Chapter 17

Carlisle wore a raincoat before quickly speeding toward Christine’s residential area.

It was th

the

beginning of June. Despite the rain, the air was still hot and humid.

The muscles in his legs tightened as his bicycle chain began to creak due to it being too long since he

last oiled it.

The rain poured on endlessly.

Suddenly, the chains in his bicycle finally broke due to the tension,

Fuck.

Carlisle cursed as he stopped his bicycle by the roadside and began to repair the chain.

He had used his bicycle for more than three years. Fixing the chain was easy. He had finished it within

ten minutes and was back on the road.

To stop his chain from breaking once more, he had found a shop for bicycles and asked for some oil.

The repairman didn’t charge him after hearing that he was heading to attend his SATS.

The houses in the Helios Village were mostly made out of plywood.

There was also a landfill nearby that stretched out from the county to the suburbs. Yet, no professionals

were around to clean up the area.

Hence, the disgusting smell of trash hung in the air.

Christine sat by the bed while feeding her grandma breakfast in a simple 300–square–foot home.

The house was simple and crude. But it was able to shelter them from the storm.

The house was also clean.

“Christine.” A middle–aged woman walked in. The woman’s clothes were ripped and had several

patches all over the shirt.

“Ms. Jefferson, why are you here?” Christine quickly put the food in her hand and went to the door.

“We managed to save up some money. You’ll be having your SATS, so you should eat properly.”

Christine quickly shook her hands. “That won’t do. I can’t take any more of your money!”

Grace Jefferson took out a stack of crumpled notes. But it consisted mostly of loose change as most

notes were one-dollar bills. There were hardly any five or ten–dollar bills.

Christine’s parents were working in another city. But ever since two years ago, they stopped visiting

and funding her.

For the past few years, she had survived high school through the small amount her neighbors gathered

Chapte 17

for her

Grace stuffed the money into Christine’s hands.

Her hands were calloused as she held Christine’s hands and said, “Christine, you are the light and

hope for our small village. You should focus on your exams. I’ll take care of your grandmal”

Christine had grown up in the village. Her grandma had also helped many villagers when she was your

After her grandma had become paralyzed, her parents abandoned shoulder the weight of the family at

a young age.

ence, she was forced to

Hence, the kind villagers took it upon themselves to care for Christine and her grandma.

Christine’s eyes turned red as she lowered her head. Tears fell down the corner of her eyes as she

choked on her sobs.

“Thank you Ms. Jefferson. Please help me thank everyone too. I definitely won’t let all of you down!”

She had been studying hard for the past few days. She knew she had to get into a university and make

a name for herself to repay their kindness.

“Alright. It’s about time now. You should hurry to school!” Grace urged. She was worried Christine

would

be late for her exams.

“I got it. Then, I’ll have to trouble you with caring for my grandma for now!”

Usually, Christine would wake up early and spend two hours walking to school.

But her grandma had been feeling sick today. So, she went to the clinic that was some distance away

to buy some medication for her grandma. Thus, she had already wasted a portion of her time.

It was unrealistic for her to walk to school now. So, she could only call a taxi and rush over.

She collected her things, washed up, combed her hair, and left her house hurriedly with an umbrella.

The Helios Village was by the countryside, so it was rare for taxis to drive by. Christine had decided to

wait for a while for the bus to save some money.

It would only cost her one dollar if she decided to head to school by bus.

However, ten minutes had passed. But the bus had yet to arrive.

At that moment, a black car stopped beside Christine.

“Hey, are you heading to take your SATS?” The driver was a fat man, wearing a pair of sunglasses.

Christine looked at the driver warily and nodded.

“Why don’t you get on? I’ll send you there for only a dollar! I only offer such a great deal to SAT

candidates! “The fat man pushed his sunglasses up his nose bridge and smiled kindly.

But Christine shook her head a