Joanna was soone who would not give up until she found what she was looking for.
"I’ll do just that. Even if I have to turn this place upside down, I’ll find him and make him give an explanation."
She pushed Chase away with a frosty face and walked straight into the Carmine Pawnshop.
A few of the injured guards tried to stop her, but Chase waved them aside.
"But Mr. Chase, Mr. Q explicitly forbids Miss Pierce from entering the Carmine Pawnshop. If you let her in..."
"It’s okay. If I don’t, she’ll never give up."
Chase stared at Joanna’s thin but stubborn figure and sighed. "Sotis, it’s easier to achieve happiness if you’re ignorant, especially for a woman. I wish she’ll be kept in the dark forever!"
This was not Joanna’s first ti in the Carmine Pawnshop. She could not say that she knew the place like the back of her hand, but she was familiar with the layout and furnishings inside.
She searched every corner of the pawnshop, even the restricted area, but could find no sign of Mr. Q.
The sky turned dark. Moonlight illuminated the land, making her seem even lonelier.
"Mr. Q, where the hell are you? Co out right now. I won’t bother you. I just want an answer. Co out!"
Joanna, like a madwoman, shouted in the vast courtyard, scaring the crows on the withered vines.
"Co out and talk to , even if it’s just one sentence..."
She squatted on the ground dejectedly, covering her beautiful but sad face with her hands. Her thin shoulders trembled uncontrollably. She looked fragile and helpless.
"Girl, stop crying..."
A gentle voice ca from above her, and soone gently patted her on the back.
Joanna took a deep breath and instantly beca defensive again. She looked at the stranger coldly.
"It’s you?!"
"You still rember . I’m honored."
The woman smiled. Her face under the moonlight was peaceful and gentle.
"Of course I rember you. Your na is Rosie, right? You have excellent acting skills. You almost fooled ..."
Joanna quickly looked the woman up and down and found that she was very different from what Joanna rembered of her. "Last ti we parted ways, you were confined in the restricted area again. How are you doing now? Have you gone back to normal?"
Rosie lowered her head and smiled. It was the smile of one who managed to survive a disaster, of one who had been reborn.
"Yup, all thanks to the Carmine Pawnshop not giving up on . I’ve returned to normal now and no longer want to touch those things ever again. I now live alone with my son. Life isn’t always rosy, but at least it’s peaceful."
"That’s great. You did a great job overcoming that. You’re very strong."
Joanna expressed her admiration from the bottom of her heart.
She was also a mother, so she knew that being a single mother was not easy, especially for an ordinary woman like Rosie who ca from an ordinary background with no strong backing and no outstanding skills.
"It’s not because I’m strong. It’s because I t a good person."
Rosie looked up at the bright moon and said, "Mr. Q is a good person. After I stole the treasure from the Carmine Pawnshop, not only did he spare my life, he even helped quit my addiction. After that, he hired as his assistant with a generous salary. I paid off my debt and sent my son back to kindergarten. Our future beca bright again, like the moon."
"You’re Mr. Q’s assistant?"
Joanna’s eyes lit up. As if she had caught onto a life-saving straw, she grabbed Rosie’s hand and asked, "Do you know where he is? Can you tell ? I have sothing very important to ask him!"
"Mr. Q has always kept his whereabouts a secret. Although I’m his assistant, I have no right to know where he goes. But..."
Rosie was about to say sothing when Chase walked over and interrupted her words coldly.
"Rosie, Mr. Q already told you that starting from this week, you’re no longer his assistant. You’ve been dismissed. What are you doing here?"
Chase’s eyes were cold and his voice was threatening, "Do I have to ask security to chase you away?"
"I’m sorry, Mr. Chase."
Rosie’s eyes imdiately beca teary. She said pitifully, "I just ca to say goodbye to Mr. Q. I..."
"That won’t be necessary."
Chase said impatiently, "The Carmine Pawnshop is not a charity organization. It doesn’t matter if you ca to thank Mr. Q or to say goodbye to him, you’ll only disturb him. Stop disturbing him. That’s the best thing you can do for him."
Joanna stared at Chase sharply and said, "So you do know where he is. He might even be watching us right now, asking you to convey his ssage in real ti."
"Chase, tell where he is and what secret he’s hiding. Why did he leave without saying goodbye? Has he ever considered that his actions might make suffer for a lifeti and doubt myself for a lifeti?"
Chase’s face remained cold and expressionless. "Miss Pierce, I’ve already told you, Mr. Q has disappeared. We can’t reach him. Maybe soone hurt him. Maybe he wants to retire to the mountains and forests. Maybe he approached you with ulterior motives, and now that he’s achieved his goal, his role is no longer needed, so he disappeared..."
The many assumptions he stated made Joanna feel even more disheartened.
Because no matter which one it was, she could not accept it!
She did not want Mr. Q to get killed because of her. She also hoped he had not been lying to her all along.
"Miss Pierce, instead of making a big fuss here, why don’t you interrogate the person involved? No one knows the truth better than him, but it might be a truth that you’re not willing to accept."
Chase’s aning was obvious.
He did not know the truth, Rosie did not know the truth, and no one in the entire Carmine Pawnshop knew the truth. The only one who did was the winner of the whole affair, Ace Moran!
Chase left after he said that.
Joanna gradually cald down, but the sadness seed to have frozen on her face. It would not fade even after a long ti.
Rosie looked at her with sympathy and said softly, "Miss Pierce, I don’t know what happened between you and Mr. Q, but I can tell you one thing with certainty: Mr. Q is a good person and he won’t hurt you on purpose. Whatever he did, he must have done it so that you could be happy."
"Is that so?"
Joanna raised her head. Her eyes were wet. She smiled bitterly, "I think he’s a good person too. That’s why I want an answer even more."
"Are you free now? Let’s go have a drink. I can give you a better idea of what kind of person Mr. Q is."
Reviews
All reviews (0)