Serena pointed at the phone on his side of the bed, the screen flashing repeatedly. "Young master, that's your phone."
His frown deepened. He turned his head, grabbed the phone, and glanced at it. His expression darkened.
Then, he answered the call. "What happened?!"
"Boss! Quick, check the current trending news! The task you gave me-there's finally a result!" Falcon shouted excitedly through the phone.
Xavier frowned slightly. "You disturbed me this early just because of that?!"
"Didn't you tell me to notify you immediately no matter what time it is once there's news?!" Falcon glanced at his watch. "Besides, it's almost 8AM already. That's not early at all!"
"If I say it's early, it is early."
That domineering tone left no room for argument.
Falcon pulled a face, deeply feeling that his boss was becoming more and more unreasonable.
He was just about to risk talking back when suddenly, he recalled Serena's long, slender, fair legs.
Suddenly enlightened, he grinned slyly and said, "Okay okay okay, whatever you say, you're always right!"
Then, lowering his voice, he asked sneakily, "Boss, you fought all night and still going strong early in the morning?"
"Cut the crap!" Xavier snapped impatiently. "If you've got nothing else, hang up!"
"Hehe, alright, I won't disturb your important business anymore. But as your loyal subordinate, I feel I must remind you-take it easy. Even if you're young and full of energy, a man only has two kidneys, and they're not replaceable!"
Xavier smiled slightly. "It's fine. If mine give out, I'll take yours and get a transplant. Didn't you always say you're 100% loyal to me? Surely you wouldn't be stingy over a kidney?"
"Uh..."
Falcon instinctively reached to his lower back, where his kidneys were, suddenly feeling a chill all over.
"Boss, I wish you good health and a long life, and may you one day achieve an indestructible body!"
"Hmph." With a cold chuckle, Xavier gritted his teeth. "Now that's more like it. Remember-if you know how to talk, say a few words. If you don't, keep that mouth shut!"
With that, he hung up.
Falcon removed the phone from his ear and muttered, "Tsk tsk, who would've thought that someone so distant from women would go absolutely wild the moment he tasted something spicy..."
Back with Xavier, after ending the call, he opened the news app.
Sure enough, at the very top of the homepage was a photo of Celia looking flustered and panicked. In front of her was a masked man rushing toward her with arms wide open.
Headline: "Celia suspected of playing with emotions-mysterious boyfriend confronts her publicly!"
The news comment section already had over 10,000 posts.
He casually clicked in-about one-third of the comments were speculating about who the mystery man was, another third were defending Celia, and the rest were condemning her.
Many even mentioned Xavier by name.
"Wow, Celia looks so innocent, but her private life's a mess. Just days ago, she publicly confessed to the young master Blaze, and now she's being chased down by some mysterious boyfriend?!"
"I think Celia is just greedy! Born into a prestigious family, with a brother like Christan, and still not content? That public confession was clearly a publicity stunt to latch onto Xavier!"
"Exactly! Xavier's never been involved in any scandals for years-he's Vernon's most eligible bachelor. Celia definitely used him to gain attention!"
"Ugh! Disgusting woman!"
"You'd have to be blind to like her! I'm done-used to be a fan, now I'm out!"
"Knew it! I never liked her to begin with. After this, I'm a lifelong anti!"
"..."
After skimming a few comments, Xavier smiled slightly, clearly satisfied.
Serena leaned in curiously. "Why are you smiling so strangely after just a phone call?"
He pushed the tablet toward her. "Take a look."
Serena took it suspiciously, and when she glanced down, her eyes widened in shock. "Wait... Didn't Celia say she's only ever loved you in her whole life? What's going on?!"
The man didn't answer but smiled. "This is just the beginning."
"What do you mean?"
As soon as she spoke, the tablet dinged again-a new news alert.
She tapped it open, and her eyes widened so much they were about to fall out. "What the- Is this for real?!"
The photo of Celia, which had just dominated the front page, was now replaced by a different one.
In this new picture, she was face to face with another man, smiling brightly.
Though the man's face wasn't clear-just a blurry profile-it was obvious he wasn't the same man from the earlier photo.
The headline was even more explosive:
"Shocking Exposé: Celia Caught Dating Multiple Men Simultaneously!"
Though the article had only been up for a few minutes, it already had over 30,000 comments.
The previous article had some defending her, but under this one, more than 80% were angry condemnations.
Serena couldn't bear to keep reading after just a few.
She looked up at the man beside her. "Is Celia really that kind of person? She looked so sincere when she confessed to you. Didn't seem like she was faking..."
"It doesn't matter what kind of person she really is," he replied calmly. "What matters is-she messed with the wrong person."
"The wrong person?!"
She suddenly remembered-he'd said before that Celia owed her an apology, and he would make sure she got it.
She quickly asked, "Did you do this?!"
He gently tousled the loose strands of her hair. "Silly girl, since when did you start catching on so fast?"
"But why?!"
His voice was light, almost like he was commenting on the weather. "The photo of me and her hugging? It was fake-she had someone fabricate it. That photo upset you, so I felt she owed you an apology."
"I warned them, but they didn't listen. Since the Ryder family chose to ignore my words-then they'll have to deal with the consequences."
"You..."
Serena blinked, momentarily speechless.
There was shock, yes, and surprise-but more than that, her heart was full of warmth and happiness.
This man had actually gone to such lengths, all because of one small moment of discomfort she had felt.
Deep down, she felt the punishment might've been a bit harsh...
But selfishly, being protected and cherished like this... was the most intoxicating feeling in the world.
***