Washington D.C., the highway to New York.
Mona heard her cellphone ring and pressed the answer key:
"Who is this?"
"It's , Caroline."
The familiar female voice on the phone was Mona's sister, Caroline Evans, who lived in Europe.
Hearing the woman's laughter, Mona glanced at Luo An without a change of expression; Luo An, who was driving, didn't look aside as if he heard nothing.
Mona always spoke with a certain harsh tone when talking to Caroline, and directly asked:
"Why are you calling? Did father's hand get chopped off again?"
"I'll convey your words to father."
On the phone, Caroline chuckled lightly and without talking further, said:
"I sold the piano shop and plan to leave Europe and move to the Federation.
I heard father bought you a house in Los Angeles, I will stay there for a while."
Mona imdiately furrowed her brows:
"I don't agree!"
"Your objection is invalid."
Caroline's laughter on the phone was clear:
"Father has already given the keys to that villa, I'm just calling to inform you. Bye~"
Click—
The call was hung up, and Mona, with a flushed face and heaving chest, nearly exploded with anger, she imdiately lowered her head and started searching on her phone for her father Javari Evans' number.
Reesi, sitting in the backseat, looked perplexed; she didn't know Caroline's identity nor understood what had happened, just silently looked out of the window, trying to make herself less noticeable.
Luo An, still driving, remained expressionless, understanding from Caroline's conversation that it seed to be their father's idea to move her from Europe to the Federation.
After a mont of thought, Luo An slowly pulled the car over to the roadside, asked Reesi to wait in the car a bit, and he stepped out with Mona.
"It's ! Mona!"
Javari Evans' phone was quickly connected, Mona's tone was chillingly cold:
"Why are you sending Caroline to stay with ? What does this an?"
"Don't be angry, don't be angry..."
Javari on the phone was continuously comforting Mona in a gentle tone, then after a small chat said:
"Mona, handover the phone to Luo An, I need to discuss so matters with him."
"No."
Mona thought quickly, suspecting so issues within these few minutes, and sharply asked:
"Are there enemies targeting us again? Are you sending Caroline here to avoid danger?"
Luo An frowned, which was also his guess.
"...You really are my daughter, always quick to react!"
The other side was silent for a few seconds, followed by Javari's sowhat embarrassed laughter, praising Mona before gently countering:
"Not really enemies, just so minor conflicts. Just hand over the phone to Luo An."
"Hmph—"
Mona snorted coldly, and since the situation was special, she suppressed her irritation and handed the phone to Luo An.
"It's , Luo An."
Luo An took the phone, kicked a clump of dirt on the ground, and asked:
"What happened?"
On the other side of the phone, Javari Evans chuckled lightly and explained:
"Mrs. Hanover and I are currently on vacation in Australia. The day before yesterday, I bumped into so acquaintances, with whom I had so minor conflicts when I was younger.
Just to be cautious, I asked Caroline to stay with you guys for a while."
Luo An laughed, then asked:
"This precaution of yours, how likely is it necessary?
Over 50% or 70%?"
The other end of the phone was silent for a few seconds, and Javari Evans awkwardly said:
"Lower, it's more around 90%."
Luo An was speechless and after a few seconds of silence, he continued to ask:
"Are you sure there's no problem with Caroline coming to the Federation alone?"
"Absolutely no issue."
Javari on the other end of the phone cracked a smile and explained in a low voice:
"Actually, the day before yesterday, I had people secretly transfer Caroline into federal custody. She's currently in Los Angeles and is on her way to your villa.
The one left in Europe is just Mrs. Hanover's maid."
"…six."
Luo An was speechless about Javari's sneaky tactic and while secretly admiring the cunningness of the old fox, he said:
"Mona and I aren't in Los Angeles, we're in Washington D.C., and our future workplace will be in Washington D.C. too, so have Caroline co here."
"What?"
Javari on the phone was very surprised. He just hadn't been in contact with the two for a while; how had Luo An moved to Washington again?
Luo An chuckled, briefly explained the events, and concluded:
"Solved a minor case and got summoned to Washington Headquarters."
"…"
Javari, who had spent half his life in the field and barely visited the CIA headquarters a few tis, breathed heavily, paused for a few seconds, and then, with a complex tone, said:
"I'll call Caroline right away."
"OK."
Luo An smiled and nodded, was just about to hand the phone back to Mona when suddenly Javari on the phone added:
"Wait, there's one more thing!"
Luo An paused and took back the phone:
"What is it?"
"Luo An, Mona is your girlfriend, got that?"
On the phone, Javari Evans's tone suddenly beca very serious:
"Caroline looks a lot like Mona, but she's not Mona!"
Javari, being a man himself, was very worried that sothing he didn't want to see would happen if Caroline and Luo An lived together for an extended period.
"…I know."
Luo An rolled his eyes, understood Javari's implied aning, and without bothering further, handed the phone back to Mona.
Mona briefly chatted with Javari and then hung up the call.
The two walked towards the car as Luo An pondered and said:
"Tomorrow let's check out so places and buy a house."
Originally, Luo An planned to rent a house in Washington D.C. for a while, waiting for the financial crisis to erupt and high-quality properties to sell off before buying at a low price.
Now, due to special circumstances, where rental accommodations were inconvenient for many things, they had to opt to buy a house first.
"Yeah."
Mona nodded heavily, her face displeased, and said:
"Have Caroline pay for the house!"
Luo An helplessly glanced at her. Before he could speak, Mona suddenly realized sothing and frowned:
"No, if Caroline pays, then we beco tenants!
It's better if we pay for the house, but Caroline can't live there for free, she needs to handle the household chores…"
Seeing Mona counting on her fingers as she calculated back and forth, Luo An, a bit speechless, started the car and continued driving towards New York.
The distance between Washington D.C. and New York isn't too far, and soon, the three of them arrived at Reed's ho.
The familiar house, familiar people, and familiar at and barbecue grills.
During the barbecue party amid the smoky atmosphere, Luo An and Reed laughed and embraced each other heartily, patting each other's backs:
"It's been a long ti since we've t!"
"Yeah, yeah, you've gotten fatter!"
"Shit, that's called being stout!"
"Stout with just one muscle on the belly?"
Luo An and Reed ribbed each other humorously, grabbing beers and bursting into laughter. Not long after, Augustus and others arrived by car, exchanged brief pleasantries, ate at, and the atmosphere at the scene ward up even more.
Mona and Reesi hugged Reed's wife Yvonne, then walked into the house to eat and chat.
Reesi was her usual self, chatting briefly with Yvonne before getting up and leaving towards a girl she previously had a good relationship with. Seeing Reesi leave, Mona subtly put down her glass, leaned close to Yvonne, and whispered:
"Yvonne, did you make any preparations before you got pregnant?"
Yvonne imdiately widened her eyes, observed the radiant and glowing Mona for a mont, and with a flash of admiration and subtle envy in her eyes, she pulled her aside for a quiet mini-lecture.
anwhile, outside the house, after several drinks and with their wives and girlfriends inside, topics on won were off-limits, so naturally, the group of n turned their conversation to work.
Upon learning that Luo An was transferred to work at the FBI Headquarters in Washington, everyone present was visibly shocked. Augustus, stunned for a few seconds, then burst out laughing:
"Luo An! Well done! Worthy of an agent trained by , Augustus!"
Everyone stared at Augustus with dumbfounded expressions. Reed "plunked" open a new bottle of wine and handed it to Luo An, everyone stood up, clinked their bottles, and loudly congratulated Luo An with smiling faces!
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