Another One
Lin Rui took Toby to the subway station, then returned to the little church himself.
Even as Toby boarded the subway, he still had no idea that, in the brief moment he had turned away to buy water, Lin Rui had killed a homeless man who had tried to rob them along the way.
There were no surveillance cameras on that street, and the only witness was the convenience store clerk. But when the police arrived to collect the body, even the clerk could not explain what had happened.
A storm had risen and fallen in an instant, subsiding without so much as a ripple.
Toby returned to his home in Forty-One Block, cheering over the milestone in his weight loss: he had successfully dropped from over 150 kilograms to just over 130.
Although he was still overweight, his physique had already changed dramatically from his former bloated obesity, and his energy and spirits were much better.
Only when he entered the dining room did Toby discover that they had a guest. Mrs. Jones made a point of stopping him and introduced him to her visitor:
"This is my youngest son, Toby, my darling baby. Don't you think he's handsome? Once he slims down, he's sure to be popular with the girls."
Hearing his mother praise him like that made Toby uncomfortable all over.
He knew perfectly well that he was big and tall, solidly built, with a fleshy, vicious-looking face, and was famous at school for two things.
One was bullying other students, making himself loathed by gods and ghosts alike and earning an atrocious reputation; the other was having no ambition, neither paying attention in class nor doing his homework.
As for the visitor, she was the mother of another brat from the same block. That kid and Toby were birds of a foul feather, running rampant through school together, both future scum of society.
The visiting mother clearly still had normal aesthetic standards. She merely nodded at Mrs. Jones's extravagant remarks without taking them seriously.
Still, she knew what a dreadful state Toby had been in before and was quite curious about the change in the black boy's appearance, so she asked:
"Mrs. Jones, I heard you hired an extremely capable tutor for Toby, and that's why he's improved so dramatically in such a short time?"
"Oh... yes, yes." Mrs. Jones patted her chest and sighed. "Toby is a good boy. He really isn't bad, and he's very obedient. He just has a few little problems that keep him from fitting in."
Mrs. Jones spent ten minutes describing how outstanding her son was. The visiting parent suppressed her discomfort and supplied all the emotional validation she could, listening patiently and occasionally agreeing with a few words about how "raising children isn't easy."
Only at the end did Mrs. Jones mention, "I've always done charity work for the church, and through Pastor Borg there, I met a young man named Leon.
"He's an Asian from the East, two years older than Toby, with excellent grades. He's intelligent and disciplined. I hired him to correct some of Toby's bad habits.
"To be honest, I didn't have much hope at first. I only wanted Toby to improve a tiny bit. But the actual results shocked me. Leon has a special and highly effective approach to education."
Mrs. Jones had been talking without pause, but she faltered at the mention of "educational methods." It suddenly occurred to her that Lin Rui had been busy making money and had barely given Toby any lessons at all.
But she could hardly take back what she had already said, so Mrs. Jones turned and asked Toby, "Go on, tell your classmate's mother how Leon corrected those bad habits of yours."
Toby had long since grown impatient listening beside them and said unhappily, "He's stronger than me. I don't have a choice but to submit. All right, I'm going to do my homework. I love studying. I'm going to get an A+."
That single remark about being "stronger" left Mrs. Jones rather embarrassed, making all her earlier talk of educational philosophies and methods sound like a joke.
But the visiting parent not only took no issue with it, she nodded in wholehearted agreement. "Yes, yes, yes. Anyone who can teach Toby would have to be stronger than him. Otherwise, how could they earn his approval?"
When Mrs. Jones said she had found the tutor through the church, this student's mother had already felt somewhat reassured.
Pastor Borg had a bit of a reputation in Forty Block. Everyone knew he was a kindly old soul, and anyone he recommended could not be too lacking in character.
As for Asians, weren't they practically synonymous with well-behaved children?
"Mrs. Jones, could you give me that tutor Leon's contact information?"
"You know, my child isn't bad by nature either, just a little odd-tempered and withdrawn. It's been giving me terrible headaches too."
"The teachers at school keep calling me, saying my child refuses to accept discipline, and that they want to expel her and send her to a special school."
"If she really gets sent to a special school, she'll be ruined."
"I've donated to the school several times, spending tens of thousands of dollars just to preserve her chance to study there. But now I'm really starting to despair. Not long ago, that child actually joined a gang."
At the point where she broke down, the mother burst into tears on the spot. Mrs. Jones felt her pain and joined her in sighing, pulling out a few tissues to wipe her tears.
What followed was simple...
With Mrs. Jones's introduction, the parent drove to Forty Block that very evening and knocked on the door of the old pastor Essen Borg's little church, hoping to meet the "good teacher and helpful friend" who had changed Toby's fate.
"What... you're looking for Leon?" After learning why the visitor had come, the old pastor frowned, but could hardly refuse. "Yes, Leon is here. Come in. I'll fetch him."
Lin Rui was in the bathroom at the time. The effects of the card enhancement had not yet faded, and, fresh from his shower, he admired his powerful body in the mirror, smugly praising himself. "My damn physique is perfect."
Before working out, Lin Rui's charm had mainly been in his face. His lean frame had possessed a delicate, scholarly air, without the slightest aggression.
After exercise and enhancement, his charm radiated from every angle: a rugged face, a powerful body, and a fierceness beneath his heroic bearing.
"Leon, someone's here to see you." The old pastor knocked outside the bathroom.
"One moment. I'll be right out." Lin Rui assumed it was someone from the Jones family, or that Linda had called. He casually wrapped a bath towel around himself and walked out of the bathroom bare-chested.
The old pastor's church had no living room, so guests were received in the kitchen.
An attractive mature woman in business attire sat at the dining table with a half-grown boy, staring intently at Lin Rui as he came out.
The old pastor introduced them. "This is Mrs. Anderson and her daughter, Molly."
At the sight of Lin Rui's handsome face, well-developed chest, and thick arms, the attractive mature woman felt electricity surge through her body, as though her heart had been pierced, leaving her tingling and numb.
The half-grown boy was of middling height, with defiance written all over her face. Of her several dozen kilograms of body weight, half was rebellious bone.
She was a "street-racer" delinquent girl, with one side of her head shaved, dark gothic smoky makeup, exaggerated earrings and a nose ring, and a ragged street-racer outfit.
She squirmed in her chair and made little grumbling noises, looking as though she refused to respect anyone, until Lin Rui made his macho entrance. Then she froze in fright like a mouse.
Only upon seeing two strangers seated in the dining room did Lin Rui realize how rude it had been to come out wearing a bath towel.
Still, he walked up without awkwardness, held out his hand, and apologized. "Sorry, I thought it was a friend I knew well coming to see me. I'm Leon. What can I do for you?"
"It's all right. We're the ones who came too abruptly." The attractive mature woman did not mind, and then explained why she had come. "Leon, could you do me a favor?
"I hear you're very good at teaching students. Could you tutor my daughter? Just as you turned Toby around, teach my child a few truths about life."
The delinquent girl stared fixedly at Lin Rui. At first, she still tried to put on an air of "whatever" and "I don't give a damn" to demonstrate her individuality.
But after Lin Rui gave her a couple of looks, she suddenly felt like an idiot. After squirming for a moment, she deliberately tilted her head up and asked provocatively, "Hey, boy, you're pretty handsome. Got a girlfriend?"