Gritting her teeth, Wendy warned, "What if I report it to the police?"
However, Alan coldly replied, "Go ahead and file a report. They'll probably conclude it as conflict in romance.
"When it comes to your claims, I won't acknowledge them. Without any evidence, the cops can't do anything to me, but you'd be done for. Your whole family is in trouble."
With that, Alan yanked Wendy's hair and pulled her right up to him. "Just do as I say and get it done tomorrow."
Tears streamed down Wendy's face. As she sobbed, she started trembling, and her voice shook. "If I take care of it, will you hand me the past footage?"
Alan smirked. "Sure. Get the job done, and you get all the videos. Plus, I'll bump up the money I promised you by ten times."
...
An electric scooter slowly made its way to Woolfields. At the town entrance, the townspeople chatted, seemingly discussing something.
Kingston's expression was cold as usual. Even though he saw the people at the town entrance, he acted like they weren't there.
In the past, he tried to approach them with a smile and ended up getting shut down. After getting rejected too many times, he stopped wasting his efforts because of the cold shoulder.
Kingston rode his electric scooter, bringing Matthew along. Just as he was about to enter the town, a plump woman in her 50s came out and greeted him with a smile.
"You're back, Kingston."
He furrowed his brows, unsure of how to handle it. Back then, Zinnia Grossman would always hurl insults at him. On her grumpy days, she'd chew him out. Why the sudden change in attitude? Did she greet with a smile?
Feeling at a loss for words, Kingston instinctively slowed down and glanced at Zinnia before riding past on his scooter.
Just a few meters ahead, someone suddenly called out to him. "Welcome back, Kingston. My wife's niece is 25 this year, and I'd love to set you two up."
With a screech, Kingston hit the brakes hard. Marrying a woman was his greatest wish, but the news had come too suddenly. He stared at Alaric Crowell in disbelief.
Alaric used to yell at Kingston upon seeing him, calling him out by his name. He could only pretend he didn't hear it.
At that moment, Alaric actually offered to set Kingston up with his wife's niece, helping Kingston to get into a marriage.
He glanced back at Matthew behind him. Everyone's attitude had flipped because of Matthew.
Kingston was thankful to Matthew. The latter helped him regain his dignity and made him feel human again.
Seeing that Kingston was quiet, Alaric added, "You've met my wife's niece, Kingston. She's drop-dead gorgeous and has a great figure. A ton of guys are chasing after her. If you let this opportunity slip away, you won't get another shot."
Kingston remained silent for a moment. He realized that even if he was thinking about marrying, Alaric was just trying to get Matthew's help to cure everyone.
He thought for a moment and dismissively replied, "I'm not interested."
Alaric's jaw dropped. Kingston struggled to find a wife, yet he claimed he wasn't into his wife's niece.
She was a real stunner. Even the mayor's son asked Alaric to put in a good word for him, but Kingston turned Alaric down. Alaric was shocked that he didn't know what to say next.
Seeing Alaric's look of disbelief, Kingston puffed his chest out even more. He cranked the throttle and sped away on his scooter with Matthew, leaving Alaric standing there in a daze.
After riding his scooter for a while, Kingston seemed like he had recalled something and said, "Thank you. You're the reason those townfolks, who once shunned and disliked me, have had a change of heart."
Matthew was taken aback. He never expected Kingston, who called himself an ungrateful person, would end up saying thanks.
"Since you put it that way, it means you accept me. Can you tell me about Plague Compendium and Miracle Healing Banner now?"
Kingston suddenly fell silent, continuing his ride home on his electric scooter. He seemed to be going faster with the wind whipping through his clothes.
Sitting at the back, Matthew waited for Kingston to say something. But after what felt like ages, he couldn't get any response. His brows slowly knitted together.
Eventually, Kingston pulled over right in front of his house. After coming to a halt on his scooter, Kingston started speaking up again. This time, his tone wasn't as gentle as he was earlier. Every word he said was cold.
"You might've helped me, but I'm ungrateful. I can't do anything for you."