Conan's Distillery: A Semi-Workaholic's Slacking-Off Life

Chapter 122 Nicholas * The String Called "Weakness"

“Gin, I told you you couldn’t make things difficult for him. Jundu has only been in England for less than three hours and he’s already taken care of everything. I feel like I haven’t been able to help at all.”

Vermouth sat on a table in the backyard of the safe house, making a phone call, slowly swirling a glass of red wine in one hand, her legs crossed, her body forming a beautiful curve.

"Heh." Gin on the other end of the phone seemed to laugh, but in the end he didn't say anything and just hung up.

Vermouth looked at her phone and shook her head helplessly, then turned her gaze to the window that was letting in light.

Ricard, exhausted from returning to the safe house, casually tossed his blood-stained coat into the nearby trash can. Saki tidied himself up, then resolutely went back to the kitchen to cut fruit.

"Sir, here are your changes of clothes. All the inns outside are probably closed, so I'll have to trouble you to squeeze in with us." Nicholas kindly handed over a change of clothes.

Bai Yexiu took the clothes with some surprise: "I've been transferred away for more than a month, and you still haven't thrown away my clothes?"

“Sir, even if you never return to England in your lifetime, I will still keep your clothes.” Nicholas gave a gentle and kind smile.

Bai Yexiu glanced at his clothes, a slight smile appearing on his lips. He waved his hand and said, "You've worked hard today. Go and get some rest."

Nicholas obediently went upstairs.

Bai Yexiu felt that his mood had improved.

Ricard felt admiration and respect for White Night, while Nicholas felt gratitude towards him.

Because of his weak and easily bullied personality, Nicholas was bullied from childhood to adulthood. Even after graduating from college, he could not escape this nightmare, and his personality became more introverted as a result.

Similarly, he was treated unfairly at work: he was bossed around and ordered around by anyone, and even when others did something wrong, he would be blamed, but he was unable to defend himself because he was not good at speaking.

He had considered ending it all, but his alcoholic father was using his sister and mother to blackmail him into sending him money every month. If he missed even one month, Nicholas's high school sister and his aging mother would be tormented by his father.

Later, because his father became addicted to gambling, he asked Nicholas for money more and more frequently. At first, Nicholas kept quiet and could only silently cut back on his daily expenses. He used 80% of his salary to support his family and keep his father at ease. Until one day after get off work, Nicholas had his first argument with his father on the phone.

As expected, Nicholas was defeated after only a few words. Listening to the drunken insults on the phone, Nicholas didn't dare hang up. He just squatted down on the dark, unlit side of the road and silently wiped away his tears.

Everything that happened that night was witnessed by Bai Yexiu, who went out to buy late-night snacks.

This was Bai Yexiu's first time meeting Nicholas, who was then just an ordinary person. Bai Yexiu had just bought some late-night snacks and was simply eating and watching out of pure interest.

After watching the person squatting by the roadside cry like a child for more than 10 minutes, Bai Yexiu, perhaps out of a teasing mood, handed his last skewer of meatballs to Nicholas: "Stop crying, want some?"

Nicholas was startled. When he saw that the person who came was a teenager, he quickly wiped away his tears and forced a smile that looked worse than crying: "No need, thank you."

Bai Yexiu pouted, pried open his fingers, and shoved the dumpling into his hand without saying a word: "Eat something when you're feeling down."

“…” Nicholas opened his mouth, but in the end he didn’t say anything, and stared blankly as Bai Yexiu left.

He looked at the still-hot meatballs on the skewer, and the hunger in his stomach told him that he was indeed hungry.

He wiped away his tears and ate some meatballs by the roadside. This was the first time in all his life that he had felt kindness from others.

A few days later, misfortune still befell him.

He was framed at work and lost his only job.

That evening, he walked along the secluded street where he usually left work, rummaging through his wallet with only a few loose change, and sighed heavily.

Suddenly, a man who was so thin he looked like a monkey walked up to him and snatched his wallet!

This familiar behavior reminded him of everything he had experienced in his youth, and he stood there stunned, even trembling slightly.

"It's not much money." The man gave him a disdainful look and put the money in his pocket. "He looks decent, but I didn't expect him to be a pauper."

“This is my money…” Nicholas said weakly, but was pushed aside by the man.

"Get out of my way!" The man gestured with his fist at Nicholas, then swaggered away with the money in his pocket.

Nicholas lowered his head sadly. His inherent weakness made him stop in his tracks, and he even felt that he deserved it.

This road is very remote, with some dark alleys, and many homeless people, thieves, thugs, and even some fugitives and wanted criminals gather in this area. As for why he chose to take this road to work, it was simply to save on transportation costs.

"Hey!"

A boy's voice came from behind him. Nicholas turned around and saw that it was the boy who had given him a string of dumplings a few days ago. Unlike before, this time the boy was accompanied by a man who looked powerful and somewhat fierce.

"What are you doing? You could knock that guy down with just one punch." Bai Yexiu looked at Nicholas with exasperation.

"Huh? What do you mean? Who gave you this nonsense, kid?!" The robber suddenly turned around and strode over menacingly. "Let me tell you, you can't escape either. With a knife, kid, you'd better hand over the money..."

The robber suddenly saw the man behind the boy exuding murderous intent and was momentarily stunned.

"Ricard, get him!"

At Bai Yexiu's soft command, Ricard strode forward and snatched the knife from him. The robber was thus subdued by Ricard, who twisted his hands, leaving him defenseless.

"Ouch, it hurts! My little darling, please forgive me, I won't do it again..." The skinny man immediately began to beg for mercy with a cowardly look on his face.

Bai Yexiu gently patted Nicholas on the shoulder: "You must be pretty short on money, so isn't this guy who robbed you despicable? Use it to vent your anger, how about it? You hit him once and I'll give you a banknote. If I'm satisfied, I can give you more... It's okay if you kill him, we can help you dispose of the body and make sure he disappears from this world without a trace..."

Bai Yexiu's deliberately soft voice was like a seductive whisper. Under the expectant gaze and Bai Yexiu's enticement, Nicholas's anger suddenly erupted.

The injustices and pressures he had been enduring all fueled his anger.

The string of "weakness" in my heart seemed to snap all at once...