That year, Robin was kicked out by the Bailey family of the capital. Soon, his mother passed away. The Baileys deliberately gave him a hard time. Therefore, Robin was forced to become a beggar relying on searching for food in the trash bins.
Sometimes, he needed to fight against wild dogs for the dumped food.
One day, while Robin was searching for food in the trash bins, he met Dillon James. For an apple, they fought with each other and became friends.
Dillon was the same age as him. They were both young, so they teamed up to collect garbage and run for their lives together.
Although their life was difficult, they managed to survive.
Later, Robin learned that Dillon wasn’t an orphan. He was born into a mid-class family in Aappitat. Although not super rich, his family owned several hundred thousand dollars.
Therefore, Robin asked him, “Dillon, since you have a family, why did you run away from home?”
“My parents don’t understand me.”
Lying on the lawn, Dillon stretched and added, “My parents always ask me to become a government official, a politician. They believe I can get rich, the job will be stable, and I can easily find a girlfriend to get married. My father works for the city government, so he can help me.”
“But I don’t like it. I want to be a designer, wearing a white shirt while drafting. I prefer art-liked design. I long for freedom and peace. I don’t want to be restrained. That was why I left.”
For the following year, Dillon was with Robin, wandering around. Usually, Dillon liked drawing. He sent his artwork back home from time to time to tell his parents he was still alive.
A year later, Dillon was found by his parents.
He asked his parents to adopt Robin, but his parents refused. Dillon risked his life to force his parents, but Robin stopped him as he also wanted his freedom.
A few years later, Robin joined the military. From time to time, he called Dillon on the phone, so he learned that Dillon had been accepted by the University of Aappitat and obtained a doctor’s degree. Later, Dillon moved to Stillwater. Since Robin was too busy with a unique identity, they lost touch.
It had been three or four years since they stopped calling each other.
Robin missed him a lot.
He pulled out his phone and called Jeff. “Check a man named Dillon James in Stillwater. I need his contact information.”
“Roger that,” Jeff replied.
An hour later, Jeff sent Dillon’s detailed profile to Robin. Dillon stayed at No. 24 East Avenue, where there was a basement bar. He was the owner.
“A bar?”
Robin furrowed his brows, heading for the bar. After arriving, he saw the bar was named Fantasy.
He still couldn’t believe it was run by Dillon.
Entering, he saw the bar was fully packed with men and women. Under the colorful neon lights, they danced like crazy, mostly youngsters.
Robin wasn’t surprised, his gaze sweeping around the bar.
Finally, he saw Dillon sitting at the counter with colorful hair. He wore a leather jacket with a few decoration chains. While drinking, he was smoking a cigarette.
“Hello, Dillon,” Robin called to him after recognizing him quickly, although Dillon looked utterly different than before.
“Anyone called me?” Dillon was taken aback.
Suddenly, he turned around and saw Robin. Joy was written all over his face.
“Bang!”
Dillon threw a punch on Robin’s shoulder to express his excitement. “You brat! I suddenly lost contact with you a few years ago. I thought you’d passed away in a battle. You bad boy! Do you know how much I’m worried about you?”
“I’m fine.”
Robin smiled at him faintly.
“Hurry. Take a seat.”
Dillon took Robin to the counter and said to a bartender, “A bottle of Glenmorangie Signet. My best buddy is here. Everything is on me.”
“OK, Mr. James.”
The bartender fetched a bottle of whisky from the cabinet and served them in two cups.
“Robin, I heard you’d become the live-in son-in-law of… the Houry family, right? What happened?” Dillon asked.
“It’s a long story,” Robin sighed.
“Didn’t you come to see me purposely? Or do you need anything? If you need to borrow some money, I can lend it to you. I’m this bar’s owner.”
Dillon propped his hand on Robin’s shoulder.
He had thought Robin had come to ask him for help.
“Not really. About your bar… Why have you become like this?”
Robin raised his head, staring at him in confusion.
As he knew, Dillon was almost a neat freak. He wished to wear a white shirt while drawing drafts. Dillon also looked gentle and well-educated. Robin recalled he had worn glasses before.
He was a straight-A student in high school as well. Since he worked hard, he also was the class monitor. l
However, Dillon looked like a gangster.
His hair was dyed into different colors. He wore earrings, a black leather jacket, and tight leather trousers, looking like another man.
If Robin didn’t have good memories and sharp eyes, he wouldn’t have recognized Dillon.
“Alas…”
Dillon had an indescribable expression. Lowering his head, he sipped the whisky with a bitter smile. Before he answered, a waitress walked to him and whispered in his ear.
Dillon’s expression changed slightly. He put down the cup and said, “Robin, I need to deal with something urgent. Please excuse me. Be right back.”
“Sure.”
Robin didn’t ask him to stay.
“Rio, serve my buddy well. Everything he has is on the house,” Dillon reminded the bartender before leaving.
“Got it, Mr. James.”
Rio was a young man in his twenties. While cleaning a wine goblet, he asked Robin, “Excuse me. Are you close to my boss?”
“Why do you want to know?”
Robin looked at him.
“Mr. James owed some debts, more than 600, 000 dollars. His mother has just checked out of the hospital recently. I heard Mr. James wanted to lend money to you, so I guess you must be close,” Rio answered.
“More than 600, 000 dollars?”
Robin frowned. They didn’t contact each other for years, so he had no idea what had happened to Dillon. The well-educated boy who liked wearing a white shirt and became the class monitor had become like this and ran a bar.
In the past, Dillon hated such a place the most.