"Last night, Nacy came to my villa. That wicked girl made Mandy think she was my girlfriend. Mandy
drove me out of her room last night." Nathan groaned as he recounted the details of what had
happened last night to Fred.
Fred didn't really share the same sentiments as he barked out loud with laughter. "You had it coming,
man!"
Nathan bared out his teeth, snarling, "One more word, and I'll send you on a business trip to the
desert."
Fred didn't say another word.
"I asked you here because I need your thoughts on something." Nathan took a sip of his drink before
continuing, "Do you think Mandy has fallen in love with me?"
Fred raised his head at the question, just in time to meet Nathan's sharp gaze. He pursed his lips. "Mr.
Jin, I haven't been in love for more than twenty years. I wouldn't know."
"You're no use," Nathan grumbled.
Although Nathan had affairs with many women before, he had never fallen in love with anyone else...At
least, none except his first love. His first love had been like a cup of milk tea, soft and sweet. Mandy
was like a glass of liquor—incapacitating and addictive. She was something he couldn't get enough off.
One look at her, one thought of her, and Nathan would find himself drunk in the daylight.
Something emerged in Fred's eyes as he recalled his own past. When he had been young, he had
served in the special forces together with his girlfriend. They had a great relationship, always having
time for each other, even under armor and guns. Until a mission came up when his girlfriend had
sacrificed herself to save him.
From then on, Fred had grown to realize that to be a real killer, he didn't need attachments in the real
world. In front of his girlfriend's grave, he had promised that he wouldn't ever dare fall in love with
another in his lifetime.
"While I'm not experienced, I still want to warn you. You can make Miss Zhou like you, even love you,
but you must stick to your word. You mustn't fall in love with her, or else you'll suffer a fate far worse in
the future."
Nathan's forehead creased at Fred's words. Though he knew of the warning, knew it as it played in his
mind over and over again, it seemed as if his heart had already betrayed him. He remembered how,
last night, he didn't sleep a blink just for Mandy.
Nathan took another sip of coffee, massaging his temples. One look closer, and one would be able to
see the dark circles hidden under his eyes.
"What would happen if I did fall in love with her?" Nathan asked uncertainly. Though his tone was calm,
it carried a certain sadness and confusion that was too overwhelming to keep hidden.
"If Miss Zhou knows the things you keep hidden, she'll hate you," Fred said bluntly. Even as he said it,
he knew it wouldn't be of any use. Nathan had been looking for Mandy all these years, and he wouldn't
give up despite any difficulty that he had to face. The man was as persistent as a bull.
Nathan looked away, mulling over Fred's words.
'Well, ' he thought. 'It's okay that she hates me. We'll stay by each other's side and torture each other.'
Fred peered over at Nathan's sullen face. After years of working with him, he could guess what the
man was thinking. He was stubborn. At this rate, he'd go through any lengths to get something he
wanted. This time, it seemed, what he wanted was Mandy.
Fred took a deep breath. "Mr. Jin, I found some information about Bruce. He goes by the full name of
Bruce Xu. He was a childhood friend of Miss Zhou's. Now, he's a math teacher in City A, and Miss
Zhou's cousin, Fiona Yu, is his student."
"What?" Nathan's face darkened, as if a fire inside him was finally ignited.
She had lied to him! All for the sake of Bruce! And he hated the thought of it. He remembered how the
man had appeared in her dream, and how Mandy had called for Bruce's help. At the thought, he shook
his head in disgust, finding it as ludicrous as it sounded.
"Mr. Jin… According to my investigation, Miss Zhou isn't very close to Bruce. They only started
contacting each other because of Fiona and the forum," Fred explained quickly when he caught sight of
the dark look hovering on Nathan's expression.
"You don't have to explain for her. I know what to do!" Nathan smirked, squinting his dark eyes.
Originally, he had wanted to talk about their relationship tonight, but now that this had come up, it
seemed that he did not need to do it. He shouldn't have loved her in the first place.
"Give me the information about Bruce." His voice was dripping with jealousy.
Fred took out a secret file that he had kept in his briefcase, just in case Nathan asked about it. It
contained all of the relevant information on the man from the time he was born. Nathan scanned it
briefly, disappointed that he couldn't find anything to use against Bruce. In fact, as a cherry on top,
Bruce even had a great academic record.
"Mr. Jin, it seems that Bruce is a good man."
"Even so, everyone has skeletons in their closet. I'll take a better look."
"Mr. Jin, why do you have to do that? Why waste your time on Miss Zhou?"
"I'm not wasting my time," he snapped. "She's my woman. She shouldn't be cheating on me like this!"
"Miss Zhou doesn't look like that kind of person." Fred was hesitant in bringing that up. Though he
barely knew Mandy, she was the type of woman that he'd trust. She wasn't the type who'd be messing
around with other men.
"Were they really childhood friends?" said Nathan grimly as he threw the thick file on the coffee table.
"To be exact, they weren't childhood friends but neighbors. She didn't really have a close relationship
with him or else she wouldn't have known... Daniel."
Fred mentioned the latter name after a long pause, knowing full well that the name didn't bode well with
Nathan. One look at him glaring at Fred with intensity was enough to prove his thoughts.
Nathan scoffed. In his eyes, she had multiple love affairs, having them with both Daniel and Bruce. For
the whole day, Nathan took it on himself to study Bruce, even to the extent of calling the headmaster of
No. 1 High School to find out more about him.
To his disappointment, he found nothing. The headmaster even praised how the class Bruce was in
charge of now had the best grades of the whole batch. He wasn't at all skeptical of why Nathan called,
using every opportunity to praise his staff.
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