Chapter 5 - 5 Late Trouble (Part 1)
Chapter 5: Late Trouble (Part 1)
The next day, when Callum and the other two saw Finn Lewis, they were taken aback by his appearance. Finn had two huge dark circles under his eyes, his eyes were as red as a rabbit's, and his hair was a mess. The smell of cigarette smoke was strong on him. Clearly, Finn hadn't slept all night.
"Mr. Finn, why are you torturing yourself like this? Didn't you say you were okay yesterday? Is the matter over just like that?" Chubby Callum was the first to approach him. He extended his hand and gently patted Finn on the shoulder.
"Callum, it's not so easy to let it go. But, Mr. Finn, since you know the truth now, why are you so heartbroken? I can't believe you're scared of not finding a better woman." The guy with glasses pushed his glasses up and looked at Finn.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. I just had trouble sleeping last night." Finn laughed without further explanation. Explaining this would scare people.
The three of them comforted Finn and then they headed towards the school together. There were classes in the school that day and the first period was their iron-handed class teacher's class, Finn didn't want to fail this subject by the end of the term.
When he arrived in the classroom, he immediately felt a strange atmosphere. They were all looking at him weirdly. In this internet age, words travel fast. It didn't take long for the whole campus to get to know about what had happened. It was impossible to keep such a sensational event a secret.
As Chubby Callum and the other two didn't share the same major as Finn, under normal circumstances, Finn would have been anxious about it. But not today. Before coming here, he had already guessed what the situation would be.
"Hey, Finn, the thing from yesterday blew up." As soon as Finn sat down, a guy next to him leaned in. His name was Edward Sutherland. He was a skinny guy, not too short, with an average family background. He usually got along well with Finn.
"What happened?" Finn looked at Edward and asked.
"You don't know?"
"Of course I don't. After leaving school yesterday, I went out and tried to vent my frustrations." Finn shrugged and asked.
"Um, are you okay now?" Edward hesitated for a moment before asking.
"Of course I'm okay. I figured it out yesterday. In this world, there are always some blind people. You can't expect everyone to treat you well." Finn squinted and smiled.
"Okay, let me tell you this: the thing you did yesterday, the cops got involved." Edward said in a low voice.
"What do you mean?" Finn was stunned. He knew very well what he had done yesterday but how could it have caught the attention of the police? The last person Finn wanted to see right now was a policeman. Anybody would feel a bit guilty in this situation. Even though, his source of money had no issues according to what he had been told, nobody knew for sure until it was verified!
"It's all because of that woman. You just threw away the money, right? It was windy yesterday, and the money got scattered all over the place. There were hundreds of students watching. In the end, Cora Franklin reported a loss of a hundred thousand dollars." Edward gave a bitter smile as he explained the situation.
Finn started laughing. Damn, it's as if it was her money. And she had the nerve to report to the police?
"What happened next?" Finn immediately asked.
"The school was notified. But of course, with so much money, it's impossible to recover it all. But then, I heard that Cora's new boyfriend came over and it seems that he knows the policemen. They said they wanted to see you, but since they couldn't reach you on the phone yesterday, the case was postponed. I don't know anymore after that." Edward shrugged.
Finn asked strangely, "Why do the police want to see me? Since I threw the money, I don't want it anymore. Why? Are they asking me to make up for the two million?"
Looking at Finn's indifferent expression, Edward was somewhat dumbfounded. He didn't know what to make of Finn. The change in his behavior was mind-boggling. He used to be quite frugal, even when it came to meals at the cafeteria. But now, he doesn't even care about two million. Is this some kind of soap opera?
"No, of course not. It's just that the police don't know what to do. Although you used the money to embarrass Cora, you didn't say you were giving her the money, so..." Edward shrugged and shook his head with a bitter smile.
On hearing this, Finn laughed. Damn it, so that's the twist! He had a blast initially, but today he was somewhat regretful. Two million! He might not be short of this money now, but he couldn't leave it to that woman. Finn would rather give it to beggars on the streets or donate it to charity than leave it to her!
"So the police want to ask for my opinion, right?" Finn immediately asked.
"Yeah." Edward shrugged.
After the bell rang for class, indeed, as soon as their class teacher entered, the first thing he asked was whether Finn was present.
"Yes, I'm here." Finn stood up from his seat.
"Come with me." The class teacher, Mr. Wood, immediately pointed to the door.
Finn got up from his seat and walked out. As soon as the two of them left, the classroom burst into a flurry of discussion. Their class teacher, Mr. Wood was a middle-aged man in his forties with thick glasses that resembled the bottom of a beer bottle. He dressed simply, but he was far from dull.
"Tell me about it, what's the deal with you and Cora?" Mr. Wood asked as he led Finn to the fire escape. The students generally use the elevator, so there were not many people here.
"What could it be? It's just a small matter, isn't it? We broke up?" Finn said lightly. If it had been before, he might have been somewhat standoffish around Mr. Wood, but today he wasn't at all.
"You little son of a gun, I know all about the usual young people's drama. But let me tell you, you must not do anything illegal. Because of the small matter, don't ruin your whole life, understand? Is it just because of a woman? You study well, get a good job in the future, won't you still find a good woman? I know your family's situation and I've even met your parents. Where did you get two million from?" Mr. Wood looked at Finn and asked directly.
Looking at Mr. Wood's heartfelt concern, Finn, for the first time, thought Mr. Wood wasn't so bad. Having a teacher talk to a student about relationships was a rare sight. It was clear that Mr. Wood was worried Finn might do something illegal due to heartbreak.
"Mr. Wood, don't worry, I won't do anything illegal. Perhaps, Mr. Wood, you don't quite understand. The money is earned by me legit." Finn thought for a moment about how to pacify Mr. Wood and then said.
"Oh? I would like to hear how you earned this money." Mr. Wood looked at Finn curiously.
Finn hesitated for a moment, then said earnestly, "Mr. Wood, don't worry, I earned this money by my own ability. Here, I'll show you a message. As for the specific reason, I can't tell you for now, because it involves business secrets."
Hearing this, Mr. Wood looked at Finn in surprise, "business secrets?" Mr. Wood took a step back and looked at Finn up and down. To tell the truth, Mr. Wood didn't know Finn very well even though he had been their class teacher for over two years. Could this boy really be so capable?