Madelyn had to admit it genuinely was a little disorderly around these parts. Well, not exactly disorderly; it was just the cleanliness here was not as good as in the urban area of Ventropolis.The buildings here seemed run-down. The place was filled with dilapidated residential areas and many street food stalls.Madelyn wandered around and found that the food at these stalls was pretty cheap.After she walked through the alley, there was even a large sea ahead.This was the outskirts of Ventropolis. It was an hour's drive to get to the neighboring city, Marisburg.Madelyn ran to the beach in excitement. She closed her eyes and breathed in the crisp sea air.She took off her flip-flops and stepped onto the sand. The seawater was a little chilly, but the sunlight above her head felt warm and refreshing.Madelyn strolled barefoot along the sandy shoreline, her eyes fixated on the myriad seashells that adorned the beach. Their intricate patterns and vibrant colors enticed her, urgi
"Alex, Ajax, are you lot stirring up trouble again?"Suddenly, a slightly chubby middle-aged man walked over from a distance. He wore flip-flops and had a stick in his hand.He quickly walked to Madelyn's side and gave her a once-over. Then, he asked with concern, "Kid... Did they do anything to you?"Madelyn shook her head, "Nope."Meanwhile, Alex stood at the side with a look of disdain.The man seemed to know Madelyn. He asked again, "Are you the girl Rosario brought back from the city? Mad... Mad something?"Madelyn Jent."The man gasped and said, "Yes, yes, yes, Madelyn. When Rosario left earlier, she told me to look after you, but I was too busy and lost track of time. Don't worry. With me around, these hooligans won't dare to do anything to you."He continued, "I'm telling you, Alex. You're a girl, can you act a bit more reserved? Why are you dressed up like this every day? And you guys! All you guys do is play truant! Hurry up and leave, or I'll whoop your asses."Alex
'But it seems like they're also coming to this restaurant,' Madelyn thought.As expected, the door to her room was opened in less than a minute, and a group of people walked in."Oh?! You're eating good! How come we never get such special treatment? You're so biased, you old fart!""I'm starving. Dustin, get me a set of cutleries and a bowl.""Don't you have hands? Why can't you take them yourself?""Girlie, scooch over, girlie. I can't get inside."Madelyn was speechless. She pulled her chair and made way for him.Alex sat across from her, but her sitting posture was a little unsightly. She propped her foot onto the chair and promptly spun the carne frita on Madelyn's plate toward herself. Then, she started munching on it."The drinks are here," a skinny guy walked in and closed the door with his leg while carrying a carton of beer.The once spacious room had quickly became cramped."That bastard. He never makes this for me when I ask him to, but now he's actually made it fo
"Sorry. Please eat. I still have work to do, so excuse me."Madelyn was used to being alone and did not believe in so-called friends.This time when she left, the group of hooligans did not try to stop her anymore.Madelyn left the room and Mr. Massey walked out wearing an apron as he held a dish in hand. "Lassie, you're done eating already? Did they bully you?"No.""They may act like that, but those kids aren't so bad really. They just want to play with you.""I know, Mr. Massey. I still have something to do, so I'll take my leave first.""Okay. Remember to come and eat tomorrow, on the house. Just eat as much as you want."Madelyn smiled and nodded. "Alright."After she left, Madelyn went and bought some personal clothes and a few spare clothes and a few pairs of shoes as well. She got all of those items at cheap prices.She was planning to stay here long-term.In a blink of an eye, Madelyn had already lived here for almost three months. These days, she was working at Mr.
Rogan immediately called out to her, his voice booming. "Hey, you! Madelyn! Come over here and take our order."Madelyn held the tub of plates and pretended to not hear him as she looked at a person about the same age as her.Her name was Wonda, and she was also working here part-time.Madelyn looked at her gloating face and then turned around to leave."Oi, I'm calling for you! Do you hear me?!"Madelyn put down the tub and washed her hands cleaned before walking over with a menu."What would you like to order?" she asked, as she took out a notebook to jot the order down.Five pairs of eyes all stared at her like hungry wolves staring at their prey. Those ill-intentioned gazes exuded a revolting malevolence.One of them then said, "Babe, are you short on cash? If you are, just let me know. I have money."As he said that, he pulled out three hundred dollars from his wallet and put in on the table. "If you go out and play with me today, this money's yours."A shrill laugh sudd
That man tore Madelyn's clothes off her chest and her buttons came apart, revealing a white bra inside.Everyone's eyes lit up in that instant.Madelyn covered herself up and bit the back of the hand hard.The person immediately recoiled in pain and let her free.Madelyn quickly turned around and fled outside. Under the dim road light, she saw, much to her shock, Forrest, who was clad in a black T-shirt, with silver chains on his neck and his hands in his jacket pocket as he walked over with a cigarette in hand.Jadie and Alex were walking with him.She did not know why Jadie would be here, but she could not let Jadie see her or know that she was here.Forrest was speaking to Jadie with his head down and should not have seen her. So, Madelyn quickly turned around and fled toward her home."Bloody hell, that bitch sure ran away fast."Madelyn did not dare stop at all as she hurried home. Leaning against the door, she felt as if her heart was about to pop out of her chest. She w
Half a minute later, Zach pulled up another number. "Do me a favor."After giving out his orders, Zach gave Madelyn one last call.He only heard the cold, robotic notification from the phone. "The number you have dialed is no longer in service."At three o'clock in the morning, a series of knocks rang out on Madelyn's door. "Open up! I'm home, open up!"Madelyn covered her ears and stare at the dark ceiling above.She had lost count the number of times Rogan had harassed her in the middle of the night.There was also the time he had stolen her clothes and underwear as well, and she had found them in the trash can downstairs the next day.She had originally thought she could live here in peace, but if this continued, she felt like she would go crazy sooner or later.Rogan was the local hoodlum and was the son of Mrs. Paul who lived next door.Madelyn did not open the door and after a good while, he finally left.The cacophony by her ear blissfully faded away.That night, Made
If she had lost it under normal circumstances, she could have just gotten it replaced, but not in this situation. However, she could not do anything without her identity card, and she did not want to go back to the Jent residence.Madelyn had never had much patience for Wonda and usually just turned a blind eye toward her, which was much better than Wonda deserved in her eyes.If she still had her old temper, Madelyn would have shoved the trash can over Wonda's head by now."Wonda, I have my mother's photo in that purse, and it's very important to me. Also, there are important documents inside... If you want money, I can give it to you. Everything else in there is useless to you, can you just return it to me?"Wonda kicked the trash can aside, and its contents spilled out. She snapped, "What's the meaning of this, Madelyn? What does your missing purse have to do with me!? I didn't take your wallet, so what are you accusing me for? If you don't believe me, then make a police report!