The Inheritance
-3-

Chapter 101

The moment that woman walked in, Richard and everyone else immediately knew who Felicity’s patron was.

Cassandra McGregor!

“Counselor!” As shocked as everyone was, they greeted her warmly nevertheless.

This was a big deal! They’d only known Cassandra as a beauty queen with impossibly high standards, and never any boyfriends.

Who would’ve thought that she’d have something going on with a big-shot like Flynn Lexington?

Even more astounding was the reverence Flynn seemed to have for her.

It was truly befuddling!

Regarding the relationship between Felicity and Cassandra—it all started from that night, when Richard rescued Cassandra from that newly opened bar.

That time, he’d sent her back with Flynn.

Whilst in the car Cassandra had discovered Richard’s power bank which was left behind. With that giving her a heads up, she slowly started to realize that it might have been him behind her rescue.

Just as she headed back to get to the bottom of the matter, she ran into Felicity, who freshly came out after her latest recording.

It had startled Felicity too, seeing Cassandra step out from a Rolls Royce. She’d hurried over to ask if anything was the matter, and Cassandra had given her a brief rundown of the recent events. She also subtly mentioned about being the one to see about Mayberry affairs.

Since it was about Richard, she’d then hurried back to ask about things.

All she got was what Flynn and Richard had already arranged ahead of time, and it was enough for Cassandra to drop the matter.

However, that wasn’t the end of it.

Some time during last week, Cassandra and Felicity had gone shopping for cosmetics.

They ran into a spot of trouble when some drunken old tycoons sought to have a bit of sport with them. A frightened Cassandra called Flynn immediately, and Flynn had rushed to the scene with a bunch of men to beat up the troublemakers.

What a thrill that had been for Cassandra. What more, it had garnered a new-found admiration from

Felicity.

It felt really good to have someone powerful on your side!

And so, when this latest fiasco had happened today, Felicity had obviously called for Cassandra as soon as she could.

That was how things had ended up this way.

Sensing that Jake might yet have realized whom he was dealing with, Flynn leaned in and whispered a few things into his ear.

Color drained out of his face. He finally understood—this lady was not to be harassed by the likes of him!

Cassandra examined Felicity, and her eyes narrowed. “Did someone hit you? And you too, Blondie?”

Unbeknownst to Felicity, Cassandra had secretly been in contact with Ordinary Man. She owed a lot to Felicity for that.

“That’s right, Cassie!” Felicity huffed.

“Blast! Whoever did this… you go get him back!” Cassandra folded her arms.

Slap! Bam!

Felicity stepped up and smacked Jake right across his face. Rage flared in his eyes, but remembering what Flynn had just told him, he didn’t dare make so much as a peep.

As for Blondie, he smashed a beer bottle against the head of his assailant.

It felt good. Ahh, it felt good!

Those university students all thought so too.

There was nothing Jake could do about it either. Even if they broke his jaw and shoved him all his teeth, he’d still be owing them an apology. Even if they smeared a turd all over his shirt, he’d still have to lick it and call it delicious. That was how pathetic the position he was in at the moment.

Satisfied with how the situation had been resolved, Flynn took his leave.

Everything he’d done was for the sake of returning a favor with Richard Crawford.

Yet he’d completely failed to notice that Richard was sitting right there in the corner.

“Counselor, you’re so awesome!” everyone cheered enthusiastically. Toasts were raised in her name.

—

Even Harper Sullivan joined in the merry-making.

Richard could hardly stay out of it. “A toast to Cassandra!” he announced, raising a glass.

“Oho, so you were here, Richard? It’s like you’re always there whenever something’s going on. I didn’t spot you earlier—where were you at?” Although Cassandra still held little regard for Richard, through sheer force of habit—nevertheless, she was no longer as cold to him as she used to be, considering he’d helped her out before, in his own way.

“Ahaha, are you asking about him, counselor?” Yvonne cut in. “He’s been hiding in that corner the whole time! When Jake burst in here with all his guys, Blondie and the others stood up to them, but Richard just sat there! Gosh, he’s more helpless than us ladies!”

Earlier, when she’d slipped away, she also happened to pass by where Richard was seated, and had noticed him there.

“That’s right! Anyway, were you really expecting this guy to be any help in a fight?”

“Now, I’m sure Richard would have stood along with everyone… it’s just that his knees were too weak from fear, ahahaha!”

Several girls sniggered, their voices filled with mockery.

Cassandra watched as Richard only shook his head and sighed helplessly. She sipped to his toast.

“I’m going to the washroom!” Deluged with insults, there was no way for Richard to respond. Certainly, he’d been of no help at all today. His only option was to flee.

“Hahaha, he literally pissed himself!”

“Goodness me… I’d rather die than have a boyfriend like Richard!”

“Pfft, and what girl would be interested in a guy like him?”

Annoyed, Felicity changed the subject. “Gosh, enough already about that guy! Oh, right—counselor, when I called you earlier this afternoon, you said you wouldn’t be free to hang out. Did you have something else going on?”

“Oh, I had an errand to run, things to buy and stuff. If it wasn’t because Flynn was busy himself as well, I’d have sent him along to watch over you girls. Sadly, that matter really took him a while to settle—in fact, half of Mayberry is in an uproar over it!”

“Oh? What happened?” Everyone's interest was piqued.

“How come I haven’t seen anything on the news?” someone exclaimed.

“Don’t be stupid. It’s too big to talk about in public. Flynn wouldn’t tell me any details either, but something seems to have happened at Scothow Elementary, and it’s got major players like Zack Lyle and Michael Zeke involved, as well as a bunch of other notable businessmen. They’ve sealed off the road outside the school, cordoned off by nearly a hundred cars!”

“My god!”

“No way!”

Everyone was in disbelief.

Meanwhile, Richard was just leaving through the door. Overhearing this bit, he shook his head again. He had no clue what that was all about, either.

Some people you don’t care about, but they get something good out of you anyway.

Some people you want to help, but end up harming instead.

It wasn’t yet time to reveal his true status, and Richard really, really didn’t want that to become public knowledge in any event. Sometimes, this made things rather complicated and difficult.

It seemed that from now on, he ought to keep a low profile, and stay out of matters which didn’t concern him!

He’d just mind his own business, and finish his studies quickly and quietly.

Just then, his handphone rang. It was Queta Smith calling.

He ducked into the washroom and took the call.

“Richard, are you busy right now?”

“Not at all. What’s up?”

“It’s Yasmin,” Queta whispered. “She said she’s not feeling well again. I just checked her temperature— she’s got a high fever. She needs to go to the hospital!”

Richard knew that for her to call him directly meant that she really needed his help. She was probably tight on cash at the moment, otherwise she wouldn’t be bringing this matter to him.

He’d have to help Queta find a better job soon. Rather than to give a man a fish… better to teach the man how to fish, right?

Worried for Yasmin, Richard didn’t dare delay any longer. Leaving with a quick goodbye, he drove over to fetch both girls to the hospital.

It was the middle of the night, but surprisingly there were quite a few people here to see the doctor. Holding Yasmin in his arms, Richard lined up behind them.

Just as their turn was about to arrive, a woman suddenly stepped in front of him.

—

A young woman suddenly cut right in front of them, without a word, displaying not the slightest bit of regard for others.

Richard was not in the mood for this. “Miss, don’t you find this a little rude?”

The woman ignored him.

“That’s right! My teacher says you can’t cut in a queue!” Yasmin exclaimed with a frown.

“Bah!” The woman turned around and snapped, “So I cut in front of you, so what? What can you do about it? All bark and no bite!”

One could see she was around twenty-one, with a fair complexion and a pretty face—and dressed in such a way as to leave little to the imagination.  

However, her stuck-up attitude only pissed Richard off to look at her.

“You’re the one barking!” At the limits of his patience, he snapped off a harsh reply.

“What did you say to me? Just wait right here—I’ll have somebody cut you down to size!” Shrieking and swearing as though she’d suddenly gone mad, the woman was pulled away by several bystanders.

Finally, she left in a huff.

Well, that came out of nowhere. Brushing it off mind, Richard got back in line.

“Sir, maybe you shouldn’t have done that. That woman seemed like trouble!” A pretty young nurse whispered this as she was ushering some patients in. “She was here earlier this afternoon to visit one of

our patients—someone of note—and she came with a whole train of fancy cars! I wouldn’t underestimate her clout, you know? Hurry on in—and no more trouble!”

Clearly, she’d started it! Well, the nurse meant well… Richard made no further remark.

“Let’s not fuss over it, Richard,” Queta agreed. “We’ll just wrap it here and leave immediately!”

So Richard brought Yasmin in to see the doctor. It turned out to be nothing alarming—just a common cold—and some medicine was prescribed.

Queta was visibly relieved, and they left the hospital together.

As they arrived at the entrance, glossy black cars suddenly rolled up, one after another… at least a dozen in total. A massive group of well-dressed people got out and headed inside.

When she saw the woman who emerged from the car in the middle, Queta quaked with fear. It was that woman who’d cut in line earlier, starting off a spat with Richard.

Had she really returned to cause trouble for them?

Thank goodness they’d made it out of there in time.

“I only just heard about it. How’s Mr. Rye? Is he still in the Intensive Care Unit?” A dashing young man asked.

The woman nodded. “Yeah. He’s suffered terrible bone fractures in all four limbs, and he’s still in the ICU ward—but thankfully his life is not in danger!”

“Blast! Who could be behind such savagery? I know… it must have been Mayberry.”

“Hey! Don’t talk about that here!” the guy snapped at her, causing her to shut her own mouth.

Richard lingered nearby, easily within sight of them. Why did he do this?

Because he recognized that dashing young man.

Face still beaten up from that fiasco at the Emperor Karaoke Bar, it was none other than Jake!

Having overheard their discussion concerning a ‘Mr. Rye’, he finally saw the picture now.

It was most likely the great Damien Rye himself. So that scoundrel had been admitted to this hospital.

It appeared that all these people—including that horrendous harpy—were from Rye Group.

Vroom, vroom! Then, in a rumbling storm of engines, another fleet of a dozen cars appeared.

One would naturally assume they were with Jake and company.

That wasn’t all of them. More cars continued to follow from behind.

It stood to reason. Rye Group, under the Rye family, had long encroached upon Mayberry territory. Their roots ran deep.

They were a fierce gang of thugs.

Damien Rye was guaranteed to have powerful backers. No matter how hard anyone tried to cover things up, the events of that afternoon were simply too great to hide.

Chapter 102

Word about this whole incident, with the maiming of Damien Rye, was guaranteed to get out.

The question was how Damien himself would spin it.

“Do you know them, Richard?” Seeing all these powerful people gathering outside the hospital, Queta stood beside, feeling anxious.

“I know them; but they don’t know me.” Richard smiled wryly. “They’re just here to visit somebody. Never mind about it!”

“That gave me a fright! I thought that woman had summoned a bunch of thugs!” Queta gave a long sigh of relief.

After one last look at them, Richard turned to go. He drove Queta back to her place.

Zack Lyle had some dirt on Damien Rye, so the latter would probably hesitate to stir up further trouble.

Along the way, Richard didn’t forget to bring up that other matter, concerning a change in employment for Queta.

“By the way, Queta… interested in changing jobs?” he asked with a smile.

If she wanted to, she could have her pick of any position in Mayberry International. It wasn’t out of the cards to just build a kindergarten for her, either.

“I have also been meaning to ask you about this…” Queta replied. “Today, Manager Thornton told me that they might be interested in investing in the kindergarten, and even providing me with training at Sunnydale University! I’ll be attending some Psychology lectures there as soon as tomorrow!”

“Oh? That’s great!” Richard nodded.

Ah… at times the thoughtfulness of men is no match for the consideration of women.

Many universities held community classes for people who were already working a job, or who had never received a higher education themselves.

He’d actually had the same idea before—about getting Queta signed up for such classes—but he’d just never found the time.

Well, this was an agreeable turn of events. Sunnydale was on par with his own Mayberry University. Everyone said so.

Richard wanted to show her his own sincerity, so he promised that whenever he was free, he’d come see her at Sunnydale.

After dropping her off, he finally returned to his room at almost ten-thirty.

It had been an exhausting day. He fell asleep right away.

Two days passed without any incidents. Richard spent this time studying quietly in the library. Summer break would be coming soon—but before that, the term exams.

That same day, at around 10 a.m., Richard was attempting model questions in the library.

Suddenly, a sweet fragrance wafted over from his side.

It was the smell of a woman.

Turning to look, Richard found a tall girl taking the seat beside him.

Everyone knows what it’s like inside a university library—particularly star students such as Richard— research and revision were going on non-stop, and the place was packed to the brim.

Richard had been occupying this spot since 5.30 in the morning.

It started to get a little crowded in there.

The girl was tall, slender, and statuesque, with skin as fair as porcelain. Long hair cascaded down to her waist. She was a serene, captivating beauty.

One could tell that it wouldn’t have been her first choice to sit down next to some guy—but it was the only empty seat left.

This was compounded by how all the guys had been eyeing on her since she came in, causing her to feel terribly self-conscious. Richard meanwhile was fully engrossed in his studies, which afforded her some small measure of reprieve.

Blushing faintly, she gave him a little nod and a smile, then sat down and opened her book.

Resting her head upon one hand, turning the pages with the other… she was a mesmerizing portrait to behold.

“Damn it, that babe went and sat over there!”

“Come on! I’m a hundred times better looking than that turd! Ah, I can’t take this!”

Jealous cries arose from the local menfolk.

“Ah-choo!” Meanwhile, inhaling the scent of a woman elicited a great sneeze from Richard.

Immediately realizing that it was her own perfume at fault here, the girl flushed bright red, and began edging her chair away from him.

But for Richard, this unfortunate event was only the beginning.

He lowered his head to focus on his work.

Drip. Splat.

All of a sudden, his nose was on fire—and then blood began to trickle out from it, dripping onto the papers before him.

He needed a tissue, right now!

Fidgeting about anxiously, he saw that the girl had turned away from him, her head laid upon one hand with discretion. Her other hand, however, surreptitiously extended a pack of tissues his way.

Her face was similar to a sight of a wildfire, blazing red.

As for Richard, right then he’d wish for nothing better than to find a hole to crawl into…

… and then maybe he’d just die there.

—

Richard couldn’t remain in the library a moment longer. Wiping the blood from his nose, he promptly fled the scene.

His life was over.

He couldn’t even help himself! First off: That girl was simply fine as hell! What a body!

She was the sort of goddess that average guys weren’t even allowed to dream about.

And that fragrance she’d been wearing… so intoxicating, his very nose had been aroused.

Sigh. A beauty of that caliber most likely came from a wealthy background.

What sort of ordinary man could win her attention?

Hold on! Wasn’t he, himself, a wealthy fellow? Gah! How did he keep forgetting about this?

Richard shook his head wryly.

He tried to peek into the library through a window—but by some strange coincidence, that girl had her head turned, and was presently looking out the very same window. She watched him curiously.

Their eyes met—and then she hurriedly dropped her gaze.

Richard decided not to keep staring at her, either.

With a guilty little start, he remembered that he had Mila, now. He shouldn’t be ogling at other chicks like this. Anyways, there would always be a pretty girl around the next corner—he couldn’t very well go falling for each and every one of them!

That wasn’t the way of Richard Crawford, no.

Fighting to suppress the surging tides of his heart, he realized that he wouldn’t be able to concentrate on his revision like this.

It was almost noon. He’d made a date with Queta to meet her for lunch at Sunnydale University, where she’d been taking professional courses the past couple of days. He hadn’t gone to see her there yet.

He drove over to Sunnydale which, like Mayberry University, was located in the Mayberry University District—further proof of its equivalent prestige.

Fortunately, this meant that the two campuses weren’t located too far apart. It took him roughly twenty minutes to get over there.

“Richard!” Having received his call, Queta was already waiting at the gates.

They exchanged a few pleasantries upon meeting each other again.

“Hop in, let’s go eat!” Richard gave her a smile.

“No need for that, Richard. Let it be my treat today!” Queta suddenly replied, with an air of mystery.

“Why this, all of a sudden?”

“Well… today’s my birthday, you see.” Queta’s voice fell to a whisper. “I used to have no friends or family—no one to celebrate my birthday with. Now I have you. You’ve helped me with so much… this is the least I could do for you!”

“It’s just that… Richard, is the cafeteria okay with you?”

At the end of the day, Richard Crawford was a rich young heir. Although Queta already knew he wouldn’t cause a fuss over this, she felt compelled to ask nonetheless.

Richard scratched his head. “Now I see why you called to ask me out yesterday… So today was your birthday! You should have said something—I don’t even have a gift ready!”

“I don’t need one. Just share a meal with me!”

Since Queta put it that way, there was nothing more Richard could add. Still, it was her birthday—he couldn’t actually allow her to pay today… and if this was really her first time ever celebrating it, they should be doing more than this.

As such, Richard chose instead to go to Surati, a Western-styled restaurant in Sunnydale campus. Back when he used to run with Aiden Baker and his lot, he’d often hear about those big spenders going on about this joint.

It was a nice enough place. Pretty expensive, obviously, but since Richard had asked to come here, Queta voiced no objections, and followed him inside.

Classic symphonies greeted them. At this hour of the day, there were already quite a few patrons within—all finely dressed kids from families rolling in dough.

—

Queta and Richard walked in, dressed plainly.

The sight of them elicited disdainful scowls from many of the women in the restaurant.

“Isn’t that Queta Smith? She came here, to Surati?”

Next, a group of four or five girls and guys entered as well. As they walked past the table where Richard and Queta were seated, some of them stopped in their tracks to stare at Queta in surprise. A playful spark flitted through those eyes.

“Linda…oh, hey, everybody…” Queta blushed as she greeted them, setting her food down and clutching her dress nervously.

Linda was fetchingly made-up and wore a form-fitting little black dress that only barely covered her butt.

Her female friends were clad in similarly risqué fashions, while the guys had piercings which announced their considerable social statuses.

It should be fair to assume that these were Queta’s classmates.

They had such teacher training courses at Richard’s university too. You get all sorts in there.

Some were rich brats who’d failed to qualify for other courses. Some were small-business entrepreneurs. Some were regular working stiffs.

The rich brats attended classes mainly to pick up chicks.

The pretty young things there were hoping to find a sugar daddy.

The rest were like Queta—genuinely here to learn something.

“Hahaha… surely you can’t afford this place, Queta?” Linda hugged her shoulders, grinning at Queta with delight. Clearly, putting Queta down like this made Linda feel like she really was somebody.

Particularly because when classes first began two days ago, one of the rich boys had raised the topic in class as to who the prettiest girl among their classmates was.

At first, Linda had been all for it…but then, after the votes had been cast, the winner turned out to be Queta!

There had been joking invitations for her to come up front and present an acceptance speech for this honor, but Queta had so far paid no attention to their jibes and their attempts to chat her up.

However, this only further antagonized the competitive Linda, who’d never once lost to anyone in terms of looks. After all, wasn’t it said that the greatest cruelty to inflict upon a woman was to name another woman as being more beautiful than her? Even if they admitted it out loud, it’s still such a heartwrenching thing.

So it was for Linda, and to make matters worse, she’d lost to some penniless tramp!

“It’s my birthday today and I’m treating a friend to lunch!” Queta wasn’t oblivious to Linda’s enmity towards her, so she only offered her a simple reply and no more.

“Good heavens, is this your treat? I’m guessing this guy’s your boyfriend, then?”

Another one of the girls joined in. “Ahahaha! Someone has to say it: the two of you are a perfect match! Look at what you’re both wearing!”

“Quit sulking, you two. They’re only some steaks and fruit juice,” one of the guys with them pointed out, shaking his head. “It’s our class beauty Queta’s birthday today, let her enjoy herself. Stop causing a scene!”

‘Class beauty’, he’d said. Linda couldn’t let that pass.

“But look, you guys! They’re only having the bare minimum here! Someone’s celebrating her birthday, but I bet they can’t even afford a cake! Looking at the two of them, I’m guessing she had to spend all of her life savings just to be in here! Gahahahaha!

“Well, I shan’t interrupt you any further. No wonder Queta’s neighbors were talking about how she never eats any dinner—and that even for lunch, all she has is one bowl of plain rice. Here I thought she was just watching her figure, but I guess she just doesn’t have much money for food!”

Having spoken her piece for the moment, Linda harrumphed, folded her arms, and stalked off.

“We’re going now. You’ll have no more trouble from us. After all, we’ll still have to accompany Finn to Miss Liara’s birthday party afterwards. Isn’t that right, Finn?” Linda made a show of clinging to a young man’s arm and finally left.

Having been humiliated like that, Queta bowed her head and kept silent. She didn’t eat another bite. A moment later, Richard saw hot tears winding their way down her cheeks.

Chapter 103

“I’m sorry, Richard. I’ve disgraced you too,” Queta wept. “I shouldn’t have come here, to a place like this!”

It was her birthday today and she was spending it with her only friend in the world. Even Queta’s feelings would be hurt by such ridicule.

No one understood her feelings better than Richard. He too had once been poor. Whenever his pride had been trampled on like that, it felt like he was being stabbed through the heart.

When Queta was being attacked by those girls, Richard had wanted to retaliate.

But if he’d done that, how much more would Queta suffer in class with them from that point onwards? Anyway, he hadn’t really understood what was going on until the end, just as they were walking away, and it’s not as though Richard could chase after them and give them five across the face, right?

“Don’t mind it. The day will be over before you know it,” Richard consoled her. “What you’ve got to do right now is work hard at your studies!”

He wondered if he ought to ask Aiden to help look after her here.

Queta nodded vigorously.

“Wait right here for me. I’ve got to go get something. I’ll be right back!” Richard told her with a smile, and then slipped outside.

He was going to get her a cake.

Earlier, he’d placed an order online with a dessert shop on campus.

Outside, he had encountered two dozen young men and women crowding around a girl with sunglasses.

They had all gone inside together and everyone was wearing the latest fashions.

Richard didn’t have any interest in them. Perhaps he’d heard that Linda girl mention something about someone’s birthday? That was probably her, then.

Whatever.

Richard found the dessert shop, which was just close to Surati. It took him another fifteen minutes to secure the cake and then he headed back.

Now there was a massive crowd of students outside the restaurant. They were peering in through the entrance, with some even taking pictures on their cell phones.

Something must have happened.

“Hot d*mn! I guess that girl must have pissed off Miss Liara! Really, now… of all the people to pick a fight with!”

“Lucky that it’s Miss Liara’s birthday today and she doesn’t want to make too big a fuss over it— otherwise, that girl would be done for!”

“But what exactly did she do wrong?”

“Seems like there was an old grudge from before. Sad…she’s quite the beauty. This is gonna be tragic!”

The onlookers were all in heated discussion over the matter.

Ignoring everything else, Richard pushed his way through the crowd, and got a great shock!

Several girls were pulling Queta’s hair and holding her down on the floor.

One woman sat imperiously before her, one leg crossed over the other.

Queta’s face was red and raw, as though she’d been hit.

“Let her go!” Richard roared. Charging in, he shoved away the girls around Queta.

“Hmph! So it really was the two of you…” The woman in charge here rose to her feet. “I’ve searched high and low to no avail, but in the end you came to me on your own!”

Now that she’d opened her mouth to speak, Richard finally remembered who she was.

It was the woman he’d quarrelled with, that night at the hospital.

She had connections to Damien Rye.

He hadn’t recognized her right away because she was made up in a different style today.

“Well? Why did this have to come to violence?” Richard hollered in fury.

—

“Violence, you say? Heh! You were lucky you escaped the hospital when you did, let me tell you…otherwise, you would’ve been admitted there that night!” the young woman cackled. “I’ve been searching for the two of you so I can get my revenge—how nice of you to allow me to find you here instead!”

“Miss Liara, is this the punk who was bothering you last time?”

“Pfft. Just a couple of losers. And here I thought it might be someone special and that’s why we couldn’t track them down. You must be tired of being alive, huh? Trying to start something with our Miss Liara!”

Several men were posturing hopefully for Liara’s approval.

“Miss Liara, I know these two! The girl is one of my classmates. Her name is Queta Smith. That guy seems to be her boyfriend!”

Linda finally understood what was going on here. One moment they’d been welcoming Miss Liara, and the next, she was pointing at Queta and shrieking for someone to grab her.

And then, Miss Liara slapped Queta right across the face.

So… Queta had been stupid enough to draw Miss Liara’s ire.

Beside herself with excitement, Linda scrambled to tell on the offending duo.

Liara was a big-time celebrity in Sunnydale University, with Rye Group behind her and all.

She was one of the empresses of the campus, haughty and forbidding. No one dared to cross her.

In fact, matters of reputation played a major part in why Liara was holding such a grudge against them. That night, she’d planned to put on a big show in front of her uncle’s men. That was why she’d showed up all of a sudden, aiming to be the first one on the scene to take charge of everything.

Instead, she’d crossed paths with an ignorant fool who wouldn’t allow her to cut in line.

Damn him! He deserved the worst fate imaginable.

She was the renowned Miss Liara! If not for the sake of appearances, would she even have bothered with getting in line?

What a joke!

The point was that she was very upset over the whole affair. She’d managed to keep it bottled up at the time, until they were finished with visiting Uncle Damien. Then, she’d summoned a small army of men to hunt down Richard, but he’d slipped through the net.

And yet, what a beautiful coincidence this was!

“Hey, seize that guy too!” Liara shrieked jubilantly. “Ahaha! This is the best birthday present I could possibly receive! I’m going to enjoy this to the fullest!”

Immediately, Richard was pinned down by a whole horde of guys.

He hadn’t expected that girl to be a student here at Sunnydale.

“Liara, your beef is with me! She’s got nothing to do with this—let her go!”

Held down and unable to escape, Richard knew that his time had finally come.

But what about Queta? She was completely innocent.

“Hahaha! So this is true love! But the more you beg me to let her go, the more I want to punish her too! I’m going to make an example of you two! You over there, give them each a sharp slap across the face! And you, start streaming this live! Make sure everyone knows what happens to those who cross Miss Liara!” This last command was directed toward Linda and was accompanied by a huge grin.

This appointment caused Linda to puff up with pride.

Her main goals in university were to catch a big fish and to make powerful friends. That was how she would get ahead in life.

All of a sudden, she was this close to Miss Liara already?

Sneering wickedly, she moved to stand in front of Richard and Queta.

“You heard it yourself—I’m carrying this out by Miss Liara’s command. Blame yourself for not knowing your place, like ants railing against the heavens, hahaha!”

Smack! Smack! She meted out the punishment upon Richard and Queta as ordered.

Quite a number of students were streaming this scene on their phones. Naturally, many of them had been doing so right from the start.

“Holy cow! Elena, check this out! Miss Liara is staging a public execution in Surati Restaurant! Who’s the unlucky fellow who ticked her off? LMAO!”

In a girls’ dorm somewhere, someone was announcing this news flash.

“Gosh, she’s even appointed a professional headswoman…what a drama queen!” another girl exclaimed. “Elena, let’s get down there now and see it for ourselves!”

“I’m not going!” Or so she said, but Elena glanced over at the video anyway before turning away again in disinterest, and flopping down in bed to continue using her phone.

A long moment passed, and then…

“What the hell?”

—

Elena was just about to take an afternoon nap, but now she was wide awake.

She snatched up her handphone for a closer look, and her heart flip-flopped between joy and alarm. Still wearing her pajamas, she raced to the cafeteria.

Joy, because the man who had been in her thoughts had somehow appeared in her campus.

Alarm, because…good lord, was Richard Crawford being abused on live-stream?

Meanwhile, at the Sunnydale University Fight Club…

It was a large organization, created at the whim of some rich kid or other, which went on in a particular corner of the campus.

This club boasted many members—over three hundred in total.

Presently, in the fighting ring…

“Yeah! Awesome!”

One of the fighters had just knocked down his opponent with a masterful technique. The spectators burst into uproarious applause.

“Water!” The fighter shrugged his shoulders as he walked out, and was immediately greeted by a disciple, who uncapped a water bottle and presented it to him. After several mouthfuls of water had been gulped down, the rest of the bottle was flung aside.

“Wow, you’re amazing! So cool!” Several pretty young things, phones in hand, dove into his arms with ingratiating smiles.

“Cool, you say?” The man harrumphed. “You think I didn’t notice how you girls were staring at your phones the whole time? Something interesting there? More interesting than my fights?”

“Tee-hee…we were watching that Liara mess somebody up. Have a look—she’s teaching some unlucky bum a lesson!” The girls showed him the ongoing live-stream.

“God d*mn, Crawford—” The fighter stiffened, and pushed aside the fawning girls.

“What’s wrong, Aiden?” They sulked.

“Hurry, get my guys! Tell them to run to Surati!”

The fighter was none other than Aiden Baker!

Hearing his command, the assembled disciples raced for Surati Restaurant without delay.

Even Aiden’s close friend, Yancy Zimmerman, was summoned.

Over at Surati Restaurant, Linda had just delivered her third slap to Richard’s face.

“Hoo hoo…you dare mess with Miss Liara? I’m gonna kick your ass!” With each passing moment, she was enjoying this more and more. As she raised her hand for a fourth strike, someone shouted, “Holy crap! Aiden Baker and his guys are here! A whole lot of guys!”

The crowd at the restaurant’s entrance instantly scattered wide.

A couple hundred people were charging this way.

“Yo! Aiden came, too? Heh, that’s sweet of him…so he heard about what I’m doing here and has come to help out?” Liara stood to greet him.

It was a bit of courtesy on her part. Although Liara was not one of Aiden’s subordinates herself, she nevertheless recognized his tremendous influence within Sunnydale. They usually got along well with each other.

However, when Aiden reached them and Liara made to welcome his arrival, she heard him holler instead.

“D*mn it! Beat them up! Beat everyone here into the ground!”

With a shout, his fighters surged in. The men holding Richard captive were instantly knocked senseless.

Even the furniture was being smashed to pieces, and as for Liara’s personal entourage… not a single person was spared from this violence!

Liara was on the verge of going mad, staring wide-eyed at the scene before her.

“What in heaven’s name… Aiden, have you lost your mind? It’s me, Liara! How dare you attack my people!”

Aiden marched up and slapped Liara hard. Whap!

“You dumb broad. I’ll make you pay for this!”

Then he hurried to Richard’s side. “Richard…Richard, are you okay?” Now, Aiden was drenched in a cold sweat.

Richard rubbed his sore cheeks. His wrath would be legendary.

If Aiden hadn’t come to his rescue, what might this crowd have done to him?

Thank goodness he’d been saved in time.

“Richard, this woman who’s been hitting you… what would you have us do with her?” Holding a handful of Linda’s hair, Yancy dragged the would-be executioner before him.

She was on the clawing edge of hysteria.

Chapter 104

Yancy Zimmerman was an august personage in this campus and Aiden Baker even more so.

And they’d come in here with a veritable army to rescue this Richard person.

What was the connection, here?

What’s more…they were actually taking orders from him?

“What are you waiting for? I want the stuffing beaten out of her!” Aiden roared.

Yancy dragged Linda away and barked for the guys to start smacking her about.

“You’re totally barking mad! Aiden Baker, are you really going to make an enemy of me…for the sake of these two nobodies?” This turn of events had happened too abruptly for Liara to make any sense of it.

Aiden…how dare he treat her like this?

“Hah!” Aiden sneered coldly. “That’s right—and what can you do about it? You’re just another whore under Rye Group!”

“No way! You dare insult me?”

Smack!

Humiliation turning to rage, Liara lunged forward to attack Aiden, only to be knocked back to ground with another ringing slap.

Blood was trickling from a corner of her mouth, now.

Liara couldn’t understand it at all. Was Aiden on drugs or something?

But worst of all was the way everyone was watching her right now, as though they couldn’t believe their own eyes.

And Aiden wasn’t even done with her yet.

At that moment, Liara’s phone rang. The caller was identified as ‘Captain’.

Her eyes lit up and she took the call straight away. “Captain, I need your help! Hurry, or else your boss will never see me again!” She wept into the phone.

The captain spoke emotionlessly, “Yes, Miss Liara. Someone’s already called me. Could you pass the phone to Mr. Baker?”

The hell she would! Liara switched the call to speakerphone, for everyone to hear.

“Hello, Mr. Baker. There must be some misunderstanding going on here…” the captain called out. “I’m sure you’re well aware whose woman Miss Liara is!”

“I couldn’t care less how close she is to William Rye. Even if she were Henry Rye’s personal plaything, that still wouldn’t stop me now!”

What a joke! Aiden knew very well who Richard’s sister was—Jessica Crawford and all her family held power beyond measure. There wasn’t even any question as to whose side to take!

Put it this way—if it had been Madam Jessica in his place here, there would be much more than a mere beatdown going on!

“Alright, I can see you Mayberry people have no regard for Rye Group whatsoever. Mr. Baker, no one would deny Mayberry’s clout, but you’ve only been around the block for a dozen years or so. Why don’t you go home and ask your daddy how long Rye Group has been doing things?”

The captain was spitting out every word now. “To attack Mr. Rye’s woman like this is no different from attacking Mr. Rye himself!”

Liara could feel her courage returning. “Heh…let me tell you, Aiden Baker… my boyfriend is none other than William Rye himself! He’s back in the country these days, and when he finds out what happened to me…Your Mayberry people have some influence, sure, but you’d still try to get along with the Rye family, don’t you? Your dad’s under Zack Lyle, and even if Mr. Lyle were to cover for you, it would still have to be for a good reason, right? Hah!”

Aiden Baker wasn’t invincible. There were matters that went over his own head.

In this regard, he turned to Richard. If Richard ordered the assault to continue, there would be no hesitation and nothing to fear!

But Richard kept silent. Apparently, one of Aiden’s subordinates had supplied him with a taser.

He walked up and stuck Liara with it. Zap!

Liara’s whole body tensed up and then she collapsed to the floor, convulsing.

With some things, one had to endure, take a step back, and see the bigger picture. But when she’d started talking about how Rye Group would have her back, Richard had lost his temper.

Truly, there was no escaping some feuds.

Last time, he’d nearly been made a cripple by Damien Rye. To tell the truth, he still hadn’t gotten over that incident.

And then today, this Liara girl had disgraced him. If Richard held in his anger any longer, it might kill him!

It had all started with Damien Rye—and now he had to settle a score with Rye Group…

This was enough for now, and there was no hope in continuing with lunch, so Richard took Queta and left with the others.

A solemn hush fell over the onlooking crowd.

“My gosh, that guy’s name was Richard, wasn’t it? He looked like a total loser, but it turns out he’s a total bad-ass! Even Aiden Baker was at his beck and call!”

“Yeah! It’s so depressing, man! I’ve heard that Yancy Zimmerman is filthy rich, too, but he looked like he was ready to lay down his life for that Richard tramp!”

“Are you guys retards? Still calling him names…don’t you get it? What was his name again?”

“Crawford, I think. Oh, crap! Could he be…?”

—

Richard was able to let off a lot of steam there. He’d never felt so good before.

However, he realized that things could get very complicated from here on out. Although he’d lived a modest life thus far, he at least understood this much.

Therefore, he decided he’d take this matter a little further. At the next opportunity, he’d have to sit down with Zack Lyle and Michael Zeke to discuss what had happened here.

He thanked Aiden and Elena for rushing over to his side before dismissing them.

The events of the day had left Queta frightened and humiliated. She was down in the dumps. Even her clothes had been ripped and torn by Liara’s gang. It broke Richard’s heart to see her like this.

Ultimately, it was his fault that this tragedy had to occur and that Queta had been dragged into it.

“Come on, I’m buying you new clothes!” Richard declared cheerfully.

“No…I’m fine like this, Richard!” Queta bowed her head.

“I insist. No matter what, I had gotten you into this mess. Anyway, it’s your birthday!” Dragging her along by the hand, he pulled her onto his car and brought her to a fancy clothing emporium filled with high-quality high-fashion items.

Richard bought two outfits for Queta all the while coaxing and consoling her. He promised something like today would never happen again.

He paid for the clothes, but just as they were about to leave…

“Richard, is that you?” A clear, feminine voice called out to him. The tone was laced with unexpected delight.

He turned to look. It was Naomi Milton. “Naomi!”

Naomi also had three other girls with her: Felicity Nelson, Yvonne Dunn, and Cassandra McGregor!

Well, it didn’t surprise Richard to see Naomi running with these girls. After all, there’d been that thing at Emperor Karaoke Bar a couple days back. That time, everyone had lost their minds, except for Naomi, who’d remained calm and advised Felicity to moderation and she’d been right: Jake had proven to be no trifle.

In that way, Naomi had also proven herself to be a voice of patience—something which Felicity felt she had a need for.

As for Yvonne, well…it wasn’t as though Felicity wasn’t aware that the girl mainly sought to benefit from her recent popularity. This was made especially obvious by how uncomfortable she was about Naomi joining their clique.

Naomi informed Richard that the afternoon following that incident, Felicity had invited her to help out around her workplace.

As for right now…naturally, both Felicity and Cassandra spotted Richard too, but neither one offered him greetings.

They only glanced at him, then began examining Queta, who was beside him.

“Richard, who’s this? What a beauty! Won’t you introduce her to us?” Naomi cajoled teasingly.

Richard handled the introductions. “This is my good friend, Queta Smith. Queta, this is Naomi Milton, that bro I’m always telling you about. She’s a real man among men!”

“Pleased to meet you!” Although in low spirits at the moment, having met the Naomi that Richard had told her so much about, she was delighted to shake hands.

—

It had barely been an hour since that catastrophe.

Richard didn’t want to talk about it in front of Felicity and the rest, so after greeting Naomi, he hurried Queta away.

“Hot d*mn, holy cow!” Yvonne exclaimed in frustration. “That Richard has some guts, huh? Felicity and the counselor are both here, but he didn’t even say a quick hello to them? You ladies saw it, too! He completely ignored us!”

To herself, Yvonne thought about how someone like Richard ought to show someone like her only the utmost courtesy and always mind his manners.

Instead, he’d snubbed them! Yvonne wouldn’t stand for it.

Neither Felicity nor Cassandra could believe how Richard had treated them, either.

They hadn’t greeted him, but he hadn’t greeted them, either. He’d grown some balls.

“Hmph! Loser! I couldn’t care less!” Felicity huffed.

“Alright, alright…leave Richard alone, now.” Naomi tried to salvage the situation. “I noticed he was in a bad mood just now. Something’s probably happened and he was too preoccupied to say hi, that’s all.”

“You don’t have to defend that person, Naomi. He’s free to do as he pleases. Hmph! Anyway, we’re going to Wayfair Mountain Entertainment later—we’d best hurry home and try on our new clothes! Isn’t that right, Felicity?”

Remembering that they’d be making a trip to that wonderful Wayfair Mountain Entertainment as soon as today, nothing could bring Yvonne down right now.

Felicity’s company superiors were having a friendly gathering at the villa. Since their top personality Felicity was one of Mayberry’s own, she was naturally entitled to bring a few guests along.

Now that Exceptional Live had risen to become a national-level media platform, they were worth a lot more these days. That meant better company vacations in nicer spots!

Suddenly, Naomi’s phone rang. She took the call, grunted in acknowledgement a couple of times, and then hung up.

Anxiously, she reported, “Felicity, that was the car rental service. Their driver has just left on urgent business and all their other drivers are at some wedding function, so there isn’t anyone to drive the Mercedes-Benz G-500 we reserved! They’ve asked if we’d be able to find our own driver!”

“What! The driver dumped us? D*mn it! It’s just one thing after another…” Felicity was fuming. “How am I supposed to find a driver last-minute to take us there? Anyway, I always hand-pick my drivers— they have to be good-looking! Every detail counts when going for an event like this!”

Really! Why did everything have to be so complicated?

“That’s right! Among us, only the counselor can drive, but as she’s going as a guest of honor, that’s out of the question!” Yvonne squealed. “Anyway, we can’t ask the counselor to serve as our driver!”

“Oh, I’ve just remembered that Richard has a driving licence! He could do it!” Naomi exclaimed. “Shall we ask him to be our driver, then? He’s even been to that villa before!”

The truth was that Naomi was serving a personal agenda of her own here.

Previously, Richard had really borne the appearance of someone who’d suddenly struck it rich, indulging in luxuries left and right. After a while, however, he’d gone right back to ground.

His classmates believed that he’d splurged it all away, and that was the end of it.

However, that brief period in the limelight had also left Richard with a nasty preoccupation with appearances.

Naomi hadn’t failed to notice this.

She was asking him to be their driver now because she knew that Felicity had commissioned their previous driver for nearly a thousand dollars.

A thousand bucks for an afternoon’s work. It was a lovely arrangement.

Yvonne was the first to protest. “No, no way! Naomi, didn’t you hear what Felicity said? We need a good-looking driver, not some crass dork like Richard! Forget about it!”

Felicity, however, arched one eyebrow and murmured, “Hmm…I actually think Naomi’s suggestion has some merit. Crass and dorky though he may be, Richard has a certain innocence about him which is rather refreshing. Mm-hmm…our old dorm-mate Xavia wasn’t entirely without taste. I’ll just need to give him a bit of a makeover and he might even do very well as our driver!”

“Okay. Let’s give him a shot, then! He can drive, after all!” Cassandra raised no disagreement.

“Alright. Naomi, give Richard a call. Tell him I’d like him to be our driver!”

Chapter 105

“Richard, are you busy later?” Naomi asked, when Richard took her call.

“Who, me? No, I’m not busy!” He was sending Queta back to campus. Once she was in class, he’d obviously be free.

“Oh. I’ve found you some side income. A thousand bucks for a day’s work. It’s a simple job: Felicity needs a driver. I know you’re not hurting for money these days, but a little extra scratch never hurts, right? What do you say?” Naomi presented the proposal delicately.

She knew he’d just about used up his windfall already, but she spoke with tact nevertheless as she was also aware that Richard had become an image-conscious person. He’d even developed a taste for fine clothes!

But for all that, he was still a bro and nothing had changed that between them.

Honestly, when Felicity’s name came up, Richard had wanted to decline—not least because he knew Yvonne and Cassandra would probably also be involved. It would be a madhouse, being caught between those chattering hens.

Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to turn down Naomi’s goodwill.

After a slight pause, Richard nodded his head and agreed after all. It was all for Naomi’s sake.

“Alright! First, I’ll need you to get back here. We’re going to buy you some things and dress you up!” Naomi laughed happily over the phone.

Richard sighed in exasperation and turned the car around.

As the girls’ captive, he was given an expensive suit and a pair of leather shoes, all of which he had to put on right away.

It had to be said that Felicity, despite her aloofness towards him all this while, had to admit to being a little smitten when she saw Richard in those handsome clothes. She almost complimented him, even…

But then she saw him carefully folding up his old clothes, as though intending to take them with him.

Oh, dear…still just a loser, after all.

“These are fine clothes. Don’t wear them out in a hurry, Richard! Between the cost of this outfit and some spending money for you as our driver, you’re getting well over a thousand bucks out of this!” Cassandra remarked with arms folded.

“Yes, I see.” Richard could only smile and nod.

“Oh? Richard, is that your new phone?” Naomi had just now spotted what he held in his hand.

He nodded. “Yup! Just got it a few days ago!”

“Whoa, that looks pretty sweet! Pass it here!” Yvonne peered at the device, her interest piqued. Without waiting for permission, she reached over and snatched it away.

One look at it, and she squealed. “My gosh…Felicity, Cassandra, look at this! This is the latest model, new on the market…it goes for over four thousand bucks! Richard, is this yours?”

As a matter of fact, the most expensive smartphone she’d ever owned, she’d paid for it by installments, to a total of one thousand dollars.

Richard, the poor man of their class, used a phone worth four times as much?

“No kidding!” Felicity gasped when she saw it, in spite of herself.

“Richard, I don’t know when you’ve become such a show-off—but for a guy like you to buy a phone like this, what were you thinking? Felicity is at the top of her game right now and her phone only costs half as much! You’re just a student with no steady income, so how can you splurge like this? How many times must I tell you?” This came from Cassandra, the counselor.

It was as though someone had stepped on her tail.

Only a moment ago, she’d been lecturing Richard about a set of clothes worth a few hundred bucks…and then he’d whipped out this four-thousand-dollar phone! Where did that leave her?

“Exactly! Why did you get something so expensive? Were you trying to impress some rich kids? Ahh…some people simply don’t have class. Don’t you know, Richard? Only poor people go for things like this, people with money just buy the cheaper models!” Having suffered some affront from this, Yvonne eagerly joined in the harassment.

—

“Yes. You’re right. Of course.” Richard just nodded away compliantly.

There was no point in arguing. He’d let them talk.

Next, they brought him to the car rental company, where they collected the Mercedes-Benz, and set out for Wayfair Mountain Entertainment.

Now they were back on track.

Richard had to open the door politely for Felicity to step out from the car. The other girls followed after and they were all greeted warmly by the staff at the villa.

Why was the villa showing such consideration for Exceptional Live?

It was simple: though neither Exceptional Live nor that upcoming Yorknorth Mountain event was that big a deal, the sponsors behind them were. Ultimately, Michael Zeke was trying to put on a show to impress Richard Crawford.

As she posed for the photographers, Felicity turned and muttered under her breath to Richard, who had been about to follow them inside, “Very good, Richard. Now take the car to the parking lot and wait for us there. You’d best stay clear of the event proper, lest you blow your own cover and embarrass us all! Regarding dinner, you can buy yourself some bread if you get hungry—it’s not like they’re serving the kind of food you’re used to eating.”

Clearly, she thought he was likely to say something that might embarrass her.

Unbelievable! One day, she’d get her just desserts!

Richard had had it up to here with Felicity. He had his pride too, for crying out loud! Couldn’t she show him at least a little respect?

Cursing in silence, Richard could do nothing but comply and bring the car to the parking lot.

He couldn’t reveal his true identity, one way or the other.

Of course, Richard wasn’t going to just hang around here like a fool.

He’d already decided that while he was here, he’d seek out Zack Lyle and Michael Zeke to discuss about Rye Group.

When he arrived at Michael’s office, the man was reading a newspaper. When he saw Richard, he shot to his feet, caught by surprise.

Moments later, Zack hurried over to join them.

Richard recounted recent events to them and they in turn shared what they knew about Rye Group.

In summary, Rye Group pre-dated all their other organizations and was a stone-cold criminal family.

In this Mayberry region, they were big shots. As business continued to grow, Henry Rye established a formal group, going legitimate.

However, for all the legitimate businesses they conducted, some of the things they did…well, Richard had some first-hand experience. One example would be when Chad and Danny Xanders attacked William Rye, and then the Xander family vanished overnight. Then there was Damien Rye, who commanded his own private army of thugs.

The reason Zack Lyle maintained cordial relations with them was because of their might. The vast network of people who served them, as well as their extensive underworld connections, made them a force to be reckoned with.

Peace begets prosperity, after all.

By now, Richard had a much clearer understanding of the state of the game. Then his phone rang. It was his elder sister Jessica, whom he hadn’t spoken to for over a fortnight now.

“What are you up to, Richard?” she began.

“Nothing much. Just having dinner with Zack Lyle and Michael Zeke!” Richard answered brightly, deciding that Jessica didn’t need to know about all this. At the end of the day, she was grooming him to eventually take over the whole Mayberry Commercial Street. If he went running to his sister for help with every little thing, what sort of worth would he be demonstrating?

“That’s great. I’m calling to let you know that I’ll be paying a visit to Mayberry in three days’ time and I want to see my precious baby brother. Hahaha!”

“Oh? You’re coming here?”

“Yup—and I’ll have some earth-shattering news to deliver to you, too!”

—

“What’s the big news?”

Richard froze. However, hearing that his sister would be coming, he thought back to one year ago, when she and both his parents had gone abroad to work off some debts, and how he’d never seen them since. This was a truly exciting prospect.

Of course, that was just a story they’d made up to tell him.

“Ahahaha…you’ll find out when I tell you! Alright, eat your dinner!”

Doot… doot…With that, Jessica had hung up.

Zack Lyle and Michael Zeke were turning pale. “Mr. Crawford? Will Director Jessica be coming here?”

“Yup, that’s right!” Richard replied. “Three days from now! No idea why!”

The two men looked as though they were going to be ill. They must be terrified of his sister.

Next, Richard had dinner with them and talked about simpler things.

Three or four hours crawled slowly by.

“I say, where are you, Richard?” Felicity just called him directly. She sounded most displeased.

Richard checked the time. Whoops, it was already well past eight!

There was a rule at these hot springs: After sunset, no one was to make too much noise. Remembering that time when some celebrity starlet was trying to sneak a dip in the baths, and nearly started a fight with him…

…what more a grand function like tonight.

“Oh! I’ll bring the car around right away!” Hanging up, he fetched the car and picked up Felicity and friends, who were ready to leave for the night.

“Blast! Did you do this on purpose, Richard? What did I instruct you? When the party’s about to finish, have the car ready nearby! Instead, you were nowhere to be found!” The moment she got into the car, Felicity started chewing his ear off.

“On purpose? Perish the thought! It’s just that you forbade me from stepping inside there, so how was I to know when the party would be ending?” Richard whined.

“Y-y-you…just for that, you’re only getting half pay tonight!” Yvonne snapped.

“Gosh, what an utter failure you are!”

When the guests came out, some of the other drivers had already been standing by at the entrance, but where had hers been? Even when she’d walked all the way out to the car, the man himself had been nowhere in sight. The shame of it!

“I’ll drop you ladies off at our campus and then I’ll return this car!” Richard muttered.

“Back to campus? Forget that!” Yvonne snapped. “We haven’t had enough fun yet tonight—we want to head to Emperor so we can sing all night long. Am I right, Felicity?”

It had actually been a marvellous evening already, and they’d gotten to see Wayfair Mountain Entertainment. However, the girls were reluctant to call it a night, including Cassandra.

Especially Cassandra. Several of Felicity’s superiors had gotten her drinks and even asked for her number. Back then, she would have only been too delighted.

Now, though, her heart belonged to Ordinary Man.

Nevertheless, she’d felt very flattered.

“Yeah, send us to Emperor Karaoke, then return the car!” Cassandra said pleasantly.

There was nothing for it but to do as he’d been told before finally driving himself back to campus.

“Gosh…what do you think? A guy like Richard—what kind of woman would be willing to be with him?”

In their own private room, the girls were drinking and chatting together as music played.

For want of a better topic of conversation, their thoughts strayed back to Richard.

“Heh! Speaking honestly, a guy like him has no hope of getting himself a girlfriend. Even if he gets married one day, it won’t be to any great beauty, and even if she is, she’ll most likely be used goods. The reasons are simple—one, he’s dead broke; and two, he’s a total loser!” Felicity was drunk now and spoke with little restraint.

“You’re wrong… Richard has a girlfriend! You may not be aware of this, but…she’s a radio DJ and she’s really pretty!” Naomi didn’t feel comfortable listening to them insult Richard like this.

“Pah. Wasn’t Xavia pretty too? And what happened there?” Yvonne sneered, then perked up as she broached another topic. “Oh, yeah! Speaking of which…Felicity, what kind of guy are you looking for?”

“Oh, me? Well…he’s gotta be hot, of course—that’s one. Two, he has to be able to afford me. Three, um…someone from an influential family. Four, someone nice. Five, willing to spend lots of money on me. Six…”

“Good heavens, couldn’t you just say that you’re looking for someone like Ordinary Man?”

Chapter 106

Yvonne burst into laughter.

Cassandra, who had been standing beside Yvonne, started acting slightly awkwardly. The truth was, that inside, she was filled with jealousy.

“And you counselor, what kind of future husband are you looking for?”

Yvonne repeated her question.

“I’m just looking for someone humble. A solemn and mature man who is sensible as well as knowledgeable. Not to sound overly materialistic, but he should also be a well-to-do man since we, as women, will be relying on them for support for the rest of our lives.”

Cassandra ended her explanation with a faint smile.

Another burst of laughter escaped Yvonne’s mouth. “So what you’re saying is that you’re looking for someone like Ordinary Man. After all, he’s just a regular person who’s a bit more sensible and solemn. Speaking of which, what do you think he looks like? Handsome? Or could he just be some ugly person?”

“Definitely not ugly!”

“Far from ugly!”

Both Cassandra and Felicity yelled in unison after Cassandra’s question.

Felicity threw an odd gaze toward Cassandra.

Cassandra seemed a bit too nervous. Felicity could tell that something was definitely off.

Felicity recalled the moment when she had given Cassandra Ordinary Man’s contact information. It was to allow Cassandra to help investigate which class Ordinary Man came from.

Back then she didn’t think much about it.

But after what happened after… The more Felicity thought about it, the more she felt that something was amiss.

She was so nervous earlier… Could Cassandra have fallen in love with Ordinary Man as well?

Women certainly were the most selfish creatures on Earth.

Ordinary Man was nothing short of outstanding and rich. After all, he was able to allow people from Exceptional Live to host a social gathering at Wayfair Mountain Entertainment.

It was quite possible that Ordinary Man’s true identity was the mysterious Mr. Crawford.

No woman could ever say no to a man like that.

‘I may have been a little too careless…’ thought Felicity to herself.

No one said anything after their answer, and the situation itself became rather awkward.

At that moment, the private room’s door creaked open.

“Excuse me… Is Miss McGregor here?”

At the door, stood a bodyguard who had a black suit and earphones on.

“That would be me. Is there something I can help with?” asked Cassandra.

“Allow me to introduce myself, Miss McGregor. I’m Mr. Lexington’s driver and he’s invited four of you to a meal at Homeland Kitchen. A feast has been prepared as a form of apology. I’ve been ordered to pick you up,” explained the bodyguard.

“Ah, I see.”

Cassandra nodded after saying that. Though she was still slightly confused, she found no problem with it. Flynn respected her and he was definitely feeling guilty about what had happened the other day.

What more, Flynn was Richard’s subordinate and he definitely knew that she had a good relationship with Richard.

While she thought about it, Cassandra realized she had yet to tell Felicity that Ordinary Man was indeed, Richard.

But how did Flynn know how to find her? She considered the fact that it could be because they were all currently in Flynn’s territory.

After pondering about it for a while, Cassandra eventually decided to call Flynn up to express her thanks.

However, her call led straight to his voicemail.

“Let’s just go. Homeland Kitchen isn’t too far off from here. It wouldn’t be wise to make Mr. Lexington wait for too long,” said Yvonne.

Cassandra simply nodded in response. “That’s true. Alright, start up the engine, and let’s be on our way.” The driver nodded and led the way to his car.

A black Rolls-Royce was parked right outside the door.

Entering the vehicle, it wasn’t long before they were on their way to Homeland Kitchen.

Homeland Kitchen was located in Mayberry Commercial Street but from where they currently were, it would only take them about seven minutes to get there.

However, the driver didn’t stop the car even after they had passed the street. In fact, he drove on and on till Mayberry Commercial Street could barely be seen anymore. They were headed west now.

“Um, we’ve passed by Homeland Kitchen!”

Said Yvonne who had been sitting next to the driver all this time.

“Don’t worry, I noticed. We’re not going to this Homeland Kitchen. Our enterprise has just established a new branch, west of the city. We’re going there instead.”

While he said that, a faint smile formed briefly on his face.

—

“A new branch? When was it established? I’ve heard nothing about it…”

The gears in Cassandra’s head began to grind. Something about all of this seemed suspicious.

Earlier when they were still in Flynn’s territory, the bodyguard had told them that Flynn wanted to treat them to a meal at Homeland Kitchen as an apology.

Cassandra didn’t think much of it. After all, she saw the familiar Rolls-Royce before her eyes.

Because of that, they just went along with the bodyguard.

However, seeing that they were now going west of the city, more and more alarms in Cassandra’s head were going off.

The west of the city was a factory zone. Very few entertainment centers would be there. Why would anyone consider establishing a Homeland Kitchen branch there?

“It opened just a few days ago. The chef there’s quite the prodigy at cooking. Mr. Lexington’s told me that he’s hosting this feast with you in mind since he wasn’t able to serve you well at the Emperor,” said the driver.

“That’s nice of him, but why didn’t Mr. Lexington notify us about this beforehand?”

The driver cleared his throat slightly. “I wouldn’t know about that. You can ask Flynn yourself once you reach the restaurant,” said the driver as another faint smile appeared on his face.