"Co on, Mr. Chu Feng, try my specialty grilled atloaf!" Marina, dressed in comfortable ho attire, hurried out of the kitchen with a plate. After setting it down in front of Chu Feng, she looked at him expectantly.
"Marina, just call Chu Feng!" Chu Feng said, looking at the beautiful woman whose eyes shone with gratitude. He reluctantly picked up his knife and fork and took a bite of the food.
After a busy month, Chu Feng had finally found so free ti. He had taken just one day off when Boris called him over to his house.
"That's right, Marina. Chu Feng is my friend; calling him Mr. Chu Feng is too formal!" Boris, seeing his plate was still empty, reluctantly set down his knife and fork and shook his head.
Marina simply gave a noncommittal smile and turned back to the kitchen. When she returned, she was carrying a bottle of wine and several glasses. She distributed the glasses to Chu Feng and Boris, poured wine for them both, and after bringing a few more dishes to the table, the busy Marina finally sat down.
"Marina, your cooking is indeed very good. It's a world apart from the Arican food I imagined!" Tasting the grilled atloaf on his plate and sipping the rich soup, Chu Feng nodded in admiration. His stereotype of 'Arican cuisine' had been shattered today!
"Marina practiced a lot at ho and even consulted Lin Qiu for advice, so..."
Before Boris could finish speaking, his shins were kicked several tis under the table. Seeing the murderous glint in Marina's eyes, he quickly clamped his mouth shut and focused on tackling the steak before him.
Turning her head, Marina's face once again wore a gentle smile as she raised the wine glass in her hand.
"Mr. Chu Feng, thank you for the help you provided to and Jessica in Sanford!"
Seeing the gentle smile on her face, Chu Feng quickly picked up his wine glass as well.
"Marina, you don't need to keep thanking about Jessica. When Boris asks for help, of course I'm going to lend a hand."
After downing the red wine in her glass, Marina spoke again.
"Speaking of Jessica, I have no idea how she's doing in Sanford. Most of the ti, I can't even get in touch with her." Marina placed her wine glass on the table and sighed. "I have no idea why the Sanford Police Departnt is suddenly so busy! It wasn't this hectic when Jessica's father was still there."
"Uh..." Chu Feng put down the wine glass he had just sipped from, his expression slightly awkward. "Maybe... it's because public safety has deteriorated!"
"Indeed! Ever since those damn things showed up, nothing that happens on the streets of New York surprises anymore!" Boris chid in, after struggling to swallow a mouthful of steak. "Thankfully, the folks in the State Legislature seem like a completely different group now. They've loosened the police departnt's leash; otherwise, New York wouldn't be in its current state!"
Chu Feng just smiled and shook his head at Boris's words, then continued to cut into the grilled atloaf on his plate.
On the other side of the table, Marina suddenly kicked Boris under the table again.
Puzzled, Boris looked at Marina, blinked perplexedly, and was about to speak when she pushed his head down.
"Hurry up and finish your steak!"
Turning her head, Marina asked, her eyes carrying a hint of inquiry, "Mr. Chu Feng, I was wondering... have you had any contact with Jessica since then?"
Chu Feng, sowhat unclear on Marina's intention, hesitated and then nodded. "Yes, occasionally."
Hearing Chu Feng's reply, Marina visibly relaxed a bit and then asked again, "I was wondering if your firm, Mr. Chu Feng, is still hiring regular staff?"
The abrupt shift in topic to the firm confused Chu Feng even more.
"Um... the firm is expanding, and we are indeed short-staffed right now. Marina, are you thinking of working for us?"
"Oh, no, no." Seeing Chu Feng had misunderstood, Marina decided to be direct. "I was hoping you could do another favor, Mr. Chu Feng!"
"Marina, just tell directly!" Chu Feng said with a smile, thinking Marina was referring soone else for a job. The firm really did need more staff, and if Marina had a suitable candidate, he would naturally be glad to help.
"Jessica is at the Sanford Police Departnt, and I'm really worried! Her father died there, and now, with the situation becoming increasingly chaotic, I don't want her to end up the sa way!" The smile vanished from Marina's face, and a slight tremor entered her voice.
Boris, finally understanding Marina's intention, tenderly stroked his wife's hair. But this wasn't sothing he felt he should speak on yet, so Boris remained silent, rely taking one of Marina's hands in his.
"So, you want Jessica... to work at my firm?" Chu Feng asked, a hint of hesitation in his voice. Even though the Texas operations had long been autonomous, and he could, in theory, arrange for Jessica's transfer to New York, he had to consider Jessica's opinion, especially since she had built everything in Texas from the ground up.
Although Jessica was now on the star chart in his mind, it didn't an she had lost her sense of self. On such matters, Jessica should be given the right to choose.
"I want to ask you to persuade Jessica. I feel she'll listen to you!" In the few conversations Marina had with Jessica, Jessica's attitude towards Chu Feng had quite surprised her. Other than with her late father, Marina had never seen Jessica act that way towards anyone.
Respect? Trust? Admiration?
The seemingly contradictory feelings left Marina sowhat puzzled about their exact nature, but it didn't prevent her from recognizing Chu Feng's significant place in Jessica's heart.
"Alright, I think... I can try talking to Jessica, but please don't get your hopes up too much..." Seeing Marina's hopeful eyes, Chu Feng unconsciously nodded.
"Thank you, Chu Feng! I'm so grateful!" Overjoyed, Marina's face broke into a wide smile. Wiping a glistening tear from the corner of her eye, she quickly grabbed the nearby red wine bottle and refilled Chu Feng's empty glass.
"Actually, if Jessica still wants to work at a police departnt, I could also help her get a clerical position at the New York Police Departnt," Boris, afraid that Chu Feng might fail to persuade her, quickly offered a compromise.
"Let's have Chu Feng try first," Marina interjected, her smile a bit stiff, before promptly spearing a piece of steak from her plate and stuffing it into Boris's mouth.
「anwhile, Jessica in Texas had just pulled a short gun from the chest of the vampire in front of her.」
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