No longer a pushover (Noelle and Cedric)

At that moment, Noelle was sitting in the car with Cedric. As she watched the traffic around them, her concern grew. "Frank will definitely send someone after me. He might even cause trouble for you at school."

After all, this was the Liddell family's territory. That was exactly why she had endured everything, hoping to leave after the college entrance exams.

Noelle felt guilty for dragging Cedric into her mess.

Cedric reached out and gently patted her head. "Don't worry. They won't find you. Right now, you should be thinking about where to stay."

Noelle sighed softly. "I'll rent a place." It was something she had always thought about but never had the chance to do. In truth, she wouldn't have minded if Frank had just kicked her out earlier. It would have saved her a lot of trouble. "I know a place for rent," he said.

Noelle didn't ask too many questions and simply followed Cedric to a nearby neighborhood. The surroundings were beautiful.

She couldn't help but comment on the interior when she stepped inside one of the apartments. "This place must be expensive. I'm kind of broke right now!"

"Money's not an issue. This is my friend's place. He's not living here anyway. If anything, you'd be helping him look after it by staying here. Honestly, he should probably pay you for that."

Cedric stood by the large glass window in the living room. His tall, slender figure radiated an

effortless sense of ease.

Noelle laughed, amused by his response. "Sir, are you sure this isn't your apartment?"

He shook his head with a faint smile. "It's not mine. Mine is next door."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Seriously? What a coincidence."

He smirked lazily. "I wouldn't feel at ease if you'd rather stay elsewhere. After all, I'm the one who lured you out of there."noveldrama

Noelle's cheeks warmed at his playful remark about luring her out. She hadn't expected someone as typically reserved as Cedric to make such a joke.

Realizing his words were a bit inappropriate, Cedric quickly changed the subject. "Just stay here for now. Don't worry about anything else."

Noelle nodded. "Alright, but I'll still pay rent. I can sleep on the couch. I promise not to mess with your friend's room or touch anything else inside."

Cedric frowned. "You're not sleeping on the couch. He's never even lived here. The guy's rich and clueless. Don't stress about it."

Noelle chuckled. "You two must be pretty close." After all, only good friends would speak about each other that way.

Cedric glanced at his watch and asked, "Do you want to play some games?"

"Sure," Noelle replied.

She followed him to his place next door and realized it was identical in layout. However, Cedric didn't have much stuff. The space felt empty and minimalist. There were two computers in the study, both with high-end configurations. When Noelle launched the game, she was surprised to see a live stream on the homepage. It was a clip of her 12-hit combo from the earlier match. The title read, "The Return of King's Protege."

She suddenly felt slightly uneasy. After all, she hadn't mastered the 12-hit combo during the revival round in her past life. Moreover, she had never even met King.

Cedric glanced at her. "When did you learn to pull off a 12-hit combo in the game?"

Noelle froze, feeling nervous. She didn't know how to explain it. She wondered if she should tell him she had learned it in her past life.

King's 12-hit combo was notoriously tricky to master. Many people spent hours replaying tutorial videos but still couldn't get it right.

She bit her lip. "Actually, I'm a huge fan of King. I've liked him since I was young and secretly practiced his signature move. I never succeeded before, but somehow, I managed to pull it off in this match." Cedric's gaze grew complicated. "You've admired him since you were young?"

"Yeah, that's right. I've always liked him. That's why I'm so familiar with his moves," she said.

Noelle felt unsure, but it was the best explanation she could come up with. She hadn't lied. She had indeed admired King for a long time.

She stole a glance at Cedric. His expression turned stiff, and he said almost awkwardly, "Don't go liking just anyone so easily."

Noelle was taken aback. "That isn't the same."

It was King they were talking about. Anyone who played this game would admire him. Still, Cedric's gaze softened as he watched the video of her pulling off the 12-hit combo. Chapter 22