Chapter 61 Everyone Knows You're Rich

The goddess pouted and walked away, her expression resembling the resentment of being abandoned by a fickle lover.

Meanwhile, our fickle-hearted Carter, after driving away the goddess of autumn wind at noon, suddenly found that his world had become quiet. The bustling crowd seemed as fleeting as morning dew. As intense as they came in the morning, they disappeared just as quickly in the afternoon.

A bit puzzled, Carter, unsure of why, briefly pondered but abandoned the idea of probing deeper. It was better to have some peace of mind. It was time for class after all. Now that he had the opportunity and the means in this life, he couldn't afford to neglect to sharpen his mind!

Leaving aside other matters, at least attending an Ivy League university required some examination! Even if he couldn't learn anything, cultivating connections was not something he could afford to neglect, unlike his aimless wandering at Douglas.

Returning to the classroom with a calm demeanor to begin his lessons, Carter still underestimated the allure of the campus goddess. But soon enough, he would experience it.

Because he was ambushed!

"You're that Carter Black, right?"

"I heard you look down on our football team?"

"And our basketball team too!"

Around three in the afternoon, just as Carter was heading to the parking lot as usual to make his escape, he was intercepted by several "strong men" and taken to a building near the campus, where a dozen or so more "strong men" were waiting.

Quietly assessing the combat power of both sides, Carter wisely chose to stay silent.

This place was off-campus, close to the school but not within its jurisdiction. Campus security wouldn't patrol here, and sorry, but Elmont School's location itself was somewhat remote, with hardly anyone passing by nearby. Even if someone did pass by and saw this mob, they'd probably just turn around and leave.

"Hey, are you mute? Why aren't you talking trash like you did at noon?"

One of the tough guys pushed Carter's shoulder, muttering curses under his breath.

This feeling was just like the so-called social fights in middle school in his previous life, a scene Carter hadn't expected to encounter again after his rebirth.

Carter had dabbled in such things a bit in his previous life, so he wasn't intimidated by this scene. If this were China, Carter would be a hundred and twenty percent likely to chase after the ringleader and give him a beating.

Even if he got beaten in return, as long as he was ruthless enough to knock down the leader, he'd at least not lose face!

But this was America. Who knew if these guys had weapons? What if one of these big guys had a gun or a knife and used it on him? Then he'd be at a loss, not knowing what to do next.

"Useless!"

As Carter pondered his options, someone couldn't hold back anymore. A kick was thrown.

And at that moment, Carter was ready to take the beating. He covered his head with his hands, curled up on the ground, protecting his vitals, letting them hit and curse him.

"Make some noise, you bastard! You piece of trash!"

"Beat the hell out of this scum!"

Fists and kicks rained down on him, and Carter looked especially disheveled. But strangely, his heart was very calm.

There had been times in his previous life when he had lost fights, and back then, Carter had always been thinking about when he could get revenge, when he could fight back. But now, Carter found that his heart was surprisingly undisturbed.

Did it hurt where the punches landed? Yes, it did! But honestly, the pain was quite limited when you were fighting barehanded. In many cases, what really hurt in campus violence was not the physical pain, but the damage to dignity, the trampling of one's face.

The psychological blow of appearing weak in front of classmates, in front of the girl you admired, was the biggest blow to a boy's psyche. And unfortunately, Carter had never felt this way at Elmont.

But being beaten up was indeed embarrassing for Carter. Yet, on the other hand, Carter felt that he didn't need to swear revenge because he could retaliate in a more decisive way now. There was no need to swear oaths or anything like that.

"Hey, Sheppard! Come kick this kid who embarrassed you! He's right here, don't you want to show off your manliness in front of the goddess?"

As Carter protected himself and calmly thought, he suddenly heard a voice. Indeed, insulting the basketball team or whatever was more about showing off one's so-called manhood in front of the goddess.

Although the location had changed, the fights of these young men were still driven by women. Carter didn't care, but the next moment, another voice rang out:

"Damn it, Garnett! Come at your grandpa if you dare!"

Then came the sound of fists and kicks, followed by a short silence.

"Kazim, are you nuts? What does Carter have to do with you?"

"Who cares? One is beaten, two are beaten! Let's beat them!"

The punches and kicks on Carter suddenly diminished. Carter glanced sideways and saw a black guy lying next to him, also curled up and taking the beating.

Hey, this was interesting!

At Douglas, blacks and whites were like two separate worlds. Whites generally wouldn't go to black neighborhoods, and blacks wouldn't come to white territory. This was reflected in the school as two completely separate circles.

Whites were whites, blacks were blacks. Carter hadn't even figured out the white circle yet, let alone the blacks at Douglas. So, this was strange.

Why would a black classmate who had never been in contact with him stand up for him?

With doubts in his mind, Carter quietly waited for the beating to end. Perhaps feeling that it was too boring to keep beating a silent guy like Carter, most of the punches and kicks were directed at the new guy, Kazim, after he appeared.

After about ten minutes, the beating stopped. Carter stood up, stretched his body, and took off his jacket, covered in footprints and spittle, tossing it aside.

He didn't want this thing anymore.

"Hey, your name is Kazim, right? Why did you help me?"

"Because I need you to help me!"

The black boy, also standing up, looked at Carter calmly, showing no concern for the beating they just endured. He spoke directly.

"What can I do for you? Money?"

Carter laughed. He seemed to understand Kazim's plan.

First, help himself but not really help. Instead, endure a beating alongside him, let Carter attract most of the firepower, then act pitiful in front of Carter, and finally ask for help. Many normal young people would be moved by his behavior when they were in the same boat.

In short, it was a trick!

But even though he understood, Carter didn't reveal it. He somewhat accepted this sentiment.

"Yes, my father got arrested and needs bail money to get him out. I don't have money, my friends don't have money, but you do! Now everyone at Elmont knows you're rich, so I want to borrow money from you! I promise I'll pay it back!"