Tianzhu smirked slightly at her reaction but didn’t respond. Instead, he grabbed a fresh set of clothes and disappeared into the bathroom.
By the ti he ca out dressed in a fitted black coat over a casual white sweater, he saw that Vera had already put on her coat and boots, quite matching his attire. All of her clothes disappeared from the bed. She was sitting there, playing with her smartphone.
She bounced on her feet. "Let’s go."
Tianzhu shook his head, chuckling under his breath. "Alright, alright."
Just as they stepped out of their suite, heading towards the elevators, a familiar presence appeared in the hallway.
It’s the sa beauty he saw in the gym and later at the pool.
This ti, she was wrapped in a plush white bathrobe, her wet hair tied loosely behind her. She had just returned from her swim, holding a bottle of water in one hand and her key card in the other.
Her eyes flickered toward them, almost instinctively.
And then she froze as she spotted an excited girl who looked mature yet fresh, looking undeniably foreign, yet there was a hint of typical Han features on her face.
It wasn’t just her exotic appearance that surprised her. The girl’s youthful energy, the way she clung to Tianzhu’s arm while skipping slightly ahead with a bright smile, and both of them wearing matching attire... it all once again brought up misunderstanding.
"His girlfriend?"
The thought ca so suddenly that Hye-rin barely registered it at first. But the more she processed the scene, the more her frown deepened.
Everything just fits Hyerin. Perhaps she couldn’t think of other possibilities at all due to the embarrassnt and guilt she felt earlier for a possible misunderstanding.
"But she looks like she is in high school. Definitely too young to date this guy who seed to be like he is even older than ..." As another thought crept into her head, a flash of disgust crossed Hye-rin’s face imdiately. "Don’t tell she is his sugar baby or sothing?"
While she was busy sorting out her conflicting thoughts on whether to take a chance and report to the police to save her from the trap or confront him for the truth, Tianzhu and Vera had already boarded the elevator.
A while later;
A sleek black sedan glided through the streets of Hangzhou City. Inside, Tianzhu was driving with one of his arms resting against the door, watching the city slip by. Beside him, Vera scrolled through her phone, lost in her own world.
Their destination: the InCity Mall. The shopping center was a natural choice for what they needed: gifts for the family they were about to visit for dinner.
They were halfway to the destination, but Tianzhu’s phone buzzed all of a sudden, with the na Storm appearing on the screen.
He picked it up and answered in a neutral tone. "Yes?"
A voice answered from the other end. "Hello, this is Rupert from the External Affairs Ministry, and we would..."
Before those words were finished, Tianzhu interrupted him, "What is it?"
There was a beat of silence before the voice deepened on the other end, "Brother Qin, Theo, and I just got down from a cab. We entered the MIXC."
Tianzhu furrowed his brows while his grip on the steering wheel tightened a bit.
Tianzhu’s gaze sharpened slightly, but his voice remained calm. "All right," he said and hung up. He didn’t say anything for a mont. After about a kiloter, the car suddenly slowed down and took a U-turn.
Vera looked up, confused. "Wait... Uncle? Why are we going back that way? Isn’t Zhejiang in the other direction?"
"There seems to be a problem at InCity Mall," Tianzhu replied casually. "Let’s go to the MIXC."
She raised an eyebrow but shrugged and returned to her screen.
Another hour later, they reached the location.
Tianzhu felt the glances as they moved in the mall, people noticing them, so subtly, so not. He ignored them all.
He knew what those busybodies were thinking.
In fact, it was the sa situation almost everywhere his counterpart experienced, especially over the past couple of years. Either people think of Vera as his half-sister or take him as a person who was dating a high schooler. Not because they walk beside each other, but Vera has the habit of wearing matching attire with him, and when they go out, she always... well, most of the ti, holds his hands.
anwhile, a wireless earbud was in his ear, connected to the phone, which was kept in his pocket. Through the earbud, the familiar voice ca in. "Brother Qin, I distanced myself but had an eye on him. Theo is heading into boys’ wear, second floor, Section B-3," the voice reported quietly in his ear.
Tianzhu didn’t reply to that. But instead, he turned toward Vera, who was currently in the middle of admiring a jewelry case. "That won’t suit you, Vera. It suits adults."
Vera looked away with a snort. "I’m an adult. And who said I want this? I’m just looking for the Aunt."
Tianzhu chuckled, "Think your aunt would like it?"
Her eyes sparkled as she nodded. "Of course, it’s pretty." Then, after a pause, she asked. "By the way, but what about my sisters? Shouldn’t we get them sothing, too?"
Tianzhu blinked. "Sisters? You only have one sister, dear."
"I ant Park Soojin," Vera rolled her eyes as if she were stating the obvious. "She might be my step-sister, but still a sister, nonetheless."
Tianzhu grabbed his chin as his gaze drifted toward the necklace as if weighing his words carefully. But, he kept his thoughts to himself and nodded, going with the flow instead. "Yeah, I guess so. Moreover, Soojin is the sa age as you. You can buy sothing for her to form a quick friendship. But don’t buy expensive ones, because it might seem like you are showing off."
"Yeah, yeah, I know that, Uncle." Vera snorted, looking away. "You don’t have to treat like a kid, even here, too."
As Vera skipped off to explore, Tianzhu sighed, shaking his head. "Adolescent daughters are really troubleso. One mont, they look adorable, and another mont, they beco too snobbish. Moreover, there is always a fear of boys who hit on her. With Theo at her side, he will throw away those flies. Speaking of Theo..."
Shaking his head of the thoughts of Vera, he then reached out to the earbud and finally spoke. "R, where is that brat now?"
An imdiate reply ca from the guard that has been on his nephew’s tail. "Target is now at the at section. Aisle 7." After a pause, the voice sounded rather serious, "K, I believe you are the one who decided not to call by our forr codenas, especially on the phone."
Tianzhu: "..."
Ten minutes later, Tianzhu walked calmly into the refrigerated at section, inspecting cuts of A-7 beef until his gaze settled on a familiar figure near the end of the aisle.
Theo was spotted standing with his back turned, intently comparing packages of steak. Tianzhu’s footsteps made almost no sound until he was directly behind him.
"Theo," he said in a low voice.
The 18-year-old startled all of a sudden, jumping like a cat that’s been poked in its sleep. Then, as he slowly turned around, he spotted Tianzhu, and his eyes widened in shock. "U... Uncle? How... How did you know I was here?"
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