American Gossip King

Chapter 64 You Shouldn't Have Said That

After breakfast, it was 8:20 a.m.

The doorbell rang right on time.

Ian went to open the door and saw a blond-haired kid standing there.

He had a large nose ring drilled into his nostril, wore a black jacket covered in buttons, had tattoos on his neck, and had large dark circles under his eyes on his skinny face.

Upon seeing Ian, he swayed and laughed, "You haven't seen me in ages! I called you but you didn't answer."

"I'm busy with work." Ian didn't invite him in, but stood at the door.

He looked at Burnell: "What's up?"

Burnell looked at Ian with suspicion: "You've changed, Ian. You're not the Ian you used to be."

Ian shrugged: "We all grow up. Right now, I just want to do my best to carry on the business my father left behind."

The blond-haired young man chuckled softly, "Yeah, you've made quite a bit of money lately. The Los Angeles Herald has been making headlines, and I heard you even bought a website—that must have cost a fortune. You're a big boss now, Ian!"

Ian shrugged. "That's none of your business, Burnell."

"That's not necessarily true." Burnell glared at him fiercely. "I need some money right now!"

"How many?"

"Ten thousand yuan, I know you can come up with that."

Ian crossed his arms and leaned against the door: "Give me a reason."

Burnell leaned closer to Ian and whispered, "Remember that girl named Yata?"

Ian looked at him questioningly and shook his head: "I don't remember."

Burnell laughed, "It's that girl with two little braids, like a cuckoo."

Ian: "..."

He finally got a vague impression.

That seems to have happened last year. Back then, the original owner and the kid in front of me found a girl, I think her name was Yata or Yali or something, but her voice was really strange and memorable.

The predecessor did something like this?

This has absolutely nothing to do with me!

I've been so wronged!

Wait a minute, he suddenly remembered something and said, "You're the one who brought that girl!"

Burnell laughed and shook his head: "I lied to you. Why should I let it go?"

"Fuck! You're a real bastard, Burnell!" Ian gritted his teeth. How could his predecessor have left him with such a huge hole?

He pointed at Burnell and said, "Don't try to threaten me with that, Burnell, you're in too!"

“But I’m poor!” Burnell shook his head indifferently. “I don’t care about going to jail, but you can’t. Ian, you’re my good friend, you can’t just use me and then throw me aside.”

"Used you?" Ian chuckled in exasperation. "You're the one who took me gambling and made me lose."

"But you got enjoyment, didn't you? The important thing about gambling isn't winning money, it's the fun." Burnell replied righteously, "I brought you pleasure, and you can't just dump me after you've made your fortune. Otherwise, we'll both go to jail! I'm pretty sure of that!"

Seeing the earnest look in the blond-haired boy's eyes, Ian was speechless.

He thought for a moment and said, "You have to give me time to prepare."

"how long."

"one day."

"Wow, maybe you can give me more than ten thousand dollars! I'll be waiting for you at the Frey construction site in the suburbs at eight o'clock tonight." Burnell became excited. "I've got you covered, Ian Carl, I've got this secret covered!"

He laughed as he left.

Watching his retreating figure, Ian gently shook his head: "You shouldn't have said that, buddy."

........................

At dusk, Ian arrived at a construction site on the outskirts of Los Angeles.

Construction is underway here. There is no construction at night; there is only an unfinished building and a surrounding wall.

Ian was looking around for a way in when he saw a gap in a shed. Burnell poked his blond head out and whispered, "Here, Ian!"

They followed Burnell inside, trudging through the muddy ground until they reached an open area.

Burnell stood in front of a row of steel pipes and asked, "Did you bring the money?"

Ian ignored him, only looking at the unfinished building, and then said, "There are people inside, are they your friends?"

Bernell looked at him in surprise. How did he know?

Then he shrugged and said, "I owed him money, and I told him I would pay him back."

Ian sighed softly and shook his head: "You're always like this, Burnell. It means that more than one person might know about me, and others could blackmail me."

The latest novel is first published here!

Burnell chuckled, "Don't worry, he won't tell anyone."

Ian scoffed, "So you're admitting he knew...that's terrible. Is anyone else aware?"

Burnell, clearly a bit dim-witted, muttered, "I'm not sure if he told anyone else, maybe I shouldn't have. Hey, did you bring the money?"

Ian sneered, then shouted, "You're not the only one who knows, so why should I give you money? That guy can ask me for money too."

Upon hearing this, two people indeed came out from inside.

One of them was a girl with two braids. She was the little girl named Yata or something. She was wearing a black tight leather jacket, with thick makeup on her face and heavy eyeshadow. At this moment, she was smoking a cigarette, standing to the side with her arms crossed and chewing gum.

Another was a burly man dressed as a construction worker, holding a steel pipe.

The burly man shouted, "You're right, Ian Karl. I just realized why I had to go through that kid to ask you for money? You can just give me the money directly!"

"Fuck!" Burnell exclaimed. "Bartram can't do this! He's my friend! I'll pay you back the five hundred dollars once I get the money."

The burly man sneered, "What I need now is 100,000!"

Burnell stomped his feet in anger, yelling, "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Bartram, you've gone too far! You can't do this, it's unethical!"

The big man looked at Ian with a cold smile.

Ian said calmly, "Have you told anyone else? I'm worried a fourth person might pop up demanding money."

Bartram shook his head: "No, I'm not as stupid as Burnell."

Ian smiled. "That makes things easier. Here's the thing: three people know my secret, and you can all ask me for money, but I don't have 300,000. What do we do?"

The three of them looked at each other.

The girl named Yata said, "I only want my share. No matter how you divide it, I want one-third, otherwise I won't testify."

Burnell shouted, "The money's mine! I can give you a thousand dollars, Bartram!"

The burly man chuckled and shook his head: "No, this is my territory. What I say goes. I can give you five hundred dollars, deduct what you owe me, and then we're even."

"You bastard!" Burnell yelled in a shrill voice.

Ian took off his sunglasses and looked at Burnell. He chuckled softly, "If I were you, I would fight him to the death."

(End of this chapter)