Brittany ordered several of the restaurant's signature homemade dishes and chatted with me while eating.
As we ate, the eyes of the men around were all fixed on me.
Brittany's purpose was simple: she wanted this man to know that beauties like her were really rare in society. She was the belle of their criminal investigation department, the type that every colleague eagerly tried to please.
Tobby said he wasn't interested in her, so she brought Tobby here to see how much others admired her, hoping that in their future cohabitation, Tobby would be more considerate. After all, women lacked a sense of security, and after their morning skirmish, she knew she might lose in a fight against Tobby. Without showing him her supportive colleagues, it would be too late if Tobby misbehaved.
"Brittany, don't tell me this guy is your boyfriend?" At this moment, a buzz-cut guy in a green vest, flanked by three colleagues, approached and asked.
Brittany said, "Of course not, Steven, don't talk nonsense."
Steven Davis: "If he's not your boyfriend, why is he sitting in your car and eating with you?"
Steven sat down and looked at me: "Bro, what's your name?"
Brittany: "His name is Tobby Curry."
Steven got more agitated, impatiently saying, "Why are you answering when I asked him? Who is he to you?"
I replied, "My name is Tobby Curry, I have nothing to do with her."
Steven Davis probed further: "What do you do?"
Steven was angry, but not blindly so. It was known in the department that he was pursuing Brittany, and now this, guarding against internal enemies but not external ones.
I slightly frowned, noticing the cunning glint in Brittany's beautiful eyes. Not wanting trouble, I put down my chopsticks and said, "Sorry, I'm not a suspect. You're asking too much. I'm done eating, I have to go now."
Brittany said, "I'll drive you."
"Drive for what?" Steven scoffed, waving me off impatiently, "Just leave."
"What are you doing, Steven!" Brittany reprimanded, "He's just my roommate, it's just a normal meal, why are you making a fuss?"
Brittany, that mischievous girl, ignored everything and just those five words 'cohabiting roommate' were enough to make Steven as angry as the Bull Demon King.
"Cohabiting?"
It wasn't just him; Steven and the surrounding male colleagues were all dumbfounded.
What's going on?
Steven panicked, his goddess living under the same roof with another man?
How could this be?
"No way!" Steven loudly objected, "Can't you find a place in Summit City? Why cohabit?"
"It's none of your business." Brittany frowned, "Besides, do you know where it is? It's a high-end apartment, the monthly rent alone is nearly ten thousand bucks. If I don't stay for free, will you pay my rent?"
Uh.
Steven was choked, talking about money, everyone finds it hard. It's not that he couldn't afford it, but if he provided for Brittany, his life would be tight. After all, Summit City is the financial center of Veridian with high living costs.
"Brittany, for your reputation, once this case is over, I'll help you find a place." He squinted at me, "Who knows if someone like him might harm you, it's very unsafe there."
Brittany smiled, "No, I sparred with Tobby today, he's got skills, I couldn't beat him."
If I couldn't hear the underlying hostility in Brittany's words aimed at getting others to deal with me, I'd be a fool.
Sure enough, Steven looked at me: "Oh? You've got some skills?"
I, not wanting to get entangled, turned to leave.
Brittany, half-smiling, said, "Yeah, the property property firm wanted me to move, I was furious and tried to fight him, but he got the better of me and threw me to the ground."
Brittany spoke naturally and innocently, but each of her words incited the anger of Steven and the other 'flower protectors'.
He even dared to lay hands on our goddess?
This man is such scum, a real piece of work!
"Bro, leaving just like that, isn't that a bit inappropriate?" Steven addressed my back.
Meanwhile, his two colleagues blocked my path.
"We're all in the same field, why make it hard for each other?" I chuckled bitterly.
Steven walked over, Brittany tugged at him, "What are you doing?"
"Adam't worry, Brittany, we're not thugs, men always have ways to settle issues." Steven said with disdain as he stopped in front of me, "Who's in the same field as you?"
I directly took out my ID: "I'm a police officer too, so I offered Brittany a place because of that. Otherwise, I wouldn't care about her."
Steven's eyes bulged as he took a closer look: "I thought you were something, turns out you're just a community officer."
A community officer is a type of police who patrols the neighborhood, but compared to more specialized and busy criminal police, they're indeed seen as having a more leisurely role.
Brittany was surprised that Tobby was also a police officer. If she had known they were colleagues, she wouldn't have been so petty. She was about to intervene, but Steven didn't want her to.
Steven raised his eyebrows and looked me up and down: "Who's in the same field as you?"
The two criminal police officers beside him sneered: "Steven, after all, is a special forces officer. Look at his tall, robust physique, can he be compared to us? Do you even understand what a special forces officer is?"
"I understand," I said, "but what's the difference? We're all serving society."
"I see you really don't understand the difference." Steven flexed his chest muscles and biceps: "Aren't you supposed to be skilled?"
Brittany frowned, "Steven, tone it down a bit, go eat your food."
"He bullied you, can we just let it go? If it were a guy, it'd be fine, but you're a beautiful lady, Brittany, and he dared to lay hands on you?" Steven expressed his dissatisfaction.
I frowned, "What do you want then?"
Steven: "Though you're tall, compared to my muscular arms, I don't want people saying I bullied you, since there's a difference between regular police and special forces, right? How about you just apologize to Brittany, and you can leave."
I looked at Brittany and asked, "Do you need me to apologize?"
Brittany said, "Apologize for what? Adam't listen to Steven."
Steven wasn't pleased: "She doesn't need it, but I want you to apologize to her."
Very assertive!
I grinned, then easily pushed aside the two guards blocking my way, looked at Steven and said, "What if I don't apologize?"
Steven rubbed his fist, shrugged, "What do you think will happen?"