Robin and Jeremy were people who worked alone. The idea of living life as a small group was unfamiliar to them.
Robin never experienced any so-called âtrue friendshipâ since he was a child. He was always alone until Hector brought him to the Firewolf Chamber of Commerce.
Jeremy, on the other hand, was better in comparison. He just didnât like to deal with people, not that he couldnât.
But Robin never knew how. He wanted to, but he had never found a way to do it.
It was as if those words from Casper opened the door to a new world for this chubby young man.
Robin and Casper were just around the same age. Even Casper looked barely older by two years compared to him.
It was quite pitiful.
Thus, the impact of Casperâs words was huge on them.
They wonât be treated as subordinates but as brothers.
Jeremy and Robin didnât know what to say, so they could only nod.
âOh, and this is the gist of my plans for Firewolf Chamber. No pornography, gambling, and drugs. We wonât touch those areas like before.â
âBut we still have to do some bullying if we were to be bullied by others.â
âAs for the income, share it with the subordinates first. If thereâs money that you need, you can take it for yourselves. If you have donât have enough, you can ask me. Both of you can take care of the accounts together. Just give me a report at the end of the month.â
âBoth of you will work together. One of you will be responsible for the external affairs and the internal affairs for the other.
âI will leave the rest to the two of you. Itâs about the same as what Stallion handed over to you before this. You can come any time.â Casper jokingly said.
They both nodded. Then, the three smiled at each other, but Robin was still very bashful.
Then, Casper chatted with them for a bit before leaving.
He knew they would ultimately deal with the Firewolf Chamber of Commerce matters, and they still needed to get to know each other better.
And that would take some time.
When Casper returned to the university, he received text messages from both Jeremy and Robin.
Boss! I will not disappoint you!
Both texts had the exact same contents. He couldnât help but suspect if the two of them conspired to send the same text messages.
He smiled.
The two seemed to get along well.
Before he could reply to them, a phone call came in.
It was from Amelia.
He quickly answered the call.
However, the person on the phone was, again, not Amelia herself, but a middle-aged woman.
âHello, are you the boy looking for my daughter?â The lady⦠no, the woman, shouted at Casper with a blaring voice.
Her voice carried a local accent and a peculiar suburban tone. And it was so loud and powerful, Casper felt himself losing his hearing for a moment.
He responded politely, âYes, I am.â
âWhatâs your name? What do you want from my daughter?â Again, the voice was ear-piercing enough for him to move the phone away from his ears.
But was she actually Ameliaâs mother? He imagined Ameliaâs mother to be gentle and refined, just like Amelia.
He did not expect her to be such a person.
âMiss, my name is Casper Simpson, and I am a friend of Amelia. She hasnât been to class for a few days. Iâm a little worried, so I wanted to check on her.â
âFriend?â The woman was puzzled. She scorned, âWho are you bluffing? A worthless loser like Amelia has friends? Are you sure youâre not after my daughterâs beauty?â
âIf you want my daughter, you need to have the money!â She scorned.
Casper was stunned, at the same time, immensely disgusted.
He would never have expected that Ameliaâs mother was such a character.
âMom, ask him if he wants to date my sister. If he does, he has to fork out twenty thousand, then weâll think about it. Thereâs a new motorcycle that I want.â There was another voice on the other side of the phone.
âMy clothes and shoes as well. I want new ones.â
If Casperâs memory and hearing served him well, the voice should be the voice of the teenager who answered the phone when he called Amelia in the morning.
Immediately, the loud voice returned, â Donât worry, leave it to me. We have to take as much money as we can from a worthless loser like her could fetch. Mommy will buy you everything you want, okay?â
Casper couldnât believe his ears.
Ameliaâs mother and her brother sounded like blood-sucking vampires still exist even in this era.
So that was why when he saw Amelia, she was desperate, with no will to live.
Even before dying, she never forgot to kneel and admit her mistakes to her mother.
To what extent was the desperation, fear, and powerlessness in her to do such a thing?
Casper could hardly believe it. He did not dare to imagine the sort of life Amelia had lived.
He couldnât imagine it at all.
After seeing a friend calling her daughter over the phone, the first thing that came to her mind was not greetings but scheming to milk the benefits and money from that person.
How frightening is this.
No wonder no one is willing to be friends with Amelia. Thatâs why she has no friends.
How could she ever get rid of her blood-sucking family?
Casper took a deep breath, suppressing his urge to scold the two and hang up, and said, âI am not Ameliaâs suitor.â
âHuh?â The woman snorted in disbelief, âWhy would you call Amelia if youâre not after her? You have even called her many times?â
âDo you think I donât know what you men are thinking? Could you even stand looking at her boring face if youâre not interested in her?â
âLet me make this clear with you! If you want to get in touch with my daughter, you will have to pay twenty thousand. There is no negotiation!â
She hung up as soon as she finished, leaving no room for Casper to respond.
She was confident that Casper would call back because she thought that her daughter had nothing to attract men apart from her attractive appearance.
Although there was some favoritism over a male child in the family when Amelia was born, she was the only offspring. Thus, she was treated well in terms of food and clothing.
But everything changed when she turned three.