Chapter 28

Bloomfield High was a semi-private Middle and High-school in the Magic City, it was not the most prestigious institution, but was still a renowned school in the city. 

At quarter past two in the afternoon, the students were already coming out of the school, with some heading to the parking, others to the third gate that was connected to the city Metro, and the rest headed to the second gate to travel on their feet. 

Alana's little brother usually travelled on foot, so they were waiting outside the second gate for him. 

Seeing a ridiculously handsome boy leaning against a stylish black BMW and chatting with his two beautiful companions, the girls and boys of the Bloomfield High stopped and stared before starting their gossiping. Some brave souls even took out their cellphones and took a few quick snaps to send them to their friends. 

Time passed and the young boys and girls dispersed, but her little brother was yet to show up. And by now, Alana had a frown marring her beautiful face. 

"Did he take the Metro?" She asked herself but then her eyes caught someone coming out of the second gate, and she was familiar with this boy. "Mathew!" She called out to the lanky freckled boy, who was surprised to hear someone call out his name. 

When Mathew saw who called out his name, a troubled expression marred his face, which did not miss the eyes of the Keith and the girls. 

"Who's he?" Keith curiously asked. 

"My little brother's friend." Alana replied and then walked up to the boy who was hesitant to come up to them. "How are you, Mathew?" 

"I am fine, Alana." The boy shied his eyes away and replied. "If you are looking for Xuan, he's in the tennis court. You should hurry up..." And after saying that, he bolted away. 

"What's up with him?" Keith frowned and asked, but then a light smile crept on his face when he saw Alana rush inside the school in anxiousness. 

Of course, he knew what must be going on with her little brother. 

"Let's go." He called out to Yingying before chasing Alana inside the school. 

The little girl was giving her all, but she was no match for Keith and Yinying, who caught up with her in no time. But the two stayed quiet and let her lead them to her little brother. 

When they arrived at the Tennis Courts, Alana's eyes widened in horror. 

Her little brother was lying on the court, surrounded by a few boys who were cursing at him, and a boy with blonde hair was kicking him in the back. 

"Xuan!" Alana called out, and the sudden shout alarmed the boys who warily turned to look at the entrance of the Tennis Court. 

"Run." A boy called out and the rest were off even before him. 

"Yingying..." Keith lightly said, and then without even looking at those boys, he walked up to the pair of siblings. 

Alana was shedding tears as she looked at the state of her little brother. 

"Let me check." Keith crouched by her side and placed a hand on her shoulder. 

His words reminded her that he was a doctor, she she quickly wiped away her tears and allowed him to check her little brother. 

The young boy, who was around 14, had distinctive Asian features, but it could be seen from his brown hair, high cheekbones and hazel eyes that only one of his parent was Asian. 

Xuan looked warily at the older boy who was inspecting his body, and hissed a little when Keith pressed his fingers near his left ribs. 

"Don't worry. It's not broken. Just a bruise and a little trauma." Keith assured him and then helped him sit up. "The only thing that will take time to recover is your bruise on the left eye. The rest of them are minor muscle injuries and the brusises will be gone in three to four days. You are a tough kid, eh?" He chuckeld a little.

Xuan frowned at his words and lowered his eyes, not daring to look at his sister who was now seething in rage. 

"What happened, Xuan?" Alana coldly asked. 

Now that Keith had assured her that there were no serious injuries, she could place her mind on other matters. 

"Nothing..." 

"Xuan!" 

"I said nothing happened!" He clenched his fist and shouted back at her, which surprised her and then a pained expression marred her beautiful face. 

Xuan regretted his words as soon as he saw his sister hurt by his words, but he refused to speak to her and diverted his eyes away from her.

Alana watched him slowly get up on his feet and walk up to the other side of the court, where his schoolbag was.

"He's not in a good mood, Alana." Keith softly whispered to her and then glanced at Yingying, who was coming over, dragging two of the boys who had ganged up on Xuan by their collars. "We can ask them about what happened." 

Alana turned to look in the direction of Yingying, and then her eyes turned severe when she caught sight of the blonde boy who was kicking her brother. 

"You..." She stood up on her feet and stomped her way towards the two boys, who were groaning in pain. "Why were you hurting my brother?!" 

Keith did not miss the anxiousness on Xuan's face when Alana interrogated the boy. It was obvious from his reaction that he was partly or mostly responsible for what befell him. 

"Xuan broke my smartwatch..." The blonde boy fearfully spoke, and his words took Alana by surprise. 

"It must be an accident..."

"No, it was not!" The other boy hurriedly interjected. "He snatched it from Henry's hand and then smashed it into the wall." 

"We were just getting back at him..." Henry, the blonde haired boy, gritted his teeth and added before glaring at Xuan. 

"You were shoving it into the face of the entire class! No one needs to know how cool or expensive your new watch is!" Xuan defensively shouted back, but his words only disappointed Alana and Keith more. 

"I am sorry for his behaviour." Alana apologetically said to the boys, and before she could say her next words, her little brother shouted at her in disbelief. 

"Why are you apologising to them?!" He could not believe his ears when Alana apologized to the boys who beat him up. 

"Calm down." Keith indifferently looked at the young boy, who glared at him as a result, but then lowered his eyes and kept quiet after sensing the coldness in Keith's gaze. 

Alana thankfully nodded to him before turning to look back at the two boys. 

"What he did was wrong, and you should have informed the school authorities about his behaviour, not gang up on him and beat him up." She admonished the two boys, who paid little heed to her words. 

"Her words are true, you know?" Keith smiled at the dissatisfaction on their faces and walked up to them. "How much was the watch worth?" 

"What? Are you going to pay me?" Henry frowned and asked, but Keith did not answer him. "It cost 750 Neris." 

"Do you know that if you had put more power behind your hits and hurt him, breaking those ribs, or dealing permanent damage to his face, your bail would only start at 10,000 Neris." 

The implications behind his words chilled the hearts of the two boys, and worry marred their faces. 

"I am sure your family could afford that, but there are people in the world who must not be trifled with." The coldness in his words made them shiver. "Trust me, if I want to, I can send you behind the bars without bail, and you will serve your three-month sentence. And when you come out, you will have a criminal record, and no prestigious University will be willing to accept you. You can even forget about getting yourself a respectable job in the society. I can do worse, but let's not talk about grim subjects." He patted the shoulder of the blonde haired boy, who did not even dare to look at him. 

Keith took out a few bills from his Wallet, and stuffed them in the pocket of the boy. "Go now. And I hope any of this won't happen again." 

Both the boys were surprised at his actions, and hurriedly thanked him before turning to look at Xuan. 

"I am sorry..." They both said in unison and ran away without waiting for Xuan to respond to their apology. 

Alana felt relieved at seeing things turn out the way they did. Of course, Keith's approach was harsh and intimidating, but it was effective and got the best result. 

"Thank you, Keith." Alana gratefully smiled at him. 

"No worries. Just some young boys dealing with their adolescence." He chuckled and Alana could not help but smile at his words. 

"Xuan." She approached her little brother and hugged him. "Your sister has some good news for you."

"What?" Xuan was still dissatisfied at how things turned out, but seeing the genuine smile on her face, he did not have the heart to pursue the matter. 

"I will tell you about it on lunch. Now let me introduce you to a friend of mine." She dragged him up to Keith. "Xuan, this is Keith, my friend and boss. And Keith, this is Yexuan Parker, my little brother." 

"It's nice to meet you, Yexuan." He drew his hands forward and flashed a brilliant smile. 

"Nice to meet you too." Xuan shook his hand, but the smile on his face was a little stiff. 

The young boy could not tell why, but he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach when they shook their hands. But Alana did not let him fret over it and dragged him behind her to the outside of the school. 

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