Chapter 135 - Map Check For Business Planning

"Is it true, Sof? Stephen has a wealthy background?" Clark inquired while his eyes were consequently shifting from Sofia to Joey. 

District 7 had only a few wealthy families. And these families knew each other. Just like the Lee Clan, where Brent, the founder of Lee Gaming Squad belongs. 

Clark had only heard of negative rumors from Stephen. And all rich family in the district also forbid their children from hanging out with him because of the bad things that he had done. The boy had a history of being a delinquent.

But, if he is from a wealthy family, there is no way for the other rich parents to forbid him!

"I can't confirm Stephen's background. Let's respect him if he wants to keep his personal life private. He may not be comfortable talking about their social status," Sofia told her group.

"Yes, that's right. If Stephen wants to keep it a secret, then let's not pry on it," Clark agreed. But there is still a small voice in his head who felt troubled.

"Why do you look so anxious?" Claire suddenly asked him after she realized that Clark looked like he had something more to say.

"Err... Uhhm, well..." Clark stuttered. He was completely hesitant whether to speak his mind or just keep it.

"I know," Sofia suddenly said as if she had fully comprehended the emotions that Clark felt at that moment. She offered a warm smile to him to encourage the boy to speak.

"Ehem, I think that the wealthy families in district 7 are aware of the bad reputation that Stephen had. Even my father scolded me before for joining our squad because he is part of the group. So, I am not sure if there is a family in district 7 that recognizes him as rich," Clark finally expressed.

The reality of their district was that the rich and powerful clans were thoroughly respected. So, no matter if the children behave badly, the people would still be lenient to them.

However, that was not the case with Stephen. He was feared and scorned by most wealthy families. The rich girls who expressed their love interest to him were quickly reprimanded by their parents for the reason that there is no future of pursuing the man. They would never accept to have him as part of their family.

"Aiiyaa, are you even listening to me? I just said that Stephen may no longer be in our district," Joey pouted and reminded Clark of what he initially speculated.

"Ohh, you meant that Stephen's family is not from district 7?" Clark ask as he finally had a grasp of where their conversation would be going to.

"Yes! His father had told us his identity. Well, this is after he insulted us," Joey 

"How did Stephen's father insulted you? How come I did not know of this?" Claire questioned and raise her brows to Sofia.

"Well, this was last night. I had forgotten most of it," Sofia casually reasoned out.

"Stephen's father said that we are nothing but commoners. He was facing Sofia when he said it. But, I felt that I am included in his message since I am also a commoner," Joey answered. "He even said that we should stay away from his son!" he quickly added.

"Ohh? Then, which district did Stephen's father from? Did he tell you?" Clark inquired.

"It's from district 5. There is no doubt, his family is a wealthy one. The man was escorted by three elite bodyguards. When they approached Stephen, he complied without saying a word," Sofia recounted while some memories of last night flashed in her mind. She remembered the melancholic face that Stephen had when he walked away from them. For sure, the man had his reason for staying silent.

"Wow!" both Claire and Clark exclaimed together. They felt like they had not witnessed an important event of their group last night. 

"So, if Stephen is no longer in district 7, what will happen to our squad?" Claire asked. There were only five of them. If Stephen would stop communication with the group, they had no one to replace him!

"Stephen is a good marksman for sure. It would be our loss if he won't contact us again," Joey also lamented.

The group suddenly felt forlorn. If Stephen would leave them, they will need to start from the beginning and recruit a new member.

Sofia crossed her arms on her chest while observing the expressions of her team. Then, she gently shook her head three times. "I'm sure Stephen had his reasons," she repeated.

While the group was fully absorbed by the possibility of losing a member of their squad, the man that was the subject of their discussion entered casually in the library.

He looked at all the tables and spotted them in the most corner area of the room. 

As his feet moved towards their direction, the students who had noticed him quickly looked down at their books.

Even those group of students who were gossiping about the paranormal activity near them went in complete silence. Upon noticing Stephen, they abruptly ended their chitchats and pretended to get busy reading the random books they had pulled from the shelves.

"My gosh, let's call Stephen! Why are you acting like he had passed away!" Sofia scolded when she felt that there was a grieving aura on their table.

"B-but Sof, what if he won't answer your call? What are we going to do? Shall we pay him a visit in district 5?" Clark asked simultaneously. 

Stephen cleared his throat to interrupt the serious conversation of the group. "Who are you visiting in the 5th district?" he casually asked and pulled a chair to sat beside Sofia.

"EHH? WHY ARE YOU HERE?!" Joey exclaimed in surprise.

In an instant, the librarian sprinted on their table and scolded them badly.

"This is the library! Are you blind? Can't you read all these signs plastered all over the walls?!"

Their librarian was a lady the same age as Jing Jing. Her face was so dark when she reached their table. She then placed her arms on her waist and glared at Joey in particular.

Joey covered his mouth using his palm as he also realized his mistakes. He looked apologetic and bowed at the librarian, "I was just overcome with my excitement, ma'am! I'm sorry!"

"Don't apologize to me. Go and apologize to the students that you have disturbed!" the librarian demanded.

"Ehh... but, they seemed to not mind. If I speak again, they will be fully disturbed," Joey suddenly said when no student was looking in their direction.

"HAH! That's indeed odd. Then, don't shout again or I will drag your group out of the library and banned you for coming back!" the librarian warned and returned to her post.

This librarian expected that many students would complain about Joey's noise, disturbing their study. However, everyone inside the library feigned ignorance. Only the librarian was actually reacting to it.

Joey was also confused. He looked around and was silent for a while. Then understanding dawned upon him, he promptly recovered from his confusion and realized the real reason why no student was complaining about his noise... 

It was not because the students did not felt disturbed. But, it was because there were too afraid to even look at Stephen.

"Ohh damn! Even the librarian did not kick me out and just warn me. Bro, it is very efficient to have you. Please don't leave the team," Joey dramatically said while staring at Stephen.

"Hehe, could it be that you are talking about me?" Stephen asked and gently nudged at Sofia. Then, his eyes swiftly moved to the arm with a bruise.

"We are talking about our coincidental meeting with your father. And why did you not contact any of us since last night?" Sofia asked him.

"I contact Joey last night. But our conversation was cut off. Anyway, what happened to your arm?" Stephen pretended not to know a thing.

"Oh, there was a student who asked me to fight for assassin vs assassin. We politely declined but he insisted. Then, when Sofia intervened, he grabbed her arm. I was also angry but because Sofia said to just ignore the group, so we did not really make it a big of a deal" Claire responded before Sofia could speak. She then worriedly asked her, "You are fine now, Sof? The clinic give you medicine and treatment?"

"Yeah, the nurse accommodated me well. I'll just have to do some errand tomorrow," Sofia answered with a small smile on her face.

"Really?" Stephen continued with a tone that meant he was not fully convinced.

"Ahh... bro, chill! That boy had also got his instant karma," Joey stated and started narrating all the gossips that he had gathered around.

"That's good," Stephen mumbled.

A small smirk formed on his lips. Based on the words of Joey, he confirmed that no one ranted him about the accident façade.

He casually took the magazine that Sofia was reading and look at the content. The page of the magazine was actually a map of district 7.

"I'm planning our location if we start a business," Sofia casually said when Stephen cast her a questioning look about the page of the magazine.