Ryan Shaw said no more.
Zion Shawcross watched as he alternated between a faint smile and a pensive frown.
It was a strange, unsettling sight.
But Zion Shawcross understood that Ryan was probably not in a good place right now.
He sat with Ryan Shaw in silence for a while, until Ryan finally spoke again. "Got any booze here?"
Of course he did.
Zion Shawcross was a singer, so to protect his voice, he rarely drank.
But people were always giving him alcohol, and he’d accept the bottles from his closer friends.
When the apartnt was first designed, a wine cabinet had been built into the kitchen for aesthetic purposes.
Over ti, the gifted bottles of liquor had accumulated until the cabinet was full.
Zion Shawcross led him to the cabinet and let him pick.
Without even looking, Ryan Shaw grabbed a bottle, opened it, and poured a glass.
Zion Shawcross thought Ryan would ask him to drink with him.
Just as he poured a glass for himself, he saw the guy had already downed his in one gulp.
"..."
He picked up the bottle to take a look. 60% ABV vodka...
’This guy...’
Zion Shawcross tried to discreetly hide the bottle, but Ryan Shaw had already seen him.
Ryan Shaw scoffed, as if Zion Shawcross were being stingy.
"What are your plans now? Oh yeah, did you hear about that thing with Everlake Resort? Uncle handed that whole ss over to you."
Ryan Shaw had rushed over as soon as his last mission ended.
He certainly hadn’t co because of the Everlake Resort business.
It was just that Sean Shaw didn’t want his son to be idle, so he’d forcibly saddled him with it.
Ryan Shaw poured himself a glass of water. "I’m reporting to the Special Police Detachnt tomorrow."
"Huh? What about the resort, then?"
Ryan Shaw shot him a glance. "What do you think Jasper Jennings is sticking around for?"
"..."
’Jasper Jennings was clearly left behind to assist him, the young master of the Shaw Family,’ Zion Shawcross thought.
But here he was, balling up the whole ss and tossing it right to the other guy.
’Poor Jasper Jennings.’
But then he glanced over at the lost, dejected look on Ryan Shaw’s handso face...
’Ah, forget it...’
「The next morning」
During the Jandor Special Police Detachnt’s morning drill, the detachnt commander introduced the newcor, Ryan Shaw.
The commander didn’t say much, only that Ryan Shaw would be temporarily serving as the captain of the Third Squadron and that the team mbers under him should work hard and follow his lead.
So of the better-inford mbers of the detachnt had already heard a newcor was coming.
At first, they figured it was just another big shot from above, here to pad their résumé.
But one look at Ryan Shaw’s sharp, intense deanor, and everyone knew this guy was the real deal.
And they were right.
For his self-introduction, Ryan Shaw said only one sentence: "My na is Ryan Shaw. I look forward to working with you."
Then, in a single morning, he ran the Third Squadron into the ground.
Any team mbers who were initially unconvinced had their complaints silenced after seeing Ryan Shaw, who had trained right alongside them, breathing steadily while they were all gasping for air.
Ryan Shaw wore a taut expression all day.
The team mbers couldn’t tell if that was just his natural expression or if he was in a bad mood.
He was a handso young man, but his expression was just plain foul.
When lunchti finally arrived, everyone thought that since training was over, the new captain would surely try to close the distance with his team mbers.
After all, they were going to be brothers-in-arms who would have to carry out missions together. They couldn’t just remain strangers.
But when they got their food and looked around, Ryan Shaw was nowhere in sight.
"Hey, where’s Captain Shaw? Isn’t he eating with us?"
"Who knows. I heard Captain Shaw has connections up top..."
"What kind of connections?"
"That I don’t know. But Captain Shaw has several second-class rits to his na. Isn’t he overqualified for a place like this? Maybe that’s why he’s not happy?"
Though it was just speculation, the clueless gossipers felt it made sense.
Little did Ryan Shaw know that just being called away by the detachnt commander had already spawned so many rumors.
Ryan Shaw gave the detachnt commander a standard military salute. "Vance."
Levi Vance smiled and motioned for him to sit. "How are things? Are you settling in with the team?"
Ryan Shaw sat down opposite Levi Vance. "Everything’s fine."
’There wasn’t really anything to get used to.’
’It’s the sa on any team. You sleep in a dorm, you eat in the ss hall. How different could it be?’
’It’s not like I’m at ho.’
After a bit of small talk, Levi Vance got down to business.
He explained that the detachnt had been contacted by Vantage Entertainnt. They wanted to send one of their female celebrities to the Special Police Detachnt for an "experiential visit," supposedly to prepare for an upcoming movie role.
Regardless, she was a major celebrity. If anything happened to her on their watch, they’d have a hard ti explaining it.
But now, things were different.
Ryan Shaw was here.
Having Ryan Shaw handle the celebrity was the perfect solution.
"Look, our team is full of rough-and-tumble guys. Shaw, you’re well-traveled and knowledgeable. When the ti cos, you can help guide this Miss Linden. We can’t let her embarrass the Special Police Detachnt, you hear?"
Ryan Shaw was indifferent to the request.
If his superiors gave an order, his job was to execute it.
Besides, he figured the mbers of his Third Squadron would be very interested in this, so he didn’t refuse.
Seeing Ryan Shaw agree so readily, Levi Vance smiled, pleased.
’Good, good. That’s one major headache solved.’
’I an, really, a perfectly fine celebrity, wanting to co here and experience the "hardships of the common folk"?’
’They could call it a "learning experience," but everyone knew it was just them having to babysit a VIP.’
’If she got in the way of actual police work, who would take the bla?’
’But Ryan Shaw was different.’
’Having connections up top really makes a difference.’
Levi Vance’s plan was perfect in his mind.
...
With her work complete, Stella Sterling was once again savoring the joys of being a couch potato.
For the past few days, she finally didn’t have to get up early.
However, a month of waking up early had set her internal clock.
Even without Owen Rhodes waking her, she would still stir at the sa ti every morning.
Stella Sterling found it exasperating but quickly ca to accept it.
’So what if I wake up? Can’t I just go right back to sleep?’
And so, Stella Sterling promptly closed her eyes and fell back asleep.
By the ti she woke up again, it was already noon.
Stella Sterling washed up and went downstairs for lunch.
Back when she was at the art studio, she often ate takeout with Faye Rhodes and the others. While it wasn’t bad, it just felt a bit unhealthy.
Now that she was ho, waking up every day to the healthy, organic als Tate prepared made Stella Sterling feel rejuvenated.
After lunch, Mr. Joel brought over a package.
Perhaps because of how annoyingly persistent Ethan Rhodes had been, Stella Sterling now felt a pang of anxiety whenever she saw a package.
"It’s not from Ethan Rhodes again, is it?" Stella Sterling asked Mr. Joel.
Mr. Joel shook his head. "I don’t think so. It looks different from the ones the young master sent before. Why don’t you take a look, ma’am?"
But he had no way of knowing if Ethan Rhodes had simply sent it under a different na.
Though Stella Sterling was suspicious, she opened it anyway.
Inside the package was a jewelry box. Upon opening it, she found a jeweled brooch. Tucked inside the box was a small card with a begonia flower drawn on it.
Understanding dawned on Stella Sterling.
She smiled happily and imdiately called Ariana Grant. "Ariana Grant, what’s the special occasion? Why the sudden brooch?"
Ariana sounded baffled. "What?"
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