chapter 8 High school classmates ===

"You, who are you? Believe it or not, I can have someone kill your whole family."
Anger, panic.
Even so, the person who had been kicked in the abdomen by Dunstan was snarling at him with a fierce face.
"You want to..."
"You want to kill my whole family?" Dunstan's smile deepened, radiant yet filled with an endless eeriness.
At this moment, the man was already terrified by the smile, unable to utter another word, "I, I..."
Bang...
Dunstan stomped fiercely on the man's head, causing him to faint immediately, blood streaming from one side of his head.
But before Dunstan could turn on the last person,
His father, Rick, staggered over and grabbed Dunstan, "Dunstan, enough, that's enough, don't hit anymore, or it might lead to death."
"You're back, and that's good. Let's not cause any more trouble. Our family, our family will live peacefully from now on."
"These people are thugs and hoodlums. If we provoke them, our family will never have peace."
"If it comes to it, we can give up the fruit stall. I'll find something else to do."
These words were like thousands of arrows piercing Dunstan's heart.
Ten years ago, his father was dashing, driving the car provided by the factory, basking in his glory.
But now, ten years of hardship had worn him down, curved his back, dulled his spirit, making him weak and feeble.
The imposing father of the past was gone.
Dunstan could almost imagine the bitterness and helplessness his father must have felt when seeking help to find him, lowering his pride time and again.
"Dad, I'll listen to you," Dunstan reined in the fierce killing intent hidden in his eyes, appearing as a sensible child, obediently nodding.
Rick took a deep breath and then addressed the last thug, "I don't know how I've offended you, but I won't run the fruit stall anymore. Please don't bother my family again."
The thug, as if deaf, was merely terrified of Dunstan, fearing the fate of his companions would befall him next.
"Go," Dunstan said sternly.
Those words, like a pardon, relieved the thug, who quickly scrambled up and fled as if flying.
The surrounding crowd quickly dispersed.
Anyone with a bit of sense could see that this man was far more formidable than those street thugs, his punches and kicks landing with force.
The men lying on the ground were now unknown whether alive or dead.
At this moment, Rick was both happy and troubled. He quickly wanted to check on the condition of those men, but Dunstan stopped him, "Dad, don't worry about them. They'll wake up in a couple of minutes. Let's pack up and prepare to go home."
Rick hesitated but, looking at his son whom he hadn't seen for ten years, he couldn't help wanting to go home immediately, to share the family's long stories and ask about his son's whereabouts over the past decade.
At that time, A young girl approached, staring blankly at Dunstan, unconsciously raising her hand to touch Dunstan's face.
But as soon as her fingers touched Dunstan's warm cheek, she quickly withdrew her hand, "Is, is it really you, Dunstan?"
Dunstan was amused by her dazed look, raising his hand to ruffle the head of this pretty girl who was much shorter than him, "Bianca, how come you're still so short?"
The casual intimacy made Bianca's cheeks flush with embarrassment.
"Where have you got that idea from?"
"I'm not short, you're just too tall. I'm 173 cm, okay?"
Dunstan couldn't help but laugh, his previously somber mood instantly lifted, "Thank you, for helping my dad just now."
Before Bianca could respond, Rick couldn't help but sigh and express his gratitude, "During the years you were gone, Bianca helped our family a lot. When you disappeared, she helped distribute missing person notices at various schools and gathered classmates to look for you."
"Later, when your mom and I were worried about making a living, it was her idea for me to start this fruit stall here."
"Ah, if it weren't for these thugs coming here to harass us every day for no reason, this would have been a decent little business."
Hearing this, Dunstan was somewhat taken aback. He hadn't expected that a classmate from high school would go to such lengths to support his parents and come up with ideas for them during his ten-year absence.
And Bianca, caught by Dunstan's stunned gaze, suddenly felt her emotions surge.
Her beautiful eyes couldn't help but sneak peeks at Dunstan, her heart racing.
"He, he's really back."
"I knew it, he wasn't dead."
"And after so many years,"
"Dunstan still remembers my name."
Their moment of daze was noticed by Rick, who knew a bit about Bianca's feelings.
This girl has had a special affection for his son since high school.
Had it not been for his son's mysterious disappearance, these two might have already married and had children by now.
With a hint of sentimentality, he thought of the past as just that, the past. After all, Bianca was now a mid-level manager in a large corporation.
How could his son possibly be worthy of her now?
With these thoughts, he coughed lightly, "Let's go, pack up and head home for dinner. Bianca, you come too. Your aunt has been missing you; she was just talking about you this morning."
"Okay," Bianca came back to her senses, her cheeks blushing even more, as she quickly helped Rick clean up the mess.
Despite the curiosity of the surrounding vendors about this sudden appearance of a young man, no one dared to step forward and ask.
While his father and Bianca were busy, Dunstan woke up the few fainted thugs one by one.
As they came to, each ran off without looking back, especially the leader, who before leaving, stared at Dunstan, "We'll see each other again, this is just the beginning."
Hearing this, Dunstan's expression shifted slightly, but Rick had already noticed the scene, preventing any further action.
In the end, Dunstan let the man go, his heart cold with intent.
The people who threatened to kill his family, he really wanted to see who they were.
The thugs, who had been extorting money from his family's stall for no reason, suggested there was a bigger issue at play.
Even his parents were kept in the dark about the true nature of these events.
After packing up, Rick still appeared dejected. Having run the stall for two years, it wasn't easy to just walk away, not to mention the emotional attachment and the non-refundable annual rent.
"Dad, let's go home for now. We can discuss whether or not to continue with the fruit stall later."
Hearing Dunstan's voice, Rick immediately smiled, wrapping an arm around his son, much taller than him, and cheerfully said, "Let's go, home is what matters most."
Bianca, standing beside them, couldn't help but smile, feeling a warmth spread through her.
"Dunstan is back."
"Amara, did you hear?"