Chapter 4 : Emotional Outburst

"Sorry, manager, I really had something come up today, I wasn''t late on purpose." Francis looked at the portly middle-aged man across from him, feeling a bit submissive. He kept convincing himself with "for the money, for the money, for the money."

"Not on purpose, not on purpose. How many customers have complained about you in the past few months? Don''t tell me you have no problems at all!" The middle-aged man took a deep drag of his cigarette, looking at the somewhat inexperienced young man across from him. His features were fair, and his hair softly fell over his forehead. Suddenly, he laughed.

"If so many customers want to find you and you don''t want to, why not come with me?"

Francis frowned. He had already been feeling uncomfortable with people hitting on him these past few months, otherwise, he wouldn''t have misunderstood Ernest. But now, seeing the manager''s stance, is this hotel a professional pimping place? Just as he was about to say something, the surrounding laughter started to suffocate him.

"Yeah, little beauty, just go with the manager. I mean, how much money can you make bartending?" After saying that, he started laughing heartily.

The rich kids who came for fun didn''t expect to see such a spectacle and began to echo the first speaker. Soon, more and more people in the bar were watching the commotion, the laughter grew louder, and the noise was everywhere. It was all dirty mire, making people extremely disgusted.

Francis began to breathe rapidly. It felt like he was back ten years ago, only able to squat in a corner, covering his ears to protect himself, to avoid getting hurt.

But he was no longer the weak little Francis from back then. After all these years, hadn''t he figured out the rules of survival in society? If he still let people push him around, wouldn''t he have lived in vain all these years?

He clenched his fist and punched the middle-aged man''s obvious beer belly, laughing mockingly.

"I apologized just now because you paid me a salary. Now it seems there''s no reason for me to stay. Don''t you think so, boss?" He squinted his eyes and smiled, punching the man''s belly again.

"Pimping, forcing drinks, improper transactions, do you think I''m blind?" Francis''s foot started kicking the man opposite him.

"And you want me to go with you? Are you dreaming too much and don''t want to wake up?" After a sarcastic remark, Francis followed with another move. The middle-aged man, who only knew how to drink and enjoy himself, was no match for him.

"What are the security guards doing? Drag this lunatic out!" The manager called for help from the security guards outside the door.

Ernest had just stepped into the bar when he heard a somewhat unpleasant voice shouting loudly. He rubbed his ears, feeling a bit annoyed. Francis worked in a place like this? At least find a proper bar.

He was about to sit at the bar when he saw Francis punching someone repeatedly near the side door of the bar. Ernest frowned and walked over to him, "What''s going on?"

Francis was somewhat out of control. He couldn''t hear the voices around him, only wanting to clear away these eyesores, hitting harder and harder. Ernest felt something was wrong and forcefully pulled Francis back, "What''s wrong?"

"Take me to the hospital, ouch, ouch." The manager finally caught his breath and started rolling on the ground.

Ernest looked away in disgust and pulled Francis out. The bar was in a remote area, so Ernest wasn''t afraid of being recognized and left the bar without any cover.

"What did he do to you?" Ernest asked, staring directly at Francis. He couldn''t believe that Francis would lose control and hit someone like that. Others might not see it, but Ernest, who had trained in self-defense, knew that Francis''s punches were painful but left no visible marks.

He then realized that Francis was in really bad shape, with red-rimmed eyes and slightly messy hair. Somehow, Ernest felt a pang in his heart, like being pricked by a needle. He took a deep breath, raised his hand to rub Francis''s head, but Francis dodged.

Ernest awkwardly cleared his throat, put his hand down, and rubbed his fingers. What was he doing just now? For the first time in his life, Ernest couldn''t understand his instinctive actions. He sighed, watching the young man walking quickly ahead, and quietly followed behind him.

Francis tried to calm himself down, lowering his head as he walked towards the bus stop. After hitting someone, he felt a sense of release, but he also had to think about his next steps.

銆€銆€An escape route? Livelihood? These were all problems. It was impossible for him to go back to that lousy bar job, so he could only implement the escape plan he thought of yesterday. He didn''t know if Ernest had bought the computer yet, and he needed to transfer the money to him later.

銆€銆€Francis suddenly stopped in his tracks. It seemed like he had taken out his anger on the innocent Ernest. He turned his head and saw Ernest walking not too far behind him, as if protecting him. Although it might just be his imagination, Francis suddenly felt a bit sad and thought of his big brother from back then.

銆€銆€Ernest was leisurely walking behind, preventing the kid from getting into any trouble. When he looked up, he saw those bright, somewhat aggrieved eyes in the night. "What''s wrong?" He didn''t know how many times he had said this today.

銆€銆€Francis shook his head, not intending to speak, just standing there waiting for Ernest to catch up.

銆€銆€"Let''s go home," Ernest sensibly didn''t mention what had just happened.

銆€銆€The two walked one after the other, with no trace of the earlier awkwardness. "I''ll give you a ride," Ernest said. After all, they were neighbors, and it was normal to give him a lift.

銆€銆€"Okay, thanks." Francis didn''t want to take the bus alone now. With Ernest by his side, he felt safer. He didn''t know why, but Ernest always reminded him of his big brother from back then. But could a person''s appearance change so much?

銆€銆€"Get in the car," Ernest said, putting on a mask and hat before starting the car.

銆€銆€Francis shook his head, not thinking about those things anymore. After getting into the passenger seat, he took a deep breath. Since he was taking Ernest''s car, he might as well cross off the second item in his little notebook.

銆€銆€Ernest had just started the car when his phone rang. He clicked his tongue and looked at Francis, signaling for him to help.

銆€銆€Francis answered the call and was about to hold the phone to Ernest''s ear when Ernest said, "Put it on speaker."

銆€銆€Francis was a bit surprised. Shouldn''t this be personal? Ernest didn''t seem to mind at all, but since the phone''s owner had said so, he complied.

銆€銆€As soon as the call connected, a calm voice came from the other end, "Ernest?"

銆€銆€"Yeah, who is this?"

"I''m your new agent, Brown. Come to the office tomorrow. We need to discuss a few variety show scripts. We''ll talk more about the details at the office tomorrow."