Chapter 79

It was the same familiar kick.

This time, the man didn’t hold back at all. His foot struck Bill squarely, sending the man flying nearly a meter through the air.

Mother and son ended up sprawled on the ground together. The surrounding crowd stared in stunned silence.

A few people had been thinking about stepping in to mediate—but after measuring their own physiques against the man’s, they quickly thought better of it. No one wanted to end up kicked like that.

Mrs. Warren sat there dazed for a long moment before scrambling toward her son.

"Oh heavens, Bill! Bill, are you alright?!"

"That bastard dared to kick you! We’re calling the police—absolutely calling the police! He needs to be thrown in jail!"

Bill lay on the ground groaning, clutching his stomach. The pain was so intense he couldn’t even speak.

Mother and son cursed furiously while helping each other to their feet.

When they finally looked up again, the man was already gone.

Their anger only grew worse, but in the end they had no choice but to slink away in embarrassment.

Someone near the front of the line chuckled softly.

"That’s Coach Danes—a taekwondo instructor. Instead of leaving quietly, they tried to scam him for money. Honestly, what were they thinking?"

Suzy heard a woman’s amused voice from up ahead.

A taekwondo coach...

she thought.

No wonder he had that kind of build—solid muscle everywhere.

The line continued creeping forward slowly. More and more people joined the queue, which now snaked into an S-shape.

The tail end of the line had stretched all the way to where Suzy was standing.

That was when she spotted two familiar faces—Hannah and Olivia.

Suzy studied them quietly.

The two women seemed to be doing fairly well these past few days—about the same as usual.

They didn’t carry any obvious sour odor either, which meant they still had enough water to maintain basic hygiene.

Each of them held a bucket while chatting casually, completely failing to recognize Suzy.

There were many conversations happening nearby, but because they stood so close, Suzy could easily hear them.

The topics were mostly complaints about their households running low on water, and about several devoted "simps" messaging them.

Suzy had little interest in that sort of thing. Just as she was about to stop listening, the conversation finally shifted to Richard Stone.

Suzy’s eyes lit up.

Here it comes.

This was exactly the topic she’d been waiting for.

"By the way, why hasn’t Richard come down yet? Did you message him?" Olivia asked, glancing around.

"Of course I did," Hannah replied irritably. "But he hasn’t answered."

She had grown used to Richard constantly fawning over her.

Now that the dynamic between them had reversed, it naturally irritated her.

Still, when she thought about Richard’s large inheritance, Hannah swallowed her pride.

Olivia curled her lip. "He hasn’t replied at all? Is he still mad at you? First, he refused to pay our bill last time, and now this. Honestly, I feel like he’s getting more and more arrogant."

Hannah snorted. "I’m not desperate enough to need him."

The two complained endlessly, claiming they didn’t care about Richard at all—yet their eyes kept drifting toward the building entrance.

When Richard still failed to appear, the conversation fell into an awkward silence.

Olivia spoke again. "Do you think Richard already got water earlier?"

Hannah shook her head. "No."

When she sent him a message earlier, Richard had just woken up.

If she hadn’t reminded him that the water trucks were coming, he probably wouldn’t even have known.

But another possibility crossed her mind... Maybe Richard simply didn’t plan to come down for water at all.

The thought of Richard’s recent social media posts made her grind her teeth.

Olivia seemed to reach the same conclusion.

"Hannah... do you think he might not come down at all?"

"...It’s possible," Hannah admitted reluctantly.

Richard’s posts over the past few days looked incredibly comfortable. Nothing about them suggested someone suffering from a water shortage.

The two women had been following his updates constantly. One post showed him sitting in an air-conditioned room eating ice cream. Another showed him grilling skewers and drinking beer.

He looked like he was living the high life. Even the fish in the aquarium in his living room were still happily swimming around.

"I’m so jealous," Olivia said, licking her lips. "If only we could live there."

Every time she saw the food in Richard’s posts, it made her mouth water.

She had no idea where he was even getting barbecue these days—most restaurants were already closed.

Hannah swallowed dryly. "Yeah..."

They still had some food at home, but barely enough to keep from starving.

Their supplies were running low, and they’d been rationing meals carefully these days.

Sometimes Hannah suspected Richard posted those updates on purpose—to make her contact him first.

But whenever she did message him, he would simply ignore it.

It was infuriating.

She had originally assumed Richard would come down to collect water today. If they met face-to-face, she was confident she could manipulate him again.

But now half an hour had passed since she sent the message, and he still hadn’t replied—nor had he appeared.

"Honestly, this is water!" Olivia muttered. "It’s been cut off for so long already. A bucket like this sells for over a thousand now. If Richard isn’t even coming down to get water... does that mean he doesn’t need it?"

There was no other explanation.

Hannah’s eyes flickered thoughtfully. Maybe her friend was right.

Maybe Richard simply

didn’t lack water

.

"Your turn." A light tap on her shoulder pulled Suzy back to reality.

She looked up at Thomas, who gestured toward the front of the line.

She had been listening so intently that she hadn’t noticed the queue moving.

Suzy couldn’t help shaking her head inwardly.

Richard wasn’t even pretending anymore. Posting luxurious updates online was one thing—but not even coming down for water?

That was practically announcing to everyone that he had plenty.

"Next!" The staff member’s voice rang out.

Suzy stepped forward with her bucket. Soon it was filled to the brim.

Instead of leaving immediately, she waited nearby for Thomas.

He was next in line.

When his turn came, Suzy noticed the water flow had already slowed considerably.

"Alright." Thomas lifted his bucket and walked over.

Without a word, he casually picked up Suzy’s bucket as well. "Let’s go."

The plastic container was heavy with water. The muscles in Thomas’s arm tensed slightly as he lifted it effortlessly.

Suzy blinked in surprise before following him.

She reached out instinctively.

"Um... I can carry it myself."

Thomas stopped walking and studied her face for a moment. "I’ll carry it."

Suzy spoke no more. For some reason, she suddenly felt like she’d been underestimated.

While she was still processing that thought, Thomas had already reached the entrance of their building.

Suzy hurried after him.

The elevators were still working. She pressed the button, and the doors slid open.

Soon they arrived at Suzy’s apartment door.

"Want to come in for a bit?" Suzy said while entering the passcode. "You can cool off in the air conditioning."

Before Thomas could answer, the door swung open.

Leonard was already standing inside. "You’re back," he said warmly. "Come in and sit down."

He took the heavy water bucket from Thomas and carried it straight into the kitchen.

The air conditioner inside the apartment was running full blast.

The cool air wrapped around them instantly, a welcome relief from the brutal heat outside.