10 Do you need my help?

Ruby stood silently under the street lamps. She was absorbed in the black ferocious eyes across her. Those eyes glitter in the dark alley, seemingly unaffected by the surroundings. They were lighting up the gloomy night like a torch.

The boy glared with hatred but Ruby couldn't feel any malice towards her. Instead, she instinctively knew that hatred was aimed at the world. To make sure she was right, Ruby took a step forward.

The boy didn't shy away from her nor did he back down. He just hunched his back to the front, making a posture of protecting something precious.

The boy then looked warily at Ruby.

Ruby frowned. Her eyes moved to the boy's arms.

She thought he was holding some food and was afraid of it being stolen away. After all, a beggar's greatest nightmare wasn't death, but that they wouldn't be able to eat.

Unfortunately, she was wrong.

on the boy's arms lay another boy who's sharing the same face as him. The other boy was pale and his lips had begun to turn blue. He was squirming uneasily with a pained look. His body was soaked in a cold sweat.

Ruby's gazed at them with a blank expression.

The boy squinted his eyes, observing Ruby in silence.

"Well... Do you need my help?"

The boy: "..."

Normal people would either directly help him, pretend they never saw them, or just walk away in disgust.

He had never seen such a person like Ruby.

She didn't leave but also didn't try to help. She neither showed concern nor disgust.

She just stood there and asked.

Her face was devoid of expression. Her eyes were clear and bright.

"You don't?"

A little dumbfounded, the boy was late to respond. Ruby merely thought he was refusing, so she nodded a little.

Before she could turn around, the boy hurriedly shouted, "...W-Wait!"

Ruby calmly stared at him, waiting for his next words.

The boy's palm was tightly clenched and his back was stiff. But when he looked down at the person in his arms, he could only harden his heart.

The boy seriously said, "Help me."

"If you help me, I will remember this favor. I will definitely return it to you!"

His hoarse voice traveled down the alley, sounding so desperate. However, Ruby heard a surge of determination from the powerful yelling.

Ruby burst out laughing, "I don't expect you to pay me back."

I have so much money to spend, why should I extort a kid?

The boy froze. His head hung low dejectedly. He bit his lips until they were cut and bloody.

Does that mean she wasn't willing to lend them a hand?

The boy was at the end of his limit. He couldn't endure the torture of seeing his own brother writhe in pain. If nobody was there for them, then he just had to bring his brother to a small clinic and beg the owner to heal him.

Anyway, he will do anything it takes to save his brother!

At that moment, the sounds of footsteps rang lightly. Ruby came to their side and crouched down.

"Let me carry him."

The boy was shocked but immediately do as he was told. he passed his brother to Ruby and made him lean against Ruby's back.

Ruby corrected the pale boy's posture a bit then straightened her body. Afterward, she walked quite fast towards the bus stop near the hotel.

The boy anxiously ran behind her.

Thankfully, Ruby had spared some time to call a taxi. So they only had to wait for a little while before they could board the taxi.

Ruby turned her head to the boy and spoke in a calm voice, "Don't worry. He'll be fine."

The boy pursed his lips. His dark obsidian eyes silently watched Ruby, searching for deception hidden in her expression. Though, there was nothing he could find in the end.

He whispered, "En."