Lilah said seriously, "Before, they all looked at me like they wanted to devour me but now, they're fawning over me and afraid of upsetting me. You must have done something."

A subtle, enigmatic smile played on Gerard's lips, his dark eyes gleaming with a hint of mischief.

His finger traced a gentle path across Lilah's nose, his touch sparking a flutter in her chest, as he spoke in a low, velvety tone.

"You're giving me too much credit, Lilah. I haven't done anything. You're just naturally commanding."

Lilah pursed her lips, mulling over his words. She sat down, uncertain if she should believe him or not. A moment later, she realized that Gerard's gaze was somewhere else, and turned to look in that direction, only to find Jerrold exercising with Xavier.

Seeing as the two of them were drenched in sweat and their legs were shaking from the strain of holding their bodies up, it was evident that they were very exhausted.

But Cyrus was unbothered by their predicament. He sat a few paces away, a solemn expression on his face as he sipped from his teacup.

Then he glanced at them from the corner of his eye and snapped angrily, "Stop shaking your legs!"

Desperate to hold the position, Jerrold gritted his teeth so hard that his face turned red. But Xavier was even worse off than the little boy. He looked like he was only a few seconds away from collapsing.

“Xavier, your performance is so woeful that Jerrold, a mere six-year -old child, is better than you. You're bringing shame on your family!"

Devonte taunted, chuckling as he took a sip of wine.

Xavier's face burned with embarrassment, but he refused to give in to his exhaustion. He gritted his teeth, summoning every ounce of strength he had left to see this through to the end.

Just as Xavier found his resolve, Jerrold also grew more determined.

He refused to be the one to cave first. Over ten minutes passed, and his tiny body still held steadfast, refusing to collapse.

Lilah couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy as she watched them.

"What are you two doing?" she asked.

Devonte's face broke into a knowing smile as he stroked his beard, his eyes gleaming with a hint of amusement. “Last time, Xavier failed to beat Jerrold. So I told him to compete with Jerrold for the next few days. If he loses again, I'll send him to go and learn farming.”

Wow, that must have struck a nerve with Xavier.

Before Lilah could say anything else, her phone rang.

It was a video call from Hadley.

A small smile curved Lilah's lips as she answered the call.

Hadley's lovely features filled the screen. But the moment she saw Lilah, she burst into tears.

“What's wrong?" Lilah immediately assumed that Hadley was being bullied. "Did Ruth come to you again?"

On the screen, Hadley shook her head and tried to stem the flow of tears. "No, she didn't. When will you come back, Lilah? I miss you so much! Last night, I dreamed that you were injured and attacked by bad guys..."