Chapter 141: Finally, Some Real Men!

Chapter 141: Finally, Some Real Men!

As Jenifer and I sat down at our designated desks, the new class had just officially begun. Tina immediately took notice of Jenifer’s heavily embarrassed face, leaning over slightly to whisper in a teasing tone, "Did the secretary get punished?"

I smiled instantly because Jenifer was really blushing now, her cheeks turning a bright shade of crimson after Tina poked fun at her. Shifting my attention to the front row, I casually asked Linda about the morning logistics, "Any problem with the attendance?"

Linda’s sharp grey-eyes scanned my frame before she joked with a completely flat, deadpan expression, "I was tempted to mark you absent."

Victoria had given Linda the official role of taking attendance for this period, now that I have daily bodyguard duty in the morning.

I reached out under the desk, gently patting both Linda’s and Tina’s legs to reassure them before offering my own thoughts on the recent school rumors, "Scott changing his Major mid-year is surprising, but I guess he just did not want to be in class with our pasts. At least that is one less drama we need to deal with now."

Tina squinted her golden eyes in deep thought, musing over the political landscape of the campus as she adjusted her posture to whisper, "I heard he is going into politics now. Seems he did not do as well in his business grades without bribing, so he will become a professional bull-shiter. I think in the future he will be even more annoying, I might have to visit him one night."

I let out a soft smile at her lethal suggestion, leaning closer to whisper a quick reality check straight into her ear, "Wait till someone is willing to pay to do it for a million."

Tina responded with a brilliant, predatory smile on her face. Tina actually has a lot of money tucked away for our future Feng branch family, so she always appreciated a good financial perspective on tactical operations.

As class ended, the heavy shuffling of feet filled the lecture hall. James and Ashley came walking over to us, and he smoothly put his arm around my shoulder, grinning widely as he chimed in, "Man, I have so much to fill you in on, brother. Now we can sit together on computers."

As our two groups began to split up in the hallway, Ashley waved a brief goodbye to the rest of the circle while throwing out a parting tease, "See you later ladies, Rick, and love you Monkey."

James looked like he was keeping count of the invisible arrows piercing his chest anytime he gets called that ridiculous nickname. Tina and Linda in turn decided to pile on the misery as they walked away toward their next building, with Tina giggling, "Love you dear, and bye-bye Monkey, fufu."

Linda merely offered a wave over her shoulder, adding her own parting shot with a completely straight face, "Rick, see you later, and nice to see you, Monkey."

James rolled his brown eyes hard at the synchronized teasing, but he finally noticed that Jenifer was quietly following right behind us, prompting him to ask a direct question, "Miss Han, where are you going?"

Jenifer, maintaining her flawless professional look, pushed up her glasses with a single manicured finger before delivering her logic, "Computers class. I am Master's Secretary, and we do use computers, correct? So, I shall watch my Master and Mr Monkey."

I could only smile at James’ incredibly painful look. She had just officially upgraded him from Monkey to Mr Monkey. I just kept smiling at my poor friend as we made our way down the engineering corridor.

This semester, the three of us sat right up front to be next to Kim, purely upon her explicit request. She wanted me to be closer in case she needed my technical help with the hardware.

And like clockwork, Kim came walking right into the room a few minutes later, immediately dropping her heavy textbooks and her leather briefcase onto the floor like the absolute klutz she is. Embarrassed by the loud clatter, she turned to the amusement of the class to apologize, "Sorry y'all, but I have butter-fingers, ha-ha!"

This clumsy streak was one of the primary reasons she did not go into the family business, possessing absolutely zero ability firing, using, or showing talent with guns. She is that specific type of woman that would look adorable in a quiet library, always dropping books.

Kim’s pure eyes quickly scanned the front row, seeing Jenifer sitting attentively next to me. She smiled warmly, offering a friendly greeting as she gestured toward us, "It is good to see you in my class, Jenifer. Well let me know if you need any help, Rick can tutor you, ha-ha."

Then, after she pressed the power button on her desk computer, she turned her bright gaze toward me to finalize the schedule, "Rick, I hope you will still be my teaching assistant? Also, during lunch, I need to chat, O' key-dokey?"

I nodded in agreement, fully planning on giving her my Mondays just like Vicky gets my Fridays.

After the lecture concluded and everyone else left the room, she smiled softly, offering an exclusive invitation as she packed her desk, "Let me treat you to lunch in the faculty cafeteria. I have things I need to tell you about."

I looked closely at her expression, easily seeing that she was deeply bothered about something today and prompting me to ask, "Kim, is someone bothering you? I can take care of it for you?"

She reached down to grab her purse, waving her hand for me to follow her out the door while quickly denying any threat, "It is nothing that serious, but... It seemed my parents saw me at the New Years eve show."

I listened quietly as we walked, already harboring some heavy hunches as to exactly where this romantic trope was heading while she sighed, "They also saw Alex there dancing with his wife. But the main thing that caught their attention was who I was dancing with."

I pointed a finger to my own chest, smoothly finishing the narrative for her with a grin, "And your parents probably assumed I was your love interest, and are pressuring you to either meet me or for you to marry me, because of your age, right?"

For some reason Kim stopped walking, looking at me like I am some sort of mystical fortune teller, completely unaware that this is only a common trope in anime, fiction, and romance movies. She spoke with genuine surprise, "That is amazing Rick! You guessed it right. My parents had been questioned about me and you, but they had no answers."

I just smiled at the absolute innocence of this pure woman, pressing her for the rest of the details, "Did you tell them that I am your student, neighbor, and friend? Or did you panic and say something out of being flustered."

Her green-eyes swam wildly under my gaze, clearly feeling entirely exposed by how well I knew her tendencies. A deep shade of shame colored her cheeks as she stammered to explain the chaotic chain of events, "Um? I did at first. I told them just that, but, but, when they asked why I said I love you on live TV, they grilled me more, and I panicked then."

My pace slowed down slightly as I processed her words, my eyebrows lowering as I pushed further, "Wait, you never said you love me?"

Kim Smith blushed deeply at the reminder, nodding her head yes before hurriedly explaining the context, "Back when you fought Alex. Near the end of my cheer, I had gotten excited and blurted that out, and then blew you the-kiss. Mei had recorded the whole thing up close, so my parents saw that video when investigating you. And then I panicked."

We had finally entered the small, exclusive staff cafeteria and got right into the meal line. Seeing that I was remaining entirely quiet, she anxiously continued her explanation while grabbing a tray, "Well, you see I was told by my mother that they found a nice man back in the Capital City Boston, in Virginia. They said if I was not in a serious relationship, then they would make me meet his family this summer, so."

The two of us picked our food orders from the counter, and she quickly stepped up to pay for both trays. Soon after, we found a quiet, secluded table tucked behind some large indoor decorative trees, where she picked up the conversation, "So, I told them I have feelings for you."

As she picked up her utensils and started to eat her Salisbury Steak, I looked directly across the table, throwing a blunt question her way, "Tell me, what feelings do you have for me, Kim?"

Her hands stopped moving completely, her utensils hovering in mid-air as her green-eyes moistened a bit with emotion before she let out a small, defeated smile, "You are unfair, Rick. You really want me to say it out-loud to you, right now?"

I just decided to man up and take absolute charge of the atmosphere, looking her straight in the eyes as I replied, "Personally, I think you're wonderful. I also don't think you would just let any-man help you change clothes, right?"

Kim put on a radiantly happy smile, nodding her head repeatedly as she resumed eating, remaining entirely silent for a long moment while digesting the compliment.

At the very end of our lunch, she cleared her throat, looking up at me with absolute clarity to confess, "It was when you pulled your gun on Chris Honda."

My eyebrows raised instantly and I looked back at her curiously, not expecting those specific words to come out of her mouth as she continued, "You were so manly in that moment. My heart skipped a beat. You're a Eurasian man, but I saw some of the American Hero in you at that cool moment. I did not have my heart moved because of the Mall, but on that night on the mountain. I just had not wanted to chase my friend's young lover. Hana was so happy, and I did not want to get in the way. But..."

She smiled beautifully, her voice dropping into a soft, intimate whisper that drew me in closer, "You are just too nice to me. Always helping and saving me, so how can I not have feelings? So when my parents pressed me, I just admitted what I have been hiding. Sorry to make things strange."

I leaned forward slightly, resting my forearms on the table as I evaluated the political shift, "What do you want to happen now, Kim? With your parents, your circumstances, and your feelings?"

She let out a highly worried smile, openly venting her internal fears to me as she played with her napkin, "I know I don't want to marry anyone in an arranged marriage. My feelings are new for me, and Rick... I am 9 years older than you, so I feel strange about that."

I could only grin at her worrying about a single digit, instantly thinking of how Lucy is a whopping 13 years older than me, though I obviously couldn't tell her that right now as I reached across the table, taking her empty tray to dump it for her.

I walked back and stood directly in front of her chair, looking straight down into her shimmering green-eyes to kindly ask the final question, "Kim, what is it you want?"

Her mouth remained half-open as she struggled to think straight under my intense gaze, swallowing hard before giving her final answer, "I-I want you, um, I want you to meet them, if you want?"

Yeah, she is adorable after-all, sigh. The two of us are walking back to her class in the empty park, the crisp winter air brushing against our faces as I nodded to her and explained, "I have a personal-jet, and a place to stay on Long Island. If they want to meet me before Summer, then I can fly us there. Think about what you really want, and I will agree with it. I am not like Alex or Chris. I can understand your maiden-heart, and I think you are worth the wait."

I waited for her response but noticed she was not moving, her body freezing completely right there on the paved path. Shifting my posture, I waved my hand in her face a bit to break her daze, and soon she finally came back to Pangaea with her eyes blinking in confusion to blurt out, "Yes!"

I am a bit confused at Kim's sudden yes, so I tilt my head slightly and ask, "Yes, what?"

Kim locked her emerald eyes onto mine, her expression suddenly turning dead-serious as she confessed, "Yes, I will marry you!"

FUCK BALLS! I just thought about what I said before, and if you are a bit delusional, you could think in that direction which she clearly did! Okay think... Well I did say I would have a relationship if she wanted it, so if I told her she misunderstood, I would just be a Beta-male, so I reached out to take her hands, adjusting my weight as I replied, "Then Kim Smith, please take good care of me."

I can tell she is surprised and thought I might back out, her small shoulders tensing. She looked around in every direction to scan the area, and then seeing no one nearby in the secluded park, she boldly reached up and pulled my head down a bit to kiss me.

It seems the lips of American women are slightly different to Eurasian women, like how Mei's lips feel different when kissing. Kim's lips feel very plump and soft against mine.

She did not go for a tongue kiss but just overlapped our lips in a firm and confident press, her hands resting on my chest. When she pulled her lips away, she had sucked on my bottom lip to taste my mouth, a lingering warmth remaining between us. Her eyes looked misty and she smiled while nodding her head to herself, then she said to me, "I can confirm my feelings for you now Rick. Thank you for asking me to marry you, fufu. Um, Can we keep it a secret? I um, don't want to get in trouble at University right now. And can I talk to Hana first?"

I naturally did not think this out and just flew with my emotions here, scratching my neck as I processed the timeline. On the bright-side, I don't have to worry about having sex with her due to her wanting to be married first, so that is a plus, leading me to tell her, "Sure, but I need to find some way to explain to my wives already?"

Kim looked worried at my words, her eyebrows knitting together as she asked, "Rick, am I going to cause you problems? I don't want to complicate your life?"

I pat the top of her head and smile to ease her tension, "Are you going to make things complicated for me? Yes, most definitely, but I seem to like complicated things, so just be yourself and talk to Hana. Now get to class, Teacher."

The moment she turned to go to class, she tripped on absolutely nothing, losing her balance for a split second before giggling stupidly as she ran off toward the main building, sigh.

I turned away from the path, adjusting my grip on my briefcase as I muttered to myself, "I will have to change my handle from Harem-Fan to Harem-Masochist!"

I then turn to the auditorium they used for the autographing before, walking briskly as I head to Drama Club.

Entering the front-doors of the Auditorium, I see the main rows leading from the entrance hall straight down to the front stage area. The entrance hall is the room between the main entrance and the seating area, designed exactly like the concession stand area of a movie theater.

A handful of students are making their way in excitedly, the chatter echoing off the high ceilings. I overheard some girls talking about the arrival of Kate and Ana into this Drama class, their voices filled with anticipation.

I straighten my classic grey-tieless-suit, rolling my shoulders before I make my way into the classroom with my briefcase in hand.

A quick scan of the room lets me see the female teacher, sitting in the center front of the stage with a small wooden desk positioned in front of her for her paperwork.

I see many students standing around three specific students, crowding the space between the stage and the front row seating. The three students drawing all of the attention would be Kate, Ana, and Sam.

Sam is getting a bit more fame due to his role as a host on Entertainment Tonight alongside Kate. Yes, I can see that Pam did that to make the two look like a pair, manipulating the media layout. Plus she did that to elevate Sam as a star to make my Drama Club challenge harder to beat him in, but I don't care, adjusting my cuff links as I walk. I already got Kate to sign for Victoria, so I will let the chips fall where they do.

I had walked into the audience chamber through the left-side entrance, and over toward the right-side entrance, Logan Chen just walked in and was looking around the room. We both just nodded tightly to one another before walking further in on our respective sides.

The two of us must have Stealth Basic active, because we noticed each-other instantly but not many other people have noticed our entrance. We are not invisible, just not making any sharp movements that would draw unnecessary attention. A slow but steady gait in our steps, the soft carpeting dampening the sound under our feet, and the neutral colors we wear all contribute to our Stealth.

Logan sat directly in the dead-middle of the central seating area, while I smoothly slid into the left side seating about halfway up the row. I am guessing there are about 40 total students in the Drama Club time frame, but the real shocker hits me as I count the faces. Sam, Logan, and I are the only fucking men in this Club!

The Teacher is June Song, a 48 year old, black-haired, blue-eyed former actress who now serves as the primary Drama Coach. She has been in Star University for almost 20 years now and has earned a highly good reputation.剧 Daddy Dean told me she was a good person, so I trust the reference. I was worried when I originally heard the name Song, but she only married into the Song side branch family, keeping her distance from the main political drama.

Mrs. Song stood up from her desk, tapping her papers together to command the room as she announced, "For those of you in last semester, welcome back. But we have many new faces this second semester, so welcome all of you to Drama Club! I will first collect the attendance to get to know you. Oh, and if you are here only because of our celebrity students, I kindly ask you to leave now."

About three women, who apparently are not actually signed up for the course, embarrassingly shuffled out of the row and left the room. That visual distraction was when Kate finally saw me, because the movement made her notice my exact location across the aisle. She pouted her lips instantly and picked up her things from her seat.

To the complete dismay of Sam and the other students that sat near her, she briskly headed straight for my location. I was purposely sitting on the end next to the aisle to keep anyone from sitting in my row, but Kate just bulldozed past my front, her knees brushing my legs as she sat right next to me, ignoring the other ten or so empty seats in my row. She even rudely lifted my briefcase into the seat next to her along with her own designer bag!

Kate turned her head toward me, whispering aggressively, "Rick, I didn't see you come in?! Why did you not call me?"

I looked straight ahead toward the stage, keeping my voice low as I responded, "First, it is class time, not social time, second, why did you move my bag? I need it for class."

Kate rolled her eyes at me like I am completely stupid, leaning closer to explain, "If we keep the bags between us, we will make too much noise talking to one another, silly. Plus we are friends, so talking is normal."

I lift my eyebrow, turning my head to look her in the eyes as I ask, "So, if I were Sam, would you sit like this?"

Kate scoffed, looking toward the stage with a look of disgust as she muttered, "Sure, if he was not an asshole."

While the Idiot-Girl and I had our nonsensical conversations, the Teacher has been steadily calling out names from her clipboard.

"Logan Chen?"

Logan broke his stealth to raise his hand firmly, and everyone now noticed his rugged frame sitting right in the center of the auditorium.

"Right here, Mrs Song!"

Mrs. Song smiled warmly, checking off his name as she commented, "Transfer student, good. Sadly we don't get many men in our Drama Club, so male roles always have to be played by Sam or another woman, thanks for being here."

Sam did not expect another man other than me to be here, his eyes narrowing slightly, but seeing Logan looked like he was 30, Sam did not pay him a second thought, shifting his posture arrogantly.

"Kate Kong? Oh, I see you moved from before, and oh, you must be Rick Tang?! Hello Mr Tang."

I can see she is instantly friendly to me, her eyes brightening because I am a main-branch Tang and the Song serve directly under the Tang family. So I wave my hand and greet her, "Hello Mrs Song, my uncle said to tell you hello."

She smiled brightly at the connection, her voice turning respectful as she replied, "I am happy Head Tang remembers me, glad you are also in my class."

Sam Sun just sat there as he realized something very bad for him, his face visibly tightening! He and the Song are opposite families, and the fact that I am a Tang main branch is a huge disadvantage to him in this classroom, right?!

Mrs. Song scanned the final names, her eyes landing on Sam as she announced, "Sam Sun? Oh, I almost missed you. Well I guess you finally have some competition. You are the pretty-greenhouse-flower, and finally, we now have some real men."

Logan and I looked across the room and smiled at one another for being more rugged-looking, but somehow this woman said it like we are the real gems here. Poor Sam looks like he just ate shit, his hands clenching his desk as he sat there being told he is a girly-man!

Mrs. Song, seeing Sam's visibly pissed expression, merely chuckled before explaining her theatrical philosophy to the entire class, "Sam, I don't think you get it? Just being beautiful is not what makes the male role important, it is the aura of a warrior. If you can look great and be a warrior, then great, but have you never seen those two boys fight? They are the kind of actors you pick for intense action and horror movies. For a soap-opera, you are perfect. Now for the last one, Ana Zi, oh there you are."

I just shook my head slowly at her assessment, shifting my weight against the padded seat because this whole damn class will be one big freakin Soap-Opera anyway!