047

When Jasmine contacted him, Andrew Yan was not even in the country. He flew over temporarily to keep the appointment.

Arriving a day early, he stayed at a hotel and arrived at his Great-grandma's mansion an hour earlier than agreed. After opening the door with a key and airing out the room, Jasmine arrived.

She was not alone, but she was the only one who entered the house.

Inside, Jasmine saw Andrew Yan waiting with a glass of water, sipping as he waited. Hearing footsteps, Andrew Yan turned to the door, "Here? You didn't invite me here just to reject my novel this time, did you?"

"No, but I think after we finish talking, you will have to take your book back on your own. Sharing one's labor of love with a kindred spirit, I am definitely not your kindred spirit," Jasmine shrugged.

Andrew Yan raised an eyebrow.

"...You still don't believe me? Fine, let's start from the beginning. Are you curious about me because of what I said to Ben last time? Opening the door to a new world for you, WOW, realizing that women can be more than just decorations, that they can be intelligent and have personality?"

"Brother, I won't pretend with you.

I'm not the person you think I am. What I said last time wasn't even my deduction. I don't need deduction. It's quite ridiculous that you consider me a source of inspiration," Jasmine retorted.

Andrew Yan, who had been waiting for her with ease, lost his composure upon hearing this.

"Do you know all the answers to my questions in advance, hating me or teasing me deliberately?"

Jasmine spread her hands, "Although I have some opinions about you, I was just free when I came with Ben, I didn't mean to spoil the fun."

"Originally? Did something happen after you arrived that made you unhappy? Did I do something wrong? ...No, wait, I remember you were already talking to that male actor before we officially met, so my behavior shouldn't have caused your change in attitude. What was it? How did you know about the former owner of this house? Do you know her? No, if you did, you wouldn't have come purely out of curiosity.

I feel like you want to tell me a fantasy story, are you going to tell me that after you came here, you learned about the former owner of the house and developed a sense of aversion towards me?"

Jasmine looked deeply at Andrew Yan, thinking that this writer really had some tricks up his sleeve.

He could guess almost everything.

What surprised Andrew Yan even more was that Jasmine's reaction.

He simply showed off his skills and made some casual deductions in what he thought was a humorous way, but to his surprise, Jasmine's feedback was astonishment.

The esteemed writer's expression subtly shifted, "Are you really going to tell me a fantasy story?"

"To thank you for the birthday gift you sent, that's my plan. I don't want to see the world collapse, and there's still time to hit the brakes."

Andrew Yan put down his glass, fake-smiling, "If you can really do that, I won't just be sad, I'll thank you for opening a new world for me. Life right now is indeed a bit boring."

"Well, let's get straight to the point then."

Jasmine stood up and walked to the side of the cupboard, reaching out to turn over the old-fashioned telephone that had been turned off there, revealing a note stuck underneath: "Could it be that the old lady was afraid of forgetting her own number after getting older, so she wrote it down?"

"Exactly, not just here, she posted them in other places too, memory tends to fade as people age."

"Then dial this number with your own phone."

Andrew Yan didn't understand, but he did it anyway, and the result was as expected—

the call couldn't go through.

Jasmine placed the phone back, walked to his side, tapped on the numbers he had just dialed, then put it on speaker.

This action seemed inexplicable to Andrew Yan, but this time the call went through. He heard the prolonged waiting tone, and Andrew Yan felt like he was thinking about a lot and yet nothing at all, his breathing eased slightly, anticipating what was about to happen.

The phone was answered, and an old lady's voice came through the receiver: "Hello?"

Jasmine skillfully greeted the other end: "Hello, can you recognize my voice?"

"Sorry..."

"I called you a long time ago, asked about your past, and inquired about a person named Andrew Yan, do you remember?"

"It's you, what do you want to ask Grandma this time?"

"No, Grandma, it's Andrew Yan the writer who wants to talk to you." Jasmine gestured to someone who was stunned and greeted the other side.

Andrew Yan remained silent, unsure of what to say.

The old grandma on the other end didn't speak either, and for a moment, the room was very quiet.

After a while, he tried to say hello before the Great-grandma asked a question, introducing himself: "I am Yan Siwen's grandson, named Andrew Yan,"

From this introduction, Jasmine sensed some credibility, but remained cautious and reserved in attitude, not rushing in to acknowledge any relationship until hearing more.

The old grandma replied with an 'oh.'

It was followed by a long silence.

The atmosphere grew uncomfortably tense, but thankfully the grandma didn't remain silent, she asked, "Where is your grandmother?"

"In California."

"She hasn't returned yet?" The old grandma seemed somewhat dissatisfied, questioning what Andrew Yan's grandmother was doing abroad and what kind of life she was leading. Was life abroad truly so good that she refused to return even in old age?

Andrew Yan was now certain that this was the original owner of the house, his grandmother's mother.

But how to put it? There was a vast generational gap between them, this elder was a stranger to him, only recently mentioning some old stories about his frequent flights within China, where his grandmother entrusted him with this house.

Up to now, he probably knew less than Jasmine did.

There were many things that Yan Siwen was unwilling to elaborate on to younger generations, after all, who would want to be seen as an ungrateful woman who abandoned her own mother and stayed abroad for decades in the eyes of her grandson?

Andrew Yan hadn't really thought about these things before, but now, considering Jasmine's attitude towards him, he felt that there might be some barriers between generations.

He was an extremely intelligent person, and based on the information he had, he had already pieced together most of the situation. Andrew Yan said, "She's old now, doesn't know anyone in China, and isn't used to life here, so she probably won't come back. As for why she hasn't returned home after going abroad, I'm not trying to make excuses for her, she did say that initially she had high hopes for life abroad, but was deceived everywhere when she first came out, was at her poorest and most miserable when she got pregnant, and didn't have the money to return home, then when things got better, she hesitated to go back. She's quite stubborn, she didn't want to admit that going abroad initially was a mistake for many years, only showing some regrets in recent years."

The old grandma asked if Yan Siwen had really not found her father.

"... "

"I've been dead for so many years, don't lie to me."

"She found out that everyone had died at that time."

*

Jasmine served as his Wi-Fi while eavesdropping on the whole process, and when she finished listening, she felt a bit dazed.

So, this is not just a simple story of an unfeeling husband and an ungrateful daughter who had been abroad for decades and never inquired about the old grandmother.

Her husband had passed away long ago, her daughter was too proud to admit her mistakes and too afraid to come back...

Is this the path she chose to kneel and walk till the end? Having such a stubborn daughter, the old grandmother must be quite miserable.

As the conversation went on, both the old grandmother and Andrew Yan became increasingly silent. When they didn't know what else to say, the old grandmother said to this younger generation, asking him to be a good person and live a good life, then she called out to the young girl.

Miss Jasmine, a bystander, reflexively exclaimed. 

"I have been waiting for so many years just to ask her face to face, but now it seems unnecessary. Young lady, thank you, and please don't call me again in the future. I have let go of my grievances, I am ready to be reincarnated."

"Don't you want to talk to your daughter?"

"No need, she has been avoiding me for decades, not knowing how to face me. Don't make it difficult for her. Besides, Grandma also has her own selfishness. I don't want to speak out and make it easy for her after confessing. Let her feel regret and suffer every day. I have missed her for decades, it's time for her to think about me."

After saying this, the Great-grandma hung up the phone.

At the same time, Jasmine received a text message from the underworld, informing her that the red envelope had arrived. This time she didn't rush to open it, but hesitated to look at Andrew Yan, "I'm sorry, Bro Yan."

"Sorry for what?" Andrew Yan realized after finishing this sentence that Jasmine's attitude towards him had changed, "You heard about her story from my great-grandmother before, thinking her husband and daughter were not good people, so you vented your anger on me?"

"... I thought those two scumbags were still living it up abroad, and I was wondering how you had the face to come back here. Now I know it's too late for them to come back.

In short, I'm sorry, I didn't expect that Great-Grandpa had already passed away. Maybe he died too early before meeting Grandma and was forcibly arranged to reincarnate.

However, even if there were reasons, your grandmother was still too much. She didn't come back because she couldn't swallow her pride, without thinking about how sad the Great-Grandma would be."

"So following the wishes of my great-grandmother, I won't tell Rebecca(grandma) about this matter."

Andrew Yan stared at Jasmine for a while and saw her discomfort, asking what was wrong?

"Do you have this ability since you were a child? Can you call the deceased just by knowing the number?"

Not really Bro... How can you stay so calm and listen to my gossip when the cornerstone of your detective novel creation is almost gone???

Okay, then let me tell you.

Jasmine sat down on the side and said with a weary look:

"When I was twelve years old, my mother passed away..."

"So, your mother passed away, and you couldn't believe it, desperately calling her number and unexpectedly getting through? Is that what happened?"

Jasmine:...

"Shut up, let me have some storytelling experience, okay?"

"Oh, go ahead."

"My mother passed away, and I was in pain for a long time, unable to move on. Then one day, I accidentally dialed her number and found out about this ability."

"Did Auntie stay with you?"

"When I turned eighteen, she reincarnated, saying she had seen me grow up and live well, without any other concerns."

"What about your dad?"

"My parents are divorced."

Andrew Yan pondered for a moment and said, "According to what you said, your family's situation shouldn't be better than mine, but you know many super-rich people because of this? It's quite strange. You don't seem like the kind of person who would generously help others after experiencing a great misfortune. If it's just for the sake of getting something in return, you don't need so many clients. I feel like you're hiding some key information."

This situation seemed contradictory to Andrew Yan.

Jasmine doesn't seem like someone who pursues material pleasures, nor is she the type to come to the rescue when hearing about someone in trouble... so there must be another reason for her to proactively engage with so many people.

The great writer's mind works quickly, constantly pondering what could be the reason for this?

Watching him like this gives Jasmine a headache, feeling like she might not even be able to hold back a few more words.

"Don't worry about me, think about yourself, can you still carry on with your detective fiction writing career?"

Andrew Yan completely lacks the self-awareness burdened by the expectations of thousands of detective fans, casually saying, "I'm not very interested in detective stories now, supernatural horror is quite intriguing."

...

Before coming here, Jasmine wanted to trick him.

Later, she felt a bit guilty.

After hearing this, she didn't care about feeling guilty anymore, clasping her hands together with a sincere face saying, "This is the most important request of my life, please don't let your book fans know that I am the mastermind who led you onto this path of supernatural horror."

"Of course, I will only say that you are the spiritual guide who led me onto the right path."

Jasmine, fuming, said, "You are retaliating, you want me dead, your book fans will kill me!"

Andrew Yan smiled, "Why would they? They are lovely."

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

Jasmine: Devil!

Bro Yan: Smiles. ₍ᐢ..ᐢ₎♡