Barry lay on the ground, clutching his winded chest as he watched Alex's indifferent back pass through the front door, gradually blurring and vanishing in the sunlight, leaving his sight.
Even the sunlight made Barry feel miserable.
He gasped until his face turned red, continuously patting his chest to steady his breathing. Then he took a deep breath and recovered. Watching Alex disappear from view, Barry's gaze could not help but dim.
He had not expected that, after so long, his friend still found it so hard to let go.
"Barry, what's wrong? Are you okay?"
Aunt Merri had finally realized that Alex had not struck to kill. Looking anxious, she hurriedly rubbed Barry's back to help him catch his breath, pulled him up from the ground, and kept gently patting the dust from his clothes, sending it flying everywhere.
"How could Alex do something like this?"
Aunt Merri looked heartbroken. Barry and Alex had been such close friends when they were children. She had never imagined things would come to this.
Bert walked over and saw that Barry still had the strength to stand. Other than his reddened face from being winded, he was fine after catching his breath, and the worry in Bert's heart finally subsided.
He knew how strong Alex was. He had personally witnessed the horrifying sight of Alex killing people with a single punch several times.
Barry looked rather disheveled now, but none of his arms or legs were broken. His clothes were merely dirty, and he looked a little worse for wear. It seemed Alex had still held back and only wanted to embarrass Barry.
"Barry, you shouldn't have come here."
Bert glanced at Barry and sighed.
He understood very well the guilt in Barry's heart and his desire to become Alex's friend again.
But he also knew Alex's personality well. How could Alex forgive Barry so easily?
Barry forced a sunny smile onto his gloomy face. "Bert, I'm fine. Alex and I are still good friends!"
"Barry, this doesn't look like friendly horseplay."
"Alex really is... How could he do that?"
Aunt Merri was very dissatisfied. After dusting most of the dirt off Barry, she went to the bathroom, brought out a damp towel, wiped his face, and helped him straighten his wrinkled jacket.
"Barry, I think you should consider whether Alex wants to kill you. From what I know, your previous three girlfriends all threw themselves into his arms."
Bert said helplessly.
"What? Alex stole Barry's girlfriends too? Three of them?" Aunt Merri was astonished. She had never known what Alex was like at school. She only knew he had been popular, never imagining that her Alex had stolen Barry's girlfriends. It was far too shocking.
"No, Bert, Aunt Merri, you misunderstood. They... they were actually just treating me like a clown. Alex taught them a lesson."
Barry said awkwardly. This was also why he had always believed Alex was his good friend. Whenever it truly mattered, Alex had solved quite a few troublesome problems for Barry.
"Bert, Aunt Merri, you don't need to worry. This is just a joke between Alex and me. We're still good friends."
As Barry spoke with Bert and Aunt Merri, he shook off the gloom and revealed a sunny smile. He continued, "You don't know this."
"Once, Ciri and I were kidnapped by a gang. Without hesitation, Alex stormed their hideout alone, fought them without fearing danger, and rescued me."
"I knew Alex considered me a friend too."
What was that?
That was brotherhood worth risking one's life for!
He would not let Alex down either!
Whenever Barry thought about how he could work with Alex at the Central City Police Department in the future, overcome every difficulty, and contribute to Central City's beauty and safety, his mood improved, and he became filled with endless fantasies about the future.
Bert was speechless. Then he said, "Barry, I know about that incident, but in the end, didn't your girlfriend break up with you and then pursue Alex?"
"Don't you think you're still single because Alex 'saved' you at every crucial moment and made your girlfriends leave you?"
"No, Bert, you're wrong. I'm happy that they found better homes. I simply wasn't good enough. Alex really is a man full of charm."
Barry said this without the slightest awareness, his eyes firmly refusing to believe it was Alex's fault.
Although his girlfriends had all broken up with him in the end and fallen for Alex, didn't that merely prove he was not outstanding enough, while also proving that his friend was exceptional enough to attract the opposite sex around him?
"All right, Barry. I'm happy for Alex that he has a friend like you."
Bert had nothing more to say. The look in his eyes as he regarded Barry had become one of strange pity.
He could not help comparing it to his younger days. If he had encountered a man like Alex swaggering around in front of him and daring to steal his girlfriend, he would have pulled out a gun and blown that bastard away!
Barry's utterly impeccable values were probably why Alex wanted to beat him up!
Bert silently thought to himself.
"Bert, Aunt Merri, I'll be going now. I still need to go to the police department and file a report."
After saying that, Barry walked out of Alex's house amid Bert and Aunt Merri's farewells. He headed toward the Central City Police Department, preparing to take the bus to work.
Watching Barry disappear from sight, Bert felt glad that Alex had such a friend, yet at the same time, he felt a headache coming on because of Alex's personality.
Forget it, forget it. Young people had their own way of living.
He shook his head and dismissed the thought.
Aunt Merri closed the door and walked into the house with Bert. She could not help sighing worriedly. "Who knows what's wrong with Alex? He can't get along with Anna, and he can't get along with a good kid like Barry either. It's truly a headache."
Anna was Aunt Merri's daughter. She was the youngest doctor of biology and genetics at Central City University. During her junior year, she had already been specially recruited into an important branch of Central City's STAR Labs as a biological researcher. She was now the deputy director of the genetics department at Central City's STAR Labs.
Her relationship with Alex was extremely tense. They were like fire and water, unable to exchange more than a few words. Several years ago, Anna had even pulled out a handgun and furiously fired at Alex.
Neither of them wanted to see the other. They did not share even a trace of affection as brother and sister.
"Forget it. Let the young people give themselves headaches. We should hurry and clear out the storage room so Anna can park her car. She certainly doesn't want to put her car in Alex's garage."
Before you continue