your dad and confirm whether he really helped with this."
"Auntie, I don't think that's necessary. It's obvious enough. Calling just to confirm feels a bit rude, doesn't it?" Lila frowned.
In her heart, she was already convinced that Walker was their savior. Who else could it have been?
Seeing her aunt being suspicious, Lila felt it would be awkward for Walker.
"Exactly."
Walker let out a disdainful snort, sounding quite arrogant.
"No need to confirm with my dad. Uncle Charles already said no one else could help, and none of you relatives were any use. Among all the people Lila turned to, only my dad went to the tax bureau to see Mr. Prescott. Isn't it obvious?"
Walker deliberately emphasized that none of Lila's relatives were helpful — and Julia, of course, was one of those relatives.
Sure enough, Julia was furious.
"I said call him, so just call. This is something that *must* be confirmed. Because if he really helped us, we'll be sure to repay the favor."
Julia tried to keep her temper in check and said again.
"Heh, fine, I'll call. Never seen people this rigid."
Walker said as he picked up the phone and began dialing his dad.
He wasn't afraid at all — he truly believed it was his dad who helped.
"Hey, Dad!"
The call connected.
"Son."
"Dad, quick question. This morning, I asked you to pull some strings to help with SilverStream Company and the Sterling Gate Group. You said you went to the tax bureau to see Mr. Prescott and got it done, right?" Walker asked.
"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you." Walker's father replied, "I went to see Mr. Prescott, but I waited over two hours and never got to see him. He had something urgent and rushed off in a car, so I had to come back…"
Walker's dad had no idea why his son was calling, so he just told the truth.
Hearing this, Walker's heart sank.
So it really *wasn't* his dad who had helped!
Walker never expected this. He had been absolutely sure it was thanks to his father's connections.
But if it wasn't — then who was it?
"Alright, I got it. Thanks for the big help, Dad!" Walker suddenly said loudly and then hung up.
Turning around, Walker looked smugly at Julia and said,
"Just confirmed with my dad — he went to the tax bureau, talked to Mr. Prescott, and handled everything. Now do you believe me?"
"Auntie, I told you already, but you just wouldn't believe me! You had to make Ryan call his dad and let his father know we were doubting him. That's so awkward."
Lila hurried to comfort Ryan Walker.
"In any case, it's good to have it confirmed."
Julia looked a bit awkward and tried to smooth things over.
She never imagined Walker would have the guts to lie so boldly, so she could only believe him.
"Alright, you silly girl. I'm just glad you're okay. I even took leave from work to come see you!"
Julia looked at the table full of gifts and smiled.
"Looks like quite a few people brought you things. You must have a lot of friends."
"Auntie, if there's anything you like, help yourself." Lila offered.
Julia didn't hold back either — she was a girl after all and couldn't resist snacks. She rummaged through the table.
"Pretty decent stuff. But nothing I particularly like… Huh? Why's this bag on the floor?"
"Auntie, don't pick that up — that's trash!"
Lila immediately recognized the bag — it was the wild fruit Grayson brought earlier. She suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. If her aunt found out someone had brought that as a gift, how humiliating would that be?
But it was too late — Julia had already opened the bag.
"Wow, what is this?"
Julia picked up one of the berries and examined it closely.
Lila felt even more awkward and could only say, "Those are wild berries, not edible."
She regretted not throwing them out right away.
"These aren't wild berries."
Julia suddenly said in delight, "These are *Chilean agate berries!*"
"Chilean agate berries? What's that?"
Lila was stunned — the name sounded pretty fancy.
"Oh my goodness, they're an extremely rare type of berry only found in South America, mostly in Chile. They grow in very harsh environments and can't really be cultivated on a large scale. They're incredibly rare. I've only seen them once. That time, our boss took us to dinner at the Celestia Grand Hotel, and they served these as dessert. Because they're so valuable, everyone only got one. The taste — oh, it was amazing. Fragrant, springy yet soft, and after eating it, your whole mouth stays fresh and aromatic."
Julia continued, "Honestly, I've been craving them ever since, but never had the chance to eat them again. First, because they're super expensive. Second, because they're so rare that even if you have money, you might not be able to buy them. I can't believe someone gave these to *you* — and a whole bag! Lila, who gave you this? Must be some rich second-gen! They're being so generous. Are they into you? Otherwise, why give such a precious gift?"
Huh?
Lila was completely dumbfounded.
That was what Grayson brought earlier… What kind of rich kid was *he*?
But the way her aunt described it — could that loser *really* have given her Chilean agate berries?
"Auntie, are you kidding me?" Lila still found it hard to believe.
"If you don't believe me, try one."
As she spoke, Julia popped one in her mouth and her face lit up in bliss.
"So delicious!"
Seeing her aunt eat one, Lila hesitantly picked one up and put it in her mouth.
As soon as she tasted it, she was stunned.
Wow — it really was delicious! So rich and fragrant, with a hint of cheese.
Indie and the others were also curious by now and came over to try one each.
"Wow, this is amazing!"
"Yeah, it's so sweet and fragrant!"
Before long, the entire box of Chilean agate berries Grayson had brought was completely gone.
"Looks like taking leave was worth it — I got to eat something so delicious."
Julia licked her lips, clapped her hands, and smiled.
"Well, I should get going now."
At the door, Julia turned back and said to Lila,
"By the way, Lila, you really need to thank whoever gave you those Chilean agate berries. That's a very expensive gift."
After Julia left, Indie said,
"Lila, I think you misunderstood Grayson earlier. He brought such an expensive gift to visit you, and you said those things… that wasn't right. I think you owe him an apology."
"Uh…"
Lila was speechless. But she still refused to accept it.
"Hah! That kind of loser — how could he possibly afford Chilean agate berries? Maybe he stole them or something!"
Now it was Indie's turn to be speechless.
She didn't believe for a second that Grayson had stolen them, but she was also curious — where did Grayson get such an expensive item?