Nevertheless, upon witnessing the grisly sight, Tony could not pay any less attention to what he was saying and turned to look at Thalia. “We're going to a hospital!”
Miguel protested, “That's not necessary! It's just a minor injury—”
“Shut up!” Tony cut him off, causing Miguel to obediently shut his mouth.
Thalia brushed his hair aside and briefly examined his wound. “He'll live. There's no need to get him to a hospital.”
“We can't just leave his wound like that, can we?”
Thalia got out of the car and rummaged through the trunk while the three kids watched from inside the car.
A few minutes later, they saw her retrieve a tiny box from the trunk.
It wasn't until she opened up the box inside the car that they saw the medical supplies inside. Thalia then took out a bottle of iodine, some cotton swabs, some gauze, and a roll of tape.
After dabbing some iodine on the cotton swabs, she motioned at Miguel and said, “Here, let me treat your wound.”
Miguel flashed her a confused look. “Y-You know how to do this?”
“My boyfriend is a talented doctor. What do you think?” Thalia snapped back at him.
Miguel nodded obediently and leaned his head over toward her, only to let out a scream the moment Thalia dabbed the cotton swab on his wound.
The three kids all had terrified looks on their faces when they saw that. “What's wrong?” Thalia asked.
“Are you sure you know how to do this?” Miguel questioned, staring at her with utter disbelief. “Is there a problem?” Thalia retorted.
“It hurts!” he exclaimed.
That felt like someone stabbed me in the wound with something sharp!
Thalia rolled her eyes at him and said nonchalantly, “Quit being such a crybaby, will you? You're a boy, so act like one!”
“What, you think boys don't feel pain?”
“How did you even get hired by your boss? Can't you take a little bit of pain?”
“I'm in charge of supporting them from a distance! I don't fight on the frontlines with them, so why should I be able to endure pain?” Miguel protested.
Thalia arched an eyebrow at him. “I'm surprised you have the audapack to say that!”
“What's wrong with that? You know what? Forget it! I don't want to have it bandaged! We'll just leave the wound as it is!” Miguel exclaimed. He would rather bleed to death than let Thalia patch him up.
She frowned in displeasure. “What, you don't trust my skills?”
Miguel flashed her a sarcastic smile. “I am not qualified to receive your treatment!”
Being a hot-tempered person, she retorted, “No way! I will bandage your wound for you!” “That really won't be necessary!”
“I don't care! I'm not about to disgrace my boyfriend!” Thalia insisted. Miguel stared at her in confusion.
What is she talking about? Do I not have basic human rights now? He then turned toward Tony for help. “Do something, Master!”
Tony was about to say something, but Thalia beat him to it. “If we don't treat his wound as soon as possible, it could get infected very easily!”
The look on Tony 's face changed the moment he heard that. He then turned toward Miguel and said, “Hang in there.”
Miguel had nothing further to say at that point.
Thalia's lips curled into a gleeful smile as she got ready to treat him. “Come on!”
Noticing the look of despair on Miguel's face, she added, “Don't worry! I'll be gentle this time!” “Really?”
She nodded. “Really.”
Miguel hesitantly leaned his head toward her little by little.
Thalia then decided to tease him and shouted, “I'm going to do it as forcefully as possible!”
“Ah!” Miguel quickly pulled away from her in fear, only to see the rest of them laughing at him. What? What are they all laughing at me for?
“Well? Did that hurt?” Thalia asked. “Yes, it did!”
Thalia turned toward the three kids and said, “See, kids? This has nothing to do with my technique. It's all in his head!”
The three kids nodded in unison.
“Now, will you let me do it properly?” Thalia asked.
“No, I want to go to a hospital! Take me to a hospital, Master!” Miguel exclaimed.
“You shall not go to a hospital! That would be the ultimate form of disgrace for my boyfriend!” Thalia snapped back at him.
“Do I not have the right to decide for myself?” he asked. Thalia shook her head. “Nope!”
“I—”
“Oh, that's enough! You'll cry and whine even if we take you to a hospital! It'll be the nurses who laugh at you, then!” Thalia cut him off and started yanking at his head.
Noticing that Miguel was trying to fight back, her expression grew stern as she continued, “You want me to do this the hard way?”
Miguel knew full well that he couldn't possibly beat Thalia in a fight, so he had no choice but to turn toward Tony for help.
Tony simply motioned at him to put up with it.
Miguel then shifted his gaze back toward Thalia with a helpless look in his eyes.
“I will count to three. If you won't come over, then I will go to you. Don't blame me if it hurts even more, then!” she warned him.
Miguel simply remained silent.
After they returned, everyone went their separate ways to do their own things.
Once Tony got back, he opened his laptop and started working in the living hall instead of returning to his room.
He looked focused and serious when sitting in front of his laptop, which was a usual sight.
Miguel, who was busy looking for a mirror to check his injury, went up to Tony when he saw the latter sitting in front of his laptop.
“Master, what are you doing?” Miguel asked.
Tony 's eyes were fixed on the screen. Without looking at Miguel, he replied, “Looking for some information.”
Miguel glanced at the laptop. After noticing the keywords on the screen, he knitted his brows. “Master, why do you insist on looking for him?”
“Insist? Not really,” Tony replied.
“If that's the case, why don't you look for someone else?” Miguel asked further. “Who do you have in mind?” Tony stopped and glanced at him.
Miguel hesitated before replying, “Um... We can ask Dave. He knows a lot of people. We can ask him to recommend you a few!”
Upon hearing that, Tony flashed Miguel a faint grin. “There are all kinds of talented people in the world, but you can only connect with people you can relate to. Get it?” he asked.
Miguel looked at him and shook his head innocently.
Tony let out a helpless sigh. “It's okay. You don't have to understand.” He resumed his work on his laptop.
Miguel was unfazed by Tony 's cold response. Despite being much older than Tony , he recognized his limitations compared to Tony 's skills and had no issue deferring to him. After all, Tony is my master and my idol!
“But Master, what if he turns you down? Have you thought of that?” Miguel asked another question. “There are no what ifs. I'll do anything to get what I want.” Tony enunciated each word.
“I know you're capable, but the person seems like a tough nut to crack. I don't think he'll agree to come with you,” Miguel analyzed.
Tony paused for a moment and turned his attention to him. “So? What are you trying to say?”
“I...” Miguel was bereft of words. Tony was much younger than him, but the look in the boy's eyes intimidated him. Miguel swallowed the saliva lodged in his throat and said, “I just wanted to tell you to
avoid having high expectations of him. The more hopeful you are, the more disappointed you will be...” Tony looked at him nonchalantly and said, “Miguel, do you want to bet with me?”
“Bet on what?”
“Whether I can convince Magus to come with me!” Tony replied. Miguel looked at him and froze for a moment. “Are you serious?”
“You said he seems like a tough nut to crack, right? Let's bet on it,” Tony said. Miguel gave it some thought and nodded. “All right then. What should we bet on?”
Tony darted his eyes from side to side and said, “You wanted me to publicly acknowledge you as my disciple, right? If I can't win Magus over, I'll tell the world you're my disciple!”
Miguel's eyes immediately lit up with excitement. He was tempted to take on the bet. “But what if you're able to convince him to go with you?” he asked.
“That means you lose the bet...” Tony sized him up for a while. He then murmured, “But you don't have anything I want...”
His words rendered Miguel speechless. Should I feel relieved, or should I be mad at that remark? Not being remembered and not being valued doesn't feel like a form of acknowledgment at all!
“Master, I'm sure I'm not that worthless, right?” Miguel asked while looking at Tony .
“Of course!” Tony responded. “How about this? If you lose the bet, I want you to quit working for Alpha Dave and join my team instead.”
Upon hearing that, Miguel froze for a moment.
Tony 's offer instantly reignited the emotions he had managed to steady not long ago.
There were still no members in the team, yet Miguel had complete faith that Tony would have no trouble assembling one. Moreover, he was certain that Tony would do an exceptional job.
Tony continued, “You're not exactly an official member of Alpha Dave's team, and I think it's a waste of your talent. You might as well join me. I'll give you the freedom to choose any position you want on the team!”
That was an utterly tempting offer!
The fact that Tony was his mentor and his idol made it even more difficult for Miguel to reject the offer.
“What's wrong? Not interested in my offer?” Tony asked.
“Of course not!” Miguel exclaimed, “I'm more than willing to come over, but Dave...” he hesitated for a moment before continuing, “I'm not exactly 'non-official.' It was just because there were no vacancies in DX at that moment. Dave could have made some adjustments and pulled me into the organization, but he was afraid that I might not be compensated accordingly. That's why I've been working for him independently. Nonetheless, Dave has always given me what I deserve...”
“I'll give you whatever your expected salary is!” said Tony , emphasizing each word as he looked at Miguel.
Upon hearing that, Miguel immediately explained, “No, that's not what I meant. It's not about the money. I just feel Dave takes good care of me. If I were to leave him like that...”
“You're afraid that Dave might get upset about it?” Tony asked. Miguel inclined his head in acknowledgment.
Tony thought about it for a while before glancing at him. “You have to follow your heart. Do you want to join my team? If the answer's yes, I'll talk to Alpha Dave on your behalf. You can't let gratitude hold you back from your future forever.”