Dylan gestured to her to remain seated as he went to open the door. Surprisingly, it was his neighbor who was staying just opposite his apartment.

“Hello, what can I help?” Dylan asked in a polite manner.

The older female neighbor seemed to try to look inside but she was blocked by Dylan’s big body. She knew that Dylan was working as a teacher at Etwass High School as her daughter was also studying in the same school. He looked decent and was polite to her as well, until she suddenly heard a loud scream from his house when she was preparing to go out to the market in the morning.

She never knew that there was someone else living in the same house as Dylan and he had also told her that he was living alone. Her curious nature propelled her to go to his place to ask. Besides, who knew that he was actually secretly a psychopath who kidnapped women at his place and she might have made a contribution to society by catching him in the act.

“I heard a loud scream just now and I wonder if everything is alright.” The female neighbor asked.

Dylan just blinked and remembered about Mayleen’s loud scream just now. Her ears started to grow red as he seemed to panic a little.

“Oh, I.. uh.. I saw a cockroach and panicked just now.”

The female neighbor definitely never expected him to admit it. Her eyes bulged in shock as she repeated, “You saw a cockroach and panicked?”

“Haha, yeah.” Dylan scratched his head in embarrassment.

“Oh my.” The female neighbor didn’t hide her astonishment but she surely did not plan to dig into it anymore. "I hope the cockroach is killed."

"Yes, I killed it." Dylan bashfully admitted.

"That's great." The neighbor could only end the awkward conversation just like that.

After Dylan saw the neighbor off, he turned around to see Mayleen with a huge grin on her face which quickly turned solemn when she saw that he was looking at her. Dylan just cleared his throat as he made his way back to his seat opposite her.

“What happened to you last night?”

“I.. don’t know.” Mayleen stammered.

Dylan frowned. “You’re still a student and you shouldn’t be drinking.”

“I didn’t drink.” Mayleen answered. “I only had dinner with an old friend.”

“Old friend? An acquaintance? Do you know this is a serious issue that might land you into trouble? Aphrodisiacs are illegal and if anyone knew you took it, no matter if you’re aware about it or not, it’s serious enough to be convicted.”

Mayleen lowered her head even more like a child that was being punished for doing something wrong, even when it wasn’t her fault. “I never thought this would happen.” She said. Aphrodisiac? That explained why she felt so strange last night. It was such an addictive pleasure and she could understand why people were taking it. But how did the aphrodisiac get into her body?

Could it be Denson? But she didn’t understand his motive. He didn’t seem to want to take her to bed - if he did, he wouldn’t just leave after their dinner. Furthermore, he would only get himself into trouble if everyone found out.

But then, she couldn’t say for certain that it wasn’t him since she didn’t really know what kind of person he was.

That thought only sent chills to her bones.

“I do want to say sorry for making this impulsive decision last night.” Dylan suddenly said.

“Huh? Impulsive decision?” Mayleen asked, feeling confused.

Dylan just looked at her meaningfully and she quickly understood what he was implying.

“It.. It’s alright, Mr. Dylan.” Mayleen said while looking away. There were so many things she wanted to say in her heart but she just kept it all in. She was actually excited that the person was Mr. Dylan and not some other guy. Her crush for him just kept growing bigger.

—---------

Penny went off to her babysitting job after having breakfast at Ziyaa’s place. It was her second day of work and she still had many things to learn.

Just like yesterday, when she arrived, Mr. Mason opened the door for her and greeted her warmly. Neil hadn’t woken up yet so the two of them started chatting.

“Do you still go to the cafe, Mr. Mason?” Penny asked.

“Not anymore.” Mr. Mason smiled lightly. “My work has become much busier for me to spend time at the cafe, although I do miss their coffee.”

“I can make it for you too if you want.” Penny offered. “Do you still like your espresso macchiato with less milk and sugar?”

“I do.” Mr. Mason chuckled. “Never get bored of it. I’m impressed you still remember it until now.”

“You are our regular customer after all.” Penny replied.

Finally, their friendly conversation ended up with him inviting her to a coffee convention. Penny was happy to accept since it was also her interest to become a barista.

—--------

Denson woke up in the morning, wondering if Mayleen had been farting the whole night after their dinner. It was unfortunate that he wasn’t around to see it! He chuckled happily at that thought as he sat up on the bed.

Meanwhile, at the Kent household, Mayleen was creeping into the house quietly, hoping that no one saw her. She’d also changed into her original clothes in case anyone asked about her attire, but luckily no members of the Kent family saw her besides the gardener and driver who were coincidentally around.

Her house was large with multiple rooms and a small garden outside. Both her parents had two luxurious cars respectively, and her father even planned to give her a new race car on her birthday later this year.

She was able to get back to her bedroom silently and dashed into the bathroom that was connected to it. Looking into the mirror, there were some faint love bites on her fair skin but luckily it wouldn’t look too obvious after she covered it up with powder.

When she came down to the dining room, her mother was there as expected, and she looked happy to see her.

“Hey, girl. Did you have a fun night with Denson yesterday?” Vienna asked in a joyful tone.

Mayleen rolled her eyes. “Denson is a thug, mum. He’d grown even worse after all these years.”

“But you’ve been with him all night. There must be a lot to talk about, right?” Her mother tried to pry information out of her.

Mayleen didn’t know how she should explain the reason she wasn’t back the whole night. She obviously couldn’t ask Ziyaa and Penny to cover up for her since her mother must have known that she didn’t hang out with them last night. So the only choice she had was…

“I was at Kate’s place.” Kate was previously a senior in the same high school as hers. Kate attended university after graduation and was now sharing an apartment that she’d rented with a few other college friends. Mayleen became close with Kate because they joined the same club in school and had remained close until now. It wasn’t uncommon for Mayleen to go check up on Kate sometimes.