Part-227

  Mili looked over at him, her expression softening a little. "Thanks," she muttered, though there was a hint of exhaustion in her voice.

  James could sehat there was more to the story, something deeper that Mili wasn’t ready to talk about. But he respected her silence. Some things, he figured, were better left unsaid.

  As they tinued walking away from the stadium, the awkwardness between them slowly began to fade. The tension that had settled over the moment was repced with a more fortable silehough James couldn’t shake the thought of Jawal’s smug grin and the way Mili had reacted.

  He decided to ge the subject. "So, you really used to have a crush on a guy like him?"

  Mili chuckled, a hint of her usual humor returning. "Yeah, well, we all make mistakes, don’t we?"

  James ughed. "True. I guess everyone has that one embarrassing crush they’d rather fet."

  Mili shot him a pyful look. "Yours robably some girl from an anime, wasn’t it?"

  James grinned, happy to see Mili lighten up. "Hey, I won’t deny it. But hey, at least my crushes don’t call me out in front of basketball stadiums."

  Mili ughed, the tensioween them finally easing. "Touché."

  They tinued walking, the versation flowing more naturally now. The strange enter with Jawal was fading into the background, though James k would linger in the back of his mind for a while. It wasn’t every day you met someone who had such a strong effeili, someone who could bring out a side of her that James hadn’t seen before.

  But for now, that was a story for aime.

  As they walked through the city streets, heading toward no particur destination, James found himself appreciating the simplicity of the moment. Hanging out with Mili like this, just the two of them, felt... different. It wasn’t like their usual study sessions roup hangouts. There was something more personal about it, more real.

  He gnced over at her, w what other yers Mili had that he hadn’t yet seen.

  Mili, for her part, seemed to have moved on from the awkward enter with Jawal. She was back to her usual self—rexed, fident, and with that mischievous glint in her eye that always kept James on his toes.

  "Thanks for ing out with me today," Mili said after a while, her voice softer than usual. "I know it wasly a normal hangout."

  James shrugged. "It was fun. And hey, I got to withe great Mili stand her ground against a cocky basketball star. That alone made it worth it."

  Mili smiled, shaking her head. "Yeah, well, ime we’ll do something less... plicated."

  James nodded, feeling a strange sense of anticipation. "I’ll hold you to that."

  As they walked off into the night, their bond strengthened by the day's events, James couldn’t help but wonder what the future held—for both of them.

  A few days ago, the tension in the school had been palpable. James, Ryan, and Sourov were huddled around a ptop in the school library, their eyes glued to the s as they hunted online scammers. They had been w together on this project for weeks, and their progress had been impressive. The thrill of trag down fraudulent activities brought them closer, f a bond that seemed unbreakable. But the excitement was suddenly overshadowed when a familiar figure stepped into the library—Lemon.