Chapter 9 Call The Police

When Alina sat back down, she wanted to ask Yana if she knew anything. However, Yana looked like she was in a trance, and it would be impossible to get anything out of her. Alina had no choice but to give up.

Their next class would be Geography. Alina found her book on the desk and leisurely flipped through it before class started.

Several boys stood outside in the hallway, observing Alina through the windows. They were disappointed to find that she had no plans of rummaging through her desk.

The bell rang, signaling that the next class was about to start.

The Geography teacher was a young man who looked like he was in his mid-twenties. He wore a casual suit with a pair of simple rimmed glasses. The man looked friendly and harmless.

"Last time, we learned about the division of the seasons. Today, we'll be discussing another chapter about the structure of the earth. Please make sure that you take notes of all the key points."

Alina couldn't find a pen, so she rummaged through her desk to find one.

She couldn't find what she was looking for, but she felt something soft, long, and thin in her hand. When she realized what it was, her whole body stiffened and she almost let out a scream.

She sank her teeth into her lower lip to keep herself from making a sound.

The snake inside her desk must have been fake. She knew it since she had touched a real snake before. The texture of a real snake was rough to the touch.

With a blank expression on her face, Alina looked over her shoulder. She saw several boys who looked at her with mocking smiles.

She instantly knew that they were the ones behind it.

Alina calmly reached for a pen and shot them a cold smile. 'Stop trying to be heroes! They have a lot of nerve challenging me!' she thought bitterly to herself.

She didn't give them the satisfaction of seeing her frazzled and afraid, which disappointed them.

After class, someone asked Cary if he had put the snake too deep in her desk, which prevented her from touching it. They blamed him for their failed prank.

Cary immediately defended himself and told them that he put it in the middle and Alina should've touched it.

They had a heated discussion on the matter, but it wasn't like they could ask Alina to confirm their suspicions. They had no choice but to accept their failure.

The fake snake's owner frowned and asked, "What's going to happen to my snake? I spent a few dollars on that. Who's going to help me get it back?"

"Get it by yourself!"

The fake snake's owner was in a foul mood because he wasted a few dollars on a failed prank.

While Alina was doing her homework, a girl walked over and asked, "Alina, I don't have a new notebook. Will you lend me one?"

Alina turned to take a look at the girl. She noticed that this was the girl seated in the same row as her.

When she was about to say yes, she noticed that there was a mischievous glint in her eyes.

A thought suddenly occurred to her.

"The new notebook is inside my desk. You can get it yourself."

The girl noticed that Alina wouldn't fall for her trap. She froze and said awkwardly, "It's fine, forget about it. I remember that I have a notebook in my bag already!"

It was obvious to Alina that the girl was up to no good. She was seated near her, so she must have seen the boys place the fake snake in her desk.

She wanted to get Alina to touch the fake snake and frighten her.

Alina sighed, feeling as though she was in a bad high school soap opera. She felt like this day was dragging on with no end in sight.

Too many things had happened to her today!

Fortunately, the other two classes came and went with no other problems. It was finally time for her to go home.

There would be no car to take her home, so Alina would have to take the bus home by herself.

She stood by the bus stop and realized that she had a huge problem. She had no idea which bus to take and which stop to get off.

It was unfortunate that she didn't have access to Alaina's memories to know these things. She cursed to herself.

Boom! This was a bad day for Alina. Her silent curses had brought forth the thunder, and it looked like it was about to rain.

The buses came and went, and after a while, only a few students were waiting for their bus. Not too long after that, Alina was left alone at the bus stop.

She nervously looked up at the gray and angry sky.

It was in 2000, so they had limited access to mobile phones. People had only a 2G network to deal with.

This was a terrible experience for Alina since she was used to a 4G network.

Alina once used Wendy's phone to surf the internet. The internet was so slow that it drove her crazy.

There were no smartphones yet. To her, anything other than a smartphone was no different than having a brick.

Because of this, she didn't think to bring her phone with her. She didn't even have a way to call her driver to pick her up.

There was a telephone booth by the road, but Alina didn't have anyone's number memorized.

She thought about calling the police and asking, "Sir, I don't know how to find my way home. Could you bring me home?"

If she told them that, they would think she lost her mind!

It was about to rain. The wind blew the leaves astray, and they danced up and down around Alina.

She sat on a bench by the side of the road and watched a line of ants pass by. She couldn't find a way to go home.

Sheffield was on duty today, so by the time he finished cleaning, it was late in the afternoon.

He got onto his bus to go home. When they passed by MH High School, he noticed Alina seated on a bench.

What was she doing there? Why wasn't she home yet?

When the bus stopped in front of her, she didn't even lift her head. When the driver noticed that no one was getting on, he closed the door and left.

As Sheffield looked back at her, he suddenly recalled the scent of the noodles she had prepared for him last night.

She knew he hated the smell of coriander, but she put coriander in the noodles she prepared for him anyway.

Why was she being a hypocrite? She knew he would decline her offer and she would end up eating the noodles herself.

After he closed the door on her, he took a peek outside a few moments later to see if Alina had left. He didn't expect to see her eating in the hallway. Sheffield was so irritated that he nearly pulled his doorknob off.

"Sheffield, you're back," the butler politely greeted him.

"Yes," Sheffield nodded. "Is anyone else back?"

"No one's home yet except for you."

Sheffield nodded again in reply, then turned to go upstairs.

As it grew darker, Alina decided that she didn't care what anyone would say, and inserted a coin to call the police.

"Hello, sir? I'm lost, and I'm not sure how to get home."

"Can you please tell me where you are? What's your name? Where do you live?"

"I'm currently at MH High School, and my name is Alaina Li. I'm not sure where I live," Alina replied.

"How old are you?"

Alina was embarrassed and answered, "I'm sixteen."

"Excuse me?"

Alina hesitated before she repeated, "I'm sixteen years old!" Why was he asking again? Couldn't he tell that it was embarrassing?

"Are you sure you're sixteen?" She knew how ridiculous it sounded for a sixteen-year-old not to know her way home.

"Yes, I'm sure!" Alina had no room to feel shame.

After ten minutes, a policeman found Alina.

In the Xu family's house

It was evening already, and Alina wasn't home yet. The butler was deciding whether he should call Eric or Wendy, who also hadn't returned home yet. Then, he noticed a police car outside the home.

Why was there a police car outside? Peter rushed out of the house to check. Before he reached the car, he saw Alina coming out with her backpack.

She smiled politely at the policemen and said, "Thank you! Take care!"

"Remember to bring your phone with you and don't get lost again!"

The butler's eyebrows raised in confusion. "Alaina, what happened?"

Alina waved goodbye to the police car and answered, "It was nothing. The policeman is my classmate's brother, so he gave me a ride today."

Peter gave Alina an incredulous look. She looked too composed when she lied.

"Is anyone else home?" Alina asked.

"Sheffield has come back. But Mr. and Mrs. Xu haven't come back yet."

"Why aren't they home yet? It's getting late." Alina was relieved to hear that her parents weren't home yet. She didn't want to conjure up an entire story for them.

"I'm sorry I'm not sure about that."

"I'll be having dinner with just my brother?" Alina's eyes lit up.

"I'll ask Mr. Xu to confirm. If they aren't coming home soon, you and Sheffield should have your dinner."

"Alright. Thank you, Peter!" Alina smiled politely at him, then entered the house.

Peter Sun was lost in thought as he looked at Alina's retreating figure. Alina wasn't usually so polite to him.

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star..." Alina hummed as she opened the door to her room.

She placed her backpack down and changed out of her uniform. With a sigh of relief, she plopped down onto her soft bed.

The policeman had found her and brought her to the police station. He located her address based on the names of family members that she provided. Two other policemen were on their way to patrol the streets near her house, so they dropped her off along the way.

The policemen intended to speak to her parents, but Alina was able to talk them out of it.

She explained that she was recently injured in the head, which messed with her memories. She told the policemen that she didn't want her parents to worry about her. The policemen sympathized with her, so they were willing to do her a favor.

They sent her home and left.

"Alaina, dinner is ready," Peter announced as he softly knocked on her door.

"I'm coming!" Alina jumped off the bed.

She walked out of her room in her slippers.

As soon as she left her room, Sheffield's bedroom door opened at the same time.

When their eyes met, Alina gave him a friendly smile and said, "Good evening, my brother!"

'Is she crazy?' Sheffield stiffened at her greeting. He quickly looked away from her and hurried down the stairs.

His step-sister wasn't acting like herself.

As she watched him walk away, the smile on Alina's face faded. What should she do? He still hated her. Her future looked bleak.

At the dinner table, they were seated opposite one another.

The dishes hadn't been served yet, so Alina gazed up at the boy in front of her. Sheffield lowered his head as he typed on his phone. It looked like he was texting someone.

She observed his shiny black hair, his aristocratic nose, and the thick eyelashes that rimmed his eyes.

She continued to admire his lashes and suddenly thought that his lashes would be helpful if he lived in the desert. It would shield his eyes from the sand, and he wouldn't have to cover them with a mask.

If Alina took a picture of Sheffield and sent it to her friend Winnie, she would be in awe! Winnie liked pretty boys.

Winnie was one of Alina's good friends in college. She wondered if Winnie had heard about her accident.

Winnie promised Alina that she would buy her a grand gift when she got married. Alina suddenly lamented that she would never get her gift.

What a shame!

As Alina gazed at Sheffield, she was lost in her thoughts.

Sheffield's gaze snapped up to hers. "What are you looking at?" he asked in an irritated tone.

"Why? What's wrong?" Alina asked. When she came back to her senses and realized whom she was speaking to, she smiled warmly at him and apologized, "I'm sorry! It's my fault. You're quite a pretty boy, so I couldn't stop watching you."

She intended to praise and flatter this hero. However, her compliments had the opposite effect. His face suddenly darkened.

Sheffield was shorter than the average boy, and he thought he was not masculine enough. Being recognized as pretty was the worst possible compliment for him.

Alina's flattery had no effect on him.

She forgot that she was in 2000. Pretty, flowery boys were looked down upon during this time. No man liked to be called pretty.

Sheffield slammed a hand on the table and stood up. He looked at Alina as if he wanted to kill her.

Alina was confused by his anger. Did she say something wrong? Why was he so eager to get rid of her?

"Did I say something wrong?" she asked.

Alina's clueless face irritated Sheffield further.

"It's time for dinner," Peter interrupted.

Alina rolled her eyes and smirked. "I'm starving. Are you hungry, my brother? We should have dinner first."

Sheffield looked away to hide his surprise and scoffed, "Don't call me your brother. You're not my sister."