Chapter 2
1080 Words
The gangster got angry, kicked away the stool, and stood up suddenly. The next second he realized that the height difference was too big, so he took two steps back. Their eyes met, and the curse words he had prepared stopped coming out.
At this time, a big man came out of the room. He was in his thirties and weighed at least four hundred pounds. He had a tiger head tattooed on his arm, and the tiger face was a little deformed.
The gangsters greeted each other.
"Brother Tiger!"
Fat Tiger stared at the boy: "Who are you?"
The boy didn't say anything. Fat Tiger's sharp eyes saw the name badge on his school uniform.
" Valley High School ?" He said with a smile, "Hey, my dear, come here for supper after class?"
The gangsters laughed, and he waited for them to finish laughing and asked, "Do you know Juan?"
"I don't know."
"It's the one you robbed last night."
"..."
Selena raised an eyebrow.
He added: "That road bike was a birthday gift from his father. Give it back to him."
Fat Tiger snorted: "I don't know what you are talking about."
The boy said, "You haven't sold it yet, have you? If you have, give him the money."
Selena had been standing behind and couldn't see his face. Judging by his voice and relaxed posture, he seemed entirely unafraid of Fat Tiger and his gang.
Fat Tiger stood in front of him, his massive body almost blocking him from view.
"You brat, are you looking for trouble?" Fat Tiger growled.
The boy looked at Fat Tiger calmly and took his hand out of his trouser pocket, "I'm giving you two options."
His left hand clenched into a fist — "Money."
His right hand clenched into a fist — "Or the bike."
Fat Tiger's small eyes widened, and he punched the boy in the abdomen. The boy reacted swiftly, clasping his hands together in the middle to grab Fat Tiger's wrist.
Selena's eyebrows trembled slightly, she didn't see his movements clearly at all.
Fat Tiger couldn't move.
With a slight push, the boy made Fat Tiger bow in pain. After waiting for a bit and seeing no reaction, the boy applied more pressure. Eventually, unable to endure any longer, Fat Tiger spoke in a faint voice: "...go, go...please, bike!"
Other gangsters didn't react for a while, perhaps because they were intimidated, or maybe they just didn't understand Fat Tiger's orders.
The boy tilted his head and looked at the row of gangsters behind him. They looked at each other for a moment. They finally understood and hurriedly emerged from the back of the house, carrying a sleek white road bike.
He released his grip. Fat Tiger's forearms were now covered in red and purple bruises, and the fat on one arm was pinched and deformed, making it look quite scary.
The boy put one hand in his pocket, held the road bike with the other, and turned around——
He just happened to make eye contact with Selena.
Both of them were momentarily stunned.
"What a young and strong man," Selena thought as she looked into his lovely brown eyes and smiled. "No wonder he exudes such confidence when facing so many opponents."
The boy pushed his bike forward, but as he passed by, he suddenly stopped.
He looked down at his arm, which Selena had grabbed, and then back at her.
Up close, he seemed even taller, with his disheveled hair partially covering his eyes and his cheeks appearing thin and angular.
Selena glanced at him appraisingly and said with a smile, "Could you spare a moment to talk?"
…
She chose a 24-hour fast-food restaurant across from Valley High School.
They sat by the window, with the road bike leaning against a tree outside.
A cup of Blue Mountain coffee, a cup of ice cream, and four plates of steak were on the table.
She said he came just for a treat.
The green plants surrounding the booths became more colorful at night, and a soothing, hypnotic nocturne was played in the fast-food restaurant. Selena stirred her coffee and asked, "What's your name?"
" Dane ."
Selena : "If my memory serves, you guys aren't supposed to attack humans, right?"
Dane swallowed his steak and didn't answer.
It smelled perfunctory..
Selena asked again: "Are you a rouge wolf? If you're not in the tribe, you can break the rules?"
Dane raised his eyes, his face still very plain, not the usual cool facade that boys his age put on, but genuinely expressionless, indifferent, uncaring, and uncooperative.
They were at an impasse.
He really seemed to be here just for a free meal, Selena intuitively judged, and she thought he would leave once he finished eating.
She knew she should seize the moment to get down to business, but the night was too dark, the whole world had fallen into silence, and in the face of his indifferent attitude, she couldn't muster the energy to ask questions.
It was quiet for a while.
Selena was just staring blankly at his name tag.
As Dane neared the end of his meal, he spoke softly, "Is there something wrong with my clothes?"
He hadn't looked up throughout the meal, yet he was fully aware of her gaze.
Dane finished eating and whispered: "Is there something wrong with my clothes?"
"Are you a student at Valley High School ?"
"Um."
"You must be very smart."
He shook his head and replied, ”My dad paid for me to get in”
Selena thought for a while and then tried to persuade him to stay: "It's already the middle of the night, and your school dormitories must be closed."
"If I can get out, I can get back in." Dane said.
Selena nodded and looked out the window, gazing listlessly at the night. The streets were nearly deserted, with lights illuminating the dusky yellow night roads, without a breath of wind.
Dane finished the steak first and then started on the ice cream. After finishing, he dropped the spoon into the glass and sat up a bit straighter. He didn't seem very energetic, probably a bit sleepy, with black, disheveled hair falling in front of his eyes, surrounded by an air of weariness.
"Let's get to the point," he said, looking at her and speaking softly, "You didn't call me here just to ask about my school, did you?"
- Writer
