New York.
Manhattan.
Fifth Avenue!
"Good."
"Not late."
Standing on the sidewalk, Hawk, dressed in casual clothes and wearing a baseball cap, wiped the sweat from his forehead that had appeared from rushing. He looked up at an approximately thirty-five-story apartment building across the street, letting out a sigh of relief. Then, he adjusted the backpack behind him and started walking towards the famous Star Tower across the street.
But…
As soon as Hawk entered the lobby on the first floor of Star Tower, he was stopped.
"Stop."
A White man with a thick beard, wearing a White uniform, sitting at the front desk, looked at Hawk, who seemed to be in a hurry and running out of time: "What are you doing here?"
This was Star Tower.
Unless you were a resident of this apartment building or a scheduled visitor, even a fly entering would need to undergo a full inspection before being allowed in.
Hawk stopped and looked up at the security guard.
Hawk, who had just turned seventeen at the end of last month and wore glasses, looked at the security guard who had stopped him without any surprise. He quickly walked over: "Hello, I'm the new math tutor Mrs. Strucker on the twenty-sixth floor hired for her daughter."
"ID."
"Andrew."
Hawk said, not minding the hint of impatience on the security guard's face. He took off his backpack, opened it, found his ID inside, and politely handed it to the security guard: "Andrew Luther, from the Mathematics Department at New York University. This is my student ID."
"Student ID?"
"Yes."
The security guard frowned: "Where's your driver's license?"
A student ID was not a legal and valid form of identification.
As a security guard retired from a professional agency and then highly paid by the Star Tower Committee, he had a hundred ways to determine if an ID was fake.
But…
A student ID?
Hawk shook his head: "No, sir. When I was in New Jersey, I couldn't afford a car, so…"
A hint of understanding flashed in the security guard's eyes.
New Jersey?
So he came from the countryside.
No wonder.
The security guard thought to himself, taking the student ID Hawk handed him with both hands. He looked at the information on the ID, then looked up at Hawk, who was wearing a clean but slightly yellowed White shirt, casual pants, and black-rimmed glasses, scrutinizing him with an eagle-like gaze.
This should be a poor student from a modest background, who just came from the countryside to New York University, burdened with student loans, and hoping to work hard to earn money.
After a while.
The security guard came to a conclusion, withdrew his gaze, and pointed to the visitor registration form nearby: "Sign in."
Hawk quickly thanked him, then grabbed the pen on the registration form, filled in his information, and then took out a wet wipe from his bag and began to wipe the pen.
The security guard, who was about to call Mrs. Strucker on the twenty-sixth floor to confirm if there really was such a visitor, saw Hawk's action and, out of old professional habit, was slightly startled, instinctively frowning: "What are you doing?"
This action, how could it not look like he didn't want to leave fingerprints on the pen?
Hawk looked at the security guard, whose gaze had just softened but now became alert again, and somewhat awkwardly put the wiped pen back in its place, explaining: "Sir, I'm afraid of dirtying the pen. I also went to Trump Tower and Sky Tower today, and they all require this, worried I'd dirty their pens."
Trump Tower?
Sky Tower?
Those two upstart towers.
No wonder.
The security guard listened to Hawk's answer, his thoughts turning, and the alertness in his eyes disappeared once more. He shook his head: "Star Tower is not those two upstart towers."
Compared to those upstart towers that prioritize cleanliness and tidiness, Star Tower placed more importance on the personal safety of its residents.
Hawk didn't speak, just smiled again, a little awkwardly.
The security guard shifted his gaze from Hawk, picked up the desk phone, and dialed the number of Mrs. Strucker's home on the twenty-sixth floor.
"Beep!"
"Beep!"
"Beep!"
The security guard looked at the phone, which had hung up because there was no answer, and frowned. He looked at Hawk in front of him: "Sorry, no one answered. You can't go in for now."
This time, the security guard's voice was also relatively gentle.
Hawk's face showed a hint of surprise. He then placed his backpack on the counter and found a notepad from his seemingly cluttered and book-filled bag. He opened it, found a page, and showed it to the security guard: "No way, September 15th, 7 PM to 8 PM, home tutoring for Lauren's math, Mrs. Strucker, Star Tower, Fifth Avenue, twenty-sixth floor. See, what I have recorded here is correct."
The security guard's gaze swept over the backpack that Hawk had pushed under his nose, filled with a large amount of various items, because Hawk was nervous, excited, and awkward, worried about being misunderstood as lying. Then his gaze fell on the notepad Hawk had turned over, looking at the densely packed schedule of when and who to tutor. He was somewhat surprised: "Oh my, so many?"
Hawk smiled a little shyly: "No choice, I have to pay off my high school loan by the end of this year, so I can only work a bit harder."
The security guard looked deeply at Hawk once more, but this time, it was no longer a look of vigilance or suspicion, but one of sympathy, but more so, admiration, and a hint of wistfulness.
It's like, when I first came to New York City, I was like this too.
Hawk quickly clasped his hands together in a pleading gesture, saying to the security guard: "Sir, could you please call again for me? Please, getting this job from Mrs. Strucker is a very difficult thing."
This time, the security guard did not hesitate at all. He nodded, picked up the landline phone on the desk again, and redialed Mrs. Strucker's number on the twenty-sixth floor.
If it were an adult, he would definitely not call a second time.
But…
This was just a pure, harmless college student with a pitiful background but a very inspiring story, who had just come from the countryside to the big city, hoping to make something of himself through his own hard work.
This time, the call connected.
After the call connected, the security guard even nodded to Hawk, sharing the joy with him, and then said: "Mrs. Strucker, there's a very polite college student named Andrew down here, who says he's the math tutor you hired for Lauren. He's already down…"
Before he finished speaking.
A voice from the other end of the phone interrupted: "What? He just got here? He's an hour late! Tell him to come up!"
The security guard hung up the phone, swiped an elevator card for Hawk, and said with a smile: "This card can only go to the twenty-sixth floor."
Hawk thanked the security guard gratefully, then ran, eagerly passing the security gate and heading towards the elevator.
"Hey!"
"… "
Hawk, who had just run past the security gate, stopped, his expression changing. Then, he turned around and looked.
However…
The security guard, who had stood up, simply looked at Hawk, who had turned around with an anxious expression, and made a cheering gesture: "Go for it, young man. New York City will not let down any man who works hard."
Hawk smiled: "Thank you, sir."
Saying that.
Hawk directly turned around, ran into the elevator that had just opened, then pressed the twenty-sixth floor. With an expression of relief and gratitude, he looked at the security guard as the elevator doors closed.
Ding!
The elevator doors closed.
Hawk took out his phone from his pocket and composed a text message to his hitman agent.
"Approaching target!"
"… "
Cute new author asking for collections and recommendations!!!