Chapter 70: Not Your Turf

"Hello?"

Ethan waited a few more seconds before the response came in. It was the gruff voice of a man, sounding cold and domineering.

"Am I speaking to Ethan Hale?"

Ethan raised an eyebrow, then said, "If you think I’m him, then yes."

The other end was silent for a moment, probably confused by his words. Then, a response came.

"I don’t have much to say on this. The shopping complex you bought belongs to one of my boys. I want to buy it back. Same price."

Ethan shook his head and replied immediately. "Impossible."

Stunned by his immediate rejection, the caller paused.

"Are you seriously not considering it? That building offers nothing to you. The location itself is unpopular. Why won’t you sell it?"

Rolling his eyes, Ethan asked back, "Why don’t you buy it if I sell it five times the initial value?"

"You..." The caller paused, realizing Ethan understood his plans. "I see you’re a quick one. Looks like I underestimated the news. Fine, let’s make a compromise."

Ethan hummed, an amused smile on his lips. "I’m listening."

"I know you already opened one of the shops so I won’t be after that. I want to buy the other shops for twice the initial value of the whole building," The caller suggested.

Once again, Ethan’s response was quick. "Impossible."

Stunned, the man went silent. "You son of a... do you know who you’re speaking to?"

"Some brat from the Wayne family?" Ethan shot back. "I know how you guys sound. I just forgot which one of you brothers it is."

The line went silent, and Ethan continued.

"Do not waste my time and do not try calling me back. I am not selling any of my properties. Be a good one and relay this message to the others who have the same thought in mind."

Finally, the caller spoke in a low voice. "You sound so bold for a nobody. I’ll let you know this. Cold River District is not your turf and you’ll pay dearly for being disobedient to m—"

Ethan cut the call, unwilling to listen to some useless threats.

"Wayne family?" Lucas asked as soon as Ethan dropped the call.

His expression was dark, as if he had just heard that his sworn enemy was still alive.

"Yes. The Wayne family. What’s wrong?" Ethan turned to him, pretending to be oblivious.

Shaking his head, Lucas laughed dryly. "No, it’s nothing, really. They’re just one of the people who have been bothering me lately."

Patting his shoulder, Ethan walked past him. "They’re cowards. Ignore them."

Looking at Ethan’s back as he walked back into the shop, Lucas couldn’t help but wonder where his confidence came from.

He had never seen someone like Ethan before.

A man who wasn’t even a billionaire, yet carried himself like a person above them all.

’Sigh. Brother Ethan is just built different, I guess.’

Smiling, he waved at Evelyn and bid them farewell before going back into his car and leaving the area.

He had only come to check up on Ethan and complain a bit. He still had work to return to.

After all, he wasn’t Ethan, who had all the time in the world. Just as he wallowed in his thoughts, his phone rang.

Surprisingly, it was Ethan.

"Brother Ethan, yes?"

Ethan cleared his throat and said, "Ah... I forgot to tell you something."

Relaxing, Lucas said, "What’s that? Tell me."

"I actually need a favor," Ethan replied calmly.

Lucas stiffened and immediately sat up, his expression serious. "I’m listening, Brother. Anything you need."

"Good." Ethan continued. "There’s a guy in one of your subordinate branches—Frank Roy. He’s been on Cole’s tail for a while. And Cole has been yapping in my ears so I want to make him stop. Could you handle that?"

Lucas’s expression cracked. "Uh... like sack him?"

"Shhhh!" Ethan hissed. "Don’t make it sound like we’re doing evil, please. Just do a small investigation. He seems shady. Trust me."

Lucas’s lips twitched, but he still nodded. "I understand. I’ll do that as soon as I get back."

"Thanks. I owe you one," Ethan said cheerfully.

"No, not at—"

Even before Lucas finished speaking, Ethan had already ended the call. The man stared at his phone with a faint smile, then shook his head.

"Haa... I really don’t want to get on his bad side. It could be terrifying."

Meanwhile, Ethan sat in the shop, watching a movie while Nora sat beside him trying to focus on her studies.

However, the sounds from his phone kept disturbing her.

Shooting him a glare, she pouted and asked, "Don’t you have earphones? The sound of this is distracting me."

Ethan blinked, then put on a pitiful expression. "Ah... your dad is too broke to afford an earphone, sweetie. I have no choice but to watch my movie like this."

Patting her head, he wore an encouraging smile. "Don’t worry, keep studying! This will only help you train your focus so you won’t be distracted by your friends in class."

Nora’s expression twitched, as she had realized he was intentionally doing it. Still, she didn’t complain.

Shooting him one last glare, she turned back to her book while trying to ignore the sound of swords clashing and warriors cheering from his phone.

It wasn’t easy, and there were several times when she instinctively took a look. However, in the end, she managed to filter out the sound and focus on reading.

It didn’t last, though. Absentmindedly tapping her shoulder, Ethan smiled to himself.

"Ou! That was a smart move. Finally got his head off."

Nora stiffened, her eyes flaring with irritation. "You..."

She turned and glared at him, and he apologetically shifted away from her. Even though she was glaring, she didn’t notice the smile on her own face.

’What an annoying father!’

Snorting, she turned back to her books again, trying to filter out the noise around her and focus on the book. It took a few minutes, but she succeeded.

[You have completed today’s task!]

[You have received Focused Mind for Evelyn Hale. Claim reward?]

Ethan blinked and paused the movie he was watching, then glanced at Nora.

’So she has learned to focus, huh?’