I'm Afraid I Won't Be Able to Leave

Chapter 162: Chapter 162: So Upsetting

DING.

Her WeChat chimed. Leah Sinclair, who had been writing furiously, freed her left hand to grab her phone. It was a voice message from Sheila Hughes. ”Leah, I’m with Ethan Shaw now. But I told him we’re just dating. If it works out, great. If not, we’ll call it quits. But if he dares to look at another woman while he’s with me, I’ll destroy him!”

Leah drew in a sharp breath.

Over the past month, Sheila’s messages had chronicled the entire saga. At first, she constantly complained to Leah about how clingy Ethan was—driving her to work in the morning, picking her up in the afternoon, and pestering her for dinner every day, no matter how many times she refused.

Then, slowly, the complaints turned into teasing jabs—about how dense Ethan was, about him sending her flowers again, about him flirting with her. Leah knew then that it was only a matter of time before Sheila fell for him.

”Well, since you’re together, just give it a real shot. Ethan Shaw is actually a pretty good guy.”

After replying, Leah looked out the window. It had been a month since she’d come to Eldoria, but she still hadn’t gotten used to it.

She had adjusted to the time difference in just one day, and Mason Grant had even praised her for being so resilient. He recalled that it had taken him nearly three days to get over his jet lag the first time he came.

But only she knew the truth. It wasn’t resilience—it was complete and utter insomnia.

Yes, she had insomnia. And she missed Asher Keating.

Leah shook her head, unpaused her tablet, and went back to listening to the recording of yesterday’s lecture.

Over the past month, she’d discovered just how terrible her spoken English was. Even though she had easily passed the CET-6 exam back home, it was only after arriving in Eldoria that she realized how poor her conversational skills truly were.

In class, the professors didn’t slow down just because she couldn’t understand, and they certainly didn’t offer individual tutoring. At first, Leah was shocked to find she couldn’t follow along at all.

When professors or classmates spoke quickly, she was completely lost. And when she spoke, they would sometimes have to pause for a moment to understand what she meant.

It felt like she was back in her freshman year when she had just arrived in Riverfall. Her confidence was starting to crumble, but she knew she couldn’t let it.

After much thought, she started recording her lectures. She recorded everything the professors said, then went home and listened to it over and over again, replaying the parts she didn’t understand. Time and again, she forced herself to integrate, to take the initiative and speak up.

There was no Sheila, no Cherie, no Dana here. She didn’t want to be a burden on Mason Grant’s studies either. So she pushed through for a month, forced herself for a month, and finally, she started to see some results.

She was no longer completely lost like she had been at the beginning. Although she still needed a moment to process things sometimes, it was a huge improvement from when she first arrived.

Seeing that Leah had replied, Sheila immediately sent a voice call. ”Do you have to work so hard? Isn’t it the weekend? It’s only eight in the morning over there, and you’re already up?”

”Don’t even start. I’m having a terrible time right now.”

While listening to the recording on her tablet, Leah started venting to Sheila about what had happened yesterday. On her third day in Eldoria, she had cut her hair short again—a slightly better style than the one she’d had in her freshman year.

When Mason Grant came to see her that weekend, he let out a piercing shriek and asked with trembling hands if the stress had finally gotten to her.

Leah had rolled her eyes at him, explaining that she just didn’t want to waste time washing and drying her hair. Besides, it would always grow back.

But she’d forgotten one thing: because of her sharp, short haircut, she had been mistaken for a boy and confessed to by several girls back in the day. And in Eldoria, the same thing was happening all over again.

Leah was much more mature now than in her freshman year, in both her features and her demeanor. But her short hair and casual clothes still led to her being mistaken for a handsome, clean-cut boy. And she had received... well... bold and passionate confessions from beautiful Eldorian women.

And just yesterday, it happened again. She was on her way home, walking with her head down and looking at something in her hands, when she accidentally bumped into a stunning, blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty.

The woman grabbed her hand excitedly, saying she’d been noticing her for days. She asked if Leah was from Celestia and said she really liked her, asking if she could be her girlfriend.

After a moment of speechless disbelief, Leah explained that she was a girl, not a boy, and just had short hair.

”And guess what she said next? She told me, ’That’s okay, I’m bi... man or woman, I can all!’”

”...PFFT, HAHAHAHA!”

Hearing Leah’s wail of despair from the phone, Sheila, despite feeling sympathetic, couldn’t help but burst into hysterical laughter.

She was still laughing as she got into Ethan Shaw’s car. ”So what does that make you now? You don’t just slay men and women, you slay lesbians too? Why did you have to cut your hair?”

Ethan knew instantly she was on the phone with Leah. He opened his mouth to say something, but Sheila shot him a look that said, *shut up*. Ethan rubbed his nose and, sure enough, shut his mouth.

His eyes, however, darted to the back seat. As soon as Sheila got in the car, she had put her phone on speaker and tossed it aside. Then she pulled a pen and paper from her bag; she had some data she hadn’t finished calculating and wanted to get it done on the way.

”I regret it! I’m kicking myself so hard right now! I didn’t even run that fast during the 800-meter test in college! I can handle being mistaken for a guy, but telling me she’s fine with me whether I’m a man or a woman... What the hell was that?!”

Leah’s indignant voice filled the car via the speakerphone. In the back seat, Asher Keating couldn’t help but let the corners of his lips curl into a smile.

”Serves you right!”

Sheila burst into another fit of laughter. Once she was done, she added, ”Send me a picture! I want to see how much of a ’woman-slayer’ you are. Maybe you can slay me too?”

”Just let the world burn. I’m tired.”

Hearing the faint, intermittent sound of the lecture recording from the phone, Sheila felt a pang of sympathy. ”Are you still listening to recordings? Didn’t you say you can pretty much understand everything now?”

”It’s a habit. The professor said some things yesterday that were a bit hard to follow, and I’m afraid I misunderstood. Just want to listen again.”

”Alright, what are you doing today? It’s the weekend.”

”Um... I was thinking of looking for a part-time job.”

”...Are you serious, Leah?! You’re the Second Miss of the great Grant Family, and you’re going to get a part-time job in Eldoria?!” Ethan Shaw finally couldn’t take it anymore, grabbing the phone and roaring into it.

”...Ethan? Tsk, Sheila Hughes! You put me on speaker again!”

Leah was speechless. She knew about Sheila’s bad habit of putting calls on speaker. As long as she wasn’t in public, she loved doing it, claiming it ”saved her ears.”

”Well, I’m in his car, and I’m busy calculating data. What’s the big deal? It’s just him here.”

Sheila shot Ethan a disdainful look, annoyed by his overreaction. ”Leah wants to practice her spoken English. A part-time job is a great way to talk to more people, what’s so strange about that?”

”If Aunt Mabel finds out, is she going to fly to Eldoria and beat you up?” Ethan asked, exasperated. He had a feeling Mabel Grant was fully capable of doing just that.

”She... probably would. That’s why I’m not planning on letting her find out! Don’t you dare tell Shawn! He’ll definitely tell my mom! Ah! I’m not talking to you guys anymore, I missed that part of the recording again!”

”Don’t forget to send me that picture!”

”I know, I know,” Leah said, then hastily hung up the phone.

”...Third Brother, should we tell her?” Ethan asked, looking back at the rear seat.