Chapter 47

Under Logan's oppressive gaze, Summer couldn't keep up her act any longer.

Her heart pounded uncontrollably, and she couldn't calm it down. Finally, she took a deep breath, lowered her head, closed her eyes, and whispered, "I'm sorry."

Logan's face and eyes remained dark and stern as he looked at her, but he didn't press her for reasons any further.

After a moment, he said in a low voice, "I don't care what you're plotting or what you want to do. Just stay away from me and stop following me."

Summer shrank into the corner, looking like a kitten caught in the act and cornered.

She kept her head down and eyes closed, softly responding, "I understand."

Seeing her like this, Logan didn't emphasize his point any further.

He exhaled softly, turned around, opened the office door, and returned to his desk.

After Logan left, Summer remained pressed against the corner of the wall.

As the oppressive presence around her vanished, she exhaled a long breath of relief.

Then, leaning against the wall, she took a moment to compose herself, avoiding Logan's gaze and instinctively distancing herself from him as much as possible, before moving to her desk.

Once seated at her desk, she kept her head down, covering her face with her hands as she steadied her breath and heartbeat.

Logan had truly scared her.

The previous moment she had been in a good mood, relaxed, thinking he had agreed to go to the market with her tomorrow. But as soon as they entered the office, he confronted her so harshly.

She felt foolish for thinking Logan's smile meant he agreed to go to the market with her.

After regaining her composure, Summer took another deep breath.

Her heart rate, breathing, and complexion returned to normal. She picked up the schedule to review the day's lessons and began preparing for her classes.

The village children had been attending school for five days now, and most of them were starting to adapt to the school routine. Some even arrived early.

Before the morning bell rang, the schoolyard was already filled with the children's chatter.

Once the bell rang, the remaining children arrived in groups, settled into their seats, some laughing and playing, others loudly reciting their lessons.

Although it was clearly stated that tardiness was not allowed, nearly every day over the past five or six days, some children were late.

Village children didn't have the same privileges as city children. Their tardiness wasn't due to oversleeping or playing but because they had chores at home.

For example, some had to collect a certain amount of dung in the morning, and if they didn't meet the quota, they wouldn't be allowed to eat.

These children woke up before dawn, finished their chores, and then ran to school.

Especially now that attending school costs money, they needed to work even more.

To most villagers, work points and money were the most important things.

However, the school's rules were rules. Breaking them, regardless of the reason, required a minor punishment. Otherwise, the school would soon fall into chaos.

After a few taps on the iron board under the office eaves, the sun rose higher in the eastern sky. Summer got into work mode and stopped thinking about what had happened earlier.

When it was her turn to teach, she went to the classroom to teach the children.

When it was Logan's turn to teach, she didn't find an excuse to go to the classroom. Instead, she stayed in the office, busy with her work, and then studied high school materials and did exercises.

Feeling a bit tired from the exercises, she was distracted by the sparrows on the windowsill.

Summer put down her pen, resting her chin on her hand, watching the birds to relax. Her gaze then shifted to a girl with a baby on her back, sneaking into the schoolyard.

For the past few days, this girl had come almost every day.

She always chose class time to sneak into the school, crouching outside the classroom to listen, then leaving quietly.

Summer pretended not to see her each time, turning a blind eye to let her listen outside the classroom, even though she didn't know if the girl could actually learn anything this way.

The bell for the end of class alternated with the start of the next, and the morning passed quickly.

After the dismissal bell rang, the children noisily left the classroom and lined up to go home.

Summer and Logan watched them leave in groups.

Once the children from the tenth team left, the schoolyard fell silent.

Summer took a deep breath, didn't speak to Logan, and turned back into the office.

Logan packed up and left, and this time, Summer didn't grab her bag to follow him.

When Logan reached the school gate, ready to lock up, he noticed Summer was still inside the office.

He paused, recalling his words to her that morning.

Since she wasn't coming out, he decided not to lock the door, turned around, and left.

Summer stayed in the office, naturally because of Logan's words that morning.

He was already so upset with her; she couldn't keep following him and trying to get close.

She planned to wait at school for a while.

She would wait until Logan returned to the residence, had dinner, and then she would go back.

After a busy morning, she just wanted to rest for a bit.

Summer took out a mirror from her bag and looked at her reflection.

Following Logan around had its benefits.

Looking in the mirror, her expressions were becoming clearer, although she still couldn't make out specific features.

She told herself not to be too impatient, that everything had to be done gradually.

If she truly angered Logan and he decided to push her away, he might even do something to sabotage her, like getting her fired. That would be a real loss.

Since Logan had only given her a verbal warning, she had to stop for now.

As long as they worked together, she would still have some time to be with him every day, even if it wasn't much. It was better than nothing.