Middle Child Syndrome - Chapter 193

Chapter 193: Ch 193: Tense town
Silence filled that clearing, and Rika used it before Zhu Li returned to his senses.

Currently, his shock was what allowed Rika to run away from him. She also grabbed Fey to get out of the alpha’s range quickly.

It was already too late when Zhu Li came around and realised what had happened. Rika had made her escape, but the alpha was left in the dust.

“Ha…hahaha, this is amusing. I never expected my friendship to be rejected like this. Is this the first time this has happened to me? I don’t think I remember any other times.”

Zhi Li made an amused face.

What Rika did was dangerous. This would have wounded most of Alpha’s pride, and they would have gone after Rika to get revenge. But Zhu Li was different in that regard.

He felt annoyed that Rika played him like this but was also amused.

And his feelings of amusement were greater than his annoyance at Rika.

“Oh well! Looks like I got bested today. I’d appreciate it if you could develop a better plan now. And I should also take care of these pests who are trying to follow me. I don’t like being watched like this without getting anything in return.”

The people assigned to follow Zhu Li were stunned when he suddenly turned to face their direction.

At first, they were unsure if he was talking about them.

But then the alpha decided to walk up to them and place his arm around one of the spies, keeping an eye on him.

“Now then, please do something since I allowed you to watch me like this? Could you please arrange a meeting with your boss for me? There is something I want to discuss with him regarding my stay here. You won’t complain about this, right?”

The poor beta was frozen in shock and could only agree with a dumb look on his face.

After all, no one had expected their target to contact them this openly.

…

“Soooo, could you tell me why the star of our campus came up to you and offered you friendship? This feels like juicy gossip for me. Come on, Rika. Are you going to stay quiet like this? Tell me already.”

Fey’s arms locked around Rika, and she refused to let her go.

Rika was beginning to feel annoyed, and she missed Charon. The older teen respected Rika’s privacy, at least.

With Fey, there was none of it.

“I told you what happened already. We had a small fight, and the next thing I knew, that alpha was trying to get close to me. I am sure he is planning something I don’t want to deal with.”

Rika complained, and Fey pouted at her with a disappointed face.

“Booo! How boring. If you are going to make enemies, then make entertaining ones. Also, are you sure you are correct about Zhu Li? All the talks about him say that he is a nice person. Maybe he wants to be friends with you or something.”

Fey reminded Rika that her words made sense. But, trying as she might, Rika could not believe that Zhu Li was a good person and interested in being her friend.

There was something about him that screamed ‘danger,’ and it made Rika feel scared.

“Well, friendship is a two-way street, and I don’t want to walk down that street with Zhu Li. So, I will be keeping my distance from him.”

Rika’s decision was made, but Fey looked disappointed.

However, the older beta also understood that Rika did not make friends with everyone she met, which she respected.

When Rika opened their shared dorm, Shuu jumped at her with a harness in his mouth. That puppy wanted to go on a walk and refused to take ‘no’ for an answer.

Rika quickly changed her clothes and took the puppy out.

Since she would walk to her workplace anyway, she did not mind walking Shuu either.

“Let’s go, pup!”

Their walk toward the florist shop was quiet. But Rika could not help but notice the tense air around the town when she crossed the imaginary border between the normal town and the mafia street.

Everyone looked alert and was eying everyone who walked into their area, intentionally or accidentally.

Rika arrived at the florist shop before Daniel did, and she opened the door. When the door opened, she arranged the flowers and her job partner entered the shop.

Daniel looked tense, but he relaxed as soon as he noticed that the other person in this shop was none other than Rika.

“What’s wrong? Why do you look so spooked to see me? Shuu, get down and don’t attack Daniel. He’s fine.”

Rika quickly grabbed the puppy before Daniel could be bitten. The pup had been a little aggressive and quick-tempered lately.

Her caused Daniel to give her a blank look.

“I thought our shop got broken in. I would not have thought that if my partner came in regularly and worked normally. The only consolation for working at this shop is that I get regular pay. Because I don’t think we can survive on flower sales alone.”

Daniel’s words were dry, and he sounded exhausted.

Those words did not hurt Rika because she could tell this man meant none. And even if he did, these words were valid.

She missed more work days than she could and should stop working.

“Yeah! Sorry about that. Sometimes, a lot happens, and I need help to make it work. By the way, what is happening here in the town? Why is the atmosphere so tense? Did someone die or something?”

Rika asked once she settled down and realised Daniel had calmed down. It felt safe to ask questions now.

The older male did not make a face that screamed ‘worried,’ and Rika realised that maybe this situation was not as big of a deal as she expected.

Maybe Rika was getting ahead of herself for no reason now.