Chapter 40: Poor Little Simon Beckett

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Poor Little Simon Beckett

The little boy used his smartwatch to contact his family. After hanging out at the arcade for a while, Rian Sinclair also learned his name: Simon Beckett. He had taken his mother’s surname. From what she gathered, the child’s father didn’t like him, and the man never intervened in how his stepmother treated him.

Hearing this, Rian couldn’t help but click her tongue. If she remembered correctly, there was a prominent Beckett family in Kyoro. However, since the boy was currently in Argent, Rian couldn’t be entirely sure if he belonged to them.

Rian took Simon to play the claw machines. Originally, she had just stood by and watched him play, but he went through a ton of tokens without catching a single plushie. Watching him purse his lips as he concentrated entirely on the joystick, Rian’s limited supply of kindness prevented her from making any snide remarks.

Hearing the whispers of other kids nearby, and noticing that the hundreds of tokens they had exchanged were almost gone, Rian couldn’t hold back anymore. She grabbed his wrist. "Kid, tell me which one you want. I’ll get it for you."

Rian carried a roguish air about her. She had been dragged into playing claw machines by her lackeys ages ago. While she wasn’t exactly a sharpshooter who never missed, she could easily win eight times out of ten. After all, catching plushies was quite simple once you mastered the tricks. The machines were rigged to make it difficult, but looking at Simon, who hadn’t managed to grab even one, Rian wondered if the kid’s luck was just exceptionally terrible.

Hearing Ria speak, Simon stepped aside and handed her the small basket holding the tokens. Seeing the meager amount left inside, his usually tense little face flushed red. "Ria, I’ll go buy some more tokens."

Rian stopped him and shook the tokens in her hand. "This is enough." There were only six tokens left, just enough for three tries. She pointed at the claw machine. "Which one do you want?"

Simon’s small hand pointed toward the machine filled with pink Lotso bears. "So the seemingly aloof little young master likes pink plushies?" Rian thought, looking at him. She found it utterly adorable. The contrast was simply too cute.

Rian inserted two tokens first to test the claw. She didn’t catch anything on the first try, but she wasn’t in a hurry. Beside her, however, Simon nervously clutched the hem of his shirt. His little gesture melted Rian’s heart, reminding her of Ash Sinclair when he was little. She reached out and ruffled his hair, then maneuvered the joystick and hit the button at a tricky angle.

Simon gaped in surprise. Staring at the strawberry bear offered to him, he froze for a moment before happily accepting the plushie. "Ria, you’re so amazing!"

Rian smiled and held up the remaining two tokens in her hand. "Which other one do you like? I’ll catch it for you."

At this moment, Rian looked just as carefree and reckless as she had been back when she would skip class to take her underlings to the arcade.

Simon pointed to the adjacent machine. Following his finger, Rian saw a bunch of round little pig plushies scattered haphazardly inside. She immediately went for it. It wasn’t long before she handed him a freshly caught pig. Simon happily hugged his spoils of victory, one in each hand, while the surrounding children stared with their mouths wide open.

"Wow! She’s so good!"

"I want one too, I want one too! Mom, catch one for me!"

"That lady is amazing!"

"Mom, Mom! Give birth to a big sister for me!"

The area grew noisy. At first, the kids had been whispering and secretly laughing at the little boy because he couldn’t catch anything. But now, they were in awe because the older girl next to him could effortlessly grab whichever one he asked for. Children were always like this—vocalizing their adoration without a second thought and expressing their disdain without holding back.

Rian didn’t say anything. She had no interest in paying attention to the kids around her; she preferred quiet, obedient children.

Spotting a few men in suits walking through the entrance, Rian noticed that the man in the lead bore a seventy percent resemblance to Simon. Guessing he was Simon’s elder, she led the boy past the crowd of children and toward the door.

Meanwhile, after receiving a call from his nephew, Sterling Beckett had immediately dropped everything and rushed over. Looking at the woman in front of him, Sterling gave a sincere bow. "Thank you very much for rescuing my nephew, Miss."

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Rian paused for a moment before waving her hand dismissively. She looked at Simon, who was standing beside Sterling. "Take good care of your nephew. He’s young, which makes it easy for accidents to happen, especially being in a prominent family like yours."

Rian had actually recognized him, given how often he appeared in the news, newspapers, and on Weibo. Sterling nodded and handed her a check. "Miss Sinclair, this is a token of my gratitude."

Rian didn’t stand on ceremony. Although she wasn’t short of money, she wondered why anyone would refuse free cash.

Sterling didn’t show much emotion on his face, but his heartfelt gratitude toward Rian didn’t diminish in the slightest. After all, this boy was the only child his sister had left behind. Taking Simon’s hand, Sterling said, "I’m in Argent on a business trip this time, but the Beckett family’s main branch is based in Kyoro. Thank you again for saving my nephew, Miss Sinclair. If you ever need anything in the future, you can contact me."

He then handed over a business card containing his private contact information. Rian pinched the card between her fingertips. "Then I won’t be polite."

Just as Rian was about to leave, Simon grabbed her pants. She looked down at the little cub who wasn’t even as tall as her legs. "What is it, kid?"

Simon offered his smartwatch, smiling shyly. "Ria, can you save your number in here? When you come to Kyoro, I’ll take you out to play!"

Rian didn’t really want to get too involved with this child, but seeing the joy in his eyes, she ultimately couldn’t bring herself to refuse. She took the smartwatch but handed it back a few seconds later. When Simon looked as if he was about to cry, Rian quickly explained, "I don’t really know how to use this watch of yours."

Rian let out a light cough. Sterling’s lips curled up slightly into a faint smile, and Simon blushed a little, embarrassed that he had almost burst into tears. At this moment, Simon felt a strong sense of attachment to Rian.

Once the number was saved, Rian bid them farewell and left.

Sterling also led the boy into their car. Frowning, he looked at Simon, who bore a seventy percent resemblance to him, and spoke with evident anger in his voice. "Simon Beckett! Do my words mean nothing to you?"

Simon pressed his lips tightly together and remained silent. Sterling was genuinely infuriated by him. When they first arrived in Argent, he had explicitly told the boy not to wander off, yet the moment he went into a meeting, the kid vanished without a trace.

If he hadn’t been found by a kindhearted person today, what would have happened to him? Would he have been kidnapped and trafficked? Taken deep into the mountains to Old Man Forrest? Or sold off to North Boro? Or perhaps sent to The Golden Triangle?

Sterling didn’t dare to think about any of those possibilities!

Sensing that his uncle was in a terrible mood, Simon reached out with his small hand and grasped the man’s palm. As their eyes met, he whispered, "Uncle Sterling, I miss Mom."

Sterling didn’t reply right away. He turned his head away, and a heavy silence filled the car for a moment. "Once I’m done with work, I’ll take you to see your mother, alright? But you have to promise me that you won’t go out alone anymore. If you want to go anywhere, you must tell me first."

Simon nodded. Sterling finally fell silent. His sister’s grave was here in Argent; she hadn’t been relocated back to Kyoro. It was just as the old man had said.

She was already very tired.