Chapter 17

After staying at Yan Su's house for more than a week, Zhen Ai found a new place and prepared to move.

During this not too long, yet not too short period, the two coexisted peacefully.

Most of the time, Zhen Ai was in the library reading... wearing gloves; as for Yan Su, he said he wanted to reread his favorite books, so—

Whenever Zhen Ai was either lying on the high circular balcony or sitting on the railing with her feet swinging, if she looked down occasionally, she would see him sitting in a wheelchair next to the white piano in the middle of the room. His long legs were crossed on the piano stool, and his fingers were clasped in front of him, looking like he was deep in thought.

All the books were in his head; if he wanted to reread them, he could just open the library in his mind and flip through each one.

At those moments, he was as quiet as a statue, sitting under the stained glass window, remaining still for an entire day.

The light from the window silently moved around the old castle, both slanting and upright, from the thin sunlight of the morning to the rich colors of the evening, from the tranquil and distant landscapes of ink wash paintings to the heavy tones of Western oil paintings.

Sometimes when she climbed too high, or when her footsteps creaked on the wooden spiral staircase, a faint sound would ripple through the still air, disrupting the silence so quiet that a falling pin could be heard. He would furrow his brow lightly, occasionally opening his eyes to quietly watch the little figure darting back and forth among the high shelves like a small squirrel.

He thought to himself: No matter how quiet a woman is, she is noisy. Then he would close his eyes again.

On the day Zhen Ai was leaving, it was noon, and as usual, she was cooking;

When she brought the food to Yan Su, he scanned the disheveled rice, along with the clumped beef, vegetables, and carrots on the plate, frowning: 

"What I need is food, not... feed."

"You're much harder to please than horses, cows, and sheep," Zhen Ai said, bracing herself against the table. "It's the last meal; can we make do?"

Yan Su frowned, feeling it was unfair. "I take dinner very seriously every day; why can't you at least do it right for the last meal?"

Zhen Ai was taken aback: "... I've tried my best, Mr. Yan."

The title "Mr. Yan" made him look up: "But I don't see it."

Zhen Ai, slightly angry, poked at the mushy mass on his plate with her fork: "They look like a mush, but in fact, they're just drenched in sauce; they are all independent entities."

Yan Su pressed his lips together in silence, watching her break down the gooey mass on her plate into a mush. After a long while, he said, "It's my fault to say you didn't try; I apologize."

Zhen Ai felt somewhat satisfied and generously said, "Forget it, I don't mind if you..."

"This isn't about effort; it's about ability."

"..."

Owen nearly buried his face in his plate.

Zhen Ai narrowed her eyes, gently rubbing her teeth, and after a moment, smiled slightly: "If I were a puppy, I'd be a tolerant puppy. I like dog food, but I don't mind you being a stone in a dung pit."

Owen chuckled, while Yan Su silently looked at her.

Zhen Ai shrugged, indicating she could eat or not.

At that moment, the doorbell rang.

The dining room was not far from the front door, so Zhen Ai went to answer it. The visitor was an elegant and beautiful Caucasian lady, impeccably made up and dressed in high-end clothing, with graceful manners and a warm smile.

Before Zhen Ai could ask, the woman smiled softly and introduced herself: "Hayley Van De Bilt, for your record, I am S.A.'s mother."

Zhen Ai was taken aback—Yan Su's mother had the same surname as Jasmine?

Hayley hung her coat on the hook and went to the dining room with Zhen Ai.

Owen was eating, greeting her with his mouth full: "Hi, Hayley!" He asked if she had eaten, and Hayley said she had.

Yan Su, on the other hand, showed no reaction and continued eating on his own.

Hayley looked at the unappetizing food on Yan Su's plate, her eyes widening in surprise at how her picky son could calmly eat such a mess. She casually glanced at Zhen Ai, who was obediently eating.

Hayley then said she wanted to introduce her new friend.

"My chef," Yan Su said without looking up, adding, "a bad chef."

Zhen Ai: …

Hayley was momentarily taken aback.

Owen couldn't help but laugh, explaining: "Her name is Zhen Ai; she's my friend."

Hayley didn't say much after that, her gaze soft as she watched Yan Su eat. When he was almost done, she said, "Honey, don't be picky; eat the carrots."

Zhen Ai glanced over and noticed that Yan Su had eaten everything clean, almost leaving no grains of rice, but there were still plenty of carrots left.

She felt a bit embarrassed, not knowing he didn't like carrots.

Yan Su leisurely wiped his lips with a napkin and said, "No."

"Why not?"

"I'm not a rabbit."

Zhen Ai struggled to suppress a laugh.

Hayley, however, remained good-tempered and advised, "Carrots are good for your eyes."

"Do you think I have bad eyesight?" Yan Su raised an eyebrow slightly, then lowered his lashes, glancing at his mother. "This morning, you attended the political women's group meeting. Afterward, Mrs. Hawkinson complained to you about her husband's affair, and Mrs. Chalmers persuaded you to buy AT Communications stock. After the meeting, you went to your brother's house, where Grandma told you that I must attend my brother's engagement party, and then you came here with the invitation."

Zhen Ai's eyes widened, staring at him without blinking. Although his deduction was impressive, uh, that was about elders...

Hayley, however, was not surprised at all; she had long been used to it over the years...

She directly opened her bag and handed the invitation to Yan Su.

Yan Su didn't even look up: "Having a lot of people is boring, and weddings are boring. The whole family just talks politics, which is incredibly dull."

Hayley stood up and patted his shoulder, reasoning with him: "Honey, trust me, this time everyone definitely won't talk about those boring things you think."

Yan Su remained impassive: "Politicians are all liars."

Hayley smiled again, appealing to his emotions: "Honey, everyone really wants to see you."

Yan Su replied, "If that's the case, I shouldn't steal the groom's spotlight."

"..."

Hayley realized she could never win a debate against her logically-minded son, so she straightforwardly said, "Honey, if you don't go, I'll take back all the books from our house in your library."

Yan Su raised an eyebrow: "See? Threats and violence, the usual tactics of politicians."

Satisfied, Hayley left, not forgetting to gracefully say goodbye to Zhen Ai and Owen.

As soon as Hayley left, Owen asked, "What was that analysis about just now?"

Yan Su replied nonchalantly: "There's a pinhole on the left side of her sweater, short and small; it's not a brooch, but the emblem of the political women's group. There's dew and yellow pollen in her hair; at this time of year, the only place she could have been is my grandmother's greenhouse. As for Mrs. Hawkinson and Mrs. Chalmers, there's been a scandal about Mr. Hawkinson online, and the AT Communications stock has been volatile due to recent management changes, so of course they want more people to buy their stock."

After speaking, he noticed that Zhen Ai seemed to be more interested in the invitation than listening to him. He pushed the invitation towards her, his tone unfriendly: "Do you want to go?"

Zhen Ai quickly replied, "No, I just saw that the engagement ceremony is in Hampton; I heard it's very beautiful." She stood up, "Okay, I should be going now."

Zhen Ai didn't have much to pack, just a small backpack as she headed out.

As she was leaving, Yan Su stood straight at the door, not looking down, only glancing at her with a hint of arrogance: "Great, the bad chef of female hormones is finally leaving. Goodbye."

Owen gave him a sharp jab.

Yan Su straightened up again, paused for a moment, then nodded slightly, his demeanor polite and elegant, like a gentleman. He spoke in a smooth, robotic tone: "Miss Zhen Ai, I enjoyed the time we spent together; I will miss you."

Zhen Ai walked past him with a flat expression: "Liar!"

Yan Su nodded: "Of course!"

As she was changing her shoes, she heard him softly murmur, almost like a whisper: "Remember to exercise regularly."

Zhen Ai's heart warmed suddenly, recalling their silent morning walks together, and a faint smile appeared on her lips as she softly said, "Yeah, it's a good way to preserve vitality."

When she opened the door, she unexpectedly came face to face with Jasmine. They locked eyes in the wind; Zhen Ai remained calm while Jasmine looked surprised: "What are you doing here?"

Zhen Ai kept her head down and said nothing, while Owen added, "We were just about to leave."

Yan Su glanced at her, uninterested: "Did someone die again?"

Jasmine's eyes turned red: "I'm dying."

Yan Su replied indifferently: "Then shouldn't you hurry to the hospital?"

In the narrow hallway, four people stood in a chill, a crow flew past...

Zhen Ai stood at the door, the cold wind tousling her hair as she instinctively tightened her collar. Suddenly, someone reached out, pulling the door shut against the cold wind.

Following the pale, well-defined hand, she looked over to see Yan Su, who had already turned back to Jasmine: "If you have something to say, say it quickly."

Jasmine frowned deeply, flustered and scared: "Before you called me after the witness investigation, I realized the ink in the blood droplets at the scene might have been from a baseball card. I guessed that Zhao He might be the murderer; when his roommate came to the police station to give a statement, I had another officer suggest to him…"

As Jasmine raised her eyes and caught Yan Su's icy gaze, she lowered her head in shame: "I had him confirm that his baseball card was in Zhao He's possession, which became evidence at the crime scene. I also had him say he'd testify in court."

Owen was stunned: "You talked to him about this before searching Zhao He's locker. At that time, the police hadn't found Zhao He's stolen goods yet; saying this misleads the witness and manipulates the evidence collection process!"

Jasmine was so anxious that her voice trembled: "How was I supposed to know they would later find key evidence? After opening Zhao He's locker, I didn't plan to do that anymore. But unfortunately, the recorder mistakenly included that officer's and his roommate's statements in the prosecution's evidence, which ended up in court and was discovered by the defense attorney."

Zhen Ai and Owen were both taken aback.

Yan Su's expression remained unchanged as he looked at Jasmine, his tone flat: "Congratulations, you've saved a vicious murderer."