Clown Game
Chapter 381 - 359: Transaction

Chapter 381: Chapter 359: Transaction

People always need a break, in this noisy and chaotic world, work, interaction, bosses, colleagues, teachers, spouse, and children; overall, there are just too many things tiring us out. Some choose to grab a drink at a bar during their rare moments of leisure, while others prefer sitting idle in a cafe.

On Shell Street, there is such a cafe, albeit decorated with pink embellishments and a few black and white uniforms, giving it a unique style... Hmm, and the cakes taste great but look quite unimpressive.

In general, the ones sitting here are young people of larger builds, quietly reading comics.

But today, the cafe welcomed its oldest visitor since its opening.

An impeccably dressed old man, leaning on a cane that clearly wasn’t cheap... He pushed open the door, walked in naturally, emitting a faint smell of sulfur, quickly masked by the sweet air... Some people looked up at him, wondering why someone of his age would like this sort of place, but then felt it wasn’t something notable and returned their attention to the comics in their hands.

The old man took a seat at the bar, and unlike others, the young owner behind the counter couldn’t ignore him and blinked in surprise. Of course, he wasn’t concerned about the age of his customers and quickly put on a standard smile.

"What would you like, sir?" he asked.

The old man hesitated for a moment, "Hmm... although your food might not suit my taste, let’s go with something popular," he said slowly. Though it sounded somewhat disdainful of the small shop, it didn’t come off as entirely unpleasant to the ear, just slightly out-of-place.

"The most popular?" the chubby owner remarked, "If you don’t mind the look of the food, our cakes taste really great."

"I’ll have one," the old man politely stated, placing his cane beside him.

...

Soon enough, the cake was brought to him.

"Enjoy your meal," Xiao Nan said as he did to all other customers, then he started on the next order.

Yet the old man didn’t hurry to eat. "Say... don’t you want to know what brings a person of my age here?" he toyed with a fork, swirling it in the sugar on top of the cake.

Xiao Nan was slightly annoyed internally, familiar with this type of customer—who probably had few friends or had just suffered a breakup—and thus desperately wanted to talk to someone. They rarely ordered much food, preferring to sit and talk endlessly. And this elder appeared to be one of those people.

But there wasn’t much that could be done; as the owner of the shop, he had to cater to the needs of his customers, adding sugar, exchanging cutlery, pouring tea, engaging in small talk—this was all part of the job. Thus, Xiao Nan politely responded, "Maybe you’re just taking a break from walking." However, inside, he kept murmuring that the old man must be an oddball with a whimsical streak and a never-dying youthful spirit.

"Haha, it’s not merely about taking a break, nor is it about a youthful spirit that hasn’t yet died. In fact, I don’t possess such a thing," he pointed to his chest and said, "I am a businessman, and I am here purely to make a deal."

He spoke calmly. Xiao Nan didn’t even realize how he could’ve known what he was murmuring to himself, was it a coincidence? He didn’t dwell on whether the ambiguous phrase meant he was lacking a "youthful spirit" or "heart"... What concerned him were the words "businessman" and "deal" that the other man had mentioned.

Could it be that this well-dressed old man, who obviously seemed wealthy, had taken a fancy to his booming business and wanted to buy out his shop?

At this moment, the expression on Boss Xiao Yu’s face seemed to become less friendly.

"Hmm... please forgive me, I don’t quite understand your meaning, but speaking of which, I suppose I am a businessman too." He stared at the old man’s face unabashedly and even a bit rudely, "You see, I have a shop, I sell cakes, and it’s almost my favorite thing to do. I plan to keep selling them. So, the term ’businessman’ doesn’t seem that intimidating, right... Oh, right, you hadn’t finished speaking before, you came here to...?"

As Boss Xiao Yu spoke, his tone was filled with a hint of aggression. He was not afraid of those movie plots where people first act polite and then use brute force to buy out properties by involving some fringe forces. At this moment, he considered himself experienced with all kinds of oddballs, having heard about a slew of strange things. His subordinates, Right Protector and the others, weren’t simple characters either. Moreover, there was a so-called impressive "S.H.I.E.L.D. agent" who owed him several months’ worth of cake money...

Ah? Thinking of this, Xiao Yu seemed to suddenly realize that under these circumstances, Xiao Nan and Jingjing should have sensed something was off by now, but they seemed to be busy with their own tasks as if they hadn’t noticed the situation at all.

Upon hearing this, the old man fell silent for a moment...

"Ha ha—" He suddenly laughed, "Indeed, you are quite an interesting person."

Boss Xiao Yu was still frowning, "What do you mean by that?"

"It’s not what you think; I’m not interested in buying your shop... Oh, sorry, I don’t mean to say your shop isn’t good. I just meant that more than your coffee cakes, I’m interested in you..."

Boss Xiao Yu’s face stiffened suddenly: "Ah? Are you a pervert?" He clearly misunderstood the other’s intentions, staring at him in shock, "I’m going to call the police now!"

The old man was momentarily at a loss for words and had no choice but to lower his head, "Ah, young people these days, why are their thoughts so strange?" He muttered, "Let me put it simply, my surname is Zhou. You can call me Boss Zhou. I’d like to make a deal with you, not the kind you’re thinking of. I want to grant you a power."

The next second

"No thanks!" Boss Xiao Yu immediately responded, "Please just leave, oh, and the cake costs 30 yuan."

Boss Xiao Yu spoke with a look of disdain, clearly taking Boss Zhou for some sort of missionary or a salesperson pitching a new package from an organization.

Boss Zhou was once again at a loss for words, thinking to himself that in this world, only two people have caught my eye enough for me to invest in them actively. The last guy was the same way, always rejecting my power, and this one is even trying to drive me away. Ah, considering how many people struggle so hard just to meet me, and this guy... doesn’t even want what’s given for free.

He shook his head profoundly and then slowly stood up, extending one finger and lightly touching Xiao Yu’s forehead.

"Ah, young people these days."