Chapter 987: Situational question

Did Slater accept the task?

He did, and surprisingly, he was much better at it. It was likely thanks to his training and the lessons he had taken to enhance his craft. Or maybe it was because he had grown up with a guy like Hugo, who would beat a poor dummy to a pulp.

Either way, taking that woman’s hand answered the "why" he tried to run away.

His entire body and soul already knew it would change him... and it did, forever.

******

[PRESENT TIME]

"Slater, I don’t think this is working," said James. "Why did your father ask me to watch over you and report to him?"

James slowly raised his brows and turned to his side where Slater was seated in the van. "Slater," he called, but Slater didn’t respond.

"Uhm..." James cleared his throat. "Surely, you and Penny inherited this trait from your father. How come he thinks he can also boss me around?"

But Slater didn’t answer. Normally, Slater would quickly enter his combat mode when others mentioned his family in a bad light. Sometimes, even a joke wouldn’t be okay — it was his rule. They could joke with him, but just not about his family. But Slater seemed a little too distracted.

"Is it the last woman?" James wondered, thinking that Slater’s last date was too old to be his date. "Don’t tell me he was mortified to be matched with an older woman?"

"Slater... Slater!" James called again, waving his hand in front of Slater. "Hey!"

This time, Slater blinked slowly before focusing on James.

"Slater, what’s wrong? You’ve been distracted since that last date," said James. "Did she tell you something?"

"No." Slater’s expression was plain, his gaze locked on James. "I’m just a little... just a little tired."

"Tired? How could you be tired? You used to do autograph signings for hours! You’ve only spent a little over an hour with those girls." James frowned. "Don’t lie to me. Something’s wrong. Tell me."

Slater smacked his lips and frowned. "How did you know I was lying?"

"We’ve known each other for more than half our lives! How could I not?"

"Well... that makes a little sense," Slater rocked his head before tilting it slightly. "Wow. I never thought you’d be a little scary."

"Huh? Me? Scary?"

"James, do you know when I lie to you?" Slater asked out of pure curiosity.

"Of course!"

"Really?"

"Slater, being your manager makes me extra attentive to you. You’re the only artist I handle. It would be bad for me if I couldn’t even take care of the one artist under me!" James intoned. "Besides, you’re my friend. So, I know when something is wrong or when you lie to me."

Slater blinked. "So, if I tell you that I once died and had the chance to live again, what do you think that would be?"

"Hah??"

"James, I actually died before, but then, I woke up several years in the past," Slater adjusted his seat and faced James. "Would you believe me? Or would you think it’s a lie?"

James studied the stern look on Slater’s face before his nose scrunched up. "What kind of nonsense is this?"

"..."

"If you die, you’d be dead! What second chance are you talking about? Did you read a script or something? How come it didn’t go to me first? Surely, some people are a pain in the neck and don’t have enough decency in them."

As James mumbled on and on, a shallow breath slipped past Slater’s nostrils. However, to be fair, he wasn’t sure if he was relieved or a little sad. He just knew that James knew him in certain ways, but not entirely. At least, James knew when Slater was tired or bothered. But he didn’t know when Slater was lying about where he had to go or the people he was talking to — who were also agents from Homeland Security.

"Ahem!" James stopped ranting and cleared his throat. "Slater, you’re really good at distracting people, huh? Did you say that nonsense to distract me?"

Slater slid his eyes to the corner. "No, but I’m... just thinking of a script I read online."

"You read the script online?"

"It’s more of a thread," Slater clarified. "It’s a thread asking a situational question."

"What is it?"

Slater hummed and leaned back in his seat. "What if... someone important to you is on death row for a crime they didn’t commit? This person could be a friend or family — as long as they’re close to you."

"Okay...?"

"You can save this person, but you have to kill two people. Would you do it?"

"Who are these two people?"

"You don’t know them, but the person who asked you to do it didn’t want them in her way," Slater clarified. "So? Would you do it?"

"..." James opened his mouth but then closed it again. He massaged his nape, thinking about it carefully. "That’s very complicated."

After a moment of thought, James smacked his lips and shrugged. "I’d do it."

"You will?"

"If the person who is framed is my mom, then I’d kill those two to save her. She might not be happy about it, but I think as long as I don’t tell her, it’ll be fine!" James grinned. "They’re family. However, I think I would need a lot of therapy for it. I mean, just the mere thought of doing it is enough to give me goosebumps."

Slater rocked his head. "But what if, when you finish the mission, you end up dead... only to find yourself back in time? And somehow, you got the chance to learn who these people were?"

"What the—" James scrunched up his nose in dismay. "You mean even when I succeed, I’ll still die? But I get reborn again? And get to know... who?"

"The people you killed in your first life; you learn that they were actually good people." Slater clarified. "Not just that, but then you meet the person who made you stain your hands with their blood. What would you feel?"

"Shitty?" James blurted out, shrugging as Slater’s brows rose. "But I don’t think what I feel will matter, to be honest."

"Why is that?"

"Because in my first life, I did what I did because I felt like I had no choice. My family was going to die for a crime she didn’t commit. Do you know how much of a mental load that is? Before I care for anyone else, I would care for my family first," James intoned. "But if I was reborn, isn’t that a blessing? Even if I remember what I did, the people around me don’t. I can change my future and perhaps change the inevitable."

"As for the part where I ended two kind people because I had to save my family, I’d feel shitty. But at the end of the day, it’s the reason I was reborn again," James added in a knowing tone. "Instead of asking me the obvious, it makes more sense to ask what would I do? But I guess it’s also obvious since I’ll surely use my second life to make the real puppeteer and the root cause of why I feel like a piece of trash pay. If not for their lives, then for something else of equal