Rise of the Darkness Tycoon

Chapter 27- On Your Knees, Isaac

Isaac was silent upon hearing Ashley’s demand for an explanation. He naturally couldn’t say that he had been about to hit Calvin, but Calvin, on the other hand, couldn’t care less.

“Well, they were attempting the usuals,” he said.

Pointing at Mark on the floor, he continued, “That one over there came up earlier and tried to take our bill. When I asked why he was doing that, he said something that annoyed me, so I decided to test out one of my punches on his face.”

Ashley chuckled lightly at Calvin’s response, a small smile appearing on her face, which left Florence and Isaac’s group shocked. They had never seen Ashley smile like that before at school, and they were her classmates who spent a lot of time in the same space as her.

Calvin, not caring about their sudden surprise at Ashley’s reaction, pointed at Florence and continued, “After I tested my punch on his face, I just pushed him back a little and was thinking of how to proceed when she came over and asked me how dare I hit him.

After I admitted it and asked what she was going to do about it, it seems her boyfriend over here decided to step in for her. He told me I was going to have to pay for hitting his friend, and I was waiting to see how I was supposed to pay when you stepped in.”

When Calvin finished his summary of events, Ashley nodded quietly, but before she could speak, Calvin raised the bill the waiter had brought earlier and handed it to her.

“Our bill,” he said. “You ordered quite a lot, didn’t you?”

Ashley blinked, reached out, and took the paper, and after reading it, her eyes widened slightly.

“Between this and what I bought in the auction earlier, I think I might put a hole in my pocket today.”

Hearing her, Calvin raised an eyebrow and asked, “For today?”

She looked back at him and replied with a nod, “Yeah, just for today.”

Calvin silently shook his head, wondering just how much money she had as an allowance, considering she had spent millions at the auction and still said it would only put a hole in her pocket for the day.

For Florence, Isaac, and the rest, they were all stunned by how Calvin and Ashley were interacting.

From what they had just heard, Calvin and Ashley had come to the restaurant together and eaten together, and the way they spoke was friendly, far more friendly than they had ever expected from Ashley toward Calvin.

After all, in the past, while Ashley had indeed stopped them from bullying Calvin Carter and had even tried to help him, this current friendly atmosphere between them was not something they had ever seen before.

Her actions back then felt more like annoyance at their attempts to bully Calvin Carter than anything else.

Ashley reached toward the bag hanging from her shoulder and unclasped the lock, searching inside for one of her credit cards as she spoke to Calvin.

“Still, though, Calvin, I’ve asked this many times, but really, why have these guys always been trying to bully you?”

“I can’t say,” Calvin replied with a shrug. “Maybe they’re jealous of me. I mean, the one on the floor even told his friend over here to hide his girlfriend from me.”

When he said that, Ashley looked up at the one still frozen in place at the table and asked, “Why is he just sitting there?”

“He looked like he was about to be loud, so I had him keep quiet for a bit.”

Calvin’s response made Ashley look down at his feet, noticing how much smaller his shadow looked compared to his body.

“Well, can you have him leave?” she asked. “I want to take my seat. I still have things I want to order before we leave.”

“Huh, you still want to order something? All that food earlier, and you’re still not full?”

Calvin’s gaze dropped towards Ashley’s stomach as he spoke, and noticing this, Ashley pulled out the card she had been searching for from her bag and flicked it toward Calvin’s face.

“Your stare is rude,” she said as Calvin caught the card easily between two fingers, catching sight of the bank logo on it before dropping it onto the table.

“It’s less rudeness and more genuine shock that you still have space for more after all the food from earlier.”

After speaking to Ashley, Calvin turned his gaze toward Florence and the others still standing there, then looked at Mark, who had finally gotten back to his feet, scratching his head while muttering, “Right, so um... this is a pain, but yeah, I’m still gonna do this.”

Looking up at them, he said coldly, “Isaac, Florence, Mark, and the rest of you, I’m sure you’ve heard that I was in the hospital for some time, and the fact that none of you was called in because of it should tell you I haven’t spoken about your involvement in why I ended up there in the first place.”

He took a step closer to Isaac, staring him directly in the eyes as he said, “So let’s do both of us a favour. You all stay away from me from now on. Don’t disturb me, don’t try your little… bullying, and I’ll have no business with you.”

He placed a hand on Isaac’s shoulder, his grip firm and his strength pushing Isaac down slightly, shocking the other teenager, as he said, “But if you dare try anything with me again...”

Calvin increased the force of his grip, pushing Isaac down onto his knees with ease, leaning over him as he declared.

“You’re going to deeply regret it.”

Then he looked up at Florence and added, “That applies to you as well, dear cousin.”

Even though the term he used was a familial one, there wasn’t a single trace of familiarity in his tone.

Florence frowned at his warning, reaching out to push him away from Isaac as she shouted, “Calvin, who the hell do you think you are?!”

Before she could say anything more, Calvin raised his left hand and flicked a finger toward her, and immediately the shadow of a hand stretched out from within her clothes, rose across her face, and covered her mouth, stopping her from speaking.

“You talk too much, Florence. Really, too much,” Calvin said with a sigh. “Your voice really irritates me. Just leave and don’t bother me again. Same goes for the rest of you.”

He cast a glance at the rest of the group as he spoke, then turned around and looked at Ashley.

“Let’s just pay our bill and go somewhere else. Whatever dessert you want, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it more in a better atmosphere than, well, here.”

At those words, Ashley glanced at Isaac’s group for a moment before she nodded once.

She picked up her card from the desk, then grabbed Calvin by the arm and pulled him toward the cashier so they could pay for their food.

Just like that, they left, leaving the stunned group behind.

As a side note, Calvin’s current shadow manipulation range was limited, so when he left the second floor and went down to the ground floor, Mark’s friend and Florence were outside the range of his power. As such, the shadows restraining their mouths returned to normal, and they were able to move freely again.