Chapter 3 Amanda, you...

"Sigh... Did you call just to let me hear you breathe? Amanda..."

"The bar''s resident singer said he can only sing for three more days. After that, he''s leaving. The person Ralph found before was unreliable, and I already turned him down. Now you need to come over and see if you can make do with him." Amanda suppressed her suspicions.

"Couldn''t you wait until I got back to tell me this? Amanda, you..."

"No, why should he wait for you? Ralph is unreliable, and so are you. Is this bar yours or mine? Why should I worry day and night for you? Get back here and see him now."

"...Rebellion, this is definitely a rebellion. Sigh, see him... see your uncle. Who could be more important than Samue?"

Patrick looked across the street at the old neighborhood. The building by the road didn''t even have a security booth, and it was dirty and messy inside. How could Samue live here?

"Did you hear what I said, Patrick...?"

"Amanda, if you''re unhappy, you can quit. I''ve always thought that with your abilities, you shouldn''t be stuck in my small place. You could easily get into a Fortune 500 company... a white-collar job? Or maybe a gold-collar job... I don''t really understand... or..."

"Patrick, you bastard. Do you really think I can''t leave you..."

Bang... The phone was probably thrown, making Patrick''s eardrum hurt.

Sigh, damn, this girl has quite a temper. But no matter how big her temper is, she''s not someone he should indulge. Patrick never messes around with relationships. He believes he''s always been clear with Amanda, leaving no room for misunderstanding.

Sweat dripped from Patrick''s forehead into his clothes... it felt like a sauna. But even so, he refused to leave, inexplicably hoping to see that figure come out of the building again.

As for what he would do when he saw him... he would decide then.

Patrick sat in the car for two hours until the sun set, but he didn''t see Samue again. He felt like he was going crazy... actually, he was suffering from heatstroke, feeling dizzy and lightheaded.

Even so, he didn''t forget to rush to the store before it closed to buy Amanda a new phone. After all, the phone broke because of him. And after two hours of sweating in the car, he realized his earlier words were a bit too harsh.

Amanda had worked at the bar for three years. Even if there was no love, there was friendship. He couldn''t just disregard others'' feelings for his own happiness. That would be too selfish.

Although Patrick admitted that he wasn''t a good person, being bad when he needed to be and shameless when necessary, there were some debts he could owe and some he couldn''t touch according to his principles. Emotional debts were one of the latter.

By the time he returned to the bar, the city lights were already on... it was opening time. Amanda, who had claimed ''you really think I can''t do without him,'' was standing at the cash register with a dark face, as if someone owed her eight million dollars.

"Patrick, you''re finally back. I found that singer, you need to meet him quickly. He''s been waiting for you all afternoon," Ralph Allen said, pulling Patrick by the arm towards the backstage.

It wasn''t the busiest time at the bar yet, but there were already a few regular customers. Seeing Patrick, they all raised their glasses to greet him.

"Mr. Peabody."

"Patrick."

"Come have a drink with us."

"......"

Patrick smiled gently and somewhat ambiguously, "Not today, I have something to do."

"Did you make our beautiful Amanda angry? No wonder she walked away with a dark face as soon as you came in. You better go and appease her. Making a beauty angry is your fault..." someone teased.

Patrick lowered his head to light a cigarette, the shadow of the light covering half of his face. The smile had disappeared at some point, replaced by a particularly cold and abstinent demeanor.

He turned back to the bar, "Ralph, go get that singer on stage to sing a couple of songs. Our guests can help judge."

After saying that, he sat down next to the person who had teased him earlier, handing the cigarette to the man in front of him, "Buddy, are you interested in our Amanda? If you are, just say so and I''ll help you pursue her. She''s like a sister to me, so you better be serious."

"Patrick, are you serious?" The man was quite scared. Patrick had a natural coldness about him. When he smiled, he seemed roguish and cheeky, but when he didn''t, his eyes could kill.

That coldness came from his bones, a high coldness that was out of place in this world.

"Do you think I need to lie to you about this? Everyone listen up, Amanda is like a sister to me. Jokes are fine, but I''m a shameless person, and Amanda is thin-skinned. Don''t damage her reputation."

Everyone was an adult and not a fool. They understood what was going on as soon as he said that.

"Got it, Patrick."

"Understood."

"Noted."

"Then I''ll really pursue her." The man Patrick had his arm around felt more confident and less afraid of Patrick.

"Go ahead, but if you dare hurt her, I won''t let you off," Patrick said, lightly squeezing his shoulder and standing up.

At this point, there was no need to explain further as he walked towards the backstage.

"Hey, Patrick, the singer is on stage, where are you going now?" Ralph was so worried his hair was turning white.

"This is a small matter, you can handle it. I''m feeling a bit dizzy, going upstairs to rest. Oh, and have Richard bring me something to eat."

"You really are something. Fine, fine, you''re the young master, you rest. I''ve been drinking all afternoon and my head is still clear. I really don''t know where you went all afternoon," Ralph grumbled endlessly.

"Pfft... Didn''t Paul want to find a woman? How did he end up drinking?"

"Do you think he can solve it in half an hour? He''s not a lightning rod just standing there," Ralph rolled his eyes at his boss.

"Haha... lightning rod? That''s a perfect description. Oh man, I''m going to have a psychological shadow and never be able to look at a lightning rod the same way again."

"What are you talking about?"

"Lightning rod, you idiot." Patrick raised his hand and knocked on Ralph''s head, then turned and hummed a tune as he went upstairs.

The bar had a two-story open layout, with the first floor being the stage and main hall with scattered tables, and the second floor being the VIP area with private rooms and individual booths.

Patrick rented the two floors above as employee dormitories, and he also had a small room upstairs.

Though it was called a small room, it was only slightly smaller than a presidential suite, with all the necessary living facilities. Even though Patrick rarely used them, it didn''t stop him from showing off.

Patrick was never one to compromise on his comfort. He might seem like a delinquent, an unreliable youth who had gone astray, but he had done all the bad things one could do since his student days.

Smoking, fighting, skipping classes, truancy—he had picked up all the bad habits of a troubled youth, except for prostitution, drugs, and gambling.

He spent his days hanging out with his friends, going to bars, staying up all night, and mixing with the wrong crowd. After graduating from high school, he managed to get into a third-rate college. To support himself and continue his carefree lifestyle, he opened a bar.

Fortunately, Patrick either had a natural talent for business or was just lucky, so the bar''s business was always pretty good. Over the years, he had lived a colorful life.

Those who knew him well understood that he was a bit of a neat freak, fastidious, and particularly focused on the quality of life.

Luckily, he didn''t have any bad habits, and the bar''s income was enough to maintain his decent lifestyle.

He wasn''t as extravagant as those rich kids, but he was clean and particular.

Sometimes Patrick thought this was how his life would be, just getting by... until he met Samue again.

Patrick felt like he was in a daze, his head spinning, but it didn''t stop him from thinking about Samue. Just thinking about that person''s eyes, expressions, and smile would light up his own eyes, as if the sun had illuminated the entire world.

Patrick raised his hand and knocked on Amanda''s door: "Amanda, I bought you the Blue Charm you''ve been wanting. I left it at your door, remember..."

The door swung open, revealing Amanda''s still-angry face.

Patrick picked up the bag he had just put down: "Remember to take it."

He finished his sentence and gave Amanda a chuckle.

"Don''t think you can brush me off with a phone, Patrick. This isn''t over. For years... what do you take me for... sob... I... sob..."

Before she could finish, Amanda started crying.

Patrick couldn''t stand this. His head was already spinning, and now it felt like adding fuel to the fire. He felt like he could barely stand.

"Let''s talk this out, don''t cry... don''t cry." Patrick raised his arm but then put it back down.

Seeing this, Amanda cried even harder.

Patrick took a step back, frowning: "How about you cry first, and we''ll talk after you''re done."

Amanda wasn''t having it and lunged at him. Patrick tried to dodge, but his body wasn''t cooperating today. His vision went black, and with Amanda''s force, he fell to the floor.

"Patrick... Patrick, are you okay?" Amanda hadn''t expected Patrick to be so fragile and was scared out of her wits.

Hearing her voice without a hint of crying, Patrick thought it was great and decided to just close his eyes and stay down.

He didn''t realize his fever was already burning hot.