1. 32. Something Or Someone Is Missing

That night marked the end of the calm before a storm.

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Wang Haoran opened his weary eyes, squinting against the blinding light coming from the window where the curtains failed to cover. His alarm clock went off, and the person next to him also opened her sleepy eyes because of the alarm.

He had only slept for four hours that night and wanted to sleep in the next room to set his alarm without disturbing Li Mei, but she objected and insisted he sleep next to her in her bed.

Wang Haoran sat up and reached for his phone. He turned off the alarm and faced the person next to him.

"Sleep some more," he said in a low voice, patting her gently.

"Hmm," Li Mei replied, closing her eyes again.

Wang Haoran covered her with a blanket and kissed her forehead.

He walked toward the door, and as soon as he opened it, Aunt Hi and Zhao Bolin were approaching.

…..

After greeting each other, Aunt Hi checked on Li Mei and set up breakfast for the two men in the other room. She brought everything that Wang Haoran needed, including a change of clothes, and then returned to Li Mei's room.

Zhao Bolin quietly ate breakfast with Wang Haoran, noticing his haggard appearance. After breakfast, Wang Haoran took a shower while Zhao Bolin cleared the table. He prepared everything Wang Haoran needed, such as paperwork from the company that required his signature. This room had effectively become Wang Haoran's main office because of Li Mei.

Wang Haoran emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his head. He sat down, dried his hair quickly, and tossed the towel aside.

"How's Bu Jinnan and Chu Jingyun's investigation going?" he asked his assistant while flipping through the files and papers before him.

Bu Jinnan not only served as Wang Haoran's head of security but also led the investigation against Wang Haoran's half-brothers. While he handled the tangible aspects, Chu Jingyun, as Wang Haoran's IT head, led the team in the digital realm.

"Even with all the resources we've poured into this, Wang Zimo and Wang Jun's activities are still protected and hard to monitor without being discovered. Given more time, we might be able to gather enough evidence, but with our current time constraints, we need Liu Leah's help," Zhao Bolin said, frowning as he looked down.

Everyone close to and trusted by Wang Haoran preferred Li Mei to end up with him rather than Liu Leah, but they had to admit that the advantages Liu Leah and her family could bring were irreplaceable.

They all had a history with Li Mei and felt more amicable toward her than the heiress, who had lived a different life. Li Mei was more relatable and familiar to them than Liu Leah, who seemed out of reach.

They dreaded the rich, subconsciously afraid or insecure around them, yet they dreamed of being like them. People attract similar kinds of people, and Wang Haoran surrounding himself with these individuals said something about his character.

Wang Zimo had the backing of the underworld, known only to a few of the upper echelons, and coupled with his high IQ, Wang Haoran was not up to par with him. Meanwhile, Wang Jun was well-connected in high society and protected by an unknown powerful backer.

"I know," Wang Haoran agreed. "I'll talk to Liu Leah about this tomorrow. Tell them to get everything done within half a month with Liu Leah's help," he added.

After a moment of silence, they both looked at each other, feeling like something was missing. As if reading each other's minds, they opened their mouths simultaneously.

"Boss, did Liu Leah visit you? I heard she was discharged yesterday morning," Zhao Bolin asked.

"Where is Liu Leah right now?" Wang Haoran said at the same time.

They both looked at each other with questioning eyes and shocked expressions. Again, they simultaneously opened their mouths. Wang Haoran caught himself, closed his mouth, and looked at Zhao Bolin intently, trying to listen.

"Liu Leah didn't visit you?" Zhao Bolin questioned with doubt in his voice.

Wang Haoran, with a furrowed brow, nodded a doubtful expression on his face. Then his eyes widened as he realized what Zhao Bolin had initially said. "She was discharged yesterday?" he asked.

It was Zhao Bolin's turn to nod his head absentmindedly. "With Liu Leah's background, it wouldn't take her long to find where Wang Haoran is currently staying," he thought.

Worry noticeably started showing on Zhao Bolin's face, clearly seen by Wang Haoran.

"Don't worry about her. This situation is better. I don't have time to deal with her if she shows up unannounced. I'll talk to her tomorrow anyway," Wang Haoran said with a confident tone.

Looking at Wang Haoran's self-assured attitude reassured Zhao Bolin and relieved the anxiety that was beginning to surface.

"Yes, Boss," Zhao Bolin replied, and both men returned to the piling work they had to face.

"Liu Leah couldn't have given up on Boss, right?" Zhao Bolin thought while looking at the papers. He glanced up and saw the handsome profile of Wang Haoran. His boss's calm demeanor soothed his doubts. He shook his head to clear the thought and focused on work.

…..

Meanwhile, inside Liu Leah's villa, Zed faced a new dilemma he had never encountered until meeting Leah.

That morning, he had developed a new routine: cooking breakfast. Almost all the needed ingredients were available, as the chef ensured the kitchen and storage area were well stocked.

Like the night before, Zed arranged for the chef to help him make breakfast via video call. The breakfast was simple: steamed white rice with grilled fish, pickled and boiled vegetables, and a sweet rolled omelet with miso soup. Leah liked having her coffee with breakfast, so he set up the coffee machine to brew freshly ground coffee beans.

Next to the busy cooking man was a garbage bin filled with charred, unrecognizable cylinder-shaped objects. Upon closer inspection, some parts were noticeably egg fragments.

Zed discovered that he could not cook eggs in his twenty-nine years of existence and twenty-seven years of consciousness. Anything involving eggs turned into burnt pieces of charcoal. Even something as simple as boiling eggs with a Pomodoro timer didn't work; the eggs would explode rather than boil.

After burning five tamagoyaki, the chef gave up and suggested that one of his assistants bring a finished product instead.

Reluctantly, Zed nodded. "This better not be heard by Leah," he told the chef with a serious expression and threatening tone.

"It won't be coming from me," the chef replied immediately, making a zipping motion across his lips, indicating that if Leah ever found out, the source would never be him.

The chef's forehead started running with cold sweat as he received Zed's predatory gaze.

Satisfied with the chef's fearful expression, Zed moved toward the coffee machine to check it. "I thought you used to cook before?" the chef inquired, recalling that Zed had mentioned he used to cook.

Zed answered without looking at the tablet screen, "I never cooked anything with eggs before."

Shocked, the chef thought, "How is that even possible? Unless his body and mind instinctively avoided cooking eggs because he cannot cook them?" Feeling enlightened, the chef widened his eyes, and his jaw dropped.

The chef immediately composed himself before Zed turned to face the tablet monitor.

The chef was right. Zed instinctively cooked whatever ingredients he could find, drawing from his experiences watching others cook or taste food. Subconsciously, he avoided anything related to eggs. It had just now occurred to him that he had cooked something with eggs.