"Help me break up with someone."
Nora Scott threw a word at him with irritation and turned to leave.
Michael Quinn quickly stopped Nora, smiling cheekily, "You’ve done this before, it’s not the first time. Just be a pal, okay?"
Nora looked at him coldly, "What did you say last time?"
Ever since they were kids, Joseph Sutton and Michael Quinn were like two ends of a scale.
Joseph Sutton was immersed in his studies and interested in nothing else; Michael Quinn was adept in everything except academics, including eating, drinking, and having fun. His girlfriends were always counted in dozens.
For some reason, many people seemed to like Michael Quinn. Whenever his exes wouldn’t leave him alone, he’d turn to Nora for help.
He had two reasons for asking Nora: one, she was pretty and convincing as a new romantic interest; and two, she was not someone to be messed with, ensuring personal safety against exes who wouldn’t dare confront her.
This sort of thing used to happen quite a lot.
However, ever since two years ago when Michael vowed to turn over a new leaf, there hadn’t been any such requests.
Last time when at Fenton University meeting Joseph Sutton, Joseph told him that Michael had been pursuing a girl for two years and had finally succeeded in dating her last month.
Nora didn’t mind helping Michael a bit, but she despised his "chase and discard" behavior.
"I..." Michael hung his head, his smile subdued, speaking softly, "I just don’t have a choice."
Nora sneered, "Weren’t you full of ideas when you were chasing her?"
"That’s different! Do you think I can bring myself to hurt them?" Michael raised his head, his eyes determined and righteous.
Nora squinted her eyes, "So you want me to do it?"
Michael grinned awkwardly, "You’re tough enough to handle one or two. You wouldn’t mind."
"The door’s over there, not seeing you out."
Throwing down her words, Nora hugged Rose and walked towards the cat’s nest.
"Last time!" Michael persisted.
"Nora, really, last time!"
"For the sake of old friends!"
Nora walked to the cat’s nest, ignoring Michael as if he were air.
Michael picked up the cat’s nest and placed it behind him, then seriously stared at Nora, holding up two fingers confidently, "I swear!"
Raising her eyebrow, Nora quietly stared at him.
Usually, when Nora stared at him , Michael would cave. But this time, he managed to hold firm, looking back unwaveringly.
Seeing his determination, after a moment, Nora asked, "When?"
"In the next couple of days. I’ll come pick you up then," Michael quickly responded.
"Hehe," Michael beamed at Nora, slightly bent his waist, and then put the cat’s nest back in place, "You feed the cat, I’ll go see Sir Easton."
He had just taken two steps when Nora called him.
Michael turned around.
Nora crouched down, placed Rose into the cat’s nest, picked up a bowl of cat food beside her, and without looking up, gently reminded, "Don’t do too many bad things, or it’ll come back to you."
Seemingly responding perfunctorily, Michael’s slightly lowered gaze fleetingly showed a hint of loneliness.
Seeing Michael, the caregiver exited the room.
Antonio Easton was already awake, lying weakly in bed, lacking energy.
"Sir Easton, I’m here to visit you." Michael grinned as usual, "Look, you’ve lost weight again."
Antonio’s eyes moved slightly to look at him, but he said nothing.
Taking a chair, Michael placed it next to the bed, straddled it, "I’m here to chat with you. No need for you to use effort, I’ll just talk."
Antonio asked, "No work today?"
"Not opening the shop anymore." Michael beamed brilliantly, "Quinn’s always disliked my shop, saying it’s indecent. I’ve rebelled for so many years; I’m planning to please him a bit, closing shop in a couple of days and living here from now on."
Turning the conversation, Michael added, "I heard they often take you out for some air; those old bones won’t be enough. It’d be better with me around, so tell me if there’s anything..."
Once Michael started talking, he wouldn’t stop, turning into a chatterbox, babbling on non-stop.
Antonio didn’t find him annoying, quietly listening to him speak.
He was a child that Antonio watched grow up, also the most lively and mischievous among the three, always getting into trouble, causing Bernardo Quinn no shortage of headaches.
For some reason, whenever Michael was around Antonio, he suddenly behaved. He had been close to Antonio from a young age, often claiming to be Antonio’s grandkid while being chased around by Bernardo in the alleyways.
In the end, he never escaped the beatings, with even harsher punishments. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⚫𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦⚫𝘯𝘦𝘵