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Hearing Tony ‘s words, Thalia was momentarily speechless. She blinked and fluttered her long eyelashes as she asked, “What do you mean?”
“Last time, Sam arranged for me to compete with Shadow Seeker. Everyone in the entire hacker world knows about it. When we were competing that night, Nelly came and I went to chat with her. Didn’t I tell you about this?” asked Tony .
“So, you’re saying that the two of you knew each other last time? W-When you were competing?” asked Thalia. She suddenly felt like she lost her strength, and even her tone became feeble.
“Yeah!” Tony nodded.
Ben , who was watching at the side, couldn’t help but look away.
He’s so good at making stuff up! Also, it’s surprising that Thalia is seriously deceived by Tony’s innocent expression.
Thalia looked at Tony , not knowing what to say. Moments of silence later, she asked, “T-Then if you two met last time, why does Shadow Seeker care about you so much? How does she know that you’re here?”
“Shouldn’t you ask her about this?” said Tony . After glancing at Thalia, he continued, “But according to my guess, the reason why she cares about me might be because I’m a good rival. We’re both the top hackers, so she cherishes me as her rival, I guess. After we competed with each other last time, our relationship has indeed become quite ambiguous. So, if anything happens to her, I will be worried, too.”
The reasons and excuses he provided were enough to convince Thalia.
After he finished speaking, Tony even nodded in affirmation as if he was trying to persuade himself, too. “Yup, that’s it.”
Thalia listened with her brows furrowed. If that’s the case, it does make sense.
However, she still felt that something was off, though she couldn’t pinpoint what exactly didn’t make sense.
She then looked at Tony and asked, “Then how does she know that we are in Zaewora?”
Tony replied, “Hmm… Maybe I accidentally told her when I was chatting with her. I don’t even remember it. But it’s not surprising that she knows. Think about it. Shadow Seeker is the top hacker. She’s everywhere and also at the same time nowhere to be found. So, it isn’t hard for her to know about this.”
Ben was at a loss for words.
What a whole bunch of nonsense! And while he’s at it, he even praised and flattered Nelly . Judging by Thalia’s expression, she’s almost brainwashed by his words.
Ben tried his best to hold back his laughter and hung his head, tucking into his food. The whole
conversation had nothing to do with him, so even if Thalia found out about the truth afterward, he would not be held accountable.
Thalia paused for a long time, and she couldn’t find anything wrong with Tony ‘s explanation. Looking at the boy, she said, “Well… what you said made sense.”
“Because that’s the truth!” Tony then looked at her with an aggrieved expression. “You can’t just reprimand me without knowing everything! I’m just a kid! You’ll scare me like that…”
“I-” Thalia didn’t know how to respond.
“Forget it. You didn’t mean it. You don’t have to apologize. I’ve forgiven you,” said Tony . “Forget it. You didn’t mean it. You don’t have to apologize. I’ve forgiven you,” said Tony . Thalia was speechless.
“Sit down and eat!” Tony said.
Thalia sat down as told and only regained her senses after taking a seat. “You’re just a kid? Why didn’t you say you were a baby?”
Tony raised his head and looked at her. “Well, if you put it that way, I guess I am!”
Fixing her gaze on the boy, Thalia put on an ingenuine half-smile. “Look at you! You don’t even look like a child, let alone a baby! Let this be a warning, Tony . If I catch you fooling me again, I’ll let you face the consequences!”
Tony replied, “You’re threatening me again!”
Tony ‘s heart skipped a beat when he heard that. Did she notice something?
He asked her, “What’s not right?”
“I keep forgetting to ask you. Why did Nelly come all the way here by herself? Also, why did she have to be so stealthy about it?” asked Thalia.
“Uh, didn’t I tell you?”
“If you already told me, will I still ask?” Thalia asked in return.
“Oh.”
Thalia looked at him. “What do you mean ‘Oh?’ Tell me!”
Tony explained resignedly, “As a beautiful woman, can’t you be more gentle like Nelly ?” When she heard that, she questioned, “Are you sure that Nelly is gentle?”
“I think… she is quite gentle!”
“Are you blinded by your love for her? Or did you forget what Nelly did in the hospital?” Thalia queried. Tony couldn’t agree with her. “She was forced by someone!”
“I was forced by you, too!” retorted Thalia. Tony was rendered speechless.
“What? Isn’t that the truth?” “How am I capable of doing so?”
“Don’t underestimate yourself. You are indeed capable!”
Tony looked at her and didn’t know what to say. In the end, he could only flash her a wide smile. “Whatever you say.”
Thalia snorted victoriously.
That was the first time she defeated Tony in a war of words. It felt great. She leaned back lazily and looked at the boy with arrogance. “Say it!”
“Say what?”
Her eyes narrowed into slits. “Tony Jackson , if you’re acting dumb again, don’t blame me for being rude!”
“How are you going to be rude?”
“So, you’re forcing me to pull out my trump card?”
Tony stared at her, looking forward to what her trump card was.
Thalia bobbed her head, rolled up her sleeves, and stood up.
She took a glance at Ben , who was sitting beside them, and said, “Get out of the way, Ben , so that you don’t get splattered with blood!”
Ben immediately got up and gave way. “Make it fast, or I’ll feel sorry for him as his brother.” Tony looked at Ben in disbelief. “How can you say that?”
“You brought this upon yourself, so you’ll have to face the consequences!” After finishing his sentence, Ben immediately went and sat opposite them.
“Just you wait, Ben !” said Tony . Ben merely arched a brow and didn’t care.
When Tony was about to say something, Thalia interrupted him, “Stop looking at him! You should worry about yourself.”
Tony turned and saw that Thalia was already sitting beside him. “What are you going to do?” he asked.
She stared at him, and in the next second, she suddenly reached out her hands to tickle the boy. He didn’t see that coming at all and jumped up from his seat.
“H-How did you know this?” he asked with a bewildered expression. Thalia felt very pleased of herself when she saw his reaction.
“What do you think of my trump card?”
At that moment, Tony looked at his brother.
Sensing his glare, Ben immediately defended himself, “It wasn’t me! I won’t do something like that!”
“If it isn’t you… Could it be, Donna ?” Tony guessed.
Only Nelly , Ben , and Donna know about this. Nelly won’t tell, Ben doesn’t lie, so it must be Donna who always uses this trump card to “beg” me.
Tony looked at Thalia and asked, “Did Donna tell you?”
Thalia looked down at her slender hands and asked, “Does it matter? You’re not afraid of me when I’m holding a knife and pointing it at you, but you’re afraid of me when I’m not even holding a weapon.
That’s amazing.”
Tony was rendered speechless.
Thalia looked at him and asked, “So, what do you think? Do you want to try again?” No matter how angry Tony was, he had to endure it.
“N-No need!” he replied.
She smiled and felt extremely satisfied.
“Come, sit!” She beckoned him over with her finger. “It’s okay. I’ll just sit next to Ben ,” said Tony .Têxt © NôvelDrama.Org.
At that moment, Thalia looked at him and put on a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “I said, sit.”
He had no choice but to do as told when he saw her threatening smile. Hence, he walked over and sat down next to her.
As soon as she raised her hand, he jumped and reflexively lifted his arm to block her. She said, “Don’t be so anxious. I won’t do anything to you.”
“Are you sure?” he asked uncertainly.
“Of course. As long as you are obedient, I won’t bully you!” Thalia sounded like the cunning wolf in The Little Red Riding Hood.
“Thalia, I have something I don’t know if I should say or not!”