<b>Chapter </b><b>74 </b>


    Laura pouted even more and threw herself into Zayn’s arms. “Boo–hoo! With you here, I’m <i>no </i>longer afraid of being alone.”


    Zayn stared at her intently before closing his eyes and leaning against her neck.


    Everyone watched quietly as if they, too, were drawn into the atmosphere <i>of </i>sadness.


    Right then, a voice rang out abruptly. “Laura, who are you hugging?”


    Stunned, Laura quickly turned around.


    She saw Jasper standing there, holding a tray with one hand. His friends who followed behind him stared at Laura, their expressions grim. “Didn’t I tell you to wait for me?”


    The atmosphere suddenly became so tense that one could cut it with a knife.


    Laura was taken aback. She pointed at Zayn and introduced him to Jasper. “Jasper, this is Zayn. He’s my friend from the orphanage. You guys should get to know each other.”


    Jasper put the tray on the table impatiently and looked condescendingly at Zayn.


    Zayn sneered as they stared at each other.


    Even though Jasper was one grade older than Zayn, Zayn’s presence was quite imposing as well.


    Their respective friends quickly disyed their hostility by sizing up the other group with their gazes.


    It seemed like a fight was about to break out between them.


    Zayn had a hand on the back of the chair, maintaining hisposure.


    On the other hand, Jasper was growing increasingly aggressive in his demeanor.


    Laura waspletely unaware of the tension. She pulled Zayn’s sleeve and said happily, “Zayn, this is my


    handsome cousin, Jasper. He buys me a lot of dresses and clothes. Jasper usually takes care of me. Can you be a


    good friend to him?”


    Zayn frowned slightly as he cast a helpless nce at Laura.


    When he saw that Laura looked at him expectantly, he furrowed his brows even more,


    Zayn stretched out his arm toward Jasper. “Hi, I’m Zayn.”


    Jasper said nothing.


    Laura hurried over and pulled Jasper’s sleeve. “Jasper, this is Zayn. When I was at the orphanage, Zayn protected me. He’s my only friend, and he also taught me how to fight. He’s super cool. Can you be friends with him?”


    12:57 Thu, 21 Aug 9


    Clenching his jaw, Jasper avoided looking at Laura.


    Laura waited for a while, feeling disappointed. “Jasper, don’t you want to be his friend?”


    Jasper nced at her impatiently and reached out his hand to Zayn.


    The two then exchanged a superficial handshake.


    30%


    Afterward, Zayn quickly withdrew his hand while Jasper wiped his hand on his pants. “Come with me, and don’t


    stay here anymore. There are too many people here, and it’s so noisy. I don’t like it.”


    Stunned, Laura turned to look at Zayn subconsciously.


    Zayn scoffed as he got up from the chair. “Go with him then. After all, you’ve just joined this family, and getting


    along well with all the family is important. Don’t worry about me.”


    Jasper watched with a deep frown, thinking, “What is he trying to say? He’s making it sound as though he’s the pitiful one.”


    Laura nodded. “Zayn, didn’t you say you didn’t have money to buy food? Should I share half of mine with you?”


    Zayn smiled and shook his head. “I was just teasing you. Did you study hard today?”


    She nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! Not only did I study hard, but I also learned some French!”


    Zayn raised a brow in surprise. “Wow, that’s impressive. You can speak French?”


    She nodded. “Yes. If you ask me about any topics from the textbook, I can answer you.”


    Smiling, Zayn looked at her and said, “Laura, nice to meet you.”


    Laura was pleasantly surprised and replied enthusiastically, “Nice to meet you too!”


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