Chapter 99

Jasmine stared at her with a questioning look: "Miss Zhen, you speak Chinese, and your name is Chinese. But your appearance and features are much more pronounced than those of an Eastern person. I guess your identity is fake, and your name is fake. You must be from Europe..."

Zhen Ai listened, her expression calm and impenetrable.

Suddenly, Jasmine had a wild thought: "You're a spy!"

Zhen Ai replied flatly, "Your imagination is quite rich."

"S.A. wouldn't kill anyone. Are you the one harming him? Why would you want to harm him?"

Jasmine was completely confused, unsure if her speculation had any basis. But her anger had nowhere to go; she had to find a suspicious point about Zhen Ai and stop them from being together. She didn't care whether her suspicions were reasonable. However, she inadvertently guessed some truths.

Zhen Ai, not understanding Jasmine's mindset, looked at her curiously and calmly explained, "I wouldn't harm him."

"Do you know? Because the case is severe, and the police are worried about copycat crimes, they haven't made the details public. But the victim's family has lost patience and is seeking media attention, putting pressure on the police. Now newspapers are calling the killer a 'sexual deviant,' criticizing the police for their impotence. We should be grateful that in this country, privacy rights exist. 

To protect the suspect's privacy, even under enormous pressure, the police haven't disclosed that Yan Su is a suspect. Otherwise, he would be finished."

"But day by day, more people will know that Yan Su is a suspect. Now even I have heard of it. Who knows if someone in the police will leak this information to the media?"

Jasmine became increasingly aggressive as she spoke, "Linking S.A. YAN's name with the sexual assault of women and the abuse of girls—doesn't that hurt you?"

Zhen Ai's face paled. She had anticipated that things would escalate, but she just wanted to bury her head in the sand.

Did it hurt her? 

Of course, it did. He was a special advisor for the FBI and CIA, and he had spent years studying diligently and living uprightly. He was dedicated and hardworking, silently upholding fairness and justice in his heart. 

No one knew, and he didn't care. Everything he did was unknown, but the "mistakes" he made would make him infamous and marred.

People wouldn't know how much he sacrificed or how serious, innocent, and upright he truly was; instead, they would compare him to historical monsters like the Green River Killer, the British butcher, or the Zodiac Killer.

How could she not feel heartache?

Yet, although she secretly knew all of this was connected to her, she still chose to believe in him—believing he had the ability to overcome obstacles between them. 

She believed in him, without a doubt.

Zhen Ai looked at Jasmine calmly: "What you said has nothing to do with me. I'm not the spy you think I am. I will stand by him through good and bad. Likewise, he will do the same for me."

"You..." Jasmine found it unbelievable. Where did this woman get her confidence to say such things?

But that very statement shattered Jasmine's grandstanding. 

She realized she was getting too heated; she didn't truly know if Yan Su's troubles were connected to Zhen Ai. She thought Zhen Ai might be emotionally fragile, scared by her intimidation.

But unexpectedly, in front of Zhen Ai, she exposed her own irrationality. Furious, like a child in a quarrel, she venomously cursed: "Zhen Ai, you're a jinx! Everyone who encounters you is unlucky. He's lived almost 24 years without incident, but once he meets you, it's non-stop trouble. Always getting hurt, always being suspected! It's all because of you, this jinx."

The more she spoke, the less control she had, her eyes almost bulging with rage. "Why are you always alone? Where are your friends? Your family? They can't have all died, can they?" Seeing Zhen Ai's face turn even paler, she knew she had hit a nerve and became even more reckless. 

"Your roommates who lived with you died; everyone you met at the bank died; everyone you stayed with on Silverland Island died. Your family must be dead too, right? Ha! You know what? You're the kind of woman that Chinese people say brings death to those around her! If you marry S.A., you'll kill him too. No, he's about to die because of you!"

Zhen Ai's face turned white, looking at her in shock.

She rarely interacted with others and had never encountered such overwhelming malice. She didn't quite understand and felt bewildered, running through Jasmine's words in her mind. She shook her head and said earnestly, "S.A. doesn't care; he says he just wants to be with me."

After saying that, she added blankly, "You say I'm a jinx; these words have no scientific basis and are illogical. I think, no matter what you all say, as long as he and I are happy together, that's enough."

Jasmine was nearly driven to madness. How could this person be so impervious, so unyielding? She didn't know why their conversation was always on different wavelengths. 

She was about to explode: "How can you say that? How can you be so selfish?"

Zhen Ai tucked her hands behind her, silently pulling at her fingers, pausing for a second before calmly saying, "I'm selfish, after all." She finished nonchalantly, "I'm not like S.A.; I'm not noble. And he knows exactly what I'm like."

The last sentence held a hint of pride she wasn't even aware of. 

Regardless of whether she was a lucky star or a jinx, he didn't mind; he liked her. 

This, she understood—proudly clear.

Why would S.A. like this woman? Why would he marry her? Why wasn't he forever alone? She knew S.A. wouldn't like her, but at least because of their familial connection, she would be the woman most closely tied to him in this world.

Jasmine was consumed with jealousy but showed none: "He will definitely abandon you; you won't have happiness. I know S.A. too well; a man like him is not meant for any woman. His heart will always belong to himself. His affection for you won't last longer than the books in his house."

Zhen Ai retorted, "You don't understand him better than I do."

"You!" Jasmine felt that every conversation with her could drive her insane. She glared at Zhen Ai for a few seconds and stormed down the stairs in a huff.

Is she leaving just like that?

Zhen Ai watched her leave in surprise and slowly walked back to her room.

Once inside, she shut the door and leaned against the handle, suddenly freezing. She stared into space, motionless. She knew very well the current situation and felt worried, but...

She deeply lowered her head, the corners of her lips curving slightly in a sad, almost willful manner, murmuring softly like a mosquito, "I don't care; I just want to be with him."

The next morning, Zhen Ai gradually woke up, feeling a lazy warmth on her face, as if soft sunlight was dancing around her. She could hear Yan Su's even and strong heartbeat beside her.

As she slowly opened her eyes, both the sunlight and he were there.

Her chest filled with warm happiness, almost melting her heart.

His sleeping face was still so tranquil and serene, beautiful like a painting.

Outside the sheer curtains, it was a summer morning by the sea, with bright and radiant sunlight. She could faintly see the vines on the grape arbor swaying gently with the morning breeze—what a peaceful and cozy summer morning!

Every day, every year, every moment spent with him would be like this. Then they would grow old together.

She curled up in his arms, giggling softly, covering her wide, curved smile with her hand.

Her joyful laughter woke him up. Knowing he had a heavy morning grumpiness, he naturally sought comfort from his tender fiancée, taking his time to get out of bed.

When they finally stepped outside, Zhen Ai realized they had missed breakfast, feeling too ashamed to lift her head.

The family was hosting a brunch for the nearby neighbors, and they had been left out.

Yan Su wasn't fond of socializing and didn't greet anyone, just sitting with Zhen Ai in a corner, coexisting peacefully.

After brunch, Alica came over to Haili and said that Jasmine was missing; they had been searching everywhere for her.

The servants recalled seeing Jasmine last at dawn, carrying a glass of red wine into her bedroom. After that, no one had seen her again.

Haili was surprised and led everyone to her room, but still found no one: "Where has that girl run off to?"

Yan Su stood nearby, his sharp gaze scanning the bedroom. A phone was on the bedside table, the bed was unmade with faint red wine stains, but the wine glass was nowhere to be found, and the window was loosely shut with the curtains drawn back.

He frowned slightly and said, "Call the police; she has been kidnapped."

"What?" Haili was shocked.

But Yan Su suddenly fell silent. The moment he said that, a grim thought flashed through his mind, but it wasn't about Jasmine. 

His heart sank as he turned back, noticing that everyone had come, but she still hadn't.

She had been the last to walk out, secretly squeezing his palm with a soft, delicate voice: "Dear, you go look for Jasmine with Haili first; I'll go to the bathroom."

His mind went blank as he pushed through the crowd and rushed out.

Zhen Ai walked out and stood at the European-style sink, washing her hands, her head lowered. She vaguely felt something flicker in the mirror.

Before she could raise her eyes, she heard a sultry voice behind her, laced with a hint of characteristic flirtation and arrogance: "Hi!"

Zhen Ai was horrified, her body stiffened suddenly, her hands frozen in mid-air as the flowing water cascaded through her pale fingers like pearls. She felt cold all over, and slowly, she raised her gaze to the man in the mirror.

He had very deep and striking features, was tall, and casually had his hands in his pockets, leaning against the wall. When their surprised eyes finally met in the mirror, he straightened up from the wall, his gaze deep and his lips curling into a faint smile: "Hi, Little C!"