"Damn, he's being this direct?"
Azura was shocked, her eyes wide open. "Uncle, I'm not trying to discourage you, but you and Zuri are not a good match. You're so much older, and she's still so…"
She swallowed the word "young" under Leo's piercing gaze.
Her uncle was so shameless.
Hmph, she wasn't going to bow to his tyranny and set Zuri up.
Determined to defy him, Azura bit her lower lip, nodding reluctantly. "Fine. I'll invite her, but I can't guarantee she'll come."
She thought she'd cover herself, so it wouldn't be her fault if Zuri didn't show up.
But her little scheme wasn't lost on her cunning uncle.
Leo coughed lightly and explained, "I need to talk to her about something."
"Talk?" Azura thought to herself. "You don't even know each other. What could you possibly need to talk about?"
She kept her doubts to herself and obediently said, "Alright, I understand."
"If you dare defy me, I'll pack you off to the capital tomorrow," Leo said sternly.
Azura's eyes widened.
Tyrant, absolute tyrant!
She fumed internally but outwardly nodded like a docile chick. Once Leo left, she quickly fished out her phone from under the blanket and initiated a video call with Zuri.
"Zuri, my uncle suddenly wants to see you," Azura said with a gloomy expression.
Zuri wasn't surprised. It seemed like she might have seen someone who looked like her uncle in the alley.
She had seen him once in the car, but hadn't thought much of it.
Now that she thought about it, the familiar-looking man at the front must have been Azura's uncle.
"Send me the time and place."
Zuri had a good idea why he wanted to see her. After seeing her violent side, he probably didn't want her to have any further contact with Azura.
"Tomorrow, at my uncle's house."
His house?
Shouldn't discussions like this be held somewhere else?
The next day, when the students at Windsor Academy saw Zuri appearing unharmed, their eyes widened in disbelief.
"Wasn't Hector supposed to intercept her to avenge Saira?"
"What's going on? Did Hector not go? What was he doing yesterday?"
"Wow, I thought Hector would stand up for Saira. Turns out Hector doesn't care much about her."
"Haha, men's words are just lies."
"Stop talking, Saira's here."
As Saira walked, she felt the probing, mocking gazes from all directions, making her furious. She had been trying to contact Hector all day yesterday, but to no avail.
Now, she doubted whether Hector had stood up for her at all.
She couldn't believe that a national youth sanda champion would be beaten by that brat Zuri.
Mrs. Hu cried uncontrollably when she saw her son on the hospital bed, wrapped up like a mummy. She rushed to his side.
"Hector, who did this to you? What kind of thug could be so cruel?" she sobbed.
Hector was about to speak when a knock came at the door, and a graceful figure appeared. His eyes lit up upon seeing the girl.
"Saira," Hector called out excitedly, but quickly shut his mouth when he realized he was missing a tooth.
Saira entered, greeting Mrs. Hu warmly, "Auntie."
"You're here," Mrs. Hu said coolly, her attitude far from enthusiastic.
Noticing her coldness, Saira felt both sad and humiliated.
Just two months ago, Mrs. Hu had been so warm and welcoming. Now she was treated so indifferently.
Was this the difference between a biological child and an outsider?
"I came to see Hector," Saira said, walking over to look at him with concern.
Hector, touched by her caring gaze, almost forgot his pain.
"Hector, I didn't expect she would hurt you so badly," she said, her eyes welling up with tears.
"She? Who hurt my son?" Mrs. Hu demanded angrily.
"I came to apologize on behalf of my sister. She shouldn't have been so harsh. You can scold or hit me if you want, I'm willing to take the blame," Saira said apologetically.
Seeing his mother's anger directed at Saira, Hector quickly intervened, "Mom, this isn't Saira's fault. She's a victim too."
Mrs. Hu glared at Saira but then turned to her son. "Was it that girl the Lin family recently took in? Did she do this?"
Hector hesitated, embarrassed.
He was a man and a sanda champion. Admitting he was beaten by a young girl was humiliating.
He had planned to make up an excuse, but now that Saira had revealed it, he couldn't deny it. Denying it would make Saira think he had been lying to her.
"Yes, it was her," he finally admitted.
Hearing Hector's confession, Saira felt a mix of emotions. She was pleased that Zuri had provoked the Hu family, but also realized Zuri was tougher than she had imagined.
Mrs. Hu's eyes turned red with rage.
Saira stepped forward, sincerely apologizing, "Auntie, I'm sorry. It's my fault for not watching over her. She made a terrible mistake."
Mrs. Hu glared at her, but seeing her red eyes and sincere remorse, she sighed inwardly.
Such a proud girl, now humbling herself because of an ungrateful wretch. The Lin family had truly lost a gem and picked up a pebble.
Her gaze softened. "This isn't your fault. If an apology is needed, let her do it herself."
Mrs. Hu stepped outside to call her husband. "Darling, our son was beaten badly. Come quickly. It was that wild child the Lin family recently adopted. You must get justice for our son. You don't know how badly he's hurt."
Inside, Saira, tending to Hector, listened keenly, catching snippets of the conversation.
Zuri, let's see how you handle this mess now.
Meanwhile, Azura was driving Zuri to her uncle's island mansion.
"Uncle Qin, is Uncle home?"
"Leo is still at the office, but he'll be home shortly."