Chapter 436: Princess, We Meet Again

Chapter 436: Chapter 436: Princess, We Meet Again

Leo Rhodes was taken aback by the question.

He scratched his head: "It’s okay. The town is so small that when someone’s chicken goes missing, it spreads through half the town. Nothing major. Why?"

Tanya Sinclair briefly explained the incident that morning when she was holding a class with the students on the playground and saw a shadowy figure outside the wall.

As Leo Rhodes listened, he became more serious.

This was no small matter. Besides a few teachers who volunteered to come teach at their own expense, the school was full of students.

He said seriously, "I’ll report this to the principal. We need to arrange for some security."

"It’s not that serious. It could just be someone from the town passing by," Tanya Sinclair wasn’t too sure herself. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Let’s install more surveillance cameras near the school. If we really spot anything suspicious, then we can report it and arrange for security."

Leo Rhodes pondered for a few seconds and nodded: "Okay, I’ll go to the county this afternoon to buy them. We’ll install them around the playground, the back gate, and also at the main entrance. I’ve thought about this before but the school’s budget was tight so nothing was done."

"I’ll cover the cost."

"No need..."

"I’ll take care of it." Tanya Sinclair interrupted him, her tone was light but firm, "The conditions in the town are not great, and the school doesn’t have much budget."

Leo Rhodes looked at Tanya Sinclair, hesitant to speak.

Tanya Sinclair casually smiled and said, "You’ve checked on me, right? You should already know I’m not lacking for money."

Leo Rhodes thought to himself: Not just ’not lacking’, she’s absolutely loaded!

Leo Rhodes: "Alright, I’ll handle it! I’ll provide the labor and you provide the money."

Tanya Sinclair smiled, "Alright."

That evening, Leo Rhodes returned from the county on an electric bike, with a cardboard box tied to the back seat. Inside were four cameras with night-vision and waterproof features.

He knew a lot, and spent the afternoon installing the cameras on both sides of the playground, the back door, and the main entrance of the school. He also added an extra incandescent lamp at the door of Tanya Sinclair’s room.

After finishing, he dusted off his hands and took out a new lock.

"Ms. Sinclair, your door lock should be replaced too. The old-style lock cylinder can be easily pried open. Let me install it for you."

Tanya Sinclair: "I would appreciate that."

Leo Rhodes tinkered for a while and installed the new lock, handing her the key when he was done.

Leo Rhodes: "There are two keys, one is a spare. Keep them safe. If you’re worried, you can leave one with the principal."

Tanya Sinclair smiled, "Thank you."

Leo Rhodes packed up his tools and reminded her, "Ms. Sinclair, be sure to lock your door at night. Call me if anything happens. I live on the east end of town, only a few minutes away by bike."

"Got it, thank you."

Leo Rhodes noticed that Tanya Sinclair often said thank you. He wanted to say there was no need to be so polite, but when he looked into her eyes, they were calm, gentle, and a bit distant.

The words caught in his throat and he swallowed them back.

After seeing Leo Rhodes off, Tanya Sinclair returned to her room and made a video call with Caden and Joy.

It only rang once before it connected and Caden’s face appeared on the screen. He looked like he had just taken a shower, with wet hair sticking to his forehead, making his small face appear even fairer.

"Mom!"

Beside him, a round head immediately squeezed in as Joy snatched the phone and held it up to her own face: "Mommy, mommy! I miss you so much!"

"Mommy misses you too."

The signal in the room was poor, causing the screen to freeze.

Tanya Sinclair walked out into the courtyard and circled around. In one corner, the signal barely got up to three bars, so she held the phone a little higher.

Joy: "Mommy, why is it so dark over there?"

Tanya Sinclair adjusted the angle slightly, and the light shone on her face: "I’m outside, there’s no signal indoors."

"Mommy, have you lost weight?" Joy leaned closer to the screen, her big eyes round and bright, "Are you eating well?"

"I am. Today for lunch I had braised ribs and scrambled eggs." Tanya Sinclair laughed, "Have you been eating well? Being picky?"

"No! I cleaned my plate, Aunt Tawny even praised me." Joy looked proud.

Tanya Sinclair couldn’t help but chuckle, "That’s wonderful, sweetheart."

Caden silently pushed his champion medal in front of the screen, waiting for Tanya Sinclair to notice.

Tanya Sinclair held back a laugh, her emotions overflowing with value: "Wow, a Go competition champion. That’s amazing, darling."

Caden suppressed his smile, looking quite proud: "Not too bad, I’ve always been the champion!"

Tanya Sinclair was charmed, bursting into laughter, which made the phone shake a little.

Caden held the phone carefully: "Mommy, Aunt Tawny said the wind by the seaside is strong. Are you cold at night?"

"No, it’s not cold. The sun is nice during the day."

"Have you made any new friends?" Joy leaned over, tilting her head with curiosity.

Tanya Sinclair thought for a moment: "I have. There are many cute kids in the class like you guys, and a young teacher with the last name Rhodes, he’s really nice."

Caden held the phone: "Mom, is that Mr. Rhodes a girl or a boy?"

Joy also leaned over, blinking her big eyes.

Tanya Sinclair couldn’t help but laugh: "He’s a male teacher, but he’s twenty-four this year, and I’m almost thirty. You two little people with big imaginations, stop overthinking things."

Caden kept a straight face, remained silent for two seconds: "Twenty-four is not that young, only seven years difference. But I want to see his picture."

"No picture."

"Then next time you video chat, let us see."

"Caden Hawthorne," Tanya lowered her voice to call his full name, "aren’t you getting a bit too nosy?"

Caden pursed his lips, still looking a bit uneasy, but didn’t press further.

Next to him, Joy poked her head in: "Brother, you’re so annoying. Whoever mom likes is her own business!"

Caden glanced at her: "What do you know."

"I know everything!"

"You have to use your fingers to count seven plus eight—"

"Caden Hawthorne, I’ll pinch your face!"

The two kids started to squabble, the screen shifting back and forth, while Tanya Sinclair watched with a constant smile. When her arm got tired, she switched hands, and the night breeze brought a hint of the ocean’s salty smell, with distant intermittent insect chirps.

Vincent Hawthorne walked up behind the two kids and placed a cup of hot milk in front of Caden: "Drink it while it’s hot."

Joy grabbed the phone and held it up: "Dad! You say something!"

Vincent was taken aback, his daughter had filled his arms with the phone.

He glanced at the screen, Tanya’s face looked gentle under the light, more refreshed than last time they met, but still thin, with her cheekbones slightly protruding, and her collarbone faintly visible under the neckline’s shadow.

"How are you doing over there?" he asked.

"I’m fine." Tanya’s tone was very light.

Vincent’s finger rubbed the phone’s edge, he wanted to say more, but looking into her eyes he knew words were useless. She looked at him as if through a sheet of glass, inaccessible.

"That’s good," he just nodded in the end, "If you need anything from me, just call anytime, or if you don’t want to call me, you can reach out to Jonah."

"There’s no need, I can handle it."

Even this she refused.

Vincent lowered his eyes, tugged at the corner of his mouth: "Alright."

He chatted a bit with the kids, then Tanya put the phone in her pocket and slowly walked back inside. The newly installed incandescent lamp brightly illuminated the courtyard entrance, she pushed the door open and bolted it behind her.

Lying in bed, she checked the monitoring connected to her phone before sleeping, seeing nothing suspicious outside, just endless night.

Only then did Tanya close her eyes and fall asleep.

In the corner outside the wall, David Lewis huddled in the wall’s corner, with his back pressed tightly against the trunk of an old Chinese scholar tree, mostly sobered up, his heart pounding like a drum in his chest.

He drank nearly a bottle of grain alcohol at night, his head feeling heavy and hot, bolder than usual.

After seeing that new female teacher at the grocery during the day, she kept lingering in his mind, pale skin, slender waist, he had never seen such a beautiful woman!

When she walked, her waist swayed gently, and David Lewis felt his soul was being swayed away.

He lay on his greasy, worn-out bed until past eleven, unable to stay down, got up and downed the last few swigs of liquor, then staggered to the back of the school.

He initially planned to climb the wall. The wall wasn’t high, he had climbed over it a few times before, stepping on a protruding brick allowed him to get up. When he reached the wall’s base, with his hand already on the top, climbing halfway up, he saw someone standing at the end of the wall.

He didn’t know when the person got there.

David Lewis’s motion froze on the spot.

Squinting his blurry, drunken eyes, he saw the silhouette — tall and thin, wrapped in a black coat, the brim pulled very low, face entirely hidden in shadow.

But David Lewis could see the hand resting on the wall — under the moonlight, it was so white that it hurt the eyes, like it had just been fished out of water, with long fingers, distinct knuckles, pressing motionless against the brick wall.

David Lewis opened his mouth, wanting to say "Who’s there", but his throat felt clogged, unable to make a sound.

The shadow tilted its head slightly in his direction, as if "looking" over. Then it took a step forward. Very slow, boot landing on the gravel ground with a "crack", crisp like the sound of bones breaking.

David Lewis’s spine felt as if doused in a bucket of ice water, cold from head to toe.

He tumbled down from the wall, turned around and ran, not bothering to pick up the shoe he lost, barefoot slapping against the mud, crazily sprinting to the other end of the alley.

He ran nearly a hundred meters before daring to glance back. Behind him, nothing but a few dog barks, not a shadow in sight.

David Lewis leaned against the wall, gasping for air, swore: "Holy shit, saw a ghost tonight!"

He’s lived in the town for over twenty years and had never seen such a person.

If not a ghost, then what was it?

Scared sober, he crawled back into his covers, spending the night dreaming of a hauntingly white hand reaching through the wall cracks to strangle him...

On the other side, outside the wall, the tall, thin shadow stood until nearly dawn.

Towards the white light’s direction, his parched lips moved, silently calling out: "Princess..."