Stormlook and Yuel were at a loss for words, while Donlow and Kanade frowned.
There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world, and money from a wealthy family isn’t easy to come by. Once Luca took this money from Hummer, he would be tied to this black car. Trying to get out of it later would be no simple task, certainly not for just two billion.
What surprised everyone was that Drumph didn’t say anything. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying the show. To him, Hummer was only humiliating himself. A top-tier genius like Luca wouldn’t be moved by money.
People from these big families were shallow, and how could they possibly understand their ideals and ambitions?
While thinking this, Drumph saw Luca take the black card without hesitation. Calmly, he said, “I’ll accept this friend of yours.”
Huh?! Now, everyone, including Hummer, was stunned.
They stared at Luca, thinking they had heard wrong. Luca actually agreed?!
Drumph’s smile froze on his face. Did this kid even know what he was doing?
“No need to be so surprised.” Luca flicked the black card worth two billion, then said with a calm expression, “I’ve known for a while that people from the James Family are generous. And I’ve always preferred to make friends with generous people. As for my grudge with Celephais, it’s not enough to stop me from accepting money.”
Hummer was stunned for a long while before realizing what had happened. A smile of joy spread across his face. He immediately slapped Luca on the shoulder and laughed heartily, “Hahaha! Well said! Brother Luca, you’re a true man!”
“Don’t worry! I, Hummer, am famous for being generous to my friends! Forget about anything else. From now on, I’ll cover all your living expenses! Whatever you need, just let me know, I won’t refuse!”
A group of young heirs looked on enviously. With Hummer’s promise, this guy would surely rise to the top from now on!
“Ahem!” Drumph finally couldn’t sit still. He cleared his throat twice to interrupt the two of them, then looked at Hummer with a gloomy expression and said, “Hummer, was it? I suddenly remembered something. This area was previously sealed off by the police. You have trespassed into a restricted area and interfered with a police investigation. You’re now suspected of breaking the law. I have the right to throw you into the police station.”
At these words, the faces of Celephais and the others stiffened. This old man hadn’t cared about the matter at all before, but now it was clear he was getting anxious since they were about to steal Luca away. He was just finding any excuse to get them out.
Looking at the sour faces of Celephais and the others, Drumph narrowed his eyes and coldly said, “Let me remind you, this is the North District. If you don’t want your families to come from the capital to bail you out, I suggest you leave now.”
The young heirs all felt a surge of anger. After having been arrogant in the capital for so many years, when had they ever been humiliated like this?
“Didn’t expect Mr. Drumph to still have such a fiery temper. Be careful not to hurt yourself,” Hummer said with a sinister look, his tone dripping with sarcasm. Your next journey awaits at empire
Drumph sneered. “The doctor says I’m in perfect health. I should be good for another few decades, no need for you to worry.”
Although Hummer found it shameless how this old man was using his power to bully others, he also knew there was no way he could gain any advantage here. He turned to look at Luca, his expression softening considerably. “Originally, I wanted to have a good drink with Brother Luca today, but it seems that’s not going to happen.”
He paused, a glint of coldness flashing in his eyes. “When you have time to go to the capital, be sure to contact me. I’ll make sure to host a grand feast for you.”
After a moment, he added, “Don’t worry about anything. With me around in the capital, no one will dare to touch you.”
When Hummer mentioned “people,” it was clear he was referring to Celephais.
“Then I’ll thank Brother Hummer in advance,” Luca replied with a serious expression, as if he genuinely saw him as a brother.
Celephais didn’t say much. He merely nodded and shot Drumph a cold look before waving his hand. “Let’s go.”
With that, he led the group of wealthy heirs to their cars. The engines roared to life, and the group from the capital drove off into the rain. Stormlook and Yuel didn’t leave—they weren’t on the same path as the others.
Once the luxury cars disappeared into the rain, Drumph turned to Luca and sighed deeply. He rubbed his forehead, a headache setting in. “What exactly are you trying to do?”
Drumph didn’t believe a word of Luca’s earlier speech. Although their time together had been short, he could tell that Luca was no simple person.
The whole brotherly act from Hummer was a load of nonsense, even the young heirs beside him wouldn’t buy it. Luca couldn’t possibly be fooled—so why was he intentionally getting so entangled with them?
“Making friends, what else?” Luca replied casually, then, without paying attention to Drumph’s strange expression, pulled out his phone and glanced at it. He waved it in front of everyone and said, “It’s already three in the morning. I’ll head back now. If you need anything, just call me.”
“Oh, and don’t forget to pay me for overtime,” he added with a smile, waving goodbye to Kanade and the others. Then, with his black umbrella in hand, he turned and walked into the downpour, leaving Drumph and the others standing there with complicated expressions, unable to make sense of the situation.
The reason Luca accepted Hummer’s offer was quite simple. Why refuse free money when it’s being handed to you? After all, he wasn’t afraid of offending the James Family—this money was basically being given to him.
The other reason was Celephais. He hadn’t forgotten that Celephais had sent people to assassinate him. Luca still held a grudge, but bringing Celephais to the North District was almost impossible unless the man truly wanted to test how fast his knife could be.
Luca had to get his revenge, and since the other party didn’t come to him, he’d have to go to them. He imagined how surprised Celephais would be when they saw him. A cold smirk appeared on his face as the thought crossed his mind.
…
By the time Luca returned to the villa, it was already past four in the morning. He had stopped by a convenience store to buy some things, and when he came back, he found the villa brightly lit.
A petite figure was sitting cross-legged on a chair in the hallway, completely engrossed in a movie. On her fair leg sat a silver mouse, nibbling on an apple and making soft crunching noises.
“What are you so spaced out for?” Luca waved his hand in front of Susie’s face, thinking to himself that her alertness was way too low—she didn’t even notice him when he was so close.
“Ah!!” Susie jumped in shock at the sudden sound and almost fell off the chair. Fortunately, Luca managed to catch her in time. However, her phone dropped to the floor with a loud crack, the screen shattered into a spiderweb of cracks.
“Why are you only coming back now?” Once she saw it was Luca, she finally relaxed, but her eyes immediately fell to the broken phone on the floor. A frown quickly appeared as she looked at it with concern.
Susie hurriedly picked it up, only to find it was no longer usable. Her eyes instantly turned red. She glared at Luca and angrily spat, “You’re paying for this! Otherwise, I’ll tell Auntie that you’re bullying me!”
Luca was not the type to be threatened. He snorted and said, “I’ll pay, what’s the big deal?”
As he spoke, he pulled the card that Hummer had given him from his pocket and tossed it to her with a confident gesture. “The password is six zeros, swipe all you want!”
“Why are you being so generous today?” Susie eyed him suspiciously, immediately on guard. Given his usually stingy personality, she knew he must be up to something.
She took the black card from him and examined it for a long time, but couldn’t figure out which bank it was from. That’s when it hit her.
“How dare you try to trick me with a game card!” Susie stomped her foot and shouted in anger. “You’re sleeping alone tonight!” She angrily stomped her foot on the ground before grabbing the eagle mouse and storming off.
“Then you better give the card back to me!” Luca raised an eyebrow, sighed, and slipped on his slippers as he returned to his own room.
He was about to rest for a bit and check the game to see if they had reached their destination.
However, not long after he lay down, the door suddenly opened.
Susie burst into the room, still in her pajamas and slippers, with an excited look on her face. She was waving the black card around while hopping around the room.
“Two billion! Two billion! There really is two billion!” Susie scrambled onto the bed, planting a flurry of kisses on Luca’s face, exclaiming excitedly about the two billion, how she was going to get rich, and how she was going to buy all sorts of delicious food.
“Susie, don’t think that just because you kissed me a few times, what happened earlier is all forgiven.” Luca wiped the saliva off his face and snatched the black card from her hand.
Looking at Susie, who was frozen in place, he spoke sternly, “I can tell you clearly that the things you said earlier have caused me significant emotional trauma.”
“Now, I require a sincere apology from you immediately, and within 24 hours, I expect you to write a 2,000-word self-criticism and send it to my email. Otherwise, I have the right to take back this black card and refuse to compensate for any of your losses.”
“Oh, and the self-criticism must begin with ‘Dear Mr. Luca,’ and the subject must be ‘Susie’s Sincere Regret.’ Otherwise, it won’t count.”
“What? A 2,000-word self-criticism! Are you crazy?!” Susie immediately jumped up from the bed, about to lose her temper. However, seeing Luca’s cold expression and the black card in his hand, her tone softened again.
“Luca, I didn’t mean it earlier. Please just forgive me…” Susie clung to his arm, looking up at him with pitiful eyes as she coquettishly pouted, rubbing her small chest against his arm.
Seeing that Luca’s expression softened a little, Susie inwardly smirked. She then casually pulled at the neckline of her shirt to reveal her fair… well, collarbone, attempting to use a bit of subtle seduction to get out of the situation.
Luca remained silent for a minute, then pulled his arm away, his expression turning serious. “Susie, I can’t believe you’d try to test me like this! Do you think I’m so easily swayed?”