Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat - Chapter 71

Chapter 71: A Debt of the Past

Ethan blinked in surprise. The girl who had just walked out was small, even younger than Lyla by a few years.

“Uh…” He didn’t know her name, so he simply gestured for her to come closer.

“You, switch clothes with her. From now on, you’ll be working at the front desk,” Ethan said, before turning to Jade. “And you… what was your name again? Oh, right—Jade Taylor. You’ll be in charge of cleaning from now on.”

The young girl looked at Ethan, then turned to Todd with a questioning gaze.

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but Todd spoke first.

“Ethan, she’s only here temporarily. She comes in the morning and evening to clean, but the rest of the time, she’s in school.”

“Yeah,” the young girl quickly added. “I’m a senior in high school. I can’t work full-time.”

Ethan shrugged. “Fine. Then you handle cleaning outside. As for Jade, she’s on permanent restroom duty. No need for her to come out. Just seeing her annoys me.”

His voice was calm, but there was an unmistakable edge to it.

Jade stiffened, looking as if she wanted to protest. But before she could speak, Ethan continued.

“By the way, if you want to quit, now’s the time to say it. I’ll approve it immediately. But if you do, you still have to finish out the month. Otherwise, feel free to take it up with labor arbitration.”

The onlookers exchanged glances. This was brutal. Jade was seriously out of luck. Even if she quit now, she was stuck scrubbing toilets for another month.

Ethan turned to the lawyer. “There’s nothing in her contract that specifies what job she has to do here, right?”

“Correct.”

“Which means if I assign her to a task and she refuses, I can fire her without paying severance?”

“That’s right.”

“And if she insults me, I can fire her on the spot, no compensation needed?”

At that moment, Ethan caught Jade out of the corner of his eye. She had just stood up, face red with anger, her hand raised as if about to point at him and let loose a string of curses.

“Yes,” the lawyer answered. “If she verbally attacks you, not only can you fire her, but you’d also have grounds to sue for defamation.”

The lawyer’s tone was professional, but his face was twitching like he was trying to hold back laughter.

“Good to know. Thanks. If I need anything else, I’ll have someone call you.” Ethan gave the lawyer a polite nod.

“Sure,” the lawyer said before making a quick exit. If he stayed any longer, he was sure he’d suffocate trying not to laugh. This Ethan guy was a real piece of work.

What he didn’t know was that, to Ethan, Jade wasn’t just some random employee.

She was the reason his high school years had been a nightmare.

Three years of misery. Three years of humiliation.

All because of her.

Now, she stood there, trembling with rage, finger still raised, but no words came out.

The spectators were speechless.

This guy bought an entire business just to mess with someone? Over a severance payout he clearly didn’t even need?

If she annoyed him so much, why not just fire her outright?

Why go through all this trouble?

What they didn’t understand was that Ethan had endured three years of torment because of her.

One month? That was nothing.

“I… I quit!” Jade spat through gritted teeth.

“Great. Approved. Restroom’s that way.” Ethan’s expression didn’t change.

Jade slammed her hand onto the counter with a loud thud.

Ethan didn’t let up. “Got a problem?”

“N-No,” she stammered, suddenly unsure of herself.

Her bravado faded as she walked toward the restrooms, silent tears sliding down her face.

She couldn’t afford to break her contract. Even if Ethan didn’t drag her to labor court, he could slap her with a bogus lawsuit and take away two months’ worth of pay.

And payday was only a few days away.

She had credit card bills, impending loan payments. She had fought hard for this high-paying job. And somehow, she had ended up working for him.

Years of scraping by in the real world had hardened her. She had thought she wasn’t that naive high school girl anymore.

So why, the moment she saw Ethan again, had she fallen right back into the same cycle?

She had no idea.

She had run into plenty of old classmates over the years, but none of them ever made her feel this way. But every time Jade saw Ethan, she couldn’t help herself.

She had to mock him. Insult him. Look down on him.

It was a habit. A compulsion.

As she walked, she tried to push the thoughts away. Just endure it for a month. In the meantime, I’ll find another job.

But then—

“Wait.”

Ethan’s voice rang out just as she reached the restroom door.

Jade clenched her fists, an unexplainable irritation bubbling up inside her. She turned around, scowling. “What now?”

“Give me back what you took,” Ethan said coolly. “Do that, and I might let you walk away right now. With your full paycheck.”

Jade frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Ethan raised his arm and tapped his wrist.

Her expression shifted. The furrow in her brow smoothed out. “You’re serious?”

Ethan’s heart skipped. So she really does have it. And judging by her reaction, she might even know where it is.

“Yes,” he confirmed. “Give it back, and I’ll settle your pay right now.”

Jade hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Alright. I’ll go look for it.”

“You can find it?” Ethan pressed.

“I think so,” she muttered.

“Good. I’m coming with you.”

Without waiting for a response, he walked straight out of the gym. Jade hesitated, but after a brief pause, she followed.

The crowd was left staring, dumbfounded, as the two disappeared around the corner.

What the hell just happened?

What was so important that Ethan, who had been dead set on making Jade’s life miserable, was suddenly willing to let her go?

Nobody could have guessed. Because the item in question wasn’t some priceless artifact or rare collectible. It was just a cheap, childish bracelet.

Fate was a strange thing.

All these years, Jade had barely thought about it. Back then, she had snatched it from Ethan and tossed it into a box filled with random trinkets.

When her family lost everything, the bank seized nearly all their belongings. The only thing she managed to take with her was that box.

—

An hour later, Ethan and Jade returned to the gym.

The moment they stepped inside, Ethan spotted Todd downstairs and called out, “Settle her paycheck.”

Todd raised an eyebrow. “Actually, I was just about to talk to you about something. We should go over the handover process.”

“Handover…?” Ethan blinked. He had completely forgotten about that part.

The realization hit, he had absolutely no clue how to run this place.

Seeing his blank expression, Todd smirked. “If you don’t want to manage it yourself, you could always hire someone to do it for you.”

Hire someone?

Who?

Ethan ran through a mental list of people he knew… and came up with nothing.

His social circle was tiny. He had always been a homebody, barely interacting with anyone outside of school.

Other than a handful of classmates, he didn’t really know anyone.

‘Crap.’

Just as he was starting to stress, a lady passed by, leading a tray of customers.

It was Quinn.

Ethan’s eyes lit up. “Hey, Quinn!” he called out.

She turned, looking confused. “Yeah?”

“Go over the handover process with Todd. You’re the new manager now.”

Quinn froze.

Todd barely managed to keep a straight face. ‘Ethan really just does whatever he wants, huh?’

“Wait, what?” Quinn stammered.

“Yeah, you’re in charge now. Here.” Ethan grabbed a napkin, scribbled his number on it, and handed it to her. “Call me if something major happens. Otherwise, just run the place however you see fit. I don’t care if it makes money, just don’t let it go under.”

“I… uh…” Quinn took the napkin, still looking stunned and unable to figure out what to say next…