Chapter 10

The ladder suddenly shook, and she quickly grabbed it in fear. The paintbrush slipped from her hand and dropped onto the man in the floral shirt. He changed his expression and started scolding, "Damn it, this shirt cost me hundreds. Get off the ladder now." Although Eliza couldn't hear clearly, she knew that she had encountered a genuine thug. She should have properly closed the rolling door earlier. She only closed it halfway, giving these people an opportunity. Several men became impatient, so they shook the ladder fiercely. Eliza couldn't hold on to it securely anymore and dropped from above, landing heavily on the ground. Before she could cry out in pain, the men dragged her up and started pulling her outside. "Let go, what's going on? How can you just grab someone like that? I'm calling the police." She screamed. This small street was newly built and mostly populated with new businesses. Only a few stores were open late for work. Upon hearing the cry, some workers extended their heads to take a glance, then quickly retracted. They dared not provoke these underworld figures. In this society, there were many who would choose to avoid trouble, few who would take a stand for justice. A black off-road vehicle was parked outside. The driver was a young man with a buzz cut. He had one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding a cigarette. Seeing her being dragged out, he tapped his cigarette to shed the ashes and said in a languid tone, "Jake is your boyfriend, right? He eloped with my woman and my money. Do you know where they've gone?" The lighting was so dim, he was turned sideways, so she couldn't hear anything clearly! She forcefully shook off the two smelly hands holding her and yelled, "I'm deaf. I can't hear a damn thing you're saying. If you have something to ask, write it down!" She was angry and her tone was abrupt, which sounded strange. The buzz-cut man was surprised and turned his face towards her. The light shone on her face, which was stained with some paint, and her long hair cascaded down softly onto her chest. Her catlike eyes glared coldly at him. He whistled, threw away his cigarette, opened the car door, and came out. He looked her up and down and shouted, "Pretty spicy, and interesting. Fine, I don't want the money anymore. Just join me for a night." This time he was facing her. She looked straight at him in the light. This thug was quite young, with a distinct nose and a faint scar at the end of his eyebrow. He resembled the men in Korean dramas, except his words were aggravating her. Watching his moving mouth, she was infuriated. Were all men like this, viewing women as nothing more than tools? She glared at him fiercely, turned around, and walked back into the store, shouting, "If there's nothing else, then scram." The floral shirt men all started whistling. She quickly went back into the shop, reaching out to pull down the rolling door. The man followed her in swiftly, deftly rolling under the roller door that was pulled down to knee height. Once inside, he looked up at the hand-drawn paintings on the wall and whistled again. "Babe, your paintings aren't bad." The men outside started laughing. "Sam, take your time. We're off, okay?" "Go ahead." The man snapped his fingers and put one hand in his pocket, looking at Eliza. Eliza quickly picked up a metal dustpan from the floor, glaring at the man and said, "Get out of here, or you'll regret it." The man snorted dismissively. Eliza only felt a softness in her hand, and the metal dustpan was taken away by him and was thrown towards the roller door with a clang.