"Lemon pie and black coffee, enjoy." Afterwards Anna took her seat in front of him slowly, nestling her head between her hands.

Alan sensed how closely she's watching him right now, somehow this girl seemed to enjoy doing that a lot.

Honestly it didn't make him uncomfortable or anything like that, it just made him a bit nervous.

"Thanks." He snatched the cup of coffee and tried to hide his emotions as best as he can.

Anna smiled so cutely and blinked once or twice in a manner that's much slower than normal.

"Ehm. Looks like your business isn't attracting much of the usual customers today." Alan wasn't feeling all too well being on the receiving end of that predatory-gaze, he avoided eye-contact and addressed the state of this diner.

"I believe every business in this town get a day or two of stillness just like we do, you know how it's around here." She shrugged and said while puckering her lips in disgust.

"People still has to eat, even in slow and boring days! I might find it normal if your business was a different type of establishment."

"Right. I forgot that you live up there where the air and water are clean, is it true that noise is nonexistent when there's operations down the mines?" Anna sighed after being reminded of the wide gap between their social and living standards, then her blue eyes practically glowed when she asked the young man.

Alan rolled his eyes once he got asked the exact same question, he must've heard it like a million times growing up! Ever since he could remember, his situation was different from those around him.

Coming from an extremely wealthy bloodline, his financial situation has always been far better than those around him.

To the degree where the mines and all operations within them are in fact his by right!

Once his parents passed away years ago, the only direct family he got is his paternal grandfather.

The rest of his relatives are from another branches of the family tree, thankfully none of these annoying relatives is living around this town.

Maybe that's why his gramps has tasked Alan to stay in this town until his graduation from university.

"Well. I'm not sure about that piece of information where air and water are cleaner, but the thing about sound is probably true." He said before forking the pie and taking a taste.

After chewing for a few seconds while enduring the envious look from these beautiful blue eyes, the young man took a sip of coffee before saying : "Alright. Stop giving me these looks, it's just that the distance is a bit further from the mines and a few well-planned, well-placed trees."

"Humph. So it's true after all." Anna smiled triumphantly and gave him her stink eye.

Alan shrugged and said : "Not all of it is true! Part of it is because we had to do something to limit the effects, the rest is because the bedrock of our mountain is a bit special by nature."

Anna raised an eye brow while thinking : 'Look at you. Saying something like "our mountain" with such a straight face.' But she smiled and asked : "Do you always talk like that?"

He was taken aback and frowned while asking : "And what way is that exactly?"

She felt like it's about time to gamble and said : "Maybe I'll tell you about it and "that" truth later." Afterwards Anna took the empty plate and stood up, "My shift is about to end soon, do you mind giving me a lift?"

"Uh-" Alan seemed surprised by her proposition and extra confused by the girl's way of hiding things from him in such a shameless way!

"No worries if you're not comfortable with a complete stranger joining you on the ride," She cut his train of thoughts with these words and he felt slightly ashamed of himself.

Yet before Alan got to open his mouth to say anything she was a step ahead of him once again.

Anna said : "It's just that me and Jacob share the same neighborhood." She thought to herself : 'I can read you like a book now little rabbit, I'm sorry but... I'm getting this ride tonight. This lady insists.'

Alan felt like he's being cheated somehow but what harm could this young woman do if he agreed to give her a ride? Not to mention that he's already heading that way any way.

"It'll be my pleasure." He nodded.

With a shiny smile and cute body language she said : "Excellent! Let me get you a refill while you wait." Before turning towards the kitchen where her aunty/boss is handling the rest of the work in this restaurant.

'Hopefully she wouldn't mind me taking off early today. Nah, she probably wouldn't. After all the only customer we got so far is the little rabbit, the regulars wouldn't dare disobey these ruffians.' Anna thought to herself while sighing inwardly, both herself and her poor auntie are helpless and can do nothing against these dark forces.

They can either pay a hefty sum each month and enjoy a steady and stable income plus the advantage of protection both in the light and shadows, or abstain from satisfying these organized groups and suffer the usual harassment along with their customers.

Not to mention the days of drought like today where anyone who dares break the "financial siege" would be seen as an enemy to gangs who stand to profit from manipulating and directing the flow of cash wherever they see fit.

Alan naturally stand well above and beyond the reach of these troublemakers that's why none of them dares to give the young man any kind of verbal warning once he stepped into the diner, whoever dares cross that line would be dooming their shady business.

After all, the Banks family's influence is massive beyond the understanding of their elk.

Anna's feet practically never touched the ground and the young girl resembled a butterfly when she skipped during her short journey, she blushed fiercely on her way to the kitchen after refilling Alan's cup.

She couldn't believe how she made a *He-hein* sound and giggled like a fool which startled the little rabbit!

'He looked cute though~' She thought before pushing the kitchen's door and saying : "Auntie. Is the rabb- Uh! order ready?" She blushed again while feeling annoyance and thought to herself : 'Come on girl. Get your head back in the game!'

Deep in the kitchen area ahead of the grill was a middle-aged lady using kitchen utensils and busy handling pieces of meat with apparent expertise.

"Almost done here. Honestly I wasn't expecting any work today and was about to take a nap myself, but it's good to have business in these times of the month so I'm not complaining." The lady answered while organizing the different parts of the ordered meal in the container.

Anna's blue eyes softened once she saw her auntie, she always admired this lady and quite honestly aspired to grow as hard working and strong minded as her aunt.

Her aunt Sara is independent, kind, and inherently good both in nature and spirit.

Despite all kinds and types of harassment she received from these evil people she stayed firm in her beliefs and never relented or gave any ground, she would rather die than help the wicked grow strong.

'Hopefully some day I'll be able to help her.' Anna thought before opening her mouth to say : "Um... is it okay with you if I took an early leave today?" The young girl avoided eye-contact because she felt slightly ashamed of herself.

Sara slyly looked at her niece and smirked while saying : "It seems like little An has got herself quite a "good catch" and is getting impatient."

Anna gawked while asking : "You noticed!"

"Mh-mmm. I'm not blind, humph." The lady waved her hands in the air.

"Heh." Her niece just smiled mischievously in return.

"Anyway. You're rightfully impatient, if it were me? I would've been impatient all the same. That specimen is just too fine and cute! It's like as if he's inviting us to take a bite by just sitting there. It's kind of making me worry for your future though." Sara took off her gloves and pinched the young woman's cheeks.

Anna frowned and asked : "Why? Am I missing something?"

Her auntie leaned further and whispered : "If you're not careful and others keep taking a bite every now and then... there would be nothing left for you," Then she copped a feel of the girl's breasts, "That's why you need to use every weapon there's to protect your interests."

Afterwards Sara began to laugh out loud once Anna protectively covered her chest.

"Humph. I'm Ignoring you." The young woman said before storming out from the kitchen after hanging her apron.

Yet the laughing continued to ring in her ears anyway.

"Let's go." The girl said once she reached Alan's table and continued to walk towards the door.

"Uh! But-"

"What? Are you having second thoughts? Am I not up to your standards? Your mountain can't accommodate my type?" Before he got to say anything else, Anna cut him off and ranted without stop which left the young man dizzy trying to figure out what's going on.

Alan opened his mouth to say : "We don't have Jacob's order."

Anna just gawked while thinking : 'Shit!'

Before she got to say anything, the young woman heard a snicker from the kitchen's side and glared at the lady who's hiding herself in a sneaky yet annoyingly exposed way!

The girl thought to herself : 'Damn it auntie. You threw me completely off my game!'

Finally Anna stomped her way towards the counter and snatched the package while exposing an evil expression and muttered under her teeth : "Old hag. This isn't over between us, mark my words." Before turning towards the young man and miraculously her face did a one-hundred and eighty degrees where a sweet smile and a sparkling pair of eyes gently fluttered at him.

"Shall we?" The girl asked while casually, naturally, and elegantly hooking her arm in his, she made sure to raise her voice just enough for her aunt to hear it.

"Wait I-"

"For crying out loud just say it all at once if you're having second thoughts! It's alright." Before Alan got to say anything she cut him off again, this time her tone of voice seemed like she's grieving!

The young man frowned and said : "We can't leave."

Anna retorted : "Why's that?" Clearly annoyed by the unexpected delay.

Alan coughed before pulling his wallet, "I still haven't paid my bill."

A thin film of sweat covered the girl's forehead when she heard the loud and amused laughter from her aunty and practically dragged her little rabbit by the arm while saying : "You don't have to worry about that, consider it my treat." And thought to herself : 'Just get in the damn car before you embarrass me to death.'