"Warren... he was sent to the hospital." Cillian said, the scene of the incident involuntarily flashing in his mind.
He actually realized that the thing May Lee threw might not be water, but he...
At that moment, he hesitated.
It was this moment of hesitation that Warren reacted a step ahead of him, using his body to shield Ashley.
So when he saw Ashley walking towards him again, his first reaction was guilt, followed by regret.
Why the hell did he have to hesitate?
But time cannot be reversed, and there’s no medicine for regret in the world.
"Is his injury serious?" Ashley asked quickly.
"A bit."
"What does a bit mean?"
"The concentration of the acid was relatively high. It’s currently presumed that it was taken from the school lab by May Lee. Teachers had him wash with a lot of clean water, but the acid still corroded inside. Fortunately, the ambulance came quickly, so I think it won’t be very serious."
"Which hospital is he in?"
"He’s in..."
Cillian’s words were interrupted by the police.
"Sorry to interrupt, but this case is quite severe, so we must investigate thoroughly. Please cooperate with our investigation. I also saw the other victim’s condition at the time, timely medical attention shouldn’t cause any major issues."
Ashley nodded slightly.
"I am willing to cooperate."
"Okay, then come back to the police station with me to make a statement. By the way, may I get your name first?"
"Ashley Shaw."
"Alright, Ashley Shaw. Come with me to the car."
Cillian was about to follow into the car but was stopped by the police.
"There’s no need for you to come with us. There were many witnesses present, and we’ve almost gathered all the information from them."
After saying that, the officer closed the car door for Ashley.
Cillian slowly clenched his fist as he watched the police car drive away, feeling as if Ashley was also fading away with it.
This might have been his only chance, but his hesitation led him to squander this rare opportunity to get closer to Ashley.
The phone in his pocket vibrated at this moment.
Cillian glanced at the caller ID; it was Claire.
"Sis."
"I heard there was a malicious acid attack at your school?"
"How do you know?"
"Saw it online; the news has spread everywhere."
Cillian was a bit surprised.
It had been less than twenty minutes since the incident, yet the news had already spread.
But after thinking about it, it made sense. There were so many eyes and mouths present, especially since students were allowed to carry phones today. Such big news would inevitably spread quickly.
"Do you know the person who got splashed? Who was it? Are you okay? Is Ashley okay?"
Claire on the other end of the line asked several questions in a row.
Cillian suddenly felt a bit irritated.
"We’re all fine. I’m busy; I’ll hang up now."
After speaking, he hung up the phone before Claire could respond.
At this moment, he wished more than anything that it was him who got hurt!
But saying anything now was pointless!
Frustration was written all over Cillian’s face.
It was then that a school leader came running toward Cillian.
"Cillian, please cooperate with the school to gather all third-year student council members for a meeting to discuss from your perspective how to minimize the impact of this incident."
Cillian looked the teacher in the eye with an expressionless face.
"It’s too late."
"Hmm?"
"It’s already too late! Rather than obsessing over minimizing the impact, think about how to explain this to the Prescott Family."
With that, Cillian turned and walked away, completely ignoring the teacher’s shocked expression.
The teacher being shocked was to be expected.
Cillian had always appeared to be an obedient and sensible student to them, but today he seemed like a totally different person, as if he’d swallowed a bomb.
Unfamiliar to the point of fear.
Only then did the school leader finally realize something he’d long overlooked: Cillian’s last name is Xavier.
He wasn’t an ordinary student.
He only cooperated obediently like a regular student would.
Once he refused to cooperate, they couldn’t force a thing out of him.
But... why?
Why did he suddenly refuse to cooperate?
No matter how much the school leader racked his brains, he couldn’t figure it out.
...
At the police station.
Ashley sat obediently opposite the officers, cooperating with the investigation.
"Ashley, what is your relationship with May Lee? Do you know her?"
"Yes, we’re classmates."
"How was your relationship before? Any conflicts?"
Ashley parted her lips but didn’t know where to start.
Love letters and such felt embarrassing to mention.
As she was thinking of how and where to begin, she suddenly remembered something, her eyes lighting up.
"Hold on..."
She rummaged through her pockets, took out her phone, and showed the chat record "Leilei Grassland" sent her to the officers.
The officers carefully reviewed the chat logs and initially determined May Lee’s motive for the crime.
It was actually just a small matter, but accumulated over time, it brewed into intense hatred.
At this age, when it’s hard to control one’s emotions and actions, hatred breeds malice, and eventually, it turned into action.
"We’ve copied the chat logs. Thank you for the information; it’s very helpful to us. Also, we’ll need your phone number as we may need to contact you a few more times later on."
Ashley nodded, "Alright, I’m always available to cooperate. By the way, I’d like to know which hospital my injured friend is in?"
"Central Hospital, probably in the emergency department."
Again, the Central Hospital...
She wasn’t even a medical student yet, and she was already bonding with the hospital.
Ashley smiled wryly and nodded in thanks, "Thank you, I understand."
The officers gathered some more information and dismissed Ashley.
After leaving the police station, Ashley hailed a taxi.
"Please take me to Central Hospital."
She got into the car and sent a message to Ariana, saying she was going to the hospital to see Warren and told her to go home first after handling matters at school, not to worry about her.
...
When Ashley arrived at the hospital, she coincidentally saw Claudia with a grim face walking out of the emergency department.
As their eyes met, Ashley felt an inexplicable tension.
It was like how one feels tense seeing their mother-in-law after long being an oppressed daughter-in-law in a previous life.
Especially this time, since it was her fault Warren got injured.
Ashley took a gentle breath and walked forward nervously.
"Auntie."
She greeted, already bracing herself for a torrent of scolding and blame.
However, the next moment, she heard Claudia just blandly say, "You’re here."
Stunned, Ashley looked up to see that Claudia’s expression bore no semblance of blame.
Just as she was puzzled, Claudia continued in a complaining tone, "Why is Warren so unlucky, walking right in front of that crazy woman when she went mad..."
Ashley quickly realized that Warren hadn’t told Claudia that he got injured to protect her.