Chapter 298 - 296: Before a Real Big Shot, They Are Nothing

"Are you okay?"

Seeing Kai Sherman walk aside to make a phone call, Jameson Stone approached Ethan Sterling to check on him.

Ethan Sterling shook his head, only just now managing to come back to his senses. "I think Kai knows my sister."

"Whether he knows your sister or not, it looks like he’s trying to stick up for you. But he’s going way too far. I think he’s about to beat that Golden Blade guy senseless."

At this point, Ethan Sterling was also at a loss. The situation had developed far beyond what he had anticipated.

Jameson Stone, however, suddenly had an idea for him. "If Kai is willing to back you up, then you should make them compensate you for your losses. Twelve yuan! You can’t just let that go and swallow the loss!"

"If they pay up, we can go to the police station and withdraw the report. Just say we settled it privately."

Ethan Sterling nodded, thinking Jameson Stone had a point.

Before long, Kai returned. He came up to Ethan Sterling and said, "Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you get a satisfactory resolution for this."

"Kai, you don’t need to give me any resolution." Ethan Sterling mustered his courage and said in a low voice, "Just make him pay me back for the bike repairs. That’s all."

"Money for the repairs, right? Simple enough. How much was it?" Kai Sherman asked straightforwardly.

Ethan Sterling: "Twelve yuan!"

"How much?"

Ethan Sterling: "..."

Jameson Stone: "Twelve yuan! Ethan Sterling’s bike is expensive. They kicked both wheel rims out of shape. New ones are six yuan each!"

"Fuck!"

Kai Sherman saw red when he heard that. "Those two little bastards really fucking know how to kick, going after a bike worth dozens of yuan!"

Of course, he had no reason to doubt Ethan Sterling’s words. It was perfectly normal for Cecilia’s brother to ride a bike worth over a hundred yuan.

But for ordinary people, especially a couple of unemployed loafers like Golden Blade and his crew, twelve yuan was an astronomical sum they had probably never even seen before.

The more Kai Sherman thought about it, the angrier he got, grinding his teeth in frustration.

The next second, he started walking back inside, calling over his shoulder to Ethan Sterling, "You guys wait here. This is definitely getting settled today."

Soon, the miserable screams of Golden Blade and Monkey echoed from inside again. It was clear Kai was getting serious this time. Their cries were so brutal that even the people outside couldn’t help but frown.

Duane arrived at the pool hall more than half an hour later.

Normally, business at the pool hall was pretty good, and it was usually packed at night. But today, the moment he walked in, he saw there were barely any customers. A small group of people clustered together were clearly Kai Sherman’s underlings.

He instantly knew something big must have happened today.

"Duane, you’re here."

One of the more sharp-eyed underlings recognized Duane and took the initiative to greet him.

Duane scanned the room but didn’t see Kai Sherman. He couldn’t help but ask, "Where’s Kai?"

The words had barely left his mouth when another bloodcurdling wail came from the back.

The underling gave a wry smile and pointed toward the back room. "He’s back there."

Duane nodded. He told the underling to lock the front door from the inside to keep anyone else from coming in, then headed toward the back himself.

"Twelve yuan! We could sell the three of you motherfuckers and see if we even get twelve yuan!"

The moment Duane entered the back room, he heard Kai Sherman shouting this. Looking closer, he saw three guys kneeling in a row, all of them black and blue. Golden Blade was the worst off—his face was beaten beyond recognition, and his left arm was dislocated.

"Just how pissed off are you?" Duane’s expression showed a hint of surprise, but his tone was teasing.

Kai Sherman turned at the sound of his voice. Seeing Duane, he walked over with a helpless look on his face. "Don’t mess with me. What am I supposed to do now?"

"How should I know what you want to do?" Duane looked at Kai Sherman and asked, "Are you afraid Cecilia will deal with you when she finds out?"

"Obviously!" Kai Sherman’s face was grim. The thought only made him angrier, and he walked over and landed another kick on one of them.

Duane reached out and grabbed his arm. "Alright, stop hitting them. You’ve beaten them to this state; Cecilia won’t blame you when she sees them. The most important thing to confirm right now is whether these guys only touched the bike. They didn’t lay a hand on Cecilia’s brother, right?"

"After all, you know how protective Cecilia is of her own. You were there when we went to Starwood to sort things out for her younger sister. Think about it, was that guy even recognizable after we were done with him?"

Kai Sherman turned back to the men. "Did you hit him or not?"

The men were beaten so badly they couldn’t even speak. They could only shake their heads like rattle-drums. They really hadn’t laid a hand on him.

Seeing this, Duane nodded. "Then it’s not a big deal. Cecilia is a reasonable person. Since you’ve taken it upon yourself to teach these idiots who don’t know their place a lesson, she won’t make things too difficult for you."

With Duane there, Kai Sherman felt a bit more at ease. After all, Duane was someone who could actually talk to Cecilia.

"Alright then. Can you help me contact Cecilia? See if she has time to come over. I need to apologize to her in person," Kai Sherman said.

Duane smiled at his words. "No problem. Cecilia will definitely come. This is about her brother, after all."

When Cecilia Sterling received Duane’s message, she was in her dorm room, wearing a face mask.

Duane had concisely explained what happened. Without hesitation, Cecilia Sterling ripped off her face mask, called for Blair, and left the dorm with her.

Her brother had mentioned the bicycle incident when they were having a meal at home a couple of days ago, but Cecilia Sterling never expected this would be the aftermath.

She rushed to the location Duane had sent her. As soon as she got out of the car, she saw him waiting for her by the entrance, smoking a cigarette.

When Duane saw Cecilia Sterling, he quickly stubbed out his cigarette and hurried to greet her. "Cecilia."

"Where’s my brother?"

"He’s inside. Totally fine."

Cecilia Sterling nodded and followed Duane into the pool hall.

"Sis?"

Ethan Sterling had been sitting and waiting for a long time, feeling increasingly uneasy. He never expected that the person he’d end up waiting for was his own sister.

"Ethan," Cecilia Sterling said as she walked over. She immediately looked her brother over, and only relaxed after confirming he didn’t have a single mark on him from a beating.

Ethan was about to ask something when he saw the man everyone had been calling Duane speak to his sister with the utmost respect. "Cecilia, the guys are in the back. I’ll have Kai Sherman bring them out."

Ethan Sterling’s eyes widened slightly, and so did everyone else’s in the room.

This beautiful woman... she was clearly no ordinary person!

Kai was already a step below Duane, but now Duane was treating her with such reverence!

Soon, a commotion was heard from the back, and then three figures, beaten beyond recognition, were thrown out, tumbling and crawling.

The extent of their injuries was so severe that even Blair couldn’t help but furrow her brow upon seeing them.

"Cecilia, I’m sorry. I failed to keep my men in line. One of my guys was blind and offended your brother." Kai Sherman stood before Cecilia Sterling, not even daring to look her in the eye.

To outsiders, people like them seemed to be doing pretty well for themselves. But they knew in their hearts that all their public prestige was built on the reputation of Jeb.

In front of real heavyweights like Jeb and Cecilia, they were nothing.