About half an hour after Alice left, a simply dressed young man entered the store.
“Excuse me, is Alice here?” he asked.
William glanced at him and asked coolly, “You’re Walker, right?”
William guessed that this was probably the young man Alice had mentioned who was coming to mind the store, especially since he was looking for Alice and was a Soulmancer.
Walker nodded. As a child, he had been discovered for his exceptional talent by a skilled Soulmancer and had been secretly trained. He had recently emerged from his secluded training and was traveling the world to gain experience. Following his master’s instructions, he had come to New York to find Charles Turner.
Charles had assigned Walker to be Alice’s bodyguard, but Alice had immediately put him to work in the bookstore, showing no intention of needing a bodyguard.
Having trained in secret in the mountains, Walker had limited exposure to women. After meeting Alice, he was taken aback, thinking he had encountered a fairy. In his heart, he had already chosen Alice as his future wife.
It must be said that a young man’s ability to daydream is quite strong.
With his skills, making a name for himself in this big city and marrying a beautiful woman seemed like a matter of course.
Ordinary people were beneath his notice.
“She told you about me, right?” Walker was still a newcomer to the city and naive in the ways of the world. As he asked William this question, there was a twinkle in his eyes, as he cared deeply about what Alice thought of him.
In this regard, he was a typical young romantic, a far cry from someone like William, who remained unfazed by beauty.
William had noticed that the young man was a Soulmancer but didn’t really care. He simply said, “You’ll be working here from now on. Your monthly salary is two thousand. Your daily tasks include cleaning and serving customers who want to buy books.”
“No problem.” Walker looked William up and down. He seemed about the same age as him but was just an ordinary person, frail-looking. He was somewhat handsome, which put Walker on edge, but only slightly.
“What’s your relationship with Alice?” Walker asked nonchalantly.
Adhering to the story that Alice had fabricated, and not wanting to give the game away, William simply said, “She’s my cousin.”
“Oh!”
Hearing that Alice was William’s cousin, the sliver of caution in Walker’s heart disappeared, and he smiled, asking, “Do you know where your cousin is now?”
“I don’t know,” William replied. “From now on, you’ll mind the shop during the day, and I’ll take over in the evening. Is that okay?”
“Of course!” Walker continued, “Since you’re Alice’s cousin, you’re my cousin too. If anyone bullies you, just tell me, and I’ll stand up for you.”
It was typical of a young person trying to bond with someone, this kind of clumsy directness.
If it had been another wealthy young person, Walker might have been asked to prove himself. A simple display of his supernatural abilities would suffice, and the other would naturally become his follower.
But William just squinted at him and said coldly, “She is her, you are you, just call me William.” 𝘰𝑣𝘭.𝗇𝓔t
Alice had called herself his cousin without his permission, which had already made William angry. Now, this young man wanted to take advantage of their supposed relation. That was not going to happen.
Walker smirked inwardly, thinking that one day, William would regard him as a friend or family.
Edward and Kelly had been standing by without a word during this exchange. Now that the introductions were over, Edward hurriedly asked, “Mr. Johnson, will you be here tonight?”
William frowned and asked, “Yes, I’m here, but what do you need?”
“I do have some questions I’d like to ask, if you don’t mind, about the artifacts on Mount San Juan Teotihuaca. There are some things I don’t know what they’re for,” Edward Taylor said, still wanting to ask William about some objects. Besides holding great expectations for William, Edward also wanted to probe William’s knowledge.
“I won’t have time tonight!” William was thinking about how to talk to Evelyn that evening. After all, they still didn’t know each other very well, and William wasn’t sure what Evelyn liked.
Faced with Edward Taylor’s inquiries, William couldn’t be bothered to answer.
“Maybe next time then,” Edward said. He had already interacted with William twice and knew that William could be quite eccentric. The first time they met, William had made them all furious, but William did have genuine expertise.
William nodded, saying, “If there’s nothing else, I’m going to eat.”
“As for the artifacts you mentioned, bring them to me to take a look. I have some experience with ancient objects,” Walker chimed in. He didn’t know who Edward Taylor and his group were, but he had learned some antique appraisal methods since he was young. Since he had come to the big city, of course, he wanted to show off his knowledge and skills. If Alice was present tonight and he could display his erudition, wouldn’t he be able to win her heart?
“Oh? May I ask who this is?” Edward’s question was directed at Walker, but his gaze was fixed on William. In his mind, William had already made a strong impression. If this person had the same knowledge as William, Edward would be willing to befriend him.
“My name is Walker!” Walker looked somewhat displeased. Hadn’t he just introduced himself in front of these two older men?
“Walker, if you are free tonight, I’ll bring those things over for you to take a look at.” Edward didn’t mean to look down on Walker; regarding the items from Mount San Juan Teotihuacan, even these veteran professors were at a loss as to what they might be. He had no intention of letting go of even the slightest opportunity.
Hearing Edward Taylor’s reference to him, Walker became increasingly dissatisfied deep down.
This old professor referred to the young William as Mr. Johnson, but addressed him just as… Walker?
“Bring them over tonight, and we’ll see!” Walker secretly vowed that he would definitely impress this old man tonight.
“Alright then!” Edward Taylor turned to William again, “Mr. Johnson, are you going for lunch? Let’s go together!”
“Sure!” William didn’t dismiss the invitation outright. More importantly, he found eating alone rather boring, and he could also ask Edward some modern questions.
“Then Walker, have you eaten? Would you like to join us?” William thought it would be inappropriate to leave the young man behind to watch the store while they all went to eat.
“No need! I’ve already eaten, I’ll stay here and watch the shop!” Walker was already feeling slightly resentful. That old man had mentioned eating and hadn’t asked him. When William asked, he couldn’t agree to go. As long as they saw his capabilities tonight, they would never look down on him again.
With that in mind, Walker couldn’t help but feel excited.
Going from being underestimated to being admired and respected – isn’t that the most satisfying process of all?