The Delinquent Girl

Lin Rui offered an apology and went back to his room to change first.

As soon as he left, the delinquent girl Molly grabbed her mother's hand and whispered, "Damn, this is the first time I've ever seen a boy who made my heart flutter at first sight.

"He's Asian, but he's practically an incubus.

"When he looked at me, my heart rate doubled, and my palms started sweating for no reason. I was so nervous I felt dizzy, like I'd taken stimulants.

"I want to sleep with him."

Mrs. Anderson teased her daughter a little, feigning composure herself, though her own heartbeat was actually rising and falling, fluttering as if she had returned to her first love more than a decade ago.

Lin Rui's charm was frighteningly high at the moment. His base charm alone was 15 points, plus half of Toby's charm bonus.

Although Toby's charm was a pitiful 5, half of that still sent Lin Rui's charm soaring to 17.5. This wasn't watching a celebrity through a screen, but experiencing it face-to-face.

He was practically a walking hormone trigger. What young girl with romance in her heart wouldn't feel spring stir at the sight of him?

"Do I look especially ugly right now?" Molly rummaged through her mother's handbag, found a palm-sized makeup mirror, and examined herself.

"This is awful. Why did I draw black circles around my eyes before coming out? No wonder he wasn't interested in my flirting."

Mrs. Anderson didn't know whether to laugh or cry. When she had dragged her daughter out, the girl had been thoroughly unwilling, felt she was being forced, and scoffed at the so-called "private tutoring," deliberately making herself look bizarre to cause trouble.

Now she regretted it after seeing a handsome boy, and looking in the mirror only made her feel more ashamed of her appearance. She hurriedly removed her earrings and other accessories, then turned away and found her mother's makeup-remover pads to wipe off the black circles around her eyes.

But while the black circles were easy to wipe off, there was nothing she could do about her half-shaved head.

That bizarre punk hairstyle had been "the lone flower standing tall" at school and had become Molly's trademark, but now it made her look as ugly as a monster.

"Mom, what do I do? Help me, quick. I don't want to embarrass myself." Molly tried to flatten her upright punk hair, but the more she tugged at it, the messier it became, leaving her so frantic she nearly cried.

"It's all right, sweetheart. Makeup can be changed, clothes can be replaced, and hair can grow back. You're not beyond saving. You just need to change your look." Mrs. Anderson didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

When she had heard Toby describe Leon as "strong," she had fully expected the person she was looking for to be a big, burly brute.

This was a case of "turning to any doctor in desperation." If countless other attempts hadn't failed, she wouldn't have wanted to find some rough fellow to correct her daughter's bad habits.

Once she actually met Lin Rui, she found that the "burly" part was true, and "strong" was surely accurate too, but what stood out most was how genuinely handsome he was-perfect for straightening out Molly's bad habits.

Lin Rui returned to his room and casually threw on some clothes. He had already been tall, and now that he was strong and muscular, he was a natural clothes horse. Anything looked good on him.

The old priest stood in his bedroom doorway and asked curiously, "Leon, you seem like a different person. Your workouts have been a little too effective."

Lin Rui had lived at the little church for almost two months. He had clearly been on the thin side when he first arrived, and anyone would have thought he had grown much more muscular "in the blink of an eye."

But he didn't want to discuss that subject, so he laughed it off and asked instead, "Father Borg, what should we do about that girl Molly?"

That really was a problem.

The old priest sighed. "I've run this church for quite a few years. My daily routine has been handing out a little aid to the homeless and gathering believers from the nearby blocks for prayers. Nothing ever really changed.

"But since I took you in, the number of people coming to church has clearly increased over these two months. Quite a few people are willing to come in for a look even when they're just passing by.

"I know very well where that change came from. It's entirely because you make such a good impression. Just standing outside the church handing out aid is enough to attract plenty of people.

"You managed to guide Toby and bring a child standing on the edge of a cliff back onto the right path. That's something I couldn't accomplish despite years of effort.

"Now there's Molly... She's only in her teens. She's strayed down some wrong paths, but she's still young, with room to correct herself and grow.

"The church needs young people full of vitality like that. I'm certain there will be more cases like this in the future."

The old priest paused. "Leon, if you can help, by all means, lend a hand. If there's anything that needs the church's intervention, I'd be more than happy to do something too."

Lin Rui had finished dressing. "I'll go ask Mrs. Anderson what exactly she needs me to do. As long as it isn't too much trouble, I'll do my best."

But when he returned to the dining room, Mrs. Anderson asked the same question her daughter had. "Leon, do you have a girlfriend?"

Huh?

"Could you date Molly for a while?" Mrs. Anderson continued. She made a point of standing up, walking over to Lin Rui, and speaking quietly to him.

"Did you see how Molly is dressed? The reason she shaved half her head is that she wants to join a neighborhood gang in The Bronx.

"They're all a bunch of drunken, drug-using, promiscuous scum.

"Please understand a desperate single mother. I've spent more than a decade raising Molly and poured all my heart and soul into her.

"I can't watch my child fall into a pit of fire, but I can't stop her, either. And I certainly can't lock her in the house and keep her from going out.

"I've been so busy working that I've spent too little time with my child, but I truly can't accept her degenerating into a puddle of something vaguely human.

"Please, Leon, help me. Molly likes you. She fell for you at first sight and is willing to change for you. All you need to do is give her a little affection and let her finish secondary school without trouble."

Her voice wasn't loud, but everyone present could hear her.

Molly shrieked in denial, "No! I did not fall for him at first sight. I just thought he looked decent enough and was willing to get to know him."

As she spoke, the girl stepped forward with a deliberately thuggish air. "Hey, your name's Leon, right? Don't get any funny ideas about me. There's no way I'd like you."

Lin Rui was slightly surprised. He knew parents in the United States weren't particularly strict about their children's social lives, and it was quite normal for teenagers to have boyfriends or girlfriends.

From the look of Molly, this delinquent girl was already at the edge of a cliff. If no one pulled her back, it wouldn't take even six months.

In the end, Lin Rui nodded and smiled at Mrs. Anderson. "All right. I'll help you look after Molly for a while.

"I'll treat her like a little sister and keep bad people from luring her away. As for dating or anything like that, I don't think it should be forced."

His agreement brought Mrs. Anderson an enormous sense of relief, and the anxiety on her face turned into a smile. She couldn't help hugging Lin Rui.

During the hug, Lin Rui distinctly felt how tightly Mrs. Anderson held him. Even her business suit was pressed out of shape, and their cheeks touched, almost like lovers nestling against each other.

This woman is copping a feel.

The embrace went on too long-so long that even the old priest couldn't resist coughing a few times as a reminder.

Lin Rui brought up another difficulty. "I haven't finished my school enrollment paperwork yet. During the day, I have to run a food truck in Central Park, work out in the afternoon, and deliver food on Broadway at night. I don't have much free time."

"How about letting Molly move here and live with you?" Mrs. Anderson looked at the old priest. "Do you have any spare rooms in your living quarters?"

There were indeed rooms, and the old priest was happy to see a "lost lamb" saved. As long as he had parental authorization, he didn't mind taking in a child.

"Molly can go to school in the morning, join you at the gym in the afternoon, and spend her evenings as she likes. How does that sound?" Mrs. Anderson continued, "You two could go out and have some fun on weekends too. I'll cover the expenses."

Since her mother had made suitable arrangements, Lin Rui didn't refuse.

But Molly was very "resistant," yelling things like, "I don't want to go out with him," "He's only average-looking," and "If you're going to insist, I suppose I'll reluctantly accept."

Those words sounded more like a tsundere act, though.

Mrs. Anderson leaned close to Lin Rui's ear and whispered, "I have my own business in New York. It's doing quite well, and I have a decent network of connections.

"As long as you take good care of my daughter and ease my worries about her, I'll definitely give you a reward you can't refuse."