Do We Have To?

The news that the famous businessman Liu had passed away soon reached the ears of Lukas.

The cause?

An assassination.

"Ha-" Lukas ruffled his hair and raised his head to look at the sky; a stunning blue today.

'The old man finally got his wish.'

The capital mourned for the loss of a great businessman. One that was young and wise. Truly a genius. The person taking over his assets and business would be the less impressive Liu Qing.

"Liu Qing huh..."

"What's wrong bro?" Mike who was walking side by side to Lukas looked at him with questioning eyes.

"Nothing." Lukas pushed his thoughts aside and concentrated on the task for the day. "Did Yu Jing call them?"

"Yeah," Mike scratched his head in confusion. No matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn't understand why Lukas would want to meet 'them'. "What do you want with them anyway?"

Lukas smirked. "We need people. For now, let's use them."

"Huh?" Confusion danced upon Mike's face until realisation dawned upon him. "I see. Heh. I'm looking forward to it."

"They won't agree to it straight away though. They'll probably try to resist us."

"Resist us?" Mike cracked his knuckles loudly. "I'm not against using force. This will be fun."

Lukas shook his head tiredly. "There's so much to do..."

"Yeah..." Mike had to agree. "We'll need to get a few more girls for li'l sis, bikes, weapons... The mansion will be good enough as our hideout though." Listing it out made it sound even harder.

"Can we just not do this?" Lukas stopped walking and raised this tempting suggestion.

"You serious? Can we?" Mike stopped too.

"Yeah, but as I thought..." Lukas gave up on the idea.

"We can't, right?"

"Yeah... Once we start, it should get easier... right?"

"Yeah bro. Whatever lets you sleep at night." Mike patted Lukas's back in a way of comforting him.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

They continued walking.

They passed an alley.

Then they stopped again.

"...Did you see that?" Mike brows furrowed slightly, still in doubt whether he saw correctly or not.

Lukas averted his gaze. "See what?"

"You know..." Mike's face reddened. "The girl."

"Hmm? No idea." Lukas looked straight onwards, unwilling to meet Mike's eyes.

"Bro, I think we should help her."

"What?" Lukas finally looked at Mike.

"We should help her before... you know?"

"No. I don't know. I think we should just go." Even as he was saying this, Lukas pulled on Mike's arm, dragging him away.

"Come on bro. I promise you won't regret it. We could invite her if she has no-place to go. She could be a friend for Tingting." A though suddenly flashed through Mike's mind. "Do it for Tingting."

"...Fine." Though unwilling, Lukas voiced his consent.

Mike chuckled to himself. The words 'I knew he'd agree' appeared on his forehead.

Lukas scowled at Mike in annoyance.

"You think I'd do it just for her? Just so you know, I'm doing it because I quite like the idea of forcing somebody to work for me in return for my kindness."

"Sure, sure."

They walked backwards and slowly entered the narrow alleyway. As they got closer, the boys could see the girl's profile clearly. Calling her a girl now seemed inappropriate to them as they studied her. The girl was, in fact, a young female of around twenty years old. She lay haphazardly on a pile of trash-bags and her chestnut locks sat tangled on her head. A few scratches glared at the boys from the side of her face and a large purple bruise distorted her otherwise pretty facial features.

To the boys' great discomfort, her upper body was exposed, the remnants of her shirt hung loosely by threads on her shoulders, failing to cover anything it was supposed to. Her inner-wear was missing. From what they observed, she had an attractive figure and possessed quite a generous-

*Cough* *Cough* *Cough*

Mike began to choke and turned away from the sight. Lukas shut his eyes tightly and after removing his jacket, threw it at the lady on the floor. Her eyes opened at the feeling of something landing on her lap.

Her hazel orbs blinked at them drearily as she failed to register what had conspired. Then, much to the horror of Lukas who had reopened his eyes, she stood up.

"Aaaaaaaaah!!!" Mike had also turned back around only to be met with this sight. He fell and kneeled on the floor, bringing Lukas down with him.

"It wasn't us! Honest!" Mike practically shrieked for his innocence, his voice a pitch higher than usual.

"We didn't do anything to you. For now, can you just put the jacket on?" Lukas pointed to the jacket now laying on the ground.

"Mmm?" The lady picked it up. "Was this yours? Were you worried about me?"

The lady's velvety voice contained a coquettish tone which sent shivers down the boys' spines.

"You two are so cute~"

"Huh?"

"Let me give you a hug?"

Lukas was having none of this. He stood up and made to leave. Mike wasn't about to be left alone with this person so he followed after Lukas immediately.

"Don't leave me~"

The lady's voice floated after them, she was following closely behind them.

They increased their walking speed. Lukas angrily asked,

"Do you feel the regret now?"

Mike's eyes reddened as he answered,

"Seriously bro? It's still stabbing at me."