Chapter 221: The Young Lady Under Threat
The 'kind' smile on Luo En's face made the young lady with dark green hair pause, then a surge of offended anger rushed to her head.
"What nonsense are you spouting?!" she shrieked in retort, "Let go of my hand immediately! Now!"
That look... a newly initiated Beyonder, perhaps, who considers himself above ordinary people and feels a strong sense of superiority when facing them. The smile on Luo En's face didn't fade, and his left hand, gripping her wrist, remained motionless.
Hazel struggled with all her might, and the force on her wrist made her expression change.
How could this be?
This person's strength is actually so great!
"Let go! Let go! You rude man, let go of me!" She began to struggle violently, using her other hand to push and shove Luo En.
Just as she was exerting all her strength, almost falling backward, Luo En suddenly let go.
"Ah!"
With a short cry of surprise, she fell solidly to the ground.
"Low Sequence. Not the type good at combat."
Luo En looked down at her, instantly forming a judgment in his mind. Low Sequence and no combat experience at all.
While she was still on the ground, dazed, Luo En once again raised his camera, aiming it at her now, red-faced and disheveled appearance.
"Click!"
"Click!"
"Hmm, a good shot."
"No, don't take pictures, you—what exactly do you want to do?!" Hazel covered her face with her hands, humiliated and angry. In all her life, this was the first time she had suffered such immense humiliation!
"What do I want to do? I'd like to ask what you want to do, Miss Thief."
"I'm not a thief!" Hazel retorted loudly.
"Not a thief?" Luo En raised the camera in his hand and gently shook it in front of her, "Then what about these photos inside?"
"Give it to me!"
Hazel lunged forward, trying to snatch the camera back. But Luo En merely shifted slightly, easily dodging her attack.
"Damn it! Do you know who I am?!"
After realizing she was being toyed with, Hazel demanded loudly.
"My father is—"
"Morrie Mahler."
Her words were only halfway out when Luo En finished the rest for her.
"You—" An undisguised look of surprise appeared on Hazel's face.
"How did you know?"
Just ask around, and you'll know. Luo En thought to himself, but on the surface, he maintained an air of profoundness:
"Secret ~"
"I heard your father is a very respected Member of Parliament in the Lower House."
He picked up the newspaper that had fallen to the ground and said in a teasing tone, "Miss Mahler, what do you think would be a good headline for tomorrow's major newspapers?"
"Would it be 'Shocking! Respected Member of Parliament in the Lower House Keeps a Thief at Home'?
"Or perhaps 'The Mahler Family is Actually a Vast Criminal Organization'?
"Such explosive news, I imagine all the major news agencies would flock to it!"
He narrowed his eyes slightly, "If the news gets out, your father's political career will be—ha, what do you say?"
"You—you're threatening me!" Hazel said loudly, "Aren't you afraid I'll—"
"Afraid you'll call the police?" Luo En interrupted her, "A thief crying 'stop thief'?"
"Miss, you need to understand. I am the victim here."
"You—" Hazel was momentarily speechless.
Clearly, at this moment, she was the one being threatened, the disadvantaged party. Yet, she was utterly helpless against the man in front of her.
First, she had indeed stolen his belongings, so she had no moral high ground.
Second, she wasn't thick-skinned enough to argue with him.
Third, and most importantly, she couldn't beat him.
"Who exactly are you?" Hazel's voice trembled slightly, "Are you trying to use this incident to threaten my father?"
"No, no, no." Luo En extended his index finger and gently shook it.
"I have a very legitimate reason for doing this."
"You stole something from someone in the Empress Borough two days ago, didn't you?"
"Unfortunately," Luo En's tone remained calm but sounded self-evident, "that person is my friend."
"My friend was robbed. As his friend, it's only reasonable for me to help him catch the thief, isn't it?"
Hazel recalled the past two days. That day, she had indeed stolen something from a young man.
At the time, she noticed that the young man had some peculiar spiritual reactions around him. So, while the young man was playing with a golden retriever, she quietly made her move and stole his belongings.
She hadn't expected to be tracked down so quickly by the owner's friend!
"What—what do you want?"
With the friend of the victim showing up and the evidence irrefutable, Hazel's last bit of confidence vanished.
"Very simple." Luo En held up two fingers, "First, return everything you stole from my friend, exactly as it was."
"Alright!" Hazel agreed without a second thought.
She wasn't short on money herself. The only reason she stole things was simply to complete a task assigned by her teacher.
"Very good." Luo En nodded, "Then, second—"
"Delete the photos on the camera! No, give me the camera!" Hazel eagerly interrupted him, her gaze fixed on the accursed camera.
"What camera?" Luo En's face showed an expression of confusion.
"Miss Mahler, you stole my friend's belongings, and now returning them to their rightful owner is only proper. As for this camera—that's my own property, private property I bought at a high price."
He deliberately drew out his words, lovingly stroking the camera's casing:
"Getting this camera back, that would be—a separate price."
"You—" Hazel clenched her fists, trembling with anger.
Luo En looked up at the sky and said, "Tonight at midnight, bring everything you stole from my friend here. As for the camera, we can discuss it slowly then."
"If you don't come, I can't guarantee what news will be in tomorrow's newspapers, you know ~"
With that, Luo En turned as if to leave.
"Wait!" Hazel called after him, "Who exactly are you?"
Hmm—
Luo En stopped, turned back, and gave her a slight, very standard bow.
"James Scott. A traveler seeking amusement."
"James Scott—" Hazel savored the name.
"I'll remember you."
"How was my performance?"
On the way back, Luo En's teasing smile slowly faded, and he asked the air behind him.
"You seem—very skilled at this kind of thing." Bodyguard Miss's ethereal voice came from behind him.
"No." Luo En explained, "This is actually my first time doing something like this."
He paused, savoring the feeling of being at ease yet somewhat mischievous, then added with a touch of self-deprecation:
"Perhaps—it's a talent, it felt pretty good."
"She might resort to other means." Sharon reminded him.
"Possibly." Luo En nodded, "But as long as those photos are in my hands, I'll be in an unbeatable position."
"That girl is a very arrogant rich young lady. For someone like her, having something so embarrassing happen, she would absolutely not dare to tell her family. She can only figure out a way to resolve it herself."
"I feel—you're doing something very bad." Sharon's voice sounded again, still calm, but it seemed to carry a hint of something extremely subtle.
"Don't worry, I'm just teaching her a lesson, and besides, you're an accomplice in this too ~"