Chapter 5

Icarus finally focused his attention on Melinda, who'd fainted. Although her face was streaked with blood, her beauty was still unmistakable. But more importantly, she shared a close resemblance to a female friend of his from many years ago. He wondered if Melinda was a descendant of his friend, though it could also merely be a coincidence. With the number of years that had passed and the increase in world population, it was quite probable for someone with a similar appearance to show up. Either way, because of her face, he decided to save her. Ten minutes later, Icarus had bandaged her wound, stopped her bleeding, and called an ambulance for her. By the time the ambulance arrived, he was already gone. The emergency responders took her to the hospital while he proceeded to walk home with his newly harvested vegetables. … Inside the study at the Young residence in Hindale, Ingrid Young, a glamorously beautiful woman in a silk nightgown, was leaning against the chair as she looked out the window and took in the night view. When the phone on the desk started ringing, her brows creased slightly, and she took the call. "The mission has failed, Ms. Young. Melinda Johanson has been taken to the hospital. The Johansons have sent ample reinforcements to the hospital to protect her. For the time being, I'm afraid that we won't be able to make another attempt—" "Save it. I just want to know why it failed," Ingrid said in an icy, murderous tone. "We're still looking into the situation. All we now know is that our hitman duo had successfully dealt with Melinda's bodyguards. They'd hunted her down, and she'd been forced to flee her car in the hills near Janville. However, we lost contact with them after that, and Melinda was also…" At this point, Ingrid figured out that someone unexpected had rescued Melinda. Otherwise, Melinda wouldn't have survived the attack and had even been brought to the hospital afterward. "I'm giving you three days to find the person who saved Melinda," Ingrid ordered before ending the call. She picked up her wine glass and swirled the wine, staring at the liquid as she murmured, "I don't care who you are. Since you had the gall to ruin my plans, I'll make sure you're found." … When Icarus entered the classroom the next day, he saw an overturned table near the back of the class that was surrounded by a bunch of scattered books. Meanwhile, his own desk had gone missing. Only his chair remained. Most of the students in class were eyeing him with scorn and derision. Only a few gave him pitying looks. Brows furrowing, Icarus asked, "Who did it?" No one replied. He looked around and asked once more, "Can anyone tell me who did it?" "Well, since you're so pitiful, I'll tell you. It was Leon and his friends," a pretty girl replied in an impatient tone. She was Emily Jackson, the previous class beauty prior to Ruth's transfer. She was also one of Leon's ex-girlfriends. "Oh. It's him, huh?" Icarus nodded and looked over at Leon's desk, but Leon wasn't there. "So what if he did it? What can you do about it? Don't tell me you'd dare to beat him up. Once he arrives, I bet you won't even dare to say a word about it, so why bother putting on this act now? Just the sight of you annoys me," Emily retorted shrilly. Icarus glanced at her coolly. In the two or so years he'd spent at Hindale High, he barely made his presence known and certainly never offended anyone. Yet, for some reason, Emily spoke to him with an unexpected sense of contempt in her voice. "I don't think I've ever offended you. Why are you talking to me like that?" Icarus asked. "Hah! Just the sight of you riles me up. So what? So what if I like to mock you?" Emily shot back haughtily. Ever since Ruth transferred to Class 2 yesterday, Emily had been in a foul mood. Before that, she'd been the center of attention in class. But now, all anyone talked about was Ruth. Being Ruth's deskmate, Icarus was also the subject of Emily's displeasure. Plus, he was a nobody in class—a pushover whom she could use as a metaphorical punching bag to vent her discontent. Naturally, Icarus didn't bother to argue with Emily. He headed to his desk. "Why is a nobody like you aiming above your station anyway? You deserve to be taught a lesson by Leon!" Emily shouted after him. Icarus went to his chair and sat down. He didn't bother moving his desk back from behind. The surrounding students were either jeering at him or eyeing him curiously. What was he doing? Was he waiting for someone to move his desk back for him? Or, was he waiting for Hank to arrive so that he could lodge a complaint? After a while, Donovan came to the classroom. Once he took everything in, he immediately understood what happened. "I'll help you move your desk back, Icarus," Donovan offered. "It's fine. I'll get Leon to do it once he gets here," Icarus replied. Donovan's expression froze. "Icarus, why don't you just put up with it… We can't afford to offend Leon…" Some of the guys in the vicinity couldn't resist laughing. "You want to get Leon to move your desk back? Icarus, I used to think you were just an introvert who didn't like talking to others. I'm now realizing that you're a fool after all! Once Leon gets here, you'll know how foolish you're being right now." As soon as he finished speaking, Leon and his lackeys came walking into the classroom. When they saw Icarus sitting on his chair with no desk in front of him, they all started sneering mockingly. Leon walked right up to Icarus and exclaimed in feigned shock, "Icarus, what happened to your desk? Why is it missing?" "Someone said you threw it in the back of the class," Icarus replied. He raised his head to meet Leon's gaze, his eyes still. For some reason, when Leon saw the seemingly hollow look in Icarus' eyes, his heart jumped, and he felt a flicker of fear. However, he quickly came back to his senses, mortified that he'd actually felt frightened just now. Icarus was just a useless loser! What did he have to be afraid of? "Yeah, I did it. So what? I'd already shown you enough courtesy yesterday, but you didn't do the same to me. I had to prove to you what I'm capable of so that you'd know better than to think I'm someone you can mess with," Leon loudly declared without bothering to hide what he'd done. "If you move my desk back and arrange the books on the floor back in order, I'll drop this matter," Icarus said. Leon wasn't the only one dumbfounded by what Icarus said. The rest of the students in the classroom were stunned too. Did he say he would drop the matter? Who did he think he was, and who did he think Leon was? "Hahaha…" Leon let out a scornful guffaw. "You know, Icarus, I'm starting to realize how amusing you are." "I can't take it anymore, Leon. I want to beat this punk up!" Tom declared as he balled his fists. Leon's other lackeys also formed a circle around Icarus. Seeing this, most of the students looked on in amusement, especially Emily. She wanted nothing more than to see Icarus beaten into a pulp. Sweating profusely, Donovan hurried out of the classroom and ran straight to the staffroom. He had to get Hank here at once, or else, Icarus would be in big trouble! "What did you say? Say it again," Leon said as he put his arms on his hips and eyed Icarus condescendingly. Icarus began, "I told you to move my desk back and arrange the books on the floor—" "Get lost!" Leon cut Icarus off with a scowl as he raised his right hand to slap Icarus in the face. However, at the very next second, Icarus grabbed his hand so tightly that it couldn't budge at all. "How dare you try to fight back?" Tom growled as he sent a kick in Icarus' direction, but similarly, Icarus caught his leg. "You guys started it," Icarus said curtly before flinging them both away. Both of them flew backward before landing at the back of the class with loud thuds. Everyone else in class was dumbfounded. What just happened? Icarus walked to the back of the class and peered down at Leon and Tom, who were both dazed from the fall. "Move my desk back," Icarus calmly said. Leon had never suffered such treatment before. Turning pale with fury, he roared, "How dare you lay your hands on me, Icarus! I'll make you regret—Argh!" Icarus stepped on Leon's right hand, applying just a bit of pressure. However, it was enough for Leon to howl in excruciating pain. "Move my desk back," Icarus repeated. "Just you wait, Icarus…" Leon gasped out as he rolled around in pain. The terrifying sound of breaking bones echoed in the silent classroom. "I'm only going to repeat myself one last time. Move my desk back to its original spot," Leon said with an expressionless face.