Chapter 4 Hiatus

Before Lily could even say anything, a dignified-looking woman entered and patted Vivian on the shoulder.

"It's so late already. No midnight snacks," she chastised.

Vivian stuck out her lower lip in disappointment. Then, she sighed in disappointment and said reluctantly, "Fine, Mom..."

The woman was Vivian's mother, Julie.

Despite the elegant dress and flattering makeup, she had a coldness about her. As her gaze swept around, her eyes narrowed as though she had caught something displeasing.

There was an unmistakable look of disgust the moment her eyes landed on the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table. There were even some stray pieces of popcorn scattered on the carpet, as though some barbarian had passed through their home.

"Are you responsible for this?"

Noticing the displeasure in the hostess's tone, Lily panicked. She didn't want to face the wrath of an angry boss, so she decided to lie through her teeth. "No, ma'am... It was Miss Maria."

"She just left her trash there? Where is she?"

Julie's eyebrow shot up in surprise mixed with annoyance. Her first impression of their adopted daughter was instantly shattered thanks to Lily's selfish lies.

Swallowing hard, Lily stammered, "Miss Maria has gone out. I don't know where she went."

Julie shook her head and didn't want to hear anymore. She then turned to her husband with a disapproving expression. "She is so unruly," she commented in disgust.

With a long face, Bill sighed and nodded. "You're right. I will lay some ground rules for her. She can't just do whatever she wants, not under our roof."

After expressing their disappointment, the couple retired to their bedroom on the second floor.

Outside, the scenery was breathtakingly beautiful. The river glimmered under the moonlight, and the sound of flowing water was so calming.

This area was without a doubt a villa district for the wealthy. Even though Maria was alone, she didn't feel worried about her safety in the slightest.

Unbeknownst to the Jenkins family, aside from the self-assembled laptop, Maria also had a mobile phone.

It was matte red in color and brand-less, just like her laptop.

But even though it carried no logo, in terms of functionality and security, this mobile phone far exceeded almost everything else on the market.

This special mobile phone was only issued to the top-level hackers of Heaven. Through this device, they could access the latest information in Heaven's database at any given moment.

While taking in her tranquil surroundings, Maria unlocked her phone and sent a message to Heaven's group chat.

Her message consisted of only one sentence, but chaos instantly ensued. It read, "I'll be suspending all my business here from now on."

"What?! Why? Master M, what is the meaning of this? I just got a big order from a huge enterprise. They need to rebuild their internal network. I was hoping you could do it. No one wants to accept it because the work is so demanding!"

"THIS is just temporary, right? When will you come back, Master M?" "I also have tons of clients who have specifically asked for you."

"This is all so sudden! Hmm... Let me guess... Master M, have you fallen in love with someone and so you want to focus more on your relationship? Oh, what a lucky guy!"

The only information that Maria had disclosed about herself was her gender. Aside from that, her identity was a complete mystery to the staff and her fellow hackers.

"What on earth are you guys talking about? I just graduated from high school. I don't have time for something as trivial as love. Well, to be honest, there's a chance I'll stop studying. I've recently moved to Sheffield, and I'm going to turn a new leaf here."

Maria hated being lied to, and she had no intention of lying.

However, the truth didn't sound convincing. Most of the members of the group chat thought that she was just making excuses.

"Ha-ha! Master M, you're too funny. A fresh graduate of high school? Are you saying that I, a prestigious university graduate with a doctor's degree, was destroyed by a high-school student in Heaven's hackathon three years ago? Bullshit!"

"Didn't Master Night also go on a hiatus? He said that he'd suspend his work because he had gotten into a car accident and needed time to recuperate."

"Oh, right. I remember that! Right after Master Night announced that he was taking a break, an overseas hacker attacked us. But Master Night came out of nowhere and took care of the attacker without breaking a sweat! If it weren't for that hacker, we would've fallen for Master Night's brilliant ruse!"

"True! I suppose that the masters are as good at deception as they are at hacking!"

"Ha-ha! I think I know this. Women never disclose their true age. So it's kind of like 30 never, 18 forever! Am I right, Master M?"

While Maria read the messages at the chat room, she could only shake her head helplessly, a faint smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Although they didn't know each other personally, they made her feel a sense of warmth and belonging.

"Welcome to Sheffield."

Maria's brows shot up as soon as she read this private message.