Seated on the couch, Rachel turned her head to look at Brandon who was piling up all the trash.
She had offered to help him but Brandon would always refuse her.
Rachel would just pout, but that was all on the surface.
The cleaning service was free and she definitely took advantage of it. Brandon was quite the good janitor.
Clap- Clap-
With his usual stoic demeanor, Brandon dusted off his hands and placed his hands on his waist.
Turning around, he locked his gaze with Rachel who abruptly turned her head away. "Fuu~ Fuu- Fuu~"
She tried to whistle. But the only sound she let out was air.
"Haa..."
Letting out a deep breath, Brandon made his way towards Rachel.
Facing Brandon, she slightly bowed her head.
"Thank you."
"..."
Brandon didn't respond and sat beside Rachel.
"........!!
She was quite alerted by his gesture, but instantly dismissed it.
She knew Brandon wouldn't think twice about any of his actions.
Thus she turned to face him.
Pursing her lips, she asked,
"Why did you decide to meet up?"
"To clean up."
"...Really?"
"Yes."
"Just kidding."
|| ||
She was taken aback.
Tilting her head, she pinched her chin and leaned close to him, thoroughly scanning Brandon's face.
"What are you doing?"
"..."
She didn't respond and continued to thoroughly scan every inch of his face.
She then stopped and leaned back.
Closing her eyes, she breathed out a sigh.
"Haa..."
"What was that about?"
"I tried to pay you back, but it didn't work."
"?"
It was a technique she had recently learned from romance manga to try and pay Brandon back for his joke.
Leaning closer to a man's face would most likely fluster them. But for some reason, it didn't work on Brandon.
Clearly, he doesn't know anything about women.
Or maybe he did, and was already used to it.
'Maybe that's why his expressions didn't change.'
Or maybe he just didn't care.
She was at a loss.
Clearly, she needed to study more if she wanted to manipulate men with her charms.
'Or maybe I'm just not charming enough?'
No, there was definitely something wrong with Brandon.
She then dismissed her thoughts and opened her mouth, keeping her usual cold maiden tone.
"Really, what's the purpose of this meetup?"
She turned her head towards Brandon.
But the moment she did, her body twitched at the sudden phone that was shoved on her face.
"This."
Brandon said, while shoving his phone directly to her face.
Rachel leaned back and thoroughly scanned the contents on the screen.
Though she didn't understand what Brandon was trying to show her.
"What's this?"
"Scroll up."
Scrolling up, her curiosity was piqued.
"Asa...mi... Asami Complex. Ah, but what are you showing me this for?"
"Me and my Sister are moving here."
"Eh?"
She tilted her head.
Rachel didn't mind it, and the income would definitely go to her.
After all, the Asami Complex branch where she was staying was legally under her name.
In other words, it was 'Daddy's gift to his little Princess.'
Though, there was no point in meeting up just to apply for an apartment unit.
Brandon could have just directly emailed the website.
Did he need permission from her?
He didn't need to do that.
So what was the point of the meet up?
Unless...
Before she could arrive at a conclusion, Brandon's voice reached her ears.
"Could you give us a discount?"
"Eh...?"
She tilted her head at Brandon's sudden bombshell.
'Is this why he cleaned my place?'
Of course, she could've just asked the staff to clean up for her. But she was advised not to do
that by her Father.
And as if Brandon had read her mind, his voice reached her ears once again.
"Yes, that's why I cleaned up after you."
How cunning.
"You can just pretend it's a service fee for the hard work I did."
This man...
She thought she was taking advantage of him. But in actuality, he was taking advantage of
her.
'Brandon Locke... He's even better at this game than me...'
Closing her eyes, Rachel breathed out a heavy sigh.
"Haa... Fine, you're a friend after all, I'll give you a ten perce-"
"Fifty Percent."
Before she could even finish, Brandon had already interrupted her, flexing five of his fingers in
front of her.
"Eh...? That's unfair. That's practically stealing."
"I have an offer you can't refuse to fill the other forty percent."
What is he...?
Looking around, Brandon's gaze landed on the trash bags placed on the corner of the door.
He then turned his head and looked at her.
"I'll clean your place every week."
It was a ridiculous offer.
But nonetheless, Rachel was tempted.
Truly, Brandon Locke was not a man to be underestimated.
But if he was offering that much, she knew she had to take full advantage of it.
She pursed her lips and stared at him with a serious expression.
"Every day."
"Twice a week."
"Five times a week."
"Three times a week."
"Deal."
"Deal."
The two eventually shook hands with serious expressions after coming to an agreement.
For Rachel, it was a business opportunity.
For Brandon, he was probably scamming her.
But she didn't mind it.
Brandon would become her personal janitor, while at the same time, extorting money from
their rent.
Rachel could agree that she had won the battle.
As she was lost in her thoughts, Brandon changed the topic.
"Ah, any news about Amy?"
Ah, right. Due to the entire ordeal, Rachel had forgotten her worries about Amy.
She stared down with a sad expression.
"She's still taking counseling. She hasn't replied to any of my texts."
Brandon looked away and spoke with an understanding tone.
"I see..."
"For now, everyone's giving her space. Hopefully we'll see her at the Academy on Monday."
"Yeah."
At that, Rachel remembered.
Since Brandon was there during Amy's kidnapping-albeit-inside the Battle Royale, maybe
he knew something.
Lifting her head, she turned towards Brandon who was blankly staring at the ceiling.
"Do you know anything?"
Brandon looked at her and tilted his head.
"Why are you asking me?"
"Ah, nevermind."
Right, even if Brandon was there on that day, in the end, he was still a student.
He couldn't have known about Amy's current circumstances.
If anyone were supposed to know, it should have been Rachel-Amy's twin sister.
The mood seemed to start getting gloomy. Realizing, Brandon stood up.
"I should go now."
"Right."
Walking towards the door, Brandon paused and turned his head.
"If you need anything else, call me."
"Mhm."
Acknowledging, Brandon opened the door.
But before he left, Rachel remembered to ask him something.
"By the way, which room did you get?"
Before Brandon answered, he retrieved his phone and scanned the contents.
Scrolling up, Brandon turned to glance at Rachel once more.
"Room 29."
"Ah." "Ah?"
"That's...."
Before Rachel could finish, Brandon turned his attention towards the room number on the
door in front of him.
"29... So that means..."
The rooms were directly in front of each other.
In other words, they would soon become door to door neighbors.