Beauty！Help！

Chapter 6: My Brother's Name is Zack Burg

When Shirley heard that someone had called for her, she initially felt pleased.

However, upon realizing the caller was an old man, her excitement waned.

"Please don't let him be another creep," she thought, recalling past encounters with older customers who had made inappropriate requests that even she found disturbing, especially when they were stingy.

Some even had the audacity to ask if they could pay with their insurance cards for services that were supposed to cost over a thousand dollars.

The server reassured her, "Don't worry; this old man seems quite generous, definitely a regular."

Shirley grabbed her small bag, "Fine, let me go meet him."

She followed the server to the private room at the end of the corridor, and the server gave her a subtle glance.

Shirley rolled her eyes at him and lightly knocked on the door, "Hello, guest, I'm here."

Then she slowly pushed the door open.

Inside, James was eating the fruit platter and looked up to meet Shirley's gaze.

【Ding】

【Received surprise from Shirley, increasing lifespan by sixty days.】

James felt pleased; finally, he had received a reward from Shirley.

Shirley had a puzzled look on her face.

"James, old man? What are you doing here?"

James placed the watermelon rind down, "What's wrong? Am I not allowed to spend some money here?"

"This is a place you can come to?" Shirley said incredulously, not having seen James in a long time, especially since he often seemed to scavenge for discarded items.

Her usual frugality didn't escape her notice.

She impatiently said, "You better leave quickly. Do you have any idea how much it costs to spend time here? Enough to keep you searching through trash bins for half a year."

The server outside stood dumbfounded; why was she trying to shoo the customer away? What did rummaging through trash bins have to do with this?

Earlier, she seemed so generous with the tip.

Shirley explained, "This is my landlord; he just came by to mess around."

Having finally come over for a visit and even receiving a system reward, how could James possibly go?

He took out five hundred dollars and placed it on the table, "I'm here to spend money today; if you won't receive me, I'll file a complaint."

Shirley rushed over to James's side and whispered, "I just owe you two months' rent, so let's not make a scene. I'll pay you back when I can, just leave!"

James looked at the server by the door, "If she's trying to kick me out, can I complain about her?"

The server scratched his face, unsure about the situation.

"According to the rules, you can indeed complain about her, and our boss will dock her wages."

Upon hearing about regular deductions, panic started to creep into Shirley's face. She glared at James but was too afraid to mention him leaving again.

The server bowed, "Have a good time, sir," and gently closed the door behind him.

Once he confirmed the server left, Shirley glared at James. "What do you want to do?"

James raised an eyebrow, "What's with that attitude? Do you not believe I'll complain about you?"

Shirley sighed, "Ugh!"

She never expected that a man in his sixties could leave her feeling so flustered.

She switched to a more gentle tone, "Alright, old... sir, what would you like to do?"

James leaned back in his seat, "Feed me some fruit."

Shirley clenched her teeth and placed a grape in James's mouth.

James chewed and commented, "Mmm, not bad."

Meanwhile, Shirley remarked, "Do you realize how much it costs to come here? It's catching up to my month's rent."

James spat out the grape skin, "Isn't that just perfect? Considering you don't want to pay your rent, I'll just spend this money here instead."

Shirley looked slightly confused, processing his words. "Wait a minute, I haven't given you my rent yet, so this spending is isn't from your own money?"

She was quick to react, and James replied with a grin, "If I'm forcing you to pay your rent, then doesn't that mean you have to return this money?"

Shirley gritted her teeth in frustration.

James urged, "Enough with the grinding. How about you sing a song for me?"

"Sing, you brat... but fine!" Ultimately, Shirley conceded to the threat of a complaint. Deep down, she vowed she would never pay the rent, and she intended to make James pay for his insolence.

A round of karaoke at a bar started at least two thousand dollars; she doubted James would dare come back.

"What do you want to hear?" As a staff member of the bar, singing and dancing were basic skills.

James responded, "Let's go with 'We Are the Champions.'"

Shirley scoffed, "I can't sing that!"

James suggested, "Then how about 'Unstoppable'?"

Shirley...

If she had a knife right now, she'd have no hesitation in stabbing James.

"I can't do that either."

James replied, "You can't do this or that; what can you do? Should I file another complaint?"

At that moment, the door to the private room swung open, startling James, who momentarily feared it was the police coming for a raid.

Instead, three burly thugs stood outside.

One of them, looking intimidating and covered in tattoos, arrogantly declared, "I want to see who dares to mess with my Salina!"

Upon seeing the arrival of this man, Shirley quickly stood up, "Zack Burg! Why didn't you call me? I could've met you at the door!"

Her tone and demeanor toward him were a complete contrast to how she had spoken to James.

Zack Burg examined James through the dim lighting, noting there was clearly only one person inside. "Is this the guy who's been playing you while I was away?"

Although Shirley was annoyed with James, she didn't want him to get hurt.

She hurriedly clung to Zack Burg's arm and sweetly said, "No way! He's my relative who came to check on me."

Zack Burg replied, "Turn the lights on; I want to see what this relative looks like."

The lights in the room were turned on by one of his lackeys.

James squinted at the intimidating man, feeling somewhat familiar.

Zack Burg recognized James as well.

After a brief pause, he asked, "Are you Uncle James?"

James recalled a memory from the original owner's past—a man who had been chased and injured had once fled to his house.

The original owner helped hide him and even treated his wounds, allowing him to stay for two days.

It was the man standing in front of him now.

"Zack Burg, huh?"

Zack Burg's tone shifted to one of enthusiasm and respect, "It's me! Your old house has been demolished; I searched for you several times but couldn't find you."

【Ding】

【Received surprise from Shirley, increasing lifespan by sixty days.】

James felt elated; rewards were flowing in, and this was a well-spent couple of hundred dollars.

Shirley was shocked that James knew Zack Burg, a well-known underworld boss in the area, someone even the bar owner dared not provoke.

She was also surprised by the apparent respect Zack had for James.

James was equally surprised to run into someone he had once saved; it seemed that good karma would indeed reward those who spared others.

"Since you want her service, you can take her with you."

Zack Burg plopped down next to James, saying, "No way, Uncle James. She's your relative, so she's my relative too! How can I engage in something with my own relative?"

Shirley was stunned.

Confused, she wondered how she'd morphed into Zack Burg's relative.

Thoughts rushed through her mind; did this mean no one would dare bully her anymore in the night scene?

With this realization, she eagerly sat down beside the two men.

"Zack Burg, Uncle James!"

With Zack's appearance, Shirley no longer referred to James as "old man," instead returning to calling him "Uncle James."

James cheekily responded, "How can you call him 'brother'? He's my brother; you should call him 'uncle.'"

"Have you never heard of a brother named Zack Burg?"

The others in the room hadn't seen that drama series.

However, Shirley had watched it during her free time.

She glared resentfully at James, feeling he was pulling a fast one on her.

Zack Burg enthusiastically nodded, "Exactly! What James said is right! From now on, Shirley, I'm your uncle."

Shirley wanted to cry; being called a little sister was great, but now she was being demoted a generation. However, with Zack Burg's protection, what she was called didn't matter anymore.