Chapter 15

When Zhen Fan returned home, Claire flew over eagerly. The little girl's face was increasingly filled with smiles, which brought great comfort to Annie and Thomas. They even wished that Claire would spend every day at Zhen Fan's place, but they only thought about it; they didn't want to be a burden to others.

"Clair!" Zhen Fan called out, then opened the door, letting the little girl dart inside. She was now very comfortable and no longer needed an invitation from Zhen Fan.

He turned on the TV and curled up on the sofa to watch cartoons, like a quiet little cat.

"Do you want Chinese food?"

Zhen Fan asked loudly from the kitchen.

"Of course, Uncle Zhen, of course I do!"

Hearing that there was Chinese food, Claire shot down and rushed into the kitchen, looking at Zhen Fan with eager eyes, her chubby fingers in her mouth, looking incredibly cute.

"Alright, darling, you sit and watch TV for a while. I'll call you when it's ready!"

"Okay, Uncle Zhen!"

Claire ran back to the living room somewhat reluctantly, but the allure of Chinese food made her keep glancing at Zhen Fan, losing all interest in the cartoons.

"Knock knock!" Someone knocked on the door.

"Who's there?"

Claire ran to the door enthusiastically, unable to reach the peephole, so she brought a stool and stood on it to look through.

"Uncle Zhen, that police officer is here again, the pretty one!"

"Let me handle it, Claire!"

Zhen Fan smiled, walked over, and opened the door. Sarah stood there, looking unhappy.

"What's up, Sarah? Come in!"

"I'll stay tonight and try your Chinese food!"

Sarah acted like she was at home, walking straight in, picking up Claire, and sitting on the sofa. Claire squirmed, unwilling to be held, and slipped down to sit on the other side of the sofa, her eyes warily watching Sarah.

"Come here, Claire!"

Sarah reached out to hug her.

"No way, I don't like you!"

Claire made a face at Sarah, making her feel embarrassed. Sarah smiled at Zhen Fan, "Are all kids like this? Who does she resemble? Her temper must be from you!"

Zhen Fan ignored Sarah's provocation and walked back to the kitchen. The ginger-braised chicken in the pot was emitting a rich aroma, which made both Claire and Sarah sniff the air.

"Smells good!"

Sarah clumsily picked up a piece of chicken with her chopsticks, put it in her mouth, and smiled triumphantly at Zhen Fan, who was waiting to see her struggle.

"Better than the Chinese restaurant, but... you're not very good with chopsticks!"

Claire had no such trouble; Zhen Fan put the chicken directly on her plate, and she used a fork to eat it. This method was much better than Sarah's.

"I love Uncle Zhen's Chinese food! And the cake!"

Claire blinked her eyes at Zhen Fan, clearly trying to draw his attention and steer the conversation towards the cake. What a sly little rascal!

After dinner, the sky gradually darkened. Claire dozed off on the sofa, and Sarah, feeling a bit bloated, leaned against the sofa, watching Zhen Fan play a tank game on TV.

"Claire, darling, let's go home!"

Annie's voice came from outside. Zhen Fan opened the door and let Annie in. She looked at the dozing Claire and smiled apologetically.

"Sorry to disturb you, Zhen!"

"Don't worry, Claire has eaten and is just sleeping. Be careful when you carry her!"

Annie nodded, gently picked up Claire, but still woke her up. Claire opened her eyes groggily, saw her mother, smiled sweetly, and nestled her face on Annie's shoulder, mumbling, "Uncle Zhen, I want to eat ginger-braised chicken again tomorrow!"

"What did she say?"

Annie didn't understand. Of course, she wouldn't; Zhen Fan didn't know how to translate "ginger-braised chicken" either, so he used the pinyin for "ginger-braised" and added the English word for "chicken." It was no wonder Annie didn't understand, and even Sarah had been stumped by the pronunciation at first.

"The name of a Chinese dish, hard to remember!"

Zhen Fan repeated, and Annie finally understood, smiling awkwardly.

"Claire has eaten a lot!"

As Annie carried Claire out, Zhen Fan reminded her from behind.

"Got it, thanks, Zhen!"

Annie closed the door and left, leaving Zhen Fan and Sarah alone in the house.

"Can we go now?"

Sarah was eager.

"Not yet, we have to wait until midnight. We still have a few hours to chat. By the way, what did you find out about the coffee shop owner's family?"

"Three years ago, his wife died. She had a sudden cerebral hemorrhage while performing at the coffee shop!" Sarah said. "That's why I think something is off. Why do the performers there always meet with this fate?"

"It's not that the performers can't escape this fate, but that this fate began with his wife's death." Zhen Fan thought for a moment and said something that made Sarah's heart race inexplicably.

"When do we leave?"

Sarah was eager to solve the mystery and now relied on this guy to find clues.

"Not in a hurry, we will go, but we need to wait for the right moment!"

A mist enveloped the surface of Bette Lake.

The car's headlights swayed on the bumpy road by the lake and stopped less than a hundred meters from the water. The engine was turned off, the lights went out, and the car door opened. Sarah got out first.

"Don't bring your gun!"

Zhen Fan got out and looked at Sarah's tightly gripped gun, shaking his head in disapproval.

"Why?" Sarah was nervous; the middle of the night was already making her uneasy, and holding a gun was a subconscious reaction to unknown danger.

"I'm afraid you might accidentally hurt me!"

Zhen Fan's light laugh annoyed Sarah.

"Shut up, if we don't find anything today, I'll deal with you!"

Sarah issued a low threat.

Zhen Fan looked at his watch; it was two minutes to midnight. He raised his finger and softly "shushed" Sarah.

"Let's find a place to hide."

Zhen Fan grabbed Sarah's hand and led her to hide in the grass by the lake, his eyes fixed on the water.

"Whatever you see, don't speak, or you'll put yourself in danger!"

Zhen Fan spoke seriously. Although Sarah was unhappy, Zhen Fan's firm grip kept her from acting rashly, maintaining the vigilance of a police officer.

The quiet Bette Lake was silent, not even the sound of water birds or insects.

The silence made Sarah's heart race, as if something was gripping her heart, trying to pull it out.

"Don't be nervous!"

Zhen Fan's voice was so soft that only Sarah's heart could hear it. His hand was warm, like being wrapped in sunlight.

This gradually calmed her down.

The mist on the lake grew thicker, like a dense, viscous liquid.

Sarah instinctively looked at her luminous watch. The second hand seemed to move with a ticking sound, each step a struggle.

One second...

Two seconds...

...

When the light points merged, Sarah saw a scene that would haunt her forever. She covered her mouth in shock, trying to calm her racing heart and keep from screaming.

The mist on the lake slowly condensed, becoming thicker and more substantial. The top gradually formed a face!

A woman's face!

Sarah recognized this face; it was familiar from a photo. She had made countless assumptions and speculations about this face, and now it was right in front of her, alive and real, not a bit false, just a face formed from the mist, thick and pale!

The mist grew thicker and more viscous.

How could this be?

How could mist condense into a person? A woman, pale-faced, with hollow eyes that sent shivers down her spine.

"It's the coffee shop owner's wife!"

Sarah whispered in shock, turned her head, and suddenly realized that she was alone.

Zhen Fan was gone!

Her side was empty, as if she had been there alone all along.

The sound she made startled the floating woman, who turned her head and drifted toward Sarah without hesitation.

Yes, drifted, like a mist spreading.

She was discovered, Sarah's first thought.

"Zhen!"

She shouted, leaped out of the grass, held her breath, suppressed her panic, and raised her hand, pulling the trigger repeatedly!

"Bang bang bang..."

The gunshots echoed over the calm Bette Lake, like muffled explosions underwater, not startling any birds.

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