The Black Swan Behind (Beauty of Fire)

Chapter 36: A Serious Problem

Emma looked at Kathy who was immediately looking down and looked very surprised at the mean words of the jerk guy.

“Why have to be so troublesome? I just want to do a good thing. Girls’ thoughts are hard to understand. Well.. at least it has to be fit with their face too.” Lary said as following his friends to stand up.

“I really don’t understand, why are you accusing me instead?” Brian added with an innocent pretentious face. It provoked Emma to want to slap him in the face.

The three men had already stood up and were about to leave. Sliding their chairs impolitely into a mess.

“Hey..!”

“Emma, don’t,” Kathy grabbed Emma’s wrist as she was about to stand up to face the three impudent guys. “They’re right. I talked too much. I don’t want you to get into trouble because of me,” she continued.

They were just two ballerina girls. They shouldn’t be hurt just because of the three big guys. No one will be able to protect them. So, at least they should stay out of trouble.

.....

Poppy was still sitting with her head down. Her hands squeezed her skirt in fear. But, what she feared finally happened. Donny called her.

“Poppy! Why are you still sitting there? Let’s go!” Donny stopped walking to turn to look at his girlfriend.

Poppy was sitting still. Her eyes were shaking and she squeezed her skirt even more.

Emma and Kathy looked at Poppy in confusion, “Poppy...” Emma muttered.

“Poppy!” Donny exclaimed again. Until the girl immediately stood up and rushed to tidy up all her things.

She walked quickly to her boyfriend. Following the steps of that three guys.

Emma and Kathy gaped at the tragic incident. They were still watching Poppy who was now in Donny’s arms after they put the leftovers in the washing space.

“This can’t be real, How could Poppy date a guy like him?” Kathy said blankly.

“She looks scared of him,” Emma muttered.

“Would Poppy get mad if I suggested to her to break up? That guy is really worrying.” Kathy continued again. But she sighed, “But I’m not that close to her...”

Emma was still staring at the four people who were walking towards the cafeteria door. At that moment, she realized that Troy and his friends were in the same room.

Donny cleared his throat and looked away as his eyes met with Troy Roner’s who continued to watch him intently. The three guys had to pass through two tables full of Jita Kyoei members or also known as Judo class guys.

Those guys continued to stare at the three guys who looked as if they were arresting a tiny skinny girl in their midst. The noises they made earlier, also made Troy and the gang felt furious.

Until finally, Donny and his guys passed through and disappeared from behind the glass door with their heads down. Of course, they knew who the faces on the two large tables belonged to. And they didn’t have the slightest bit of guts to just stare back at the stares that the twelve men gave.

“Cowardly bastard!” Martin muttered.

“Shouldn’t we warn Emma about those three? Maybe she’ll get into trouble hanging out with them.” Nicko said with a worried face.

As the only son with three younger sisters, Nicko was very concerned about women, who must always be protected. He can’t stand seeing a woman being hurt by a man. He would immediately beat the man up without mercy.

Troy shook his head before continuing to devour his beef steak, “That’s none of our business. We can’t interfere.”

Ian nodded, “We don’t have anything to do with Emma. Maybe, she’ll feel uncomfortable if we suddenly show up to lecture her. We’d better mind our own business.”

***

As what’s been predicted, after the incident at the cafeteria, Poppy didn’t show up for ballet class. Emma had wanted to say something to Ms Diana, but unfortunately, she was absent and replaced by another teacher.

The class that day was felt like the wind blowing through Emma’s hair. She could neither concentrate nor enjoy the class she had always been waiting for. Emma realized that Kathy had the same feelings as her. But the girl looks more annoyed at Donny’s evil words that bring down her self-esteem in public.

“Emma, are you busy today?” Kathy asked as they cleaned up after class.

Emma shook her head, “I’m not. Do you want me to do something for you?”

Kathy rubbed her arm uncomfortably, “Would you like to have a drink with me? I’m feeling.. a bit.. upset?” she looked confused.

“Sure. I’ll accompany you to drink. But, today I don’t bring my car, so maybe we should take the bus.” Emma answered quickly. She could see Kathy’s face looks so sad. And of course, she would help if that friendly girl needed a shoulder to lean on.

Kathy smiled happily and shook her head, “It’s okay. Let’s take the bus.”

Emma nodded with a gentle smile, “Okay.”

***

A muscular hand with visible veins sticking out was polishing the red body of the motorcycle until it was shiny. His face reflected on the motorcycle’s gas tank. He smiled, showing his white teeth.

“Thank you very much. You are great. I will be a loyal customer here.” Calvin said, then cleared his throat, “Of course with a student discount..” he added in a small voice.

Troy glanced at him scornfully with a snort. The wide smile suddenly disappeared from his stern face. He walked over to the cashier table which was guarded by a middle-aged woman, who’s had hands that seemed to be very dexterous in her work. The woman gave a paper to the son of the workshop owner where she had worked for the past fifteen years.

“Here’s your bill,” Troy handed the pink paper to Calvin.

“Gosh.. I’m going bankrupt..” He muttered with a sad face. Then he pulled his tattered wallet out of his trouser pocket and pulled out a card, “Do you accept credit cards?”

Troy looked at the black card with an annoyed face. F*ck with being broke! It is a credit card with a large limit that only rich people have. Actually, what kind of human is Calvin Lee?

“Pay at the cashier,” Troy pointed his chin at the cashier table.

“Okay,” Calvin nodded and did as Troy told him to.

The sun had set. But the light still leaves the sky orange and purple colours. It was as if an artist was sweeping his brush across the endless canvas.

Calvin had finished making the payment with a feeling of crying over his credit card bill later. Even though it will not be him who will pay the credit card bill, but his uncle, but for Calvin the money belongs to his parents and he must use it as wisely as possible. But what can he do if circumstances keep forcing him to pour out money?

Just as he was about to start his motorcycle engine, he realized that Troy was standing behind him in the rearview mirror. Calvin turned and looked questioningly at the guy, “Do you want to tell me something?”

“There’s actually something I want to talk to you about. Do you have time?” Troy asked.

They ended up at a roadside tent tavern near Troy’s workshop. The big and burly guy ordered some snacks that were suitable to drink with Baijiu (Chinese alcohol) that warmed their bodies in the middle of the falling snow.

“What do you want to talk about?” Calvin asked after all the food had been delivered to their table.

“They stole judo studio students. This incident is like an epidemic that spreads very quickly. I have recorded that three studios have closed in the last four months. For some reason, there are several groups that seem to have a common goal. They are aggressively enlarging their respective groups. Recruiting many members who were the great student with the lure of large amounts of money.” Troy explained.

Before Calvin could say anything more, there was the sound of the engine of a sports motorbike stopping at the door of the tavern tent. Then, two men came into their table.

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