Chapter 14: Each Harboring Their Own Thoughts

In an apartment in Brooklyn, Lily was equally restless.

What in the world had she been thinking to have gotten involved with that boy?

He was only 17, after all.

Though in New York State, 17 was the legal age of sexual consent.

But she was still his check-in officer.

She could be grouped with teachers, psychologists, and others with significant fiduciary relationships.

And those groups, if they engage in relationships with certain people, can be convicted!

Lily absentmindedly combed through her blonde hair, various thoughts continually surfacing in her mind.

Just cut ties abruptly, transferring him away from this check-in point?

No.

Moving an offender randomly would raise suspicion from others.

What about resigning?

She pondered for a moment and then shook her head.

The job as a check-in officer was found through the Women's Union, and losing it would make it very hard to find another job with such favorable conditions in the current climate.

And without this job, although she and Gene could still manage well on alimony,

she would revert to being that housewife who depended on a deadbeat man for a living.

Talk to him plainly and go back to a normal check-in officer and offender relationship?

Lily gave it some thought and still shook her head to dismiss the idea.

As far as she knew, most of these abnormal relationships were exposed when one side wanted to break it off and the other side could not accept it.

And she would have to deal with a 17-year-old boy.

Boys of that age only think about those matters.

Lily sighed.

If that Asian boy named Wang kept persisting stubbornly, then she would just have to maintain this relationship until he turned 18.

She looked at her still rather attractive reflection in the mirror and sighed again.

Then she took off her long dress and changed into a loose-fitting blue uniform.

Hope that this much-criticized uniform will make him lose interest.

Meanwhile, Wang Jian had already arrived at the check-in point.

Though his heart was still very anxious.

But there were still 37 days of community service to do.

No escaping that.

Humans as the butcher, I'm the fish on the cutting board.

Just have to be at their mercy.

Suddenly, Wang Jian thought of the old man's suggestion.

Pretend to be extremely infatuated with her, even to a disturbing degree.

Then, scare away the check-in officer?

Wang Jian considered it and thought it was worth a try.

Thinking, I, a proud and upright man, will ultimately have to serve others with my charm.

It is truly sad and hateful.

While Wang Jian's thoughts churned chaotically, time slowly edged toward two o'clock in the afternoon.

A Ford sedan, under the watchful eyes of many offenders, slowly came to a stop.

Lily, in her uniform, got out of the car.

At the moment she looked up and saw Wang Jian, she stumbled, twisting her high heel and almost falling to the ground.

Wang Jian, remembering the old man's method, rushed forward in a dash and tightly grasped her forearm.

In front of so many onlookers, I'm making such a move. Surely that's brazen enough?

Certainly, this should scare her off.

But for Lily, it was a tremor in her heart.

Sure enough, he didn't want to sever ties and was still trying to please me in this way.

Sigh…

She steadied herself on Wang Jian's shoulders, standing up.

Fearing he might make a scene, she even used a very gentle tone, "Thank you."

Then, while observing Wang Jian's expression, she gently withdrew her arm.

Luckily, he didn't make any further moves.

After this little episode, the mandatory community service resumed its normal check-in procedure.

Just like always, everyone went about picking up trash, cleaning.

But Wang Jian and Lily occasionally exchanged glances, each plotting what the other might do next and how to respond.

An awkward yet ambiguous atmosphere echoed between the two.

And time, like a flowing river, quickly passed.

Just as the community service was nearing its end, the voice of Lily's superior suddenly came through her walkie-talkie.

Tomorrow, the District Councilor will be visiting this community service site to give a speech and campaign for the upcoming council elections.

This…

Lily's heart skipped a beat as she looked at Wang Jian not far away.

She thought she could just muddle through and then pretend that night's event had never happened.

But what if the boy, feeling resentful, spouted nonsense to the people accompanying the councilor?

Her whole career would be over!

Lily crossed her legs once more, finally making up her mind.

Sleeping once is sleeping, and twice is the same; give him a taste of sweetness, stabilize the situation for now.

Besides, with a thirteen-year age difference, it's not clear who is at a disadvantage.

Thus, she called Wang Jian over and leaned forward, "Tomorrow evening, come to my place again to babysit?"

"He's coming, he's coming," Wang Jian thought as he admired Lily's well-developed pectoralis major, "She really doesn't want to let me go."

But remembering the 30+ days of community service left, Wang Jian clenched his teeth and said, "Okay."

And so, under a mutually cooperative atmosphere, they settled on their arrangement for the next evening.

Both harboring their thoughts, they returned to their respective apartments.

However, Wang Jian's apartment was a bit different today.

Holding the note left by El, he learned that the other party had already hit the road in a camper van with their boss for an all-America single promotion tour.

And those two African American men who had read the first half of "I'm a Great Mage" had also hit the road.

What's more, they had even taken the first book that was meant to be a memento.

Although the note said they would definitely return the book after the promotion, Wang Jian was still quite annoyed.

But after reading the last message on the note, he became too preoccupied to care about anything else.

Because it was the personal phone number of Roy, an editor from Scholastic Publishers.

The message stated that it was a routine notification to the author about the first day's sales figures in the book's distributed regions.

He took a deep breath and dialed Roy's number, clutching a glimmer of hope.

"Hello, is this Roy? It's Wang."

"Yes, this is Roy," came the voice on the other end, steady without a trace of emotion.

"How much were the first-day sales?" Wang Jian's voice trembled, hands beginning to sweat.

"I'm a Great Mage" sold 32 copies on its first day in Greater New York State," Roy sighed and continued, "In today's release of 20 fiction books by Scholastic, it ranked 18th."

"As for its sales on the national new book charts, there's no need to count," Roy said with a bitter laugh, "It's meaningless."

Hearing the figures reported by Roy, Wang Jian's heartbeat slowed by two beats.

Did his first book flop?

Did the web novel he brought from another world just flop?

Quietly hanging up the phone, he stared blankly at the television.