Chapter 74 - Rudy’s Past Life Struggle

Rudy flew out of the window of his room and stared into the sky above the clouds to ensure no one spotted him flying.

Usually, Rudy would carry Angelica like a princess in his arms, but tonight, she was clinging to Rudy from behind.

"How is the view from behind?" Rudy asked with a grin on his face.

"It looks a lot different. But I prefer to be in your arms since it feels closer to you," Angelica replied.

Rudy was flying at a decent speed while enjoying the beautiful scenery of the night.

The stars looked much better from above the clouds, and the air was clear but thinner.

Rudy was a superhuman, so he wasn't having trouble breathing, while Angelica was a ghost, and she didn't need to breathe.

Suddenly, Rudy stopped and glanced around with a furious look and sharp glare in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Angelica asked after noticing Rudy acting weird.

"Something just flew by us…" Rudy muttered with a puzzled look on his face. "But we are in the sky…"

"I am facing the same direction as you, and I didn't see anyone. What did you see?" Angelica asked in a calm voice. "Maybe it was a bird or something?"

Angelica never doubted Rudy's words. She would even doubt herself and her words, but Rudy's words were absolute for her.

Angelica's love for Rudy was extraordinary and couldn't be described in words. Things could have been different if Angelica was alive, maybe even normal, but her love would have remained the same.

"I don't know…. I just saw a red light pass by. It was so fast that it wouldn't be an exaggeration if I say it was the speed of light," Rudy stated.

"What if it was a light from an airplane or something? Lights can reflect a lot, right?" Angelica wondered. "I heard about it in your physics class."

"That's possible. Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense for anyone to be up here. I highly doubt…" Suddenly, Rudy paused and muttered, "What if… it was something supernatural?"

After hearing that, Angelica went inside Rudy's body and yelled, "Don't mention ghosts!"

"Why did you assume I was talking about the ghost? Supernatural can mean anything," Rudy scoffed softly. "Something that is natural, but defies all the laws with no logical explanation, can be considered as supernatural."

Angelica came out of Rudy's body and uttered, "Carry me."

Rudy carried Angelica like a princess and flew to Joe's apartment building.

It was a 30 story building with advanced facilities.

"Have you come here before?" Angelica asked curiously.

Rudy landed on top of the apartment building and said, "Yeah. I came here once in my past life to help in moving stuff out."

Rudy glanced around to look for the door to go downstairs. But the door was locked.

He could easily crush the door without even touching it, but he decided to keep it low.

"Argh. Fuck it!" Rudy grabbed Angelica and jumped down the back of the apartment building near the garden where no one was around.

Then, he walked in the normal way, but he was stopped by the woman at the reception.

"Excuse me. May I ask who you are?" the woman asked.

"I live here," Rudy replied casually.

"I know the faces and names of every person who lives in this building. And this is my first time seeing your face." The woman frowned her face and asked, "Now tell me, who are you? Or I will have to call authorities."

'Wow. Talk about unnecessary development.' Rudy sighed and said, "Are you sure you don't know me?"

"I don't."

"Are you really sure? Because I have been living here since last month, and I see you every day… Oh, wait! I actually don't see you from time to time," Rudy asserted nonchalantly.

The woman's face turned pale after hearing that.

'Bingo!'

"Surely, there is no way someone would slack on their job, right?" Rudy asked with a smirk on his face.

"Um… oh! I remember you now! Yes, yes. A new family did rent an apartment a month ago." The woman then pointed her finger at the elevator and said, "The elevator is currently out of service, so you will have to take the stairs."

"Thank you."

Rudy took the stairs, but he was simply hovering over them instead.

Why would he climb the stairs when he can fly?

"I am surprised you knew that the woman was slacking on her job," Angelica commented.

"I didn't." Rudy scoffed and said, "But it's not strange for them to slack off. They do the same thing every day, and they get bored."

"..." Angelica gave Rudy a weird look.

"I am not saying that I promote such activities, but it's understandable." After a brief pause, he continued, "I was doing three part-time jobs when I was in the university. Two of them were the jobs of the receptionist in a hotel."

"Sounds tough…."

"Yeah…" Rudy let out a weary sigh after remembering the hard times of his past life. "You know, I met all types of people when I worked there. Some were good, some were bad, some pretending to be good, and some were just straight up toxic."

"As a receptionist, you need to handle them with patience and take care of the situation without causing a commotion. Because that would attract the attention of the guest sitting at the lobby, which could lead to a bad reputation of the hotel," he stated.

"The job may look simple, but all the jobs are hard, and only the one with personal experience can know the struggle behind it," he added in a disdainful tone. "Once you know the struggle… you have become a mature adult…"

"..." Angelica wanted to say something to comfort Rudy, but she couldn't relate to his past life. Hence, she couldn't make comments on it. It was better to stay quiet rather than give false comfort.

Rudy reached the 22nd floor and stood in front of Joe's apartment.

"I came here, but I don't know what I am going to say or do…" he muttered.

Rudy moved his hand to the doorbell and pressed it.

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Author's Note- Here is the extra chapter for reaching the 1000 power stone goal!

Thanks, @Exoloty, and @puremichigan, for the gift!