Chapter 607: Am I That Old?
Upon hearing the girl's words, Russell Hunter simply smiled slightly, not paying it much mind, and only asked, "Where do you live? I give you a ride home."
The girl instantly grew wary.
"You want to take me home? What are you trying to do?"
Russell pressed his fingers to his temple with a headache.
One of his subordinates nearby couldn't listen any longer and couldn't help but say, "Do you even have a shred of conscience? Our Mr. Hunter kindly helped you and even offered you a ride home, and you think he's a bad guy? What kind of bad guy would knowingly help a swindler with so much money? Besides, you really think too highly of yourself..."
Hearing this, the girl didn't seem embarrassed.
She just said, "No one is this nice to a stranger for no reason. I should be a little cautious.
Otherwise, in this foreign land, I would have been devoured long ago." Unaware of what memories it triggered, she clenched her fists.
Since she put it that way, Russell naturally wouldn't insist. He was only acting on a momentary goodwill. Since she didn't appreciate it, there was no need for him to force it.
"Let's go," he said to his men.
Just as they were about to leave, the girl suddenly called out to him.
"Hey, wait... On second thought, could you please give me a ride home after all?"
Russell turned back to look at her, raising an eyebrow slightly.
The girl coughed lightly twice and said, "I was being ungrateful just now. You're a good person. It's a really long walk home for me, so l'd appreciate the ride."
Russell could tell at a glance that the girl was lying:
However, he was rather curious to know what she was really up to.
"Alright then, let's go."
Russell strode off. The girl stuck her tongue out at his subordinates and then trailed closely behind him.
His men all disliked her, but since Russell was "indulging" her, they couldn't say anything.
Once in the car, the girl gave the driver an address.
The driver was very familiar with the roads in Yewhaina, so he started the car without a word.
"By the way, my name is Lily Sparrow. And you?"
"Russell Hunter."
Lily let out an "Oh," seeming to lose interest in continuing the conversation with Russell.
She turned to look at the streetlights whizzing past outside the window, the light in her eyes flickering:
After an unknown length of time, the driver finally brought the car to a stop.
Russell had been lost in thought. Only when the car stopped did he snap back to reality and look outside. His pupils constricted sharply.
He couldn't tell what kind of place this was.
The surrounding environment could only be described as filthy, chaotic, and poor. A few small buildings stood nearby, surrounded by all sorts of garbage piles. Fortunately, the weather wasn't hot yet. If the temperature rose, who knew what kind of "spectacle" it would be.
Besides the garbage piles, there were ruins.
Several youths dressed in a slovenly, delinquent manner sat on the rubble, smoking and drinking beer, occasionally letting out strange laughs.
By now, a few of them had noticed Russell's car.
They were itching to walk over, but then another car pulled up behind them. The men who got out were all burly - bodyguards who had followed Russell. Seeing this, the few youths gave up.
Russell hadn't planned to get out of the car, but seeing this situation, he could only frown and step out with Lily.
Did she usually live in a place like this?
"Worried about me?" Lily asked with a grin.
"Don't worry. I've lived here for a long time.
I'm familiar with them; no one bullies me."
Of course, they weren't familiar with her from the start.
But she had always been one to fight desperately.
And these people were just bullies, all bark and no bite.
After she pulled a knife a few times, they naturally didn't dare to have any ideas about her anymore.
Russell didn't say anything, just stated, "I'll see you to your door before I leave."
A flicker of triumphant amusement passed through Lily's eyes.
She led Russell and a couple of bodyguards into one of the small buildings.
The staircase seemed ancient, creaking with every step. The walls in the hallway were covered in all kinds of graffiti and unidentifiable stains.
Russell truly wondered why he had come to suffer this, but thinking he should help someone to the end, he still followed Lily to a door on the second floor.
Lily took out a key and opened the door.
Surprisingly, her home was very clean, completely at odds with the environment outside.
"You've come all this way, come in and have some water," Lily said with a smile. "Don't worry, the water in my house is clean."
Russell wanted to refuse, but just then, two young girls came running over.
The two girls looked to be just over ten years old, very thin and frail. They first called out "Sis!"' to Lily, then looked at Russell curiously and asked, "Sis, who is this uncle?"
Lily should already be past twenty. Until now, he had thought they were of the same generation.
Now, with these two kids calling him "uncle," they were instantly not of the same generation anymore.
Lily gave a sly smile and said, "This uncle is a benefactor who helped your big sis a great deal. Don't you think we should invite him in for some water?"
"We should!"
"Uncle, please come in and have some water."
Looking at their youthful, immature faces, the words of refusal already on Russell's lips were swallowed back down.
"Uncle Russell, please." Lily made a gesture of invitation for him.
Russell glanced at her and stepped inside.
"No need to change shoes. Sit wherever."
"Uncle, sit here."
"This chair is clean. We wipe it every day."
The two little girls were very enthusiastic, moving a chair for Russell to sit on.
Russell looked around, This was a space that
could barely be called a living room, but the furnishings were pitifully few. There was no sofa, coffee table, or television to speak of.
There was only a shabby cabinet, a small table, and two chairs.
Looking at the two small, thin girls, he sighed and said, "You two sit."
"It's okay, we can stand!"
Lily brought in a cup of water and placed it in Russell's hands. "This is the best we have at home. Don't laugh."
The cup and water were clean, but Russell wasn't thirsty and wasn't in the mood to drink. He simply held the cup for the moment and asked Lily, "So it's just you and your two sisters living here usually?"
Before Lily could answer, a fit of violent coughing sounded from behind a room door.
"And our dad," Lily said. "He's seriously ill. Usually doesn't come out."
Russell was taken aback. "So you really do..."
"What? Oh, so I really do have a sick dad, right?"
Lily smiled wryly.
Russell asked, "If that's the case, why didn't you explain when the people at the hospital called you a swindler?"
"Explaining wouldn't make anyone believe me,"
Lily said self-deprecatingly. "Besides, someone like me, always begging people for money... is naturally looked down upon..."
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