Chapter 152: A Runaway Little Fox Must Be Brought Back

Sophie Wexler lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, feeling like a dead fish.

In front of her, her Light Brain was on, displaying an active communication screen.

Sophie Wexler’s voice was completely drained of life. "Benjamin Wyatt, are you still hiding out on that planet?"

She had made the call from her Light Brain, having specifically turned off the location services on her new device.

She had only told her agent where she was, and only because she had no other choice.

Sophie Wexler hadn’t left the Capital Planet.

For one, leaving would require her to be registered in the Capital Planet’s transit system. The moment her information appeared, Cillian Forrest would find her within a day.

That was beyond question.

She no longer dared to doubt his power in the slightest.

The second main reason was that the music competition she had signed up for was about to begin recording.

That’s right—the reward for winning first place on Karath.

Back then, Sophie Wexler had been so frustrated she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Now, she was actually a little grateful for this music competition. Otherwise, she really wouldn’t have found such a convenient temporary place to stay.

Right after she had fled, just as she was wondering where she could stay for a while, a message arrived from the music competition’s production team.

The music competition had been postponed for over a month due to the matching banquet.

Now that the banquet was over, the competition was immediately put back on the schedule.

"Dear Sue Shiver, our program is about to begin. Please proceed to the recording location."

Sophie Wexler looked at the recording location. It was still on the Capital Planet, but in a different district, a long way from where Cillian Forrest was.

She hadn’t been the one to tell Benjamin Wyatt. As her agent, he would have received his own copy of the contract notification.

He was still on one of the outer planets at the time and had been about to return after getting the message.

But before he could even leave, he heard the news from the Capital Planet.

Cillian Forrest was frantically searching for his missing partner.

Benjamin Wyatt: "???"

After a little digging, he found out Cillian’s identity had been exposed and his own artist had fled.

Benjamin Wyatt immediately abandoned any thought of returning to the Capital Planet. ’Go back? Are you kidding? If I go back, that guy will definitely interrogate me to find out where my artist is.’

’I would never, ever sell out my artist!’

’It’s a matter of professional ethics!’

This was Sophie Wexler’s third day in the dormitory provided by the show.

The shock of discovering Cillian Forrest’s true identity still hadn’t worn off.

"You just stay put on that planet for now. Don’t come back, and don’t let Cillian Forrest or his people find you."

"And another thing—you’re my agent. You signed a contract with *me*. You can’t betray me, you hear? Don’t you dare expose my location at the music competition. I’m not ready to face Cillian Forrest yet."

"And that stupid marriage agreement is so frustrating! I should’ve just clicked ’yes’ and submitted the termination request!"

’What possessed me to click ’no’?’

’Why did you click no, Sophie! Why!’

’You should have clicked yes!’

’Do you really want to be partners with this man?!’

Sophie Wexler felt like her brain must have short-circuited. But the cooldown period for the termination application was one month.

Since she had clicked "no" at the final step today, she would have to wait another month before she could apply again.

Sophie Wexler lay on her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

’What on earth was I thinking?!’

Sophie Wexler rambled on and on, but heard nothing but silence from the other end.

"Benjamin Wyatt? Are you there?" Sophie Wexler asked, a little confused. "Are you listening? Why are you so quiet?"

’He’s usually so talkative.’

’With a golden opportunity like this, you’d think he’d be taking the chance to roast Cillian Forrest.’

’Ever since Benjamin found out that I knew Cillian’s true identity, he’d take any chance he got to complain about him to me.’

’Things like how he was inhumanly aloof, as cold as a machine, only interested in killing The Swarm, and so on.’

’Why is he so quiet today?’

Benjamin Wyatt was suffering in silence. Listening to Sophie Wexler go on and on, he was on the verge of tears.

He stealthily glanced up at the man in front of him, but immediately dropped his head again when he met Cillian Forrest’s faint, unreadable smile.

’He’d already cursed the cunning bastard a thousand times in his head.’

’He had been hiding on an outer planet! Not even his own father knew where he was, yet this man had somehow managed to hunt him down and drag him back.’

’Getting dragged back was one thing. As long as he gritted his teeth and insisted he didn’t know Sophie Wexler’s whereabouts, he’d be fine.’

’But the moment he’d said he didn’t know, the call from her Light Brain had come through.’

Listening to Sophie Wexler’s questions, Benjamin Wyatt’s face was a mask of utter despair.

’Sophie, please don’t blame me for this. You really walked right into this one yourself.’

’The man is standing right in front of me. I can’t hang up even if I want to.’

’I’ve gone completely silent! How have you not realized something is wrong yet?!’

Her voice came through again. "Benjamin Wyatt?"

Benjamin Wyatt instinctively looked up at Cillian Forrest’s expression.

The corner of Cillian’s mouth was curved into a slight smile. His lips parted, and he mouthed a single, silent word: *Speak.*

That smile seemed utterly chilling to Benjamin Wyatt. He couldn’t help but swallow hard a couple of times before speaking. "I’m listening."

"Uh, something’s come up on my end, so... I’m hanging up now. Good luck with the competition."

"Something’s up?" Sophie Wexler said. "Oh. Alright then, I get it."

"You be careful, too. Don’t let Cillian Forrest’s people find you."

Benjamin Wyatt: "..."

’For God’s sake, woman, stop talking! I’ve already been caught!’

’If you knew who was standing here listening to you, you’d be crying too.’

Meeting Cillian Forrest’s gaze, Benjamin Wyatt mumbled a few words. "Um... you stay safe."

(Meaning: You’re on your own.)

’You’ve spilled all the beans yourself. I can’t help you now.’

Besides, when Sophie Wexler mentioned terminating the marriage agreement, the gaze of the Cillian Forrest standing before him had clearly darkened.

’Yeah, she’s really on her own.’

The call ended, and the room fell silent once more.

The silence was so absolute it made Benjamin Wyatt’s heart pound with anxiety.

Finally, a soft chuckle broke the silence in the room. "She’s at the music competition?"

Benjamin Wyatt pressed his lips together, saying nothing.

’Didn’t you hear everything already?’

"Didn’t you say you didn’t know where she was?"

Benjamin Wyatt: "..." ’Do you really think I dare say anything right now?’

Benjamin Wyatt gave a weak, awkward laugh. "I... I just found out. Just now."

Ethan Cross, who had been standing nearby and witnessed the entire exchange, noticed that the tense aura around the Marshal had visibly relaxed the moment he heard Miss Wexler’s voice.

"But, Marshal," he asked, "now that we’ve found Miss Wexler, why didn’t you speak up? Why did you let him hang up?"

Upon hearing this, Cillian Forrest’s fingers, which were resting on the armrest, twitched slightly. "We’ve only just found the little fox who ran away from home. We can’t scare her off."

’A frightened little fox running away is only natural.’

’But it’s fine. He would go and bring his little fox home.’