From Villain to Virtual Sweetheart: The Fake Heir's Grand Scheme(BL)
Chapter 172: When Uncle Plays It Cool (Too Cool)

Chapter 172: When Uncle Plays It Cool (Too Cool)

They were halfway through dinner when Nick suddenly pointed his fork at them. "Ugh! Can you two not be so intimate while we’re eating?"

Micah blinked mid-bite, fork still in his mouth. Beside him, Darcy paused with a piece of green beans halfway to his lips. They both turned to look at Nick, confused.

"What?" they asked in unison.

Nick jabbed his fork again like he was accusing them in court. "Don’t play dumb. Darcy is eating your green beans and Micah just picked out all the mushrooms from his bowl! What the hell?"

Darcy shrugged. "He doesn’t like green beans..."

Micah raised an eyebrow. "He hates mushrooms..."

They answered together, without hesitation.

Nick let out a groan and flung his arms in the air. "See?! That’s exactly what I mean!"

Micah scoffed and leaned back. "You are just jealous! What’s wrong with helping each other?"

"That’s not my point!" Nick said in frustration. He turned toward Emile and Eddie sitting on their beds. "You two! Back me up on this!"

Eddie lifted a dumbbell with one hand, not looking up. "You can just not eat with them. Problem solved."

"I prefer their weird food sharing to your slurping. It’s disgusting," Emile said.

Nick stood up. "You guys are just ganging up on me! I’m done talking to you!"

"Wow. It’s the first time Nick left the table while there is still food on it!" Micah said, nudging Darcy with his elbow. "Write it down! We should use this method in the future!"

"Fuck off!" Nick spat, storming toward the door. "I’m going to find some civilised people to play games with!"

Micah snickered. "Running away?!"

"Do you wanna piece of me?" Nick rolled his sleeves up.

"Fine. Fine. Go ahead. I’m more worried you’ll hurt yourself than me!" Micah said smugly.

"You!" Nick pointed at him. "Ah! Who am I kidding?! I suck at fighting!" he said and shut the door behind himself.

Micah burst out laughing.

Amid laughter and cursing, Emile quickly typed on his phone.

PeppyPanda: Micah and Darcy are together again! All those fighting assumptions and forum posts about the unknown blond guy were just a false alarm!

He sent it to his cousins’ group chat. He hadn’t told them anything about the original rumour, mostly because he wasn’t sure it was real. But seeing how Micah and Darcy acted tonight, ditching them in the restaurant, and the way they ate made him certain that post was nonsense.

Before he could put his phone down, it buzzed loudly. A call. Emile stared at the screen and hopped off the bed, walking quickly out of the room.

He answered once he was in the hallway. "Cousin, what is it?"

"Emile," Jacklin’s voice came sharp through the speaker. "What is this about a blond guy? There was someone else?"

Emile scratched his cheek. "Oh, last week there was a post about Micah on the campus forum. Someone snapped a pic of him with some guy in a business suit near the street food stalls. They were arguing about the food, I think. Anyway, the guy got labelled something ridiculous like the dominant top CEO. The girls online went nuts. They even started harassing Micah, asking about the guy."

Jacklin was quiet for a second. "And now you’re telling me about it?"

"Sorry. I’d never seen the post. I thought it was all nonsense anyway."

Jacklin sighed. "So...Micah is chummy with the dark-haired boy again?"

"Yeah. Until today, I haven’t seen them this relaxed with each other. Definitely, something is up!"

"No news about a girl confronting Micah?"

Emile blinked, genuinely confused. "Huh? I told you girls were asking about Micah’s hot boyfriend..."

"No. I mean any specific girl accusing Micah of cheating?"

"No, not at all. If anything, he’s more popular than ever. He’s even been officially crowned the Campus Flower!"

Jacklin was taken aback before she laughed. "Okay. Thanks. Keep watching Micah. If you see any girl hanging around him, let me know right away."

"Sure," Emile agreed, though he still had no clue why they were so obsessed with Micah.

The call ended. Emile stood in the hallway for a moment, scratching his head. The whole Du Pont family had been acting weird ever since Micah entered the picture. From his little uncle Clyde to Jacklin to Dean. Why were they so interested in Micah?

He wandered back toward the room, still lost in thought.

******

In another city, Jacklin stared down at her phone with narrowed eyes. Something about this didn’t sit right. She was a woman. She knew how girls reacted to cheating rumours. If her boyfriend showed up in a photo with someone else in an intimate act, she would explode. She would call. Confront. Demand answers. But such a big event and no news from Asena.

Strange.

Jacklin clicked her nails against the table, deep in thought.

Of course, Emile said it was false news. But if Micah was being harassed, wouldn’t be easier to show everyone his girlfriend? Why hide?

Unless... Asena was not his girlfriend at all. Maybe a relative? Sister? Cousin?

She groaned and tugged at her hair. Just last week, she had tried questioning her little uncle about it. Clyde had dodged every question, acting like she was asking about the weather. No reaction. And Dean hadn’t been there either. No one in the Du Pont household would dare snitch about Clyde’s business, not even if bribed.

Jacklin clenched her fist on the table. They were in the dark. They didn’t know if Clyde had succeeded or failed that night. Whether his mood was good or bad. Whether he and Asena had finally clicked or not.

She needed to go back to Isatis city. This suspense was driving her insane.

"Hey, is that you, Jacklin?" a voice called across the hotel lobby.

Jacklin turned around. Her expression froze. "Dr. Cooper," she said politely.

A tall man with tanned skin, wavy dark hair swept back, and a pair of glass-rimmed frames perched on his nose smiled at her. His tailored suits clung to his slim build perfectly.

"Why so formal?" Mason Cooper asked, smirking. "Just call me brother Mason like before."

Jacklin offered a tight smile. Of all people to run into, why him? Mason Cooper was the most annoying person in her uncle’s circle of friends. Even Dylon was better! And that was saying something.

"What brings you here?" Jacklin asked, voice tight. "Shouldn’t you be cooped up in the hospital?"

"I was overseas for a fellowship," Mason said. "Got invited to give a speech here before heading back to Isatic City. What about you?!"

"Vising a project site on behalf of my uncle."

"Ohhh. Still in the honeymoon phase, huh?!" Mason snickered. "Can’t bear to be apart from his sweetheart?" he said sarcastically.

"Huh?!" Jacklin exclaimed. "What did you say?!"

"You don’t know?" Mason raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Wow! He’s getting sneaky in his old age! I like it!"

"What are you talking about, Brother Mason?!" Jacklin jumped to her feet.

Mason looked at his watch, then shrugged. "Ah, I’m late. Gotta catch my flight. See you later." he said and walked out of the hotel like he had just dropped a bomb.

Jacklin stomped after him, but her assistant called from behind. "Director, they are waiting for your review."

Jacklin stopped in her tracks, fuming. What the hell was that?! Was Mason screwing with her again, or was there some truth to it? How could her uncle gotten together with someone and kept it from her?

Wait. Could he have meant Asena? If so...did that mean her plan worked? Were they a couple now? Was it because of that Asena didn’t appear near Micah?

Jacklin’s frustration melted into a sudden laughter. Good! That was excellent! She needed to go back soon! That sneaky uncle and shy Asena! She knew they would hit it off!