A customer shouted from the back: "Come on, we want to leave! What's all this delay?"
Another woman added, "Damn it! If you don't have the money, don't come shopping and waste our time."
The words were harsh, and the girl felt an overwhelming urge to cry. She was short, around 165 cm, with blonde hair cascading softly over her dress, which revealed the fair skin of her neck.
Leon looked at her and felt a wave of both pity and anger at the rudeness of the employee and the customers.
The employee said sharply, gesturing with his hand, "Come on, move away, you're disturbing the customers, miss."
The girl turned as if to leave, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks, leaving her items behind.
But a deep, commanding voice cut through the scene: "Wait!"
Leon made his way through the line with steady steps. The girl initially thought he was just another customer about to scold her harshly.
Her crying intensified as she looked at Leon, nearly fainting from the tension; he was tall, and the tattoos around his neck and massive hand gave him an intimidating presence for a delicate, petite girl like her.
Leon reached her, and with a calm, unexpected motion, placed his hand on her head and patted her gently, as if soothing a small child.
"Don't cry… I'll pay for your items," he said in a deep, warm voice.
The girl gasped in shock at his gesture, raising her teary eyes to him in astonishment. Leon then turned to the employee, who was watching him with clear awe.
"How much are these items?" Leon asked coldly.
"Ah… fifty-six dollars," the employee muttered, stammering in his embarrassment.
Leon swiped his bank card and paid without hesitation, then gathered the girl's bags and handed them to her.
"Ah… thank you, thank you so much!" she said, bowing to Leon once and then twice, trying to wipe her tears.
"You're welcome," Leon replied briefly, feeling a slight embarrassment under the gazes of bystanders.
Leon waited a few minutes until the employee finished processing his own items, then paid and left the supermarket carrying many bags. He felt a sense of satisfaction and happiness; he had finally emerged from the spiral of poverty and was beginning to taste the fruits of his success.
He imagined the future, the new books he would write, and the money that would flow to him. He almost smiled to himself until he noticed the girl, Yuna, standing in front of him again, holding her items and waiting.
"Thank you for everything… I'll return your money for sure," she said in a grateful and slightly insistent tone.
"No need for that, consider it a gift," Leon replied as he prepared to leave.
"No, I'll return it… tell me where you live," she said, puffing her cheeks in a faint, playful display of determination.
Leon smiled to himself. Young, pretty girls remained charming even when they feigned anger.
"I live on X Street."
"Oh, I live far from you… then give me your Instagram account," she quickly pulled out her phone and handed it to him.
Leon entered his account into her phone. Yuna was surprised to see that his followers had already exceeded ten thousand.
They parted after Yuna thanked him once more. On his way home, Leon suddenly remembered he had forgotten to buy meat, so he went to a specialty store and purchased five kilograms of the finest cuts before finally returning to his apartment, feeling that life was starting to smile at him again.
…
Leon finished cooking his meal, and for the first time in years, he felt real pleasure tasting what his hands had prepared; his cooking talent had long been buried under the ruins of hunger and poverty.
After he was full and regained his energy, he went to his computer with eager curiosity. He opened the platform and froze in place at the huge number on the screen… the novel had surpassed half a million reads in record time.
He wasted no time and went straight to his PayPal account. His eyes widened in shock almost making him lose his composure; the balance had exceeded ten thousand dollars.
He felt an overwhelming urge to smash the computer from the sheer excitement and thrill. Under the influence of adrenaline, he decided to reward his readers by uploading three chapters at once.
As soon as the "Upload Successful" message appeared, the comment section exploded:
"Oh, writer Leon Williams… I've been waiting for the new chapters eagerly. Thank you for this bloody saga, I've never seen anything like it in my life!"… added the reader Conqueror@ with a massive donation of 1,000 dollars.
Handsome@ commented: "Three chapters of James' madness… time for fun!" and donated 56 dollars.
Meanwhile, GirlsLover@ wrote sarcastically: "Haven't you been arrested yet?" along with a donation of 49 dollars.
Leon started laughing as he read these strange responses, but the ringing of his phone interrupted his solitude. It was Emma. He had given her his number after her repeated insistence via Instagram.
"Hello… ah… okay, eight o'clock, we agreed."
Emma asked him to accompany her to a party hosted by her friends at the Hilton Hotel. Despite his strong dislike for noise and social events, he couldn't refuse her after her repeated pleas.
Leon transferred his balance to the bank, then responded to the readers' repeated request by opening a Discord channel.
Within minutes, hundreds joined the channel.
"He finally opened it!"
"How are you, Leon?"
"Start the stream, we want to see your face… your Instagram photo was amazing, we can't believe it's really you!"
"Yes, open it, let us see you, Leon."
"Agree, start the stream so we can also talk without writing."
Leon hesitated slightly, then asked coldly: "How do I start the stream?"
After a quick explanation from one of the readers, Leon's image appeared on the screen. He wore a loose purple shirt that revealed his dark black tattoo, winding around his neck and covering his entire arms.
"Oh, so handsome! I love you, Leon!" shouted a girl through the microphone.
Leon chuckled lightly and replied in a calm voice: "Thank you."
A few seconds of silence fell over the chat; his deep voice and enigmatic laughter carried a charm they hadn't expected.
The readers laughed at Leon, and Leon laughed with them.
"Leon, how many chapters of the novel have you written?" a young man asked seriously.
Leon opened his files and shared the screen: "One moment… this is what I've written so far."
Everyone was stunned to see over two hundred chapters ready: "Over two hundred chapters! Upload them all now!"
Leon smiled coldly: "I'll think about it… and now, goodbye, I have an appointment."
He closed the stream and bid them farewell, then headed to the kitchen to have some fruit before taking a short nap.
He woke up at seven in the evening, standing in front of his wardrobe in hesitation. The weather was mild, around twenty degrees, so he chose another loose purple shirt with elegant jeans.
He spritzed his luxurious perfume inherited from his father; a fragrance he only used for major occasions, like university acceptance. At that moment, memories of his family surged over him, and he felt a pang of grief tearing at his chest.
A sudden ring of the phone brought him back to reality. It was Emma, sending him the exact location of the hotel.