Capítulo 24: Chapter 24 – Merry's Decision

Nyssa and I finished our desserts and left the restaurant in shambles behind us. The waiters were still busy cleaning, and the people were surprised to find out the earthquake or whatever it was only happened specifically inside the Story Time Café. In case you were too slow to get it, it was the name of the place where we dined.

"Okay, Babe, I must go now, I agreed to lunch with Merry today in ten minutes outside the Business School building."

"Huh, is that why you held back from sharing the desserts with me?" My princess wrinkled her little nose to express she took offense.

"No, I did it because it was way too sweet for me to take another bite without puking it on your beautiful dress," I laughed and tweaked her nose in my hands, 'pulling' it back to its place, "And stop wrinkling that snout or you'll get wrinkles forever!"

"Snout?!" She gaped and gave me an 'angry' push that barely made me take half a step back, "Besides, I can't have wrinkles, I'm immortal!"

"Do you want to come with me?" I offered in case it really bothered her. There was no reason for my sister not to get along with her sister-in-law.

"Ah, no, it's fine. Merry wants some time alone with you, go and talk to her," Nyssa rejected the offer. Maybe they talked about it earlier.

I made my way to the Business School, basking in the whispers of the students. Some even pointed at me, proof that the video of my fight with the three rich kids went viral throughout the campus. I was easy to recognize with my lip, which got a bit swollen.

It was an eight-minute walk, and Merry waited for me at the entrance, talking with a few of her classmates. There was a small crowd around her, consisting of admirers with no courage to approach her.

Their insecurity was well-deserved as she always rejected wooers aside from getting gifts and free meals. I think over a hundred people treated her to lunch by now, and the rumors said she never held back in her orders.

"Hey, Merry, ready to go?" I called for her as soon as there was a short pause in their conversation. My twin sister turned in my direction, her well-known grin as wide as always.

"I'm coming. See you guys, I agreed to eat lunch with my brother today. See you next class?"

"Yes, don't worry!"

"See you, Rose Merry!"

I don't know when Rose became a prefix to someone's name, but it sounded weird with Merry's name.

"What did you have in mind for lunch?" I asked her as we made our way toward the dining area where most restaurants were.

"It's my treat, what do you think about Shawarma, I know you like it wrapped," Merry offered. For some reason, she was walking nearer to me than usual, like she violated my personal space. Our shoulders often rubbed each other.

"Ah, sure, I think I will take it on a plate this time."

I was not as hungry due to my dessert feast with Nyssa. Looking back, it might have been a bad choice. Nyssa was unsatisfied by how I couldn't eat much of the dishes she ordered, and now Merry will give me one of her angry pouts when I can't finish my meal.

"Hmm, okay."

We sat at a dining table outside. The spring offered the best weather for eating under the blue sky with a chilly wind and warm sunny day.

"Tell me, what was that fight all about? I watched a video shared on the TheyChat app. When did you get that strong anyway?" She squinted her eyes suspiciously, pausing her pretty face a few inches away from her shawarma wrap.

"It's nothing," there was no reason to tell her it was over the bullies' attempt to assault her, "But you should be careful when you walk out or deal with those people. They might want to cause you harm to get back at me," I warned her. Dad and she were my biggest worries. My cultivation would allow me to protect myself, but they would be helpless if attacked.

"Oh, no need to overthink that, I'm sure they learned their lesson. I could tell from watching the video, they won't come to bother you again," she nodded in confidence that I had no idea where it came from and took her first bite. "Mm, delicious," It was not small and cute like you'd expect. It was a healthy mouthful, and I only guessed she said 'delicious'.

"Ah, that's a weird observation. They seemed quite livid to me. Anyway, still be careful and don't walk alone at night. Don't forget we live in a neighborhood filled with thugs that can be easily bribed to assault us. I will ask Dad to be careful too. Those three families might retaliate as well."

I closed my teeth on a juicy piece and pulled it off the skewer. Merry was right, it was indeed delicious.

"Their financial situation is C, and their power in terms of influence and fighting forces varies from C to D. Only Steven's family got a C score, that's why he leads them," she explained their ranking between bites.

Merry came up with a weird ranking system for families a few months ago, and she used it to define the power of different families. The bottom was F, the rank our family carried proudly, meaning we had no influence nor money whatsoever. Anyone could bully us, we couldn't bypass the law, and there was nothing much we could do to retaliate against powerful figures.

Every family was scored on three elements, namely money, influence, and fighting force. We ranked F in the money section since we were poor, F in the influence section since we couldn't get anything to move or happen if we wished for it, and F in fighting force since we didn't even have a gun, martial artists, or thugs that followed our will.

Calling Steven's family C rank meant they were millionaires, but their capital did not surpass ten million.

They had some influence that allowed them to get things done in the city, winning rights over various projects, and more, but it was limited to our city, and they were subjected to the whims of bigger forces within the city.

As for the fighting force, they had some hired guards, many of whom were ex-soldiers. Furthermore, they had some connections with the underworld that allowed them to hire thugs to do some dirty jobs.

"How do you know all those details about them?" I asked in astonishment. Sometimes it felt like my sister managed a whole spying network across the city.

"I used the internet, and people tell me everything I want to know because I'm pretty," she bragged about her resourcefulness as she grabbed some pieces that fell off her wrap one second before they stained her jeans. She had quick reflexes.

"And you think that I, from an F-rank family, managed to teach them a lesson and they listened?"

"No, I think that I, a star employee of a B-rank family, will have us protected," she declared. It took me a second to realize that she meant she was going to that studio for an audition.

B rank meant they were a force ruling the city with a huge fortune of over 50 million. Even billionaires with nationwide or worldwide influence would prefer not to mess with B-rank families in their territories. You know, like the saying about dragons and local snakes.

"So you are going to the Sode family to work as an idol. You have the necessary talent, and I wouldn't want to limit your growth, but be careful of Amar. I'm sure he wants you as more than an employee." Or less, depending on how you look at it. I kept that last part to myself.

We both finished eating by then, and Merry wiped her cherry lips with a napkin made of paper supplied by the restaurant. I managed to finish my meal as well by focusing on the meat and leaving my veggies. Good thing I didn't take it in bread.

"Don't you want your sister to date a billionaire and have a good life?" She smiled teasingly and ran her nails on my skin. I thought to pull my arm back to my side, but the pleasant sensation successfully tempted me to let it stay on the table.

"Of course, I do want you to have a good life. But you can have a good life with someone who will work to earn your hand, someone who wouldn't see you as just a beautiful object he acquired with his money. You can be happy with an average-earning man, I will take care of your financial needs if he can't take care of them."

Looking back, it was a possessive thing to say. There was no need for her to rely on me for anything, and even if Amar would get bored of her and divorce her eventually, she'd make a buttload of money out of that deal. But still, I couldn't think of anyone else having her.

"No, Brother, you can be happy, and I will make sure of that," her melodious voice affected me somehow.