Rocky found a seat in a corner and then sat down calmly. His composure was as careless as if he had never seen the disdainful looks on everyone's faces. Everyone in this room was here with the same goal: to see Mia. Luckily though, Rocky didn't have to wait here for any longer than he wanted to. If he told the butler who he was, the chief of the Lan Clan, Mia's grandfather, would come out and welcome him in person. Mia's grandfather had once been an influential and mighty general, though he was retired now. In fact, Mia would have waited outside the mansion for him if she had come to know of his arrival.
However, since Rocky was a modest man, he didn't want to use any special privileges. After all, he was only here to seek their cooperation and support. Keeping a low profile would help him see more and hear more. He just sat there patiently and listened to these businessmen, who had also been waiting there for quite some time. Getting impatient, they had started discussing their assets with each other.
Some of them were now showing off their resources to each other, and talking about the kind of profitable deals they had done recently. They were all competing with each other even when there was no competition.
As time went by, they soon lost interest in talking all high and mighty, and a short, awkward silence fell in the room. By then, a shifty-eyed and bearded businessman clad in a blue robe and looking like a miser, suddenly put his eyes on Rocky. Something in him irked and he said, "Hey, buddy, are you here to see Miss Mia? Do you wish to do business with the Lan Clan as well? I never knew that the Lan Clan is also interested in selling vegetables or steamed buns on the street. No, wait, you must be here to sell some home-made cookies or pots, huh?"
His scoff successfully pulled everyone else's attention towards Rocky, and the entire hall burst into laughter.
"A toad is wishing to eat swan meat! Forget the swan meat, brat... Can you even afford pork? Tell you what, I'll do you a favor. I am interested in people with pretty faces like you. How about you come with me? I promise you will eat swan meat every day!" a gorgeously dressed businesswoman cut in during the laughter. She was sitting next to Rocky and when she laughed, her cumbersome body shook two whole sofas on either side of her.
Rocky, however, just sat there quietly as if their words had never reached his ears.
Before they could say anything more to make fun of him, a man in brocaded clothes came in the door, with two spirit manipulators behind him. He looked quite young and had a portly face. He swaggered inside with authority as if he owned the place, fidgeting with two golden beads in his hand.
Everyone in the room immediately forgot about Rocky and all stood up to greet the new arrival. "Greetings!"
"Nice to see you all here," the young man said arrogantly, sweeping the room with his eyes on his forehead.
After greeting him, the businessmen immediately returned to their seats.
The man who had just come in looked around and saw that there was no seat available. His face darkened and he gave a slight cough.
Immediately, those sharp-eyed businessmen also noticed that the room was quite occupied, but they either began talking to their neighbors softly or picked up a cup to sip. None of them were reluctant to give up their seat. No one knew exactly how long it would take Mia to show up, and it would be tiresome for them to keep standing since they had always lived a comfortable life.
It didn't take long for the occupants to look in the same direction without prior consultation. Rocky was sitting in the remotest corner of the room and seemed easy to be bullied.
He himself felt their intention without even lifting his eyes, but showed no signs of willing to give his seat up. He just sat there calmly.
The young man and his two henchmen also shifted their gaze towards Rocky. From his humble clothing, they deduced that he was a nobody and could be easily picked on. With no intentions of offending the wealthy businessmen, the young man moved towards Rocky and stopped right in front of him. "Hey, move your ass."
To his immense anger and disappointment, Rocky didn't even raise his head to look at him.
His totally unconcerned expression pissed the young man off, pushing him from being embarrassed to being angry in a microsecond. He immediately gestured to the two spirit manipulators beside him, "Pull him out. The guards of the Lan Clan shouldn't be so negligent in their duties. What's such a bastard doing here?"
However, just as the two spirit manipulators tried to approach Rocky, a cold light flashed in the latter's eyes, which froze them exactly where they were standing
"What are you waiting for? Drag him out of here!" their master urged from behind them when he saw the two of them standing still instead of following his orders.
But the two had their own problems. It was not that they weren't trying to move, but that they couldn't move at all.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Medallion