Chapter 30: Take His Eyes With You (1)

“Brace, open the door!”

It was only morning, but the landlady, Mrs. Kingston’s hearty pounding on the door had already echoed through the hallway.

The noise could only be described as earth-shattering; even the spider on the ceiling was startled into frantic escape.

“Damn, is it that time again?”

Time had flown by—paying rent felt like just yesterday.

And yet his pockets were still pitifully empty.

Brace painfully rolled over in bed, trying to use the blanket to block out everything from the outside world, but Mrs. Kingston’s voice was like a sharp awl, easily piercing the barrier formed by the walls and the blanket.

“Open the door! It’s time to pay rent! You’d better—”

Just bear it a little longer.

From his experience, the knocking would stop after about five minutes, and the next time she came would be this afternoon.

At least that would give him a few more hours to hide, right?

Creak. The sound of a door opening came.

Mrs. Kingston’s voice suddenly cut off, replaced by the faint sound of conversation.

‘?’

This made Brace a bit uneasy.

What was going on?

He struggled out of bed, roughly wiped his face, changed clothes, and walked out of the room.

As soon as he stepped out, he saw Mrs. Kingston standing at the door, along with Qiao Anni in front of her.

At that moment, the usual look of helplessness and disappointment in Mrs. Kingston’s eyes had completely vanished, replaced by care and sympathy for the person before her.

Her “⌒”-shaped mouth had made a beautiful 180-degree flip, to the point that calling it a “smiling face like a flower” wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

Of course, when Mrs. Kingston’s gaze shifted back to Brace, everything returned to normal.

“Brace––”

She dragged out the final syllable, which was almost a sure sign of an outburst.

“Ahaha, good morning, Mrs. Kingston…”

Brace felt a bit guilty too; after all, he really had been behind on rent for over a week.

Anyway, let’s just get through this scolding first.

After Mrs. Kingston finished scolding, her anger would probably be mostly spent, and then a few flattering words would usually earn him forgiveness.

He closed his eyes, waiting for the impending storm, and the rainbow after the rain.

But things seemed a little different from what he expected.

“…Never mind.”

Mrs. Kingston sighed.

“You’re right to scold me… huh?”

Brace was startled.

“For the sake of this child, I’ll give you a few more days this time.”

Mrs. Kingston looked at Qiao Anni with a kind expression. Was it an illusion? Brace actually saw a trace of—maternal instinct—in her?

“What are you standing there like an idiot for? You’d better get the rent together soon, or I’ll make you pack your bags and leave.”

Mrs. Kingston shot Brace another fierce glare.

“Yes, yes, yes…”

Brace wiped the sweat from his forehead and nodded in response.

Mrs. Kingston gave Qiao Anni one last pat on the head, then turned and left.

The office returned to calm.

Qiao Anni also put away that innocent expression and reverted to her usual demeanor.

“So? I helped send her off, didn’t I?”

Qiao Anni said, winking at Brace.

“What did you tell Mrs. Kingston?”

“What else could a poor niece pleading for her useless uncle say? I just rehashed our usual sob story.”

“I seriously wonder if you’ve put some kind of spell on these older women…”

Brace’s tone carried a hint of admiration.

This lethality reminded him of those superstitious gangs in the city—he didn’t know if their curses and spells worked, but he’d already seen Qiao Anni’s in action.

“I think that’s just a reasonable use of one’s advantages.”

Qiao Anni made a V sign—it had to be admitted, the lethality was indeed strong.

“So, Mr. Brace, what about the rent? I can’t let us freeload here.”

“We’ll take it one step at a time. We need to take on a big enough commission to patch this hole…”

Brace said while tidying his hair.

“Where did all the money go? I feel like this hole just keeps getting bigger.”

“Perfect timing. Let’s take inventory and settle accounts.”

Brace picked up the record from the desk.

“The Forest Gang’s cyberbody retrieval commission—you smashed the most expensive one to pieces, and in the end we got less than half the fee, and that was only because Sabrina was lenient.”

“It was a necessary sacrifice…”

“The tracking commission from Ms. Amanda to investigate her husband’s affair—you made a huge fuss trying to catch a pickpocket nearby, and the whole job turned into a mess.”

“That one…”

“And the other day, I really don’t understand. To catch that damn cat, why did you have to use a gun? At this rate, the commission will be eaten up by ammunition costs!”

“…”

Qiao Anni looked up and admired the spiderweb on the ceiling.

“Anyway—”

Brace was about to continue his lecture, but the phone on the desk rang at an inopportune moment.

Brace grabbed the receiver.

“Hello?”

“Brace, I’ve got a new job for you.”

It was Sabrina. Speak of the devil.

“What kind of commission? Not another gang fight, is it?”

“No, this one is… special.”

Sabrina’s voice sounded a bit hesitant.

“After considering all aspects, I still think you’re the best fit, and the client is offering a good price.”

“Hmm, tell me more?”

Brace suppressed his inner excitement and said flatly.

“It’s too complicated to explain over the phone… Also, the client wants to explain it to you… ‘in person.’”

Some clients value privacy and indeed don’t reveal much to intermediaries, but why did Sabrina stress the word “in person”?

Brace was full of questions, but Sabrina spoke first:

“Anyway, I gave him your address. He should be visiting you shortly.”

As soon as she said that, a knock came at the door.

“That fast?”

“He’s already here? I’ll hang up now. Good luck.”

Sabrina ended the call decisively.

“Why does everyone have to be so secretive…”

Brace signaled Qiao Anni to step aside, then opened the door.

A giant of a man stood outside, looking down at Brace.

His muscles bulged, clearly visible even through his suit. His face, full of thick features and hidden behind sunglasses, added a layer of intimidation.

“Uh… hello?”

Brace considered himself not short, but in front of this man, he felt like a dwarf.

The giant didn’t answer, just stared silently at Brace.

“…Are you the client? Nice to meet you…”

“Ah! You’re Mr. Brace Enfield, right? Nice to meet you!”

A bright, energetic young man’s voice rang out beside him.

What was that sound?

Seeing the giant who didn’t seem to have spoken, both Brace and Qiao Anni were confused.

“Over here! I’m over here!”

Only then did Brace come to his senses, lowering his gaze to see something in the giant’s hand—and that was the true source of the voice.

“That’s right! Here! I’m your client!”

This was certainly novel.