Chapter 11: Xavier Jebb

Aylin put away her phone and walked to her desk to turn on the computer. Since she had agreed to join Polaris Technologies, and Rodrigo had shown great sincerity, she naturally wanted to reciprocate.

She began to seriously type code, which was her first gesture of goodwill towards Rodrigo.

Downstairs in the living room.

Gary approached Joaquin and whispered, "Mr. Beckham, we reached out to Visage, but she refused."

Joaquin's face darkened. He had heard that Visage was difficult to deal with, and it seemed the rumors were true.

Frederick said, "Forget it. I'll have other detectives continue the search."

A few days later, on Friday.

As Aylin stepped out of the teaching building, two familiar faces came into view.

One was her friend, Xavier Jebb, and the other was Carmen.

At that moment, Carmen stood in front of Xavier with a shy expression, inviting him to have a meal together.

It was obvious that Carmen liked Xavier.

However, Xavier sneered, "Isn't the Rodway family out of reach for others?"

This remark was clearly sarcastic towards Carmen. Everyone knew that the Jebb family's wealth and status far surpassed that of the Rodway family, a third-rate pseudo-noble family.

As the young master of the Jebb family, Xavier was unapproachable to most people.

Carmen's face turned red with embarrassment.

"Mr. Jebb, is there a bit of a misunderstanding between us?"

Carmen wore a gentle and flattering smile, but Xavier's gaze shifted elsewhere.

Following his line of sight, she saw Aylin.

Her face immediately darkened.

Aylin also looked at Xavier. For a moment, neither spoke.

About a month ago, Carmen had spread rumors at school that Aylin was a gold digger trying to marry into a wealthy family but was rejected.

Xavier was very angry when he found out about this.

He suggested to Aylin that they could publicly announce they were dating to prove she wasn't interested in the Rodway family at all.

But Aylin felt it wasn't a good idea, since she just saw him as a friend.

She was good at fighting and playing games. Xavier liked hanging out with her because they shared similar interests. But as for dating, Aylin firmly disagreed.

Thus, they had a falling out and hadn't spoken since then.

After a brief stare-down, Xavier suddenly looked away and left with an unhappy expression.

Seeing this, Carmen curled her lips in disdain as she looked at Aylin with an arrogant attitude.

She had thought Aylin had some tricks up her sleeve, but now it seemed there was nothing special about her after all.

Aylin didn't even glance at Carmen and walked in another direction.

"Carmen, it seems Xavier really isn't talking to Aylin anymore," one girl said with a smile.

Carmen snorted coldly, "Who does she think she is? Does she really think Xavier would consider her a friend? She doesn't deserve it!"

"Exactly. Someone like her isn't even worthy of carrying Xavier's shoes! Besides, Xavier seemed quite angry."

"Of course, he'd be angry after being deceived by a gold digger." Carmen crossed her arms and felt extremely pleased.

Aylin called Rodrigo while walking and arranged to meet him in the afternoon.

It turned out Rodrigo was near the University of Faypine and it was already noon, so they decided to meet at a nearby restaurant.

About ten minutes later, as Aylin walked off-campus, five men who looked like thugs approached her and blocked her path.

The leader glared at Aylin with a sinister expression. "Remember me?"

Aylin recalled for a moment and recognized him as the thug she had beaten up that night. She replied calmly, "Oh, I remember."

"Good!" The man suddenly smiled and looked her up and down. "So you're still a student? No wonder you look so young. Come with me obediently, and you might suffer less."

Aylin remained unfazed. "Dream on."

The man's face changed as he shouted, "Grab her!"

Knowing she could fight well, the four men behind him rushed forward simultaneously. Aylin's eyes turned cold as she prepared to strike when suddenly, a figure flew past her and kicked one of them hard in the stomach.

That man was instantly kicked several meters away.

Before the remaining three could react, they were all knocked down too.

Seeing this, the leader pulled out a knife and charged forward.

"Watch out!"

Aylin shouted as she quickly stepped forward and kicked the knife out of his hand with lightning speed.

Xavier turned around and delivered a hard kick to the man's knee, making him kneel on the ground with a thud. The man groaned in pain before looking up furiously. "How dare you interfere?"

Xavier sneered coldly, "I love meddling in others' business. If you have guts, come after me next time!"

The man stood up, threatening. "Dare to leave your name?"

Xavier smirked, "Xavier Jebb."

"Xavier?" The crew-cut man beside immediately whispered in his leader's ear, "Boss, he seems to be the young master of the Jebb family! If she's his girl, we can't touch her."

They couldn't afford to offend the Jebb family.

The leader's face changed as he hesitated before gritting his teeth. "Let's go!"

The group left dejectedly.

Aylin looked at Xavier but before she could speak, he said first, "No need to thank me. I wouldn't stand by even if it were someone else."

"Okay," Aylin chuckled softly. "But still, thank you."

Xavier stiffened his neck for a moment before asking, "What's going on with those guys? Who's causing you trouble? Is it the Rodway family?"

"No," Aylin replied. "You don't need to worry about this."

"What if they come back to bother you again?"

"I can handle it," Aylin said calmly.

"Where are you going?"

"I have an appointment with Mr. Wegg. I agreed to join Polaris Technologies."

After another brief silence, Xavier said softly, "Go ahead. I have things to do too."

He turned around but paused before looking back suddenly. "If I didn't talk first, would you just ignore me forever? Is our friendship so fragile?"

Aylin smiled slightly, "I was just waiting for you to calm down."

Xavier scoffed, "That better be true."

Both were stubborn. Someone had to be the first to break the ice. Once one of them spoke up, it would all be fine again.

Xavier took a deep breath, the annoyance fading away, his tone softening as he said, "Alright, you take care. Be careful out there on your own."

Aylin smiled slightly, "Got it. You too. Drive safely."

After a month of cold war, they made up just like that, and then each went their separate ways.

When Aylin arrived at the restaurant, she found it to be an elegant private dining establishment.

Rodrigo was already there and ordered the dishes. He was a very thoughtful person. Although they had only met a few times, he had already grasped Aylin's tastes and ordered her favorite dishes.

Aylin expressed her gratitude.

Rodrigo replied gently, "No need for formalities. If it weren't for your help in recovering the data, I'd have suffered a great loss. I had planned to treat you to a meal anyway."