Chapter 115: When It Comes to Self-Exposure, It Has to Be Phoenix

Chapter 115: Chapter 115: When It Comes to Self-Exposure, It Has to Be Phoenix

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Scott Sutton looking at him with a smile full of amusement. Phoenix rubbed the goosebumps on his arms and pointed at himself, entirely uncertain. "Could it be me?"

Scott continued to look at him with that same smile. Phoenix finally realized just how idiotic his previous line of questioning had been. He had made a complete fool of himself.

But he honestly couldn’t remember how he had offended the boss. He had no choice but to carefully throw out one tentative guess after another. "Boss, is it because you found out I plucked all the spines off your cactus and stuck them into the succulents next to it?"

Seeing that Scott didn’t reply, but the icy glint in his eyes grew sharper, Phoenix was at a loss for what he had done wrong. He had to dig deep and confess his most closely guarded secrets. Even though self-sabotage was highly inappropriate right now, he was genuinely terrified of the boss giving him the silent treatment with that freezing expression.

"Was it that time I brought you food? Did you find out I spiked your meal with cilantro juice, which you hate the most?" As soon as the words left his mouth, Phoenix shook his head. "No, that can’t be right. If you knew about that, you would have cursed me out ages ago. Or is it... is it because you found out I shook up all the sodas in your fridge last time? Or is it because of the photos of you wearing dresses when you were a kid—"

Before Phoenix could even finish his sentence, Scott shot him a glare that could kill a man a hundred times over. He wisely snapped his mouth shut. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed his subordinates behind him trying desperately to suppress their laughter.

Furious, he roared at his men, "All of you, get out!"

The group was obedient enough, leaving one by one. But the expressions on their faces... well, they were hard to describe.

Eventually, only Scott and Phoenix were left in the room.

Once Phoenix calmed down, he realized exactly what he had just confessed. Hadn’t he just handed Scott a sword and stretched his neck out for the execution? In any mercenary circle, this level of suicidal confession was absolutely mind-blowing.

Phoenix shifted his gaze toward Scott. In truth, the two of them had known each other since childhood. He was a child of the Smith Family, while Scott was the son of the last patriarch—or rather, matriarch—of Meridia’s number one family: the Brown Family.

Back then, the Brown Family had gone through a massive crisis. Everyone had assumed they would fall into ruin. Who could have expected that Scott would single-handedly shoulder the entire Brown Family, solidifying their status in Meridia even further? Although Scott was the only direct descendant, the Brown Family had countless collateral branch members.

The last head of the Brown Family was a legend. She was a woman named Myrna Brown. Since she had desperately wanted a daughter, Scott had been raised as a girl during his childhood.

At the time, Phoenix had visited the Brown Family estate with his mother. Naturally, he had seen Scott there, and he had seen him wearing women’s clothing. He had also, of course, kept a lot of photos of the boss in drag.

Even though Scott had destroyed almost all of those photos, Phoenix wasn’t stupid. This was his ultimate trump card to save his own life!

Observing Scott’s dark expression, Phoenix fell silent for a moment before quietly handing over a photograph. "Boss, this is the only one I have left. I swear I don’t have a single one hidden away anywhere else."

Scott snatched the photo and tore it into confetti. He stared straight at Phoenix. "Smith, you’d better not be hiding anything else from me."

Phoenix flinched and averted his gaze, offering no reply. Scott merely gave him a look, said nothing more, and turned to walk out the door.

But seeing the boss like this... Phoenix really wanted to know what had happened. His curiosity was burning. After all, the look on Scott’s face just now was his genuine anger. So, Phoenix simply had to poke the bear!

He blocked Scott’s path, grinning cheekily. "Boss, what exactly did I do earlier to piss you off? It couldn’t possibly be the things I just confessed, right?"

Phoenix’s eyes brimmed with curiosity. He was dying to know what had managed to anger Scott. After all, this was a man who rarely ever lost his temper. The angriest he had ever been was that one time Aunt Myrna went to fight all by herself and came back wounded. Scott’s displeasure had been written all over his face.

What had happened after that again? If he recalled correctly, Scott had dug up the enemy’s ancestors eighteen generations back and cursed out every single one of them.

As his brain recalled that terrifying scene, Phoenix couldn’t help but hug himself and shake his head vigorously. It was too terrifying. He didn’t even dare to think about it.

It wasn’t quite accurate to say that Scott rarely got angry; rather, he had changed the way he expressed his anger. In other words, he was unwilling to easily reveal his emotions, preferring to wear a mask every single day. But judging by that reaction just now, Phoenix glanced at Scott and was absolutely certain that the man was furious.

So what on earth was the reason? Phoenix felt like a cat was scratching at his heart.

Scott’s gaze cooled. "Keep your nose out of things that don’t concern you." He then tried to step past Smith and leave.

Phoenix wondered what would happen if there was gossip to be heard but he couldn’t hear it. He would be tormented by the suspense, of course. If he didn’t figure this out, he wouldn’t be able to sleep a wink tonight.

Even though Scott’s mouth was hard to pry open, it wasn’t completely impossible. Having followed him for so long, Phoenix knew how to read his micro-expressions.

"Let me think. Could it be because the guys didn’t invite you when we went to blow up that cursed shrine today? Or was it because you arrived late?"

Scott was completely blocked by Smith. Whichever way he moved, Smith stepped in front of him. Giving up, Scott simply stood still and faced him.

Seeing that he hadn’t coaxed the desired expression out of Scott, Smith pressed on. "Could it be that you found out I stole one of your RPGs a while back? That shouldn’t be the case. I covered my tracks perfectly!"

Smith pondered for a moment, reviewing everything he had experienced and everyone he had met recently. He eliminated possibilities one by one, substituting new variables. Finally, his thoughts landed on a certain someone.

He looked up into Scott’s eyes, speaking with earnest confidence. "Rian Sinclair."

Scott’s body stiffened for a fraction of a second. Then, his eyes turned freezing cold as he stared at the endlessly chattering Smith. His expression abruptly hardened.

Instantly, Phoenix felt a wave of murderous intent. He silenced himself and looked over, only to see Scott’s indifferent expression as his thin lips parted. "Are you done?"

Phoenix studied Scott’s face. After a moment of consideration, he wisely decided to shut his mouth.

Scott looked away, turned around, and sat down on the sofa.

Watching his movements, Phoenix knew he had guessed right. But what kind of connection could those two possibly have? Could it be that she, just like him, had been scammed by this profiteer?

He let out a sigh and looked at Scott. This man was completely immune to charm. Instead of making friends with such a stunning beauty, he had actually gone and ripped her off. He was absolutely ruthless.

Scott leaned back against the sofa and closed his eyes. He had originally thought he would run into her by coming here, but he had missed her entirely. At the thought of Rian Sinclair, his eyes darkened a few shades.

Phoenix stealthily sat down on the adjacent sofa, carefully observing Scott’s expression. "Scott, if something’s on your mind, you gotta say it. Your bro will help you figure it out. Plus, keeping things bottled up for too long ruins your manhood."

Scott scoffed. "You? A guy who was still wetting the bed as a teenager, waking up crying for his mommy, is going to be useful?"

He turned his head and gave Phoenix a mockingly slow once-over from head to toe, sneering, "If anyone’s ruining their manhood, I’m afraid it’s you. Taking on seven women in one night? You really aren’t afraid of draining yourself dry."