327 Chapter 327: Spies and Lies (1/2)

When I neared the end of my briefing, I noticed one of the students visibly approaching us. He was trying to be discreet, but his movements caught my eye for some reason. A tanned young man in a black uniform, with dark hair and piercing brown eyes, he stood out to me because of how fluidly he weaved through the crowd of students without attracting their attention.

I would have missed him if I wasn't so paranoid and summoned Corvus to keep watch from the edge of the anti-spy spell. The guy was almost a professional.

Almost.

”Guys, your four o'clock. Someone's trying to get near us, for some reason. Don't turn around to look at him. We don't want him to find out that we are aware of his presence.”

My friends went rigid for a second, but didn't give themselves away. Harrison didn't move, but I could see him watching the approaching guy from the corner of his eye.

I stopped my briefing, and with a nod, we dispersed for the moment, to carry out with our own preparations.

Craig deliberately stumbled out and almost crashed into the approaching guy.

”Whoa! Sorry! What are you doing here?” he gave the guy's shoulder a strong squeeze – to the extent the guy winced in pain. ”I didn't see you. My bad. You okay, bud?”

The guy mumbled something – an apology, and loitered there. Craig watched him with a raised eyebrow.

”Hmm? You look very familiar. Have we met before?”

”No,” the guy in the black uniform said quickly. ”I'm sure this is the first time we're meeting.”

”Realy?” Craig pretended to think for a moment, and then shrugged, as if to say it wasn't important. ”Are you looking for someone in particular?”

”Uh, no.”

”Okay. Well, sorry about that, bud. I hope you're not too badly hurt.”

”No, not at all.”

Craig then rejoined us, right as we began moving our position. Just as I suspected, the guy tried to follow us. Very subtly, but he maintained the same distance, no matter where we moved.

”Plan B,” Craig muttered, winking at Sheila.

We decided to stop for a while. The guy paused for a moment too, and even though he took care not to stare in our direction, it was obvious that he was keeping tabs on us. This time, it was Sheila who took the initiative. She jogged in the direction of where the guy was, pretending to catch sight of her friend and waving toward her. Before the guy could respond, she barreled into him, knocking him over.

”Ah! I'm so sorry! Are you all right?!”

”No, I'm…fine. Sorry. I…”

The guy was a little flustered, totally not expecting to be bowled over in such a manner. Sheila started dusting him off by slapping him, hard, causing him to flinch.

”I'm sorry, it's my fault you got dust all over your uniform.”

”No, it's really all right.”

”What's up, Sheila? I saw you fall over. Are you all right?”

This time, Craig showed up, and made a show of wanting to help. He paused dramatically when he stared at the guy in black uniform, and then pointed exaggeratedly.

”Hey! I know you, weren't you…there, earlier? Why are you here again?” he scowled. ”Were you following us?”

”No…it's just a coincidence.”

”Ah…!” Sheila suddenly cried out, drawing a few stares to herself. She was pointing at the fallen guy, trembling theatrically. ”I know you! I remember you now! Weren't you the guy stalking me outside my school a few months ago? I already told you that I'm not interested! Stop following me around!”

”You…!” Craig flared up, his nostrils flaring in rage. ”You are that stalker?! No wonder you look so familiar! You have some balls, bud, still stalking my girlfriend like this. Looks like the beating I gave you back then wasn't enough, eh?”

”No, you really have the wrong person!”

”Then why are you following my girlfriend around?”

”No, I seriously am not stalking your girlfriend!” The guy was panicking now, and backing away. Either he was not a professional or he simply hadn't been trained to deal with this sort of situation.

”Really?” Craig sneered. ”Dude, I literally just caught you following us around. I even asked if you were looking for anyone in particular. Why are you still sticking so close to us if you are not?”

”I…” the guy faltered when he realized everyone was staring at him. He swallowed, bowed, and quickly left the area without another word.

”That did it.” Sheila sighed. She leaned against Craig, so as to reinforce the performance. ”Thank you, Craig. That stalker really gives me the creeps. I thought he would leave me alone after that time, but seems like he's determined…”

”It's been hard on you,” Pearl remarked in amusement, trying to conceal a smile.

”Who was that?!” Ding Ke Po, for some unknown reason, showed up again. I groaned. This guy was probably the real stalker here, showing up whenever. To be fair, he probably just saw the commotion and approached us out of curiosity.

”You tell me.” I shrugged. ”Some random idiot who was stalking my friend's girlfriend.”