Seth's brows were calm but his tone grew colder, "Are you testing my patience?"
He had already decided to let him go—yet the little lamb still had to be so stubborn?
Fang Chen, however, thought the man wanted money and hurriedly said, "I-I-I'm just a poor international student. This ticket… I actually won it from a chip promotion. You can take it and sell it for money. I really don't have anything else."
The moment he said that, everything around went silent.
Seth, rarely stunned, blinked, "What?"
A few minutes later, Seth saw the ticket and a prize redemption card, stamped with "Redeemed."
He held the ticket, frowning, and asked, "The one you were going to sell me yesterday… was this ticket?"
"Yes, sir."
Fang Chen felt both wronged and regretful.
He had thought he was finally lucky, that he had won a prize but it turned out to be a total loss. No money earned, and now he'd been "kidnapped."
Seth couldn't say a word for a while.
By now, everything was clear—this was a misunderstanding.
Only—
The man frowned, still looking a bit incredulous, "Why didn't you say anything when I 'kidnapped' you?"
He hadn't even struggled, just stood there as if resigned.
Say what?!!
Fang Chen's eyes widened, "B-but you kidnapped me! I was scared that if I struggled, you'd just… kill me!"
Seth closed his eyes and pressed a hand to his forehead.
Fang Chen glanced at him cautiously, sensing that Seth seemed a bit easier to deal with today, his attitude softening. Maybe he really would let him go.
After a few seconds, the man opened his eyes and asked, "Do you know me?"
Such a deadly question!
Fang Chen shook his head frantically, wanting to swear, "Sir, I don't know you. Don't worry—I'll act like I never met you. I won't tell anyone, I swear."
"I didn't mean that."
Seth felt a bit stuck for the first time. He furrowed his brow, his tone serious, "I am Seth Bolton. I'm very sorry—yesterday was my misunderstanding. Recently there have been fake tickets being sold, and when you came to ask me yesterday, I thought you were… again, my apologies."
Fang Chen froze.
What…
He's Seth Bolton??
He's not some kind of psychopathic killer!!
Seeing the boy still in shock, Seth rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration, "It was my fault. I was too hasty. Anyway, whatever compensation you want, I'll agree to it…"
Before he finished, Fang Chen suddenly snatched the ticket from his hand!
Seth was stunned. For the first time, he saw the timid, little-lamb-like boy glare at him with such anger.
"Hasty? Sorry? You say that so easily!!" Fang Chen's whole body trembled with rage, his eyes red, and the hand clutching the ticket so tight that the knuckles turned pale. He bit his teeth, and after a few seconds, continued,
"Do you know… I thought I was going to die! I thought you were a killer! I thought I'd die in this damn place!"
He shouted it all out, and tears fell uncontrollably.
He hadn't cried when he was "kidnapped" yesterday, hadn't cried when the police left, hadn't cried when brought to the abandoned factory.
But now, realizing it was all a misunderstanding, Fang Chen couldn't hold back the resentment in his heart any longer, and he crouched down, wailing.
"I don't want to transmigrate! What the hell is this?! They throw me in a foreign country, I can't understand the language, nobody is good, I have to earn money, wuwuwu I want to go home!"
He rambled nonstop, but since it wasn't in English, Seth didn't understand. The man didn't expect him to suddenly start crying, and a rare sense of panic rose in his chest. He instinctively reached out to help him up, but Fang Chen lifted his head sharply, red-eyed, and forcefully swatted his hand away.
"Don't touch me!"
Seth understood that.
He raised his hands, "I mean no harm. I'm sorry… just don't cry anymore."
After shouting everything out, Fang Chen felt better. He stopped crying, sniffled, and suddenly stood up, fixing a stern little face on Seth.
Unfortunately, due to his height, he still had to look up at Seth, which made him look especially weak.
He glanced to the side, spotted a large rock, and quickly stepped on it to stand taller. Not taller than Seth, but at least it made a small difference.
After all that, Fang Chen crossed his arms and lifted his chin, "OK! Pensate!"
He pronounced the word heavily, each syllable dripping with grit and determination.
No choice.
He'd cried, shouted, and now… he had to keep living.
Life had to go on, right?
Seth nodded, "Whatever compensation you want, I'll give it to you."
He said it almost without thinking. Seth had always been rational, rarely speaking in absolutes. But looking into the boy's recently crying, misty red eyes, Seth thought… whatever he wanted, he could have.
It was Seth's fault. He had scared him so much.
Even if Fang Chen now demanded a villa in New York City, Seth would let him pick the location.
Yeah, what would he want?
Definitely money.
But how much would be appropriate?
Would Seth accuse him of extortion later?
Fang Chen hesitated slightly, then handed over the ticket, sweaty-palmed, "I'll sell it to you for ten thousand dollars!"
Selling a ticket shouldn't be illegal, right?
Seth paused, then nodded, "Fine."
---
On the way back, Fang Chen shed his timid demeanor, sitting upright in the passenger seat, chest out, posture stiff.
Just kidding! Seth was the one in the wrong now!
And Seth was generous, not fussing over this little matter.
A little lamb triumphant sounds cute, not evil.
Having escaped danger and sold the ticket for ten thousand, Fang Chen's mood improved. He hummed a little tune unconsciously.
Once he saved up a bit more money, he would splurge on some Chinese food!
He was sick of eating Western food every day.
The car window was half-open. It had rained the night before, and the breeze smelled of wet earth and green grass. Fang Chen inhaled deeply, feeling unusually relaxed and comfortable.
Seth drove, but his attention was entirely on the boy next to him.
The boy rested his arm on the window, peering outside. The light hit his side profile, highlighting even the tiniest fine hairs. His features were relaxed, lips curving faintly.
From timid and delicate last night, to the crying outburst just now, to this calm, carefree moment…
All in just one day and night.
Seth wondered how many faces this little lamb really had.
Yet, over and over, he found himself retreating his boundaries for this person.
Seth turned the wheel, made a turn, and took out his phone, handing it to him, "Add me."
Fang Chen didn't take it, turning his head, "No need."
"It'll make it easier for me to transfer the money."
Fang Chen immediately took the phone and typed in his contact info.
Seth tweaked his lips, "What's your name?"
"Fang Chen."
A few seconds later, the man's deep voice spoke, "Fang Chen?"
He tried to mimic Fang Chen's pronunciation. It sounded nice, but the intonation was a little off.
Hearing a foreigner speak Chinese really was interesting.
He couldn't help laughing. But as he laughed, he suddenly felt something off. Were they also weird when they spoke English?
Fang Chen: No, haha.
Seeing him smile, the boy's red, tear-streaked eyes curved slightly. Seth felt a rare lift in his mood—but only for a few seconds, as the boy quickly put on a stern face again.
Seth thought for a moment and said, "I didn't say it well. You can teach me a few more times."
Fang Chen snorted quietly, "Nope, not teaching you."
The man paused, then said it again, deliberately, "Fang Chen."
After saying it, he teased, "Better this time?"
Since transmigrating, no one had ever called him properly by his full name. They called him "Chen" or "Little Chen," or joked like Benjamin, calling him "baby."
He blinked and mumbled after a while, "That's actually pretty good."
Seth drove him to retrieve his phone and then back to his dorm.
After parking, Seth got out to open the car door, speaking softly, "Go rest well. And… I'm really sorry."
Fang Chen waved it off, "Just remember to transfer the money."
"Alright, won't forget."
Watching him go upstairs, Seth got back in the car, lit a cigarette, and as he exhaled, Joey called, "Where were you? Don't forget today's practice match."
"Got it." Seth paused, then suddenly said, "Get me a few tickets for next month's game."
"What are you planning?" Joey sounded wary.
Except for regular sales and giveaways, the rest of the tickets were managed by logistics.
"For someone." Seth gave a number, "Fifteen."
Joey went quiet for a few seconds, then asked seriously, "Do you want to get me killed?"
"Do you know how fast these sell out? Tickets are gone in seconds. Besides the ones sold, the rest go to sponsors…"
Seth impatiently cut him off, "How many are left?"
Joey gritted his teeth, "Five!"
"Eight tickets, ready them. I'll have someone pick them up."
After saying that, Seth hung up. He put out the cigarette, glanced at the direction Fang Chen had left, and finally drove off.
---
After returning, Fang Chen showered and immediately collapsed into bed, sleeping straight through until the next day, when his alarm woke him. Groggy, he got up and went to the kitchen to find food.
His roommate had baked pizza and left a slice for him.
He was too lazy to put it on a plate, simply wearing a glove to grab it and eat while standing by the counter.
His other hand wasn't idle either, scrolling through messages accumulated over the day.
There weren't many messages anyway.
Being in a foreign country, Fang Chen had almost no friends.
Only Benjamin messaged him this morning, asking if he could swap shifts.
Fang Chen replied after almost ten hours, "Sorry, I was asleep all day and just saw your message."
Benjamin quickly responded, "It's fine. I already asked the boss for leave."
"Wait, slept all day? Did you… do it last night too?"
Fang Chen was silent for a few seconds, closed the chat, and chose not to reply.
Just then, a notification popped up.
It was a bank transfer alert.
Fang Chen glanced at it, stunned, nearly jumping up.
No mistake, right?
Seth Bolton had transferred him $100,000 in one go?