Chapter 236: Chapter 236: Downstairs at Her Place
"Don’t worry, Archie just got his driver’s license. It’s the best time for his skills, he won’t bump into anything. You can safely ride in his car."
Although Claire Xavier was joking, her tone didn’t allow for rejection.
Ashley Shaw and Ariana Grant exchanged a glance and finally nodded.
"Then we’ll trouble you."
"Yes," Ariana also said, "If we had known earlier, we wouldn’t have come to bother you."
Claire Xavier sighed and said, "Don’t say that, it’s all my fault. If I’d known earlier, I wouldn’t have called you over. Making you go through so much trouble in the middle of the night, I’m really... Sigh! I won’t say anything else, I’ll treat you to dinner another day to make up for it!"
Downstairs, Mr. and Mrs. Xavier were calling for them, telling the siblings to hurry up.
Claire Xavier patted Ashley Shaw on the shoulder.
"Let’s go, head downstairs."
"Okay!"
Ashley Shaw didn’t delay them any longer, quickly heading downstairs with Ariana Grant.
At the door, the two groups parted ways.
Claire Xavier got into the Xavier family’s nanny van, while Ashley Shaw and Ariana Grant got into a black business car with Cillian Xavier.
Ashley Shaw originally thought Cillian Xavier would drive the same car as earlier and wanted to see if her charger had fallen in that car. Who knew Cillian Xavier would switch to another one.
However, she thought Cillian Xavier must be in a hurry to take them to the hospital and felt embarrassed to delay him further, so she let it go.
After all, it was just a charger, not worth much.
But... she still felt a little uneasy inside.
Back then, during the "Wilderness Survival" incident, she misunderstood Warren Prescott.
Although an apology doesn’t cost much, not saying a word left her feeling inexplicably uncomfortable.
It felt like she owed Warren Prescott again.
The car was silent.
Ariana Grant wanted to break the silence.
"Cillian, don’t worry too much. Ivy is blessed, nothing serious will happen."
What Cillian Xavier was thinking had nothing to do with this.
He wondered whether to tell Ashley Shaw about his upcoming departure abroad.
But the thought was quickly suppressed.
Since there would be no ending between them, it was better to leave quietly.
He forced a slight smile and replied to Ariana, "Yeah, it should be fine."
"Yes, yes, Ashley had a concussion a while ago. Although she was hospitalized for two and a half days, she’s bouncing around now."
Cillian Xavier paused his grip on the steering wheel and suddenly looked at the rearview mirror.
"You had a concussion?"
Ashley Shaw was a bit surprised.
Since they met at the store during the day, she thought Cillian Xavier wouldn’t speak to her voluntarily.
She quickly regained her composure, nodded, and said, "Yeah, but I’m fine now."
"How did that happen out of the blue?"
"Just... accidentally slipped and fell."
"It’s all my fault!" Ariana said, "It’s because I..."
Before she could finish, she caught Ashley Shaw’s look advising her not to say more, so she quickly changed her words, "It’s because I didn’t mop the floor properly and Ashley slipped."
"And you?" Cillian Xavier asked, "Why do you have so many injuries?"
Ariana hadn’t expected Cillian Xavier to care about her, the third wheel. She admired him for being such a meticulous and gentle person.
She laughed, "Me? It’s a long story. Simply put, I got into a fight."
Ashley Shaw thought to herself: It should be said she got beaten up one-sidedly.
A hint of surprise appeared on Cillian Xavier’s face.
What had happened in the few days he hadn’t been in contact with them?
He couldn’t help but wonder if Warren Prescott knew about all this.
He should... shouldn’t he?
For some reason, Cillian Xavier felt uncomfortable and tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
The empty and quiet road at night, no one else speaking in the car.
Cillian Xavier simply sped up the car.
A little longer, and he feared he wouldn’t be able to hold back.
He couldn’t help but want to tell her that when he was at the store entrance, he didn’t actually want to ignore her, he just... didn’t want Ashley Shaw to feel guilty after he left.
Cillian Xavier took a soft breath, trying to suppress the complex emotions churning within him.
Meanwhile,
a black Maybach stopped at the entrance of an old apartment complex.
The window rolled down, revealing a handsome face in the dim light.
It was none other than Warren Prescott.
He looked up at the fifth floor.
A patch of darkness, not a glimmer of light.
Last time, when he was invited in for water by Ariana Grant, he noticed both bedrooms faced the same direction as the unit door.
Now, with both room lights off, could they both be asleep?
He couldn’t help but recall what time Ashley Shaw usually went to bed.
After recalling for a while, he helplessly realized he actually knew very little about Ashley Shaw.
Before, he wouldn’t notice at all; now, he wanted to pay attention but had no chance.
If there were a regret pill in this world, he’d be willing to spend all his money to buy it.
But thinking about it, with all that happened at home today, they must be tired.
The phone rang at this moment.
It was "Castle in the Sky."
He had heard Ashley Shaw use this ringtone before and changed it to match hers.
Warren Prescott picked up the phone; it was Mark calling.
"Hello?"
"Mr. Prescott Jr., are you planning to come back now?"
"Not yet." He had just arrived.
But it seemed like a wasted trip.
"What’s wrong? Did something happen?" Warren Prescott asked.
Mark’s voice came through the phone—
"That’s good. You might as well not come back. You can head straight home to rest."
"The ’contestants’ have all found a place to sleep, and there won’t be any moves for now. Each live stream has fewer viewers."
"You can take a good rest now, recharge. Tomorrow’s numbers might surge again, and you might have a lot of things to handle then."
Warren Prescott acknowledged, saying, "Alright, I understand. You should go rest too. Just have the overnight staff keep an eye on things, and for those in less important positions, let them go home for a proper sleep."
"Yes! I understand."
Mark responded, paused for a second, then boldly asked, "Have you handled your end? Has the misunderstanding been cleared up?"
He initially didn’t dare to ask, but reconsidered that without knowing, he might not sleep well tonight, so he summoned the courage to inquire.
However, the next second, Warren Prescott’s cold voice said, "If you don’t want to rest, you can stay and watch over a few live streams."
Why did he bother asking?
Wasn’t this seeking death?
Judging by this, Mr. Prescott Jr. likely hadn’t had the chance to communicate with Miss Shaw.
At least tonight he could survive another night.
"I’m, I’m going to rest now, you rest well too."
With that, Mark dared not say another word, quickly ending the call.
Warren Prescott looked at the dark screen and involuntarily opened the chat screen with Ashley Shaw again.
Still no reply.
What did she mean?
Was his last message too harsh?