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"Georgie, if the basement gets uncomfortable tonight, you can come crash at Meemaw's..."
As evening set in, Mike finished helping Georgie set up a habitable nook in the basement and offered a reminder before leaving.
"No problem, I know. You go back and rest too~" Georgie waved his hand casually.
He wasn't actually worried about the living arrangements. It was summer, so the basement was actually cooler.
Plus, escaping his mother's control for the first time gave Georgie a sense of novelty, even if it meant living in a basement.
"OK~" Seeing Georgie's positive attitude, Mike felt reassured enough to leave.
"Hey, thanks for today..." Georgie called out softly to Mike's retreating back.
Georgie was currently in a period of confusion. Having a friend like Mike who could offer advice and comfort was truly a great help.
Hearing the thanks, Mike raised his arm and waved without looking back, leaving a dashing silhouette.
In Meemaw's living room, Connie sat on the sofa with Paige, looking as if they were waiting for someone.
Seeing Mike return, Meemaw Connie asked, "How's Georgie doing? Is he really determined to leave home?"
Clearly, although Meemaw Connie verbally supported whatever decision Georgie made, she was still somewhat worried deep down.
It was partly Georgie's fault; his past unreliable behavior made it hard not to worry.
Mike recounted Georgie's current situation and future plans to Meemaw Connie in detail.
There was nothing to hide. From Georgie's attitude, his plan to "run away from home" was set in stone.
"Alright, going out to suffer a bit is good too. Hardships make people grow up faster..."
Sensing Georgie's determination this time, Meemaw Connie frowned slightly but still chose to respect his decision.
Then, Meemaw Connie stood up and said, "There was a lot of activity today, I'm going to rest first. You guys rest early too~"
It seemed Georgie's matter still affected her a bit.
Otherwise, with Meemaw Connie's personality, she usually wouldn't go to her room to rest before midnight.
In the living room, Mike first took a shower in the bathroom. When he came out, he saw Paige still sitting there.
"Still not going to rest? Children won't grow tall if they don't get enough sleep." Mike teased the little girl with a smile.
Originally, Paige had a lot to say to Mike since she had just returned home and hadn't seen him for several days.
But now, she seemed to have completely lost the mood.
"I'm going to rest right now~"
Glaring at Mike as if in a huff, Paige got up and walked towards her room.
It could be said that she looked more and more like a normal child now.
Watching the little girl throw a tantrum, Mike smiled and shook his head, then went to the computer.
With over two million dollars in liquid funds, Mike decided to invest this money in the stock market early to make money beget money.
As mentioned before, the current stock market was in the era where making money was easiest.
Not taking advantage of this good opportunity to rake in money would be a crime.
Software industry, medical industry, food sector, retail industry...
These were all industries guaranteed to make a profit nowadays. But to make quick and big money, he still needed to consider the appreciation cycle trends of these stocks.
Just as Mike was selecting suitable stocks, the phone beside him rang.
"Mike, did Collins go to find you?" Picking up the phone, Little Sean's anxious inquiry came from the receiver.
"What happened to Collins? Aren't you all on vacation at the seaside?" Mike was a bit confused by the question.
"Collins didn't go on vacation with us, and our family vacation ended today..." Little Sean said urgently, "You just need to know that Collins is missing now. The family can't contact her, so I want to ask you, do you know where she is?"
To sum up, Little Sean's family came back from vacation today and didn't see Collins, and couldn't contact her this late.
In this situation, Little Sean immediately thought of Mike.
"Don't worry yet, I'll call Collins and see~" Mike instantly thought of many possibilities regarding the girl's disappearance.
He had been in phone contact with the girl before, and she had asked about his itinerary not long ago.
So, Collins knew the news that Mike returned to Medford today.
Plus the girl's behavior of collecting his posters.
Sorting through these clues, Mike realized Collins' disappearance might really be related to him.
With mixed feelings, Mike called Collins.
"Hello, Mike~ Is there something wrong?" After the phone rang several times, Collins' voice came from the receiver.
Good, the call connected.
Heaven knows how anxious Mike was during those few seconds.
But it was fine now, at least he could be sure Collins wasn't in danger.
"Collins, where are you right now?" Mike suppressed other doubts and asked the question he was most concerned about.
"Ah~ Me? I'm at home now, why?" Collins' answer revealed a guilty conscience.
"Nothing..." Listening to the background noises of engine and wind in the phone, Mike was silent for a while before asking, "Collins, do you have anything to say to me now?"
Clearly, the girl lied. There was a high probability she was on her way to find Mike.
"I don't know how to describe it..." Collins, who was driving at night, felt she might be crazy. Just because of unrequited love, she disregarded everything to meet him.
And the timing she picked was very bad.
Blown by the night wind, the girl's overheated head cooled down. She knew it was hard to explain such ridiculous behavior to Mike.
Even if she explained, she would probably be treated as a lunatic by him!
So, Collins changed her tune and said to the phone, "I wanted to say, it's late, I'll hang up first."
The girl who hung up the phone wanted to cry but had no tears. She was about to enter the town of Medford. If she returned the way she came, she would have to drive another two hours at night.
Collins set off at dinner time. It took about two hours from her place to Medford. If road conditions and visibility were poor, it would take longer.
"Whatever, if I die, I die~" Finally, Collins decided to see Mike, even if he treated her as a lunatic. She needed an answer to give her unrequited love a conclusion.
With an obsession, Collins accelerated towards the town of Medford.
On the other side, Mike, sitting in front of the computer, was thinking about a question: Is my charm that great?
He could now be certain that Collins was driving at night to find him because she was captivated by him.
Truly crazy enough!!!
Forget it, thinking so much now was useless. The priority was to call Little Sean's family back and report Collins' safety.
After the call connected, Mike immediately explained his sister's situation to Little Sean.
"I knew it would be like this..." Little Sean on the other end of the phone didn't seem surprised after knowing his sister's news, and then teased even more: "I'll help you keep this secret for now. Remember to send my sister back after the rendezvous."
What is this all about? Where is the rendezvous? Why don't I know about it myself?
Mike was powerless to complain about the operation of the Sean siblings. After promising to help take care of Little Sean's sister, he hung up the phone.