159: Chapter 160 Boyfriend

Chapter 159: Boyfriend

Maria, looking at the group of classmates who didn't appear when she was being bullied but suddenly showed up now, felt an inexplicable sense of disgust. She bit her lip, but could only swallow the harsh words she had been about to say.

She was very calm, because if she were to say something so imperfect in her father's eyes in public, this group of people would definitely relay the news to her almost paranoid father, and then she would be met with endless scolding and verbal abuse.

This was something she couldn't accept.

Lily, her best friend, seeing that Maria didn't answer Shawn's question, smiled and walked forward, asking softly, "Hey, Maria, what happened? This—how did Mark provoke this gentleman?"

"It's all because of me," Maria replied reluctantly.

"I just came to invite Maria to the party later, but I didn't expect his friend to rush out and grab me."

Taiwan Novel Website is super considerate and convenient.

Seeing his people arrive, Mark immediately started to complain, shifting all blame away from himself and only mentioning things that benefited him.

However, Lily wasn't a naive girl who would believe anything he said. She first glanced at Locke with a hint of shock, then turned her head to Maria, casting an inquiring look again, while extending her hand and gently putting her arm around her, "My girl, tell me what really happened?"

Maria looked up at him, then at the other classmates around, finally her gaze lingered on Locke. She moved her lips, but still couldn't bring herself to speak about being bullied.

She didn't want to expose her tarnished self-esteem in front of Locke.

This is a problem many victims of bullying face.

"You can ask me any questions you have, no need to ask Maria."

Locke stood behind Maria, noticing her embarrassment, and immediately stepped forward to help her out. This was, after all, part of the mission.

And for him, it wasn't difficult at all.

Hearing this, Shawn, the leader, immediately walked forward with a smile on his face, facing Locke and saying, "Hey, sir, I wonder where our classmate Mark offended you?"

"He was about to hit someone just now; I merely stopped his violent act."

Locke's expression was calm as he merely glanced at the original male protagonist before him.

"You're lying, I didn't—ah!"

Mark, hanging in the air, seeing that he had strength in numbers, still wanted to argue a bit, but his words were cut short by the immense force in Locke's hand before he could finish.

His throat, trying to argue, got stuck, unable to vocalize, only letting out a desperate shriek.

Shawn saw Locke's stance and knew he wasn't someone to be trifled with, so he quickly adopted an official tone, "Sir, since you've already stopped him, I think we should let this matter rest."

"I believe Mark has received his due punishment and will surely repent afterward."

Locke remained unmoved, showing no intention of letting go.

Shawn felt immense pressure facing Locke, but he had no choice but to act. So he cursed Mark silently for always causing trouble, then plastered a smile on his face again and said, "Of course, if you, sir, have any dissatisfaction, we can have him apologize to you, as long as you let him go."

"Apologize?" Locke nodded, turning his gaze to the already exhausted thug Mark, and tilted his head, gesturing, "Apologize to Maria now, and I'll let you go today."

Mark's face turned as red as a pig's liver.

"What, you don't want to apologize? Then do you want to hang here all night?"

"I—"

Mark was so frightened by the ruthless words spoken with a poker face that he swallowed hard, then frantically shook his head.

"I—I'm willing to apologize."

Facing the strange gazes of everyone around him, young Mark clenched his teeth tightly, lowering his head in shame.

The pride and smugness that usually adorned his face when dealing with Maria had all turned into humiliation and anger today.

Although he said he was willing to apologize, he didn't actually mean it. Out of the corner of his eye, he glared fiercely at Locke and Maria, thinking, "Just bear with it for a moment, just for this moment."

"Maria, the humiliation you made me suffer today in front of so many people, I will repay it to you tenfold after school starts."

"I don't believe this guy can protect you for a moment, let alone for a lifetime."

Shawn, seeing Mark relent, quickly stepped forward and gently pulled Locke's hand.

"Sir, my classmate is willing to apologize, please let him down first."

As he spoke, he instinctively exerted force, but found he couldn't move Locke an inch. Locke felt the guy's ant-like strength and slightly lowered his head to glance at him.

"What do you want? Do you want to be like him too?"

"Uh—I—I just thought it would be easier for Mark to apologize to Maria if he was let down."

Shawn didn't dare to look into Locke's eyes, swallowing nervously as if startled, then quickly turned his head away to explain. He was afraid that in the next second, he would become a toy, like Mark, hanging from Locke's grip.

His upbringing and family honor would not allow him to make such a fool of himself in public.

"Hmph, apologize like this."

Locke's voice was cold, completely disregarding Shawn's suggestion, "Only after he apologizes will I let him down."

With that, he pressed Mark in front of Maria, and Mark's face grew even uglier as he faced Maria, whom he had once regarded as someone he could bully at will.

He opened his mouth to apologize, but the words just wouldn't come out.

"I—!"

"Speak!"

Locke's voice was like a demon in the night, scaring Mark so much that he immediately trembled like a sieve. Then, without bothering about his dignity, he suddenly lowered his head to Maria.

"Maria, I was wrong. I shouldn't have laid hands on you just because I was angry."

"Too quiet, louder."

Locke remained expressionless, but his tone was undeniable, "Show the same intensity you had when you wanted to strike."

"Maria, I'm sorry, I was wrong. I shouldn't have wanted to lay hands on you because I was angry. Please forgive me."

Mark felt the force about to increase again, so he immediately closed his eyes, sharply lowered his head, and shouted out his apology.

Sitting on the stool, Maria's previously dim eyes immediately brightened.

She completely ignored Mark, who was apologizing to her, and instead focused all her attention on Locke, on this man she had only just met but who was willing to stand up for her. She stared at Locke with sparkling eyes.

"Hey, Maria." Lily, standing beside her, saw her dazed gaze, couldn't help but twitch her lips, then gently nudged her, and then advised in a very soft tone, "Mark is apologizing to you, you should respond to him."

Maria finally came back to her senses, then nodded to Locke, "That's enough for today."

Locke also nodded to her, then expressionlessly brought Mark in front of him and warned, "Mark, right? I'm warning you, it's best to stay away from Maria from now on. Don't provoke her again, otherwise, if you die, don't blame me."

Mark just nodded repeatedly with a cold face.

Locke snorted coldly, then exerted force and directly threw the guy out, landing him on the bar floor.

"Hmph, scram."

Mark scrambled to his feet from the ground, not daring to say anything harsh, but merely glared fiercely at Locke, then walked through the circle of classmates with a gloomy face, pushed open the bar door, and left.

The others didn't dare to say much either; Locke's effortless movements just now were still vivid in their minds, so how could they, for a bit of friendship, actively step forward to ask for a beating?

Shawn stood before Locke, steadying himself, and bowed to him and the surrounding customers, "I'm very sorry, I apologize here on behalf of my classmate to this gentleman and to everyone."

Locke gently waved his hand, signaling that he could also leave, while subtly withdrawing the oppressive aura that had enveloped the guy.

Feeling the invisible shackles disappear, Shawn immediately felt as if he had been granted a great pardon. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and, dragging his almost numb legs, hurried out of the bar.

He didn't even dare to stay for another second, waiting for Lily and Maria.

Of course, how could Locke let a scoundrel like Mark off so easily?

Locke watched their departing figures expressionlessly, his eyes shifting, lost in thought.

Feynman, behind the bar, looked at Mark's retreating back with a hint of pity in his eyes.

"It seems this new colleague isn't very broad-minded. This guy is really unlucky, but it doesn't matter, as long as no one dies."

He merely observed everything, muttering a complaint in his heart, and had no intention of intervening.

Although he noticed Locke's little actions, what of it? He felt that it was lucky for the other party that Locke hadn't killed him.

He wasn't someone without judgment, nor did he possess a saintly heart.

Secular laws simply couldn't restrain Transcendents. Whether ordinary people who provoked Transcendents could survive depended solely on the Transcendent's mood.

In fact, even if Locke had used lethal force just now, if he handled it cleanly afterward and found sufficient excuses, there wouldn't have been much of a problem.

Transcendents have a natural advantage in this world; unless they worship evil gods, no one will punish them unless they commit a particularly grave error.

It's just that Locke wasn't aware of this unspoken rule. He merely thought the other party was an ordinary person, and he had just joined the Church of the Night Goddess, so he couldn't tarnish the church's reputation. If the other party had been a Transcendent, or someone connected to the supernatural, he would have directly killed the guy.

It's a pity, though, that he had checked carefully and found no trace of supernatural aura on the other party.

However, even though he couldn't kill him, he didn't forget to inject a very troublesome supernatural force into the guy's bones; this force could only be cured by a Transcendent.

That amount of power would be enough to make Mark's despicable hands suffer for a while.

Beside them, Maria, despite having experienced many hardships, still felt a little dazed looking at Locke's face.

She just felt that everything that had just happened was a bit unreal, not something a girl like her was entitled to.

"Hey, Maria, stop staring, he's not going anywhere."

Lily took in Maria's gaze, then gently bumped her with her shoulder, winking and saying, "Quick, tell me, where did you meet this little boyfriend of yours? Does he have any older or younger brothers? Introduce them to me too—"

He also has no brothers or brothers to introduce to me—

"He—"

Lily's teasing words made Maria's delicate ears turn red. She pretended to glance at Locke inadvertently and replied, "He—he's not my boyfriend yet, we just met."

"Tsk, don't pretend about our relationship."

Lily also stared at Locke with curious eyes, licking her red lips.

"I saw how you looked at him just now, I'm not blind. Your eyes were practically melting."

"I was wondering why you never wanted to go out with me before, but today you were so generous and came out to play with me."

As she spoke, Lily seemed to remember something, immediately extended her finger to Maria's armpit, and began to tickle her, "Tell me honestly, did you already have a date with him today, and that's why you agreed to come to this bar with me?"

"Ha—haha," Maria's delicate body squirmed under Lily's hands, a persistent smile on her face, "I didn't lie to you, I really just met him—haha—"

"Confess honestly."

"Really, really not, hahaha, you, you stop."

Maria squirmed, occasionally letting out bursts of laughter, unable to suppress it even when she tried.

"I don't believe it."

Lily wrinkled her nose, and seeing that she couldn't extract any useful information, she withdrew her hand. "But I didn't expect you, Maria, to be so tight-lipped, hiding such a tall boyfriend from me."

"I—" Maria saw that Locke didn't speak, secretly glanced at him again, and then didn't offer any more explanations.

Mainly, she was worried that if she said more, she might hurt Locke's feelings like before.

"Hmph, so you admit it now." Lily looked at Locke's figure, swallowed, and raised an eyebrow at Maria.

"As long as you get your little boyfriend to introduce me to a brother or someone similar, then I'll forgive you."

"But—but, didn't you like Shawn?"

Maria became a bit meek in front of the assertive Lily, and hearing Maria mention Shawn, Lily couldn't help but curl her lip and roll her eyes, quite annoyed, "Ugh... forget him. I originally liked how strong he was on the hockey team, but—did you see it just now?"

Thinking of the scene just now, she couldn't help but shake her head and sigh, then her gaze at Locke gradually became fervent, "He didn't even dare to move under your boyfriend's aura. Isn't that ridiculous?"

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