Alice Turner was startled by the sudden thought that flashed across her mind and withdrew her gaze from the hospital room door. She immediately entered the elevator, distancing herself from the room where Benjamin Shaw was.

After leaving the hospital, Alice drove home. Apart from Aunt Flower, she didn’t see anyone else at home.

"Where are Lily and Mom?" Not seeing her mom and sister at home, Alice walked over to ask Aunt Flower, who was preparing dinner in the kitchen.

"The young miss wanted to go back, so Madam went to drop her off," Aunt Flower replied truthfully.

"Aunt Flower! I’m not feeling well, don’t bother making my portion," Alice said, turning quickly to leave the kitchen before Aunt Flower could respond, heading upstairs to her room, where she fell onto her bed.

She stared straight at the ceiling with both eyes, and her mind was filled with scenes from her meeting with Autumn York, which she couldn’t shake off.

Time passed unknown, and suddenly the phone beside her pillow rang.

Alice slowly withdrew her gaze from the ceiling, tilting her head towards the phone at the sound. She stared at it for a moment before reaching out to pick it up.

Clingy pest!

The moment the phone was lifted in front of her, the words "Clingy Pest" instantly came into view.

Seeing that it was a call from Thomas Fisher, Alice felt her heart suddenly ache. Staring at the phone, her hand hesitated to swipe the answer button.

The call automatically ended after the designated ringing time, but just after it quieted down, it rang again.

Alice didn’t put the phone down; the moment it rang, she saw it was again Thomas Fisher calling.

"Hello!" she answered the call just as it was about to automatically hang up, by now her gloomy mood had somewhat alleviated.

"What have you been busy with? Took so long to answer my call." Thomas, thinking the person on the other side was occupied, spoke with a bit of complaint, unaware of what was happening.

Alice retorted instantly, "I wasn’t busy with anything, just didn’t want to answer your call."

Her expression was very serious and stern as she said this, not at all like she was joking.

"Don’t want to answer my call? Alice! Aren’t you afraid I’ll be upset hearing you say that?" Thomas, unable to see Alice on the other end and unaware, assumed she was joking, as she had tricked him several times today.

Alice’s next words nearly angered Thomas to the point of fainting, achieving precisely the effect she aimed for, "Whether you’re upset or not has nothing to do with me."

Her tone and expression were more severe than before, her mood gloomier than just moments ago.

"You..." Thomas was truly choked by Alice’s words, needing several deep breaths to compose himself. "Alice! If you keep joking like this, I’ll really get angry."

Even now, he still believed she was joking with him, not considering anything else.

Yet Alice showed no intention of stopping, maintaining the same demeanor as before. She intensified the fire, "I’m very busy, no time to joke around with you. Do you have a reason for calling? If not, I’ll hang up."

Her tone was extremely unfriendly, her attitude reaching the worst point.

"Alice! What’s wrong with you?" At this point, Thomas suddenly felt that something was very wrong with Alice on the other side of the line. Earlier, he’d assumed she was pretending to be angry to trick him, but now he felt that couldn’t be right, her angry state seemed authentic.