Chapter 15 Fated

As a result of my stubborn streak, Caleb had his subordinates beat me to a pulp. However, I managed to get away with my life in the end, as he didn’t actually kill me. After everything was over and done with, my face was already a bloodied mess. My cheeks were swollen, my eyes were bruised, and I lost my front tooth. Before he left, he tugged on my hair while slapping me on my face. “You’d better stay away from Maddy from now on, you b*stard!” Although I would very much like to hurl insults at him, or even taunt him further, I couldn’t utter a single word as my lips were all swollen, so I ended up only making a few inaudible grunts. Bam! After Caleb kicked me out of the van, I spent some time panting on the ground before getting back up with much difficulty. Upon scanning my surroundings, I noticed that I was in a dark alleyway. There were lights shining from afar on the streets at the end of the alleyway, so I inched in its direction while supporting myself on the wall. My body ached with every step I took. I couldn’t help but wonder if I had any broken bones while I gradually grew numb to the pain. Caleb Johnson, I’ll get back at you for this! I swore to myself. Although I had always been meek and honest, never had I got beaten up like that. The distance from where I was in the alleyway to the street only spanned across less than a hundred meters, but it took me fifteen minutes to cover it. I needed to rest after every few steps, and after finally reaching the street, I waited for ten or so minutes before finally successfully hailing a cab that would drive me to Jacinth People’s Hospital. Actually, I wanted to call Jessie when I was waiting for a cab, but I eventually decided against it for fear of hearing her words of mockery. I was afraid that I would resent her for it if I ever heard such venomous words when I was so hurt. All I wished for was some comfort and genuine concern when I was injured and at my weakest. I wouldn’t be able to bear hearing anything remotely sarcastic or deriding. I was rushed into the emergency department as soon as I arrived at the hospital. After some checkups, the doctor determined that my bones were alright, but I did suffer a lot of contusions and scratches. What irked me the most was that both of my front teeth had fallen off. After giving me a prescription, the doctor advised me to rest at home, saying that I would recover within a week’s time. However, it would take a month before the bruise on my face wore off. Holding onto the prescription letter, I left for the lobby to retrieve my meds. I was in so much pain, so I was slowly limping toward the lobby. Someone ran into me when I was inching down the stairs with my head hung low, which made me howl in pain. “Argh!” “I’m sorry. Are you alright?” The man who ran into me stopped to inquire. It wasn’t until I lifted my head that I realized I knew the man. He was none other than the bearded guy who sent Caleb flying on the street that day. “Fancy seeing you here, Master! I’m alright! I’m never better!” Although I was riled up upon being bumped on, all of my anger dissipated as soon as I recognized the man as the bearded guy who saved me. This is such a fascinating coincidence! I was exalted. Just when I assumed that our first meeting would also be our last, I bumped into him again not two days later. This must be fate! On the other hand, the bearded man was sweating profusely while wearing a troubled expression. Upon making sure that I was alright, he was on the go again. “Please hold on!” I somehow managed to muster up the courage to grab onto his shirt. “I’m not your master, so let go of me!” The bearded man turned his head to glare at me, sending a shudder down my spine as I noticed something horrifying in his stare. By the next instant, I let go of him as demanded before explaining sheepishly, “I only wish to make friends.” However, I was ignored when he made his way up the stairs in a hurry, which led me to believe that his relative might have been hospitalized. Will I once again miss out on an opportunity to get to know him? I stared at his retreating figure in remorse. If it wasn’t because of my injuries, I would’ve followed behind him to check on the situation upstairs. However, I couldn’t keep up with him at all since I could hardly even walk. After mulling over my circumstances, I decided to wait for him at the lobby. He was just like the master martial artists depicted in stories. A chance to get to know him was hard to come by, so I was intent on making the best out of the chance encounter since I got to meet him twice. However, he didn’t seem like an easygoing person, nor did he even give me a chance to get to know him. Those who were able to study and pass down the skills of ancient martial arts while living in a materialistic society possessed within them a strength of character and level of understanding that ordinary humans couldn’t necessarily comprehend. It was especially evident in the fact that they managed to temper their desires to study the art when the whole society was in a state of impetuousness. After getting my meds at the lobby, I didn’t leave immediately. Instead, I found myself a spot near the entrance to wait on the bearded man. I didn’t think he would be spending an entire day in the hospital anyway. Sure enough, he was rushing back down after ten minutes, heading straight for the entrance. Therefore, I stood in a hurry to block his way. “Master!” “Why are you still here?” He looked at me with a frown. “Master, we must be fated to meet each other since we saw each other two times within a span of two days,” I told him. “What business do you have?” He sounded rather impatient. “I don’t really need anything from you. I just wanna be friends,” I said sincerely. “Friends?” After giving me a once-over, he snorted before quickly brushing past me. “Master, I’m not lying!” I yelled at him, but he didn’t look back. All I got to see was his back, which soon disappeared from my field of vision. Well, I suppose capable people tend to be quirky. While soothing myself, I limped out of the hospital. The sun had long since risen when I got out. Upon checking my phone, I realized it was already seven o’clock in the morning. After hailing a cab in front of the hospital, I left for Rose Community. I arrived at my home with a limp. The sounds of me opening the door roused Jessie from her sleep, so she was walking out of her room in a half-conscious state when I entered the house. As soon as she laid eyes on me, she rubbed her eyes before hurrying over to my side, then examined me from head to toe without a word. “What are you looking at? Have you never seen a handsome guy?” I taunted, but I sounded odd due to my missing teeth. “I don’t see a handsome man. All I can see is an ugly b*stard with a bruise over his eye,” Jessie replied. “Hmph!” I wasn’t in the mood to bicker with her, so I ignored her after letting out a grunt. Then, I limped toward my room. “Hey, what’s going on? Who beat you up? What happened last night?” A series of questions came bombarding from her. Although she sounded a little stiff, it provided some warmth to my fragile self, as it meant that she still cared for me. “I can deal with this on my own.” In order to get rid of her impression of me being a wimp, I chose to clamp up instead of reporting to her what Caleb did to me. In fact, I wished to tell her that it was Caleb who did that to me and wished to have her avenge me. However, I was afraid that I might end up really becoming a wimp if I did that. Although I was honest, introverted, and even quite cowardly, I was a man after all, so I couldn’t possibly let another woman protect me. “Fine! It must be because you flirted with one of the female attendants that you were beaten up by the others! Hmph!” Jessie scoffed at me. Instead of replying to her, I headed back to my room. Just when the door flung to a close, I heard her stomping her foot. Seems like she was vexed by my cold attitude. That night, I went to the clubhouse thinking that my superiors would take action upon noticing that someone beat the crap out of me, as I should at least count as Fatty Watson’s subordinate. However, my assumptions didn’t come true. Faye merely told me to get some rest after seeing the miserable state that I was in. I was allowed to take paid leave until I was fully healed. Other than that, she said nothing else, without even asking why I ended up in such a state. I gave Faye a nod while thanking her for not deducting my pay, and then left the clubhouse with a limp. At the moment that I turned to leave, I felt disheartened about the fact that nobody seemed to care about my wellbeing. When I arrived at home, I smelled the aroma of food from the kitchen, which piqued my curiosity. Jessie never cooked at home, so Gemma and I were the only ones who would occasionally utilize the kitchen space. Therefore, I wondered if Gemma had come, which would explain the aroma coming out from the kitchen. I limped into the kitchen only to find that the person cooking in the kitchen was none other than Jessie herself, which startled me while I mentally exclaimed, Is this for some special occasion? Upon glancing at me, she asked, “What are you staring at?” “Um, it’s nothing. I just wanna check if hell has frozen over,” I quipped. “F*ck off!” She rolled her eyes at me. “What are you cooking?” I giggled. “I’m boiling some soup!” “I never knew you could do that!” I gawked at her while thinking that my ears were playing tricks on me. “No, I don’t. I had to use a cookbook as a reference.” “Oh, I see,” I said before turning to leave. “Hey, Hudson, hold on!” She got a hold of my clothes. “What is it?” I asked. “There’s quite a lot, so let’s share,” she replied. As soon as I heard that, I hurriedly shook my head and declined her offer, saying, “No, thank you! I already ate, so I’m not hungry!” I was no f*cking idiot. Seeing that she grew up pampered, I knew for a fact that the soup would taste awful since it was her first ever attempt at making one, so I would never take even a sip of it. “You can drink it for supper. Give it a go. It’s my first ever attempt at cooking, so you should be honored.” She was coercing me like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I shook my head vehemently, eager to shake her off my tail to get back into my room. However, I was also perplexed by her decision to suddenly learn some culinary arts. Is the soup perhaps especially made for me after noticing that I am injured? I thought somewhat dreamily. “You have to drink it even if you don’t want to!” Jessie was unyielding in her demand. “I’ll deduct half a year’s worth of your pay if you don’t drink it!”