"Can you even afford to pay?" Lyla sneered, clearly enjoying herself. "You, a country bumpkin, probably don’t even know what kind of car this is, huh?"
She kept mocking me, and I could feel my patience wearing thin.
That’s when the guy finally spoke up. He pointed at himself with a smug look and said, "Luke, don’t you recognize me?"
I stared at him, genuinely confused. "Who are you?"
The guy was overweight, greasy, and didn’t look familiar at all. "I’m Shane!"
'Shane, Matthews?'
"Oh, yeah, now I remember. Your father’s in real estate," I said, nodding.
His family was one of the wealthiest in my high school, but we never really interacted. I was always buried in my books, while he was practically never at school.
Shane stepped closer, smirking. "University top scorer, huh? How’s that going for you now? You used to be so impressive, but now you’re driving a domestic car? Do you even know how much my Lamborghini costs? Can you even afford to cover it?"
"Over $20 million, right?" I replied casually, almost like I was talking about the price of a used bike.
He laughed. "From the sound of it, can you even afford to pay for it?"
I smiled dryly.
"Call the insurance, call the traffic cops, whatever works. Let them assess the damage. I’ll pay whatever it costs, not a penny less," I added, trying to keep my cool.
But Shane just sneered again. "I don’t settle for broken stuff. You’re gonna replace it with a brand-new one."
'Was he really this ignorant of the law, or was he just playing some kind of sick game?'
I looked at him, confused, and said, "You’ve got a phone, right? You can look it up. Check if what you just said is even legal."
He sneered, "I don’t need you to teach me the law. I know it!"
Shane added, "But this is Silverstone City, man. With just one word from me, you’re gonna pay for a new car."
Shane was losing it now, and I could see it.
That’s when I heard the sound of more sports cars roaring to life.
One by one, they pulled up and outstepped a bunch of arrogant-looking men and women.
Shane smiled and said, "Luke, take a good look. Half of Silverstone’s rich kids are here. This is my backup. You? Some poor kid from a poor family? What do you have to compare with me?"
I didn’t even bother looking at those rich brats. 'Why should I?'
They were on a completely different level than me.
"You seem to have a lot of hostility towards me," I said, keeping my cool. "But why? Did I do something to you?"
"You didn’t offend me," Shane replied. "I just barely remembered you."
Then, he slapped Lyla’s face casually and continued, "Even Lyla, I didn’t care much about her. But when I heard you, the former top student, were on a date with her, I just had to come and crush you. Don’t ask me why. I was bored and felt like messing with you. Is that a problem?"
That was the last straw.
I could feel my temper flaring, but Andrew stepped in before I could say anything, gently patting me on the shoulder.
"I know, I’ll stay low-key," I whispered back.
He reminded me to keep my cool and ensure I didn’t cause any trouble or risk exposing myself.
"Alright," I said, forcing myself to stay calm. "Now that you’ve had your fun, I’ve agreed to pay."
"If you don’t trust me, call the cops. We’ll go through the usual process."
I really didn’t want more trouble.
As someone in research, I knew I had too many eyes on me from overseas. To be honest, I was scared. But the biggest worry was that if something happened to me, it would be a huge loss to the country. I had to think about the bigger picture.
So, I was just trying to avoid any more issues.
But Shane wasn’t done.
He pointed at my nose and said, "Can you afford to pay? If you can’t, don’t worry. I never expected you to actually pay. Anyway, I’m not short on cash."
