He had long since accepted that Ava could say outrageous things with a completely straight face.
The two of them calmly walked toward the vehicle.
The two self-appointed guards immediately stepped forward.
"Hey!"
"No getting closer!"
One of them stretched out an arm to block some stubborn people."If you scratch this car, can you even afford to pay for it?"
His companion nodded repeatedly.
"Exactly!"
Ava slowly crossed her arms.
"...Is it your car?"
Her voice was calm.
"So protective Someone who doesn't know better would think it belongs to you."
The two boys finally looked directly at her.
Both froze.
One's eyes widened.
The other forgot what he was about to say.
The fourth boy quickly recovered, flashing what he believed was his most charming smile.
"No, it's not ours But We know the owner If you want a picture beside it, that's fine."
He pulled out his phone."Just give me your number first."
The fifth boy stared openly at Ava.
His gaze lingered far longer than it should have .
Matthew, who had been quietly walking half a step behind Ava with one hand in his pocket, finally moved.
There was no warning.
No dramatic wind-up.
He simply shifted his weight forward.
His leg rose in one smooth, economical motion.
Thud.
The front of his shoe struck the fifth boy squarely in the chest.
The movement was so clean it almost looked casual.
Like someone brushing an empty cardboard box out of the way.
Yet the force behind it was anything but casual.
The boy's feet left the ground for a brief moment before he crashed backward onto the pavement.
The air exploded from his lungs.
He curled over instinctively, clutching his chest, his face turning ghostly pale as he struggled to breathe.
The surrounding crowd gasped.
Matthew lowered his foot as naturally as if nothing had happened.
He didn't even spare the boy on the ground a glance."I'm tired."
He looked at the remaining boy then to ava.
"And you're talking too much to some random lowlife." It sounded like he was being coquettish.
The fifth boy's confident smile vanished.
His knees weakened involuntarily.
Matthew simply continued walking.
Ava followed as though nothing unusual had happened.
Only then did the rest of the group notice them.
The girl on fashionable wears the first girl posing beside the car frowned when she realized everyone's attention had shifted away from her.
Her eyes landed on Ava.
Then on Matthew.
Especially Matthew.
She snap out of it and caught the denim-jacket boy staring at Ava in obvious amazement.
Her expression immediately darkened.
Without saying a word, she subtly winked at the third girl.
The signal was understood instantly.
The second girl stepped forward dramatically."What the hell!"
"How can you assault someone in public just because you want to take pictures of a car?"
She pointed accusingly at Ava and Matthew.
"Do you even know who we are? We're calling the police!The whole thing was livestreamed! You're finished!"
She wasn't done.
Her eyes narrowed at Ava.
"You're jealous of her, aren't you?"
She pointed toward the beautifully dressed girl.
"You just wanted everyone's attention I know girls like you You've obviously got your eyes on my brother right I have seen obsessed fan like you."
She gestured toward the denim-jacket boy.
"So you caused a scene to steal the spotligh to get his attention t."
Ava blinked once.
Then calmly took half a step backward.
She looked at the girl as if she were avoiding a contagious disease.
"So noisy."
She sighed.
"It's only eleven the starting of night life and all party people to come out it also Looks like that's when mentally ill people start coming out How disturbing."
Several people nearby immediately covered their mouths, trying not to laugh.
Ignoring the girls completely, Ava looked toward the two people still occupying her car.
Her smile was sweet Almost angelic."Get off my car I'm still being civil."
Silence.
The surrounding crowd stared at her.
The fashionable girl laughed.
She climbed gracefully off the hood and walked toward Ava in her high heels.
"Are you serious?"She folded her arms."You're claiming this car is yours?"
Her eyes slowly traveled over Ava's outfit, envy flashing briefly before turning into ridicule.
"Wearing a high-quality replica of a luxury brand and pretending to be rich?"
She scoffed.
"Someone who owns a car like this would come to a roadside food stall?"
She spread her hands mockingly.
"Who exactly are you trying to fool?"
"First of all..."Matthew spoke before Ava could.
His voice wasn't loud.
In fact it was so calm that everyone instinctively quieted down to hear him.
"The car is parked on a street that sells the so-called 'cheap food' you are also eating ".
He tilted his head slightly.
"It stopped in front of the restaurant It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the owner came here to eat."
His black eyes lazily settled on the fashionable girl.
"So next time Try speaking with a little intelligence."
The words weren't harsh.
The tone wasn't mocking.
Yet somehow...
They hit harder than being shouted at.
The girl's face froze.
She instinctively turned to look at Matthew.
Even with half his face hidden behind the black mask...
He was ridiculously handsome.
His calm eyes.
His composed posture.
His effortless elegance.
For a brief second...
She completely forgot where she was.
Flick.
"Ow!"She grabbed her forehead.
Ava withdrew her finger.
"Stop staring He's taken."
She casually rubbed her own wrist afterward.
It was already itching.
Another few seconds..
And she'd probably punch somebody.
The denim-jacket boy fold his hands.
"Enough Why are we arguing? We're only taking some pictures It's not a big deal When the livestream ends, we'll leave."
He smiled as though he were being extremely reasonable.
"If you're really the owner You should be generous Just wait another hour fo it for the people watching online or u will be branded selfish and rude and snobbish."
The boy holding the livestream nodded immediately.
"Exactly This road is public Any car parked here can be photographed What's wrong with that? Are you looking down on us cause u afford this scrap it is your lucky day we are even taking pic with it "
The second boy stuffed his camera into his pocket.
"We're giving the car free publicity Cars like this are meant to be seen Not hidden away inside some garage unless it is fake ."
He looked Ava up and down.
"And who knows if it's even yours? You're so young at most 16 or 17 or 18 or 19 and yet you claim to have such a car you either sleeping around or you stole it using the country resources."
Behind them The third girl wearing glasses finally helped the boy Matthew had kicked back onto his feet together with another friend.
He still clutched his chest, breathing unevenly.
"Enough..."She spoke quietly."We should leave He's still hurt."
Before anyone else could answer
"Will you shut up already?"The second girl snapped.
Her voice was filled with irritation.
"Whose side are you on? You're so annoying. I don't even know why my brother insisted on bringing you You do nothing but pull a long face."
The girl with glasses closed and opened her eyes and turned towards the denim jacket boy.
"Let's just go You've already taken enough pictures There are only two cars like this in the entire country we can't afford to damage the car or offend the owner We've got what we came for Let's leave."
The denim-jacket boy looked at her with obvious disgust He laughed coldly.
"This is exactly why nobody likes taking you anywhere all you ever talk about is rules Rules Rules."
He spread his arms dramatically.
"Do I look like I can't afford a car? So what if there are only two? What's the owner going to do? Kill me? We didn't damage anything."
He pointed at himself proudly.
"I've got millions of followers Who's going to dare come after me without risking its reputation"
He scoffed then looked at the fashionable girl with hint of affection before turning back toward the girl with glasses."You should learn something from your best friend My sister's right You're hopeless Your friend is getting bullied, and all you care about is making everyone leave."
"You act like the whole world owes you something."He folded his arms."You've upset me again get on my nerves and I would ignore you for a year even if you beg kneel and humilate yourself like usual it would be your punishment you want to run away after they humilate us."
The girl with glasses tightened her grip on the shopping bags.
Her lips parted slightly
But no words came out.
The lively food street gradually grew quieter.
Even the people livestreaming nearby lowered their phones slightly.
Everyone could feel it.
"I'm the one who's hurt!" The fourth guy shouted, clutching his chest. "And all you care about is yourself! You're so selfish. No wonder you're stuck acting like Third Brother's little servant. If not for your friend wanting you around, who would even keep you in the group?" He yelled pushing the glass girl away
The girl with glasses bit her lip tears already gathering in her eyes.
"I'm his girlfriend!" she cried, pointing at herself. "I do everything for this group! Is this really how all of you see my devotion?"
Her voice grew louder with every word.
"'Best friends?' Because of the group, you all told me to let them act like they were dating because the fans liked it. You all said it was just an act! Yet off-stream and on-stream, they keep acting close, and every single one of you supports it!"
She laughed bitterly.
" You want me to do this and that I agree you want me to make a fool if myself fir like I agree you want expensive gifts I have to work my life sell my thing and suffer to afford it And somehow... I'm the trash?"
The fashionable girl froze.
"W-What..." Her eyes quickly reddened.
"How can you say that about me?" she asked, tears spilling down her cheeks. "I know you're obsessed with Third Brother... but going this far just to ruin my reputation... that's too much."
The third boy jumped off the hood of Ava's sports car.
His expensive sneaker landed squarely on the glossy black surface before he strode toward the girl with glasses.
Ava's eyelid twitched.
...Did this bastard just step on my car?
For a split second, she completely ignored the relationship drama.
Her attention was fixed solely on the footprint now decorating sixteen billion Zen worth of custom paint.
He's lucky I haven't checked whether he scratched it yet.
Smack!
The slap echoed across the street.
The girl with glasses staggered sideways, one hand flying to her burning cheek.
"Get lost! You dare bully your best friend I thought you were good but it seems I thought too much you are selfish wicked and bad friends apologize to her now on your knees crawl towards her and apologize and kiss her feet and I would forgive you" the third boy roared.
The fashionable girl immediately seized the opportunity.
She deliberately stumbled toward Matthew as if she had lost her balance.
"I-I can't believe my best friend would accuse me like this..." she sobbed softly.
"You must understand how I feel, right? Why don't you come with us instead of staying beside someone like her?"
Matthew casually took one step backward.
The girl nearly pitched face-first onto the pavement.
"You can't afford me."
He nodded toward Ava without even looking at the fashionable girl."She's my sugar mummy."
The fashionable girl's expression cracked for a brief second.
The corners of her mouth twitched before she slowly turned toward Ava instead.
"How can you treat someone like that?" she demanded angrily.
"Pretending to be rich is one thing, but using your money to trap someone so handsome? You're disgusting!"
She glared at Ava, jealousy flashing deep inside her eyes.
So what if he's poor?
With a face like that, she'd definitely keep him around just because he's beautiful.
Just like she manipulates everyone else...
She wrapped the whole group around her finger... made her so-called best friend become hated by the fans... turned her boyfriend and everyone else against her... forced that poor girl into the background so she could keep being the center of attention so for her Mattew was an easy target.
Ava let out a soft scoff.
"AI Mode activated."
She lazily played with her nails checking it
"Take everyone's photos and identity records. Contact the family law firm and the police. I want every single one of them sued."
She smiled sweetly.
"They kept talking about me being generous."
She tilted her head.
"I'm not."
A strange silence fell.
People exchanged puzzled looks.
"...Who is she talking to?"
Before anyone could ask—
Buzz.
The black sports car suddenly came to life.
Its headlights glowed with an icy blue light before elegant silver lines spread across the body like flowing circuits.
A soft mechanical hum echoed.
A holographic fox no bigger than a house cat jumped onto the hood.
Its snow-white fur shimmered with countless streams of data while nine translucent tails swayed behind it.
The little fox bowed elegantly.
"Command received."
Its cute voice sounded almost human.
"Vehicle AI has already synchronized
with surrounding surveillance systems."
Around them, several transparent windows materialized in midair.
One after another, different camera angles appeared.
The restaurant entrance.
The roadside.
Nearby stores.
Traffic cameras.
Street surveillance.
Even footage from livestream recordings.
The fox's tails flicked once.
"All visual evidence from the moment this group approached the vehicle has been collected."
Another screen appeared.
Dozens of names.
Photos.
Identity files.
School records.
Social media accounts.
Family information.
Everything.
People nearby inhaled sharply.
"...How..."
"...It hacked the city cameras?"
"...That's impossible..."
The fox continued speaking calmly.
"Evidence package has been transmitted to Family Legal Department I picked a lawyer a intern but enough to make a name outside is suitable for the job the police had bewn called the car company has been notified"
The fox looked serious.
"Public statements describing this vehicle as counterfeit and low-grade have been archived Manufacturer has requested legal cooperation."
"Identity information released to family investigation department Livestream accounts located Copyright complaints submitted."
"Platform moderation contacted Broadcast preservation completed Deletion request denied until evidence collection finishes."
The driver's door slowly opened by itself.
Without anyone touching the steering wheel
The sports car smoothly rolled forward on its own before stopping perfectly beside Ava.
Its movements were elegant.
Precise.
As if a chauffeur had driven it.
The fox disappeared back into the dashboard.
Ava casually placed the packed takeaway on the back seat before closing the door with one finger.
Only then did she turn back toward the group.
Her smile was bright.
Almost innocent.
"You."
She pointed lazily at the young man in the denim jacket.
"Our great leader."
Her eyes shifted to the faint shoe print still visible on the polished hood.
"You stepped on my car."
She clicked her tongue.
"Do you know what that costs?"
Nobody answered.
"Worth sixteen billion Zen."
The crowd collectively gasped.
She continued as though discussing the weather.
"And that's just the purchase price There are monthly maintenance fees."
"Annual upgrades AI upgrades Intelligence system updates Virtual environment synchronization Security protocol renewals Network authority subscriptions Manufacturer servicing software licensing."
"Every year, we spend several times the original purchase price just to keep it operating at its peak."She looked at the footprint again before raising an eyebrow.
"And you climbed on top of it to take selfies."
Her smile widened.
"You must either be unbelievably rich or unbelievably stupid."
The engine hummed softly beneath Ava's hand on the steering wheel.
Then she looked at the fashionable girl again, her hazel-blue eyes sweeping over her from head to toe before the corner of her lips curled upward.
"Wearing so many colors..." Ava said slowly. "You look like a peacock."
She tilted her head.
"Is this what fashionable means now?"
The girl's face darkened instantly.
"You call yourself rich, yet you don't even recognize this outfit Everything I'm wearing—from the dress to the accessories—came from Blue Pavilion."