Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed



Slater was in a panic: "What the heck are you doing?! You believe I can sue you for invasion of privacy?!"

Mamie retorted, "Public place, legitimate evidence gathering. Sue all you want, but I'm just a concerned citizen here, thank you very much." "You-you guys-" Slater was fuming.

Sybil, seeing Mamie was seriously filming with her phone, couldn't help frowning: "Slater, are you out of your mind?"

Slater was like, "What the fuck?"

"If you don't know, then don't talk nonsense. We're splitting the bill here, fair and square. No expenses for you to claim. Now, move it, let's eat and head back to school!"

Slater, resentful, shot a menacing glare at Roseanne and the others before walking away.

Arkle, however, didn't move, caught up in the thought of splitting the bill...

"Sorry, I just remembered something urgent. I gotta go, enjoy your meal!"

With that, he dashed off faster than a rabbit.

Slater scoffed: "Country bumpkin! Just afraid of spending money!"

Sybil dismissed it: "Let him be."

As Roseanne and her friends left the diner, their ride pulled up.

Mamie and Scales got in first.

Roseanne was about to take the shotgun seat when she caught a figure out of the corner of her eye and paused.

Thinking it over, she approached, "Are you... Arkle?"

A tall figure stepped out from the shadowy corner, scratching his head before offering an awkward smile. "Yeah, that's me, Arkle."

"If you're heading back to school, we've got a ride. You could join us."

"Really? Can I?" Arkle's surprise was tinged with nervousness.

The diner was far from school. Coming over, Slater had called for a cab, costing over twenty bucks.

Arkle had planned to take the bus, but the service had already stopped for the evening.

He tried to set up a carpool on a ride-sharing app, aiming to spend only five bucks to get back, but couldn't find a match. Just as he was about to cancel, Roseanne showed up.

"Sure, it's on the way."

"Thanks a lot!"Text content © NôvelDrama.Org.

Arkle, with his tall and lanky frame, was directed to the shotgun seat by Roseanne.

The backseat was already snug with Mamie, and adding him to the car would have been a tight fit indeed.

The driver chuckled, "Big guy, aren't you? My car feels smaller with you in it."

Arkle, unsure how to respond, just scratched his head and flashed a big, bright smile.

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the school gates.

Arkle got out and saw the others staying put, looking puzzled. "We're here, aren't you getting out?"

Roseanne explained, "We don't live on campus."

"Oh, I see..." He scratched his head, "Thanks for today."

He quickly pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to

Roseanne through the car wipal

before dashing off.

Roseanne, a bit stunned, picked up what he'd handed her.

It was cash. Twenty bucks.

In an age dominated by digital payments, seeing cash had become a rarity.

Scales glanced at it and commented, "He's too honest."

Indeed, he was. The total fare was twenty-five bucks; split four ways, it would have come to a little over six bucks each.

to

Because they didn't live on campus (not exactly on the way), Arkle had left twenty bucks.

Mamie sighed, "Just followed the wrong crowd, why did he pick Edna as a mentor?"

Scales added, "He and Carlson come from the same town and know each other, who else would he pick but Edna?"

"How do you know that?"

"I saw Carlson looking for him on the opening day of school."

"There's that connection, huh... Alright then."

These days, plenty play the fool, but someone as genuinely

straightforward as Arkle... theel

one in a million.