"Georgie, if you're not comfortable staying there tonight, you can come to Connie's to stay..."
In the evening, after helping Georgie set up a livable space in the basement, Mike reminded him before leaving.
"No problem, I know what I'm doing. You should go back and rest too—" Georgie waved his hand casually.
He wasn't too worried about accommodation now. It was summer, and staying in the basement was actually cooler.
Moreover, it was his first time free from his mother's control, and even staying in the basement gave Georgie a novel feeling.
"OK—" Seeing that the other party was in good spirits, Mike could leave with peace of mind.
"Uh, thanks for today..." Georgie called out softly to Mike's departing back.
Georgie was currently in a period of confusion, and having a friend like Mike, who could offer advice and comfort, was indeed a great help to him.
Hearing the thanks, Mike raised his arm and waved without looking back, leaving a dashing silhouette.
In Connie's living room, Connie and Paige were sitting on the sofa, seemingly waiting for someone.
Seeing Mike return, Connie asked, "How's Georgie doing? Is he really determined to leave home?"
It was clear that although Connie said she supported Georgie's decisions, she was still a bit worried inside.
This was also Georgie's fault; his past unreliable behavior indeed made it hard for people not to worry.
Mike, on his part, told Connie all about Georgie's current situation and his future plans.
There was nothing to hide. From Georgie's attitude, it was clear that his "runaway" plan this time was set in stone.
"Alright, it's good to go out and experience some hardship. Difficulties can make people grow faster..."
After sensing Georgie's determination this time, Connie furrowed her brows slightly, but still chose to respect his decision.
Then, Connie got up and said, "I had quite a bit of activity today, so I'll go rest now. You two should also rest early."
It seemed that Georgie's matter still had a slight impact on her.
Otherwise, with Connie's personality, she usually wouldn't go to her room to rest until midnight.
In the living room, Mike first went to the washroom to take a cool shower, and when he came out, he saw Paige still sitting there.
"Aren't you going to rest yet? Children who don't get enough sleep won't grow tall," Mike teased the little girl with a smile.
Paige had just returned home this time, and coupled with not seeing Mike for several days, she had many things she wanted to talk about with him.
But now, she seemed to have no mood for it at all.
"I'm going to rest now."
After glaring at Mike in a huff, little Paige got up and walked towards her room.
It could be said that her current appearance was becoming more and more like a normal child.
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 the money in the stock market early and let it make more money.
As mentioned before, the current stock market was the easiest era to make money.
Not taking advantage of such a good opportunity to make more money would simply be a crime.
Software industry, medical industry, food sector, retail industry...
These were all industries that were sure to make a profit now, but to make quick money and big money, one still had to consider the appreciation cycle of these stocks.
Just as Mike was selecting suitable stocks, the phone next to him rang.
"Mike, did Collins go looking for you?" After answering the phone, little Sean's anxious voice came through the receiver.
"What's wrong with Collins? Weren't your family on vacation at the beach?" Mike was a bit confused by the question.
"Collins didn't go on vacation with us, and our family vacation ended today..." Sean said urgently, "You just need to know that Collins is missing now. The family can't reach her, so I wanted to ask you if you know where she is?"
To summarize, little Sean's family returned from vacation today and didn't see Collins, and they couldn't reach her even this late.
In this situation, little Sean immediately thought of Mike.
"Don't worry, I'll call Collins and see." Mike instantly thought of many things regarding the girl's disappearance.
He had always been in phone contact with the girl, and she had recently asked about his itinerary.
Therefore, Collins was also aware of Mike's return to Medford today.
Plus, the girl's behavior of collecting his posters.
Going through these one by one, Mike realized that Collins's disappearance might indeed be related to him.
With mixed feelings, Mike called Collins.
"Hello, Mike? Is something wrong?" After several rings, Collins's voice came through the receiver.
Good, the call went through.
Heaven knew how anxious Mike had been during those few seconds.
But now it was fine; at least he could confirm that Collins was not in danger.
"Collins, where are you right now?" Mike suppressed other doubts and asked the most pressing question.
"Ah, me? I'm at home right now, what's wrong?" Collins's answer revealed a hint of guilt.
"Nothing..." Listening to the background sounds of an engine and wind on the phone, Mike was silent for a while before asking, "Collins, is there anything you want to tell me right now?"
Clearly, the girl was lying; there was a high probability that she was on her way to find Mike.
"I don't know how to describe it..." Collins, who was driving at night, felt like she might be crazy, wanting to meet the other person regardless, just because of unrequited love.
And the time she chose was very bad.
Blown by the night wind, the girl's overheated mind cooled down, and she knew that such an absurd thing would be hard to explain to Mike, the person involved.
Even if she explained, he would probably think she was crazy!
So, Collins changed her tone and said into the phone, "I wanted to say, it's getting late, so I'll hang up now."
The girl who hung up the phone felt like crying without tears. She was already almost entering Medford, and if she returned the same way, she would have to drive for more than two hours at night.
Collins had set off at dinner time, and it usually took about two hours from her location to Medford. If road conditions and visibility were poor, it would take longer.
"Never mind, let's just go for it—" In the end, Collins decided to go see Mike, even if he thought she was crazy. She needed an answer to bring her unrequited love to a conclusion.
Driven by a strong obsession, Collins sped up and rushed towards Medford.
On the other side, Mike, sitting in front of his computer, was pondering a question: Has my charm really become that great?
He was now certain that Collins was driving at night to find him because she was captivated by him.
How crazy!!!
Forget it, thinking so much now was useless. The most urgent task was to call little Sean's family back and tell them Collins was safe.
After the call connected, Mike immediately explained his sister's situation to little Sean.
"I knew it would be like this..." Sean on the other end of the phone, after hearing about his sister, didn't seem too surprised, and then even teased, "I'll help you two keep this a secret for now. Remember to send my sister back after your rendezvous."
What was all this? Where was the rendezvous? Why didn't I know about it?
Mike was speechless at the actions of little Sean and his sister. After promising to help little Sean take care of his sister, he hung up the phone.