Chapter 22

Zhen Fan ate his meal without even glancing at the girl who was fidgeting nervously beside him.

“Rumble…”

It was her stomach growling. The girl looked at Zhen Fan with a pitiful expression.

“I haven’t eaten for a long time, can I…?” The girl pointed at the Chinese dishes and rice on Zhen Fan’s table, unable to resist the strong hunger pangs the aroma was causing.

“No!”

Zhen Fan refused without hesitation, finished his meal, and started clearing the leftovers from the table, washing the dishes in the kitchen.

“Miser!” The girl muttered, glancing outside.

After washing the dishes, Zhen Fan came over, turned on the TV, and sat on the sofa in the most comfortable position, with a steaming cup of tea on the table.

The girl felt uncomfortable with Zhen Fan sitting next to her but tried to get closer to him, possibly feeling the heat. She pulled down her neckline a bit; the T-shirt was already low-cut, and with this pull, half of her full, snow-white breast was almost visible to Zhen Fan.

“Can you leave now?”

Zhen Fan glanced down at the exposed breast and smiled slightly.

“But… I’m still quite scared!” The girl stammered, feigning a shivering appearance.

“You could have called the police, you had plenty of time to do so just now. Why did you hide here? If he stays outside, you’ll have to spend the night here, won’t you?” Zhen Fan frowned.

“Okay, okay! Thank you so much!”

The girl suddenly jumped up, shouting happily, and reached out to grab Zhen Fan’s hand. “I’ll stay here for the night then. My name is Zoe, what’s yours? Can you tell me your name?”

Zhen Fan shook his head helplessly, freed his hand from the girl’s, and replied, “Fan Zhen, you can call me Zhen.”

“Can I stay then?” Zoe’s face was almost pleading, which made Zhen Fan chuckle.

“Sorry, I think you should leave now. I don’t have what you want here. The person outside…” Zhen Fan glanced at the big tree on the street, “Is that your friend? He’s quite a good friend, isn’t he? He’s been waiting for so long!”

“Ah—” Zoe’s mouth dropped open, staring at Zhen Fan in surprise. “No, no, how could that be? He tried to snatch my bag just now. Who knows, maybe he wanted my life. How did you…?”

“I guessed.” Zhen Fan shifted his gaze, staring at Zoe. “I also guessed that the man must be your good friend, and he likes you a lot, probably secretly. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have the perseverance to stay there. If I’m not mistaken, you planned to come to my house for help before. I should be your final target. What do you want?”

“No… it’s not like that, you’re just guessing, right?”

Zoe suddenly jumped up, glaring at Zhen Fan.

“The person outside really wants to cause me trouble, but I can’t call the police. Who knows if they have accomplices? Otherwise, I’m dead!”

“Alright, since you can’t call the police, I’ll help you get rid of that guy!” Zhen Fan suddenly laughed. “Do you believe me?”

Zoe hesitated visibly. “You… how will you get rid of him? He’s a bad guy… very dangerous. Besides… I won’t feel at ease if you face a bad guy… if you get hurt!”

“No problem, I know. I won’t go out, I’ll stay here!” Zhen Fan said, suddenly standing by the window, waving to the other side, and turned to let Zoe come over, placing one hand on her shoulder.

Sure enough, a man turned out from behind the tree, waved back, looking quite happy, even making a V sign to Zhen Fan, then left with his hands in his pockets.

“God, how did you do that?”

Zoe suddenly exclaimed, “Are you familiar with that bad guy? Why does he listen to you so well?”

Zhen Fan shook his head. The girl still didn’t give up: “I just mouthed to him that you’re here and told him about your secret. See, he believed it!”

“With our posture, how could he not believe it?” Zhen Fan shook his head and laughed. “Of course, from this, I can see that you have no ill intentions towards me. Otherwise, I would have called the police long ago. Tell me, Zoe, what do you want?”

“Damn bastard, he betrayed me!” Zoe gritted her teeth.

“If my guess is correct, your name might not be Zoe, or maybe Joyce? Margaret? Gria?”

“Nonsense, my name is Zoe!” Zoe was angry, “I’m not a prostitute, and I won’t use such tricks to lure you, are you rich? Are you handsome? Yes, you are handsome, but so what? It’s just a false mask! Damn!”

Zoe swore, furious, even more so than Zhen Fan, completely forgetting where she was.

“Alright, now tell me, what do you want from me?” Zhen Fan smiled slightly, walking to the sofa and sitting down gracefully.

“This… it’s just a coincidence!” Zoe muttered, not expecting it to turn out this way. She had planned to use a dramatic way to seduce Zhen Fan, making this handsome Chinese man fall into her hands, but it turned out differently, something she hadn’t anticipated.

“You must have known me before, even if not face-to-face, you must have heard about me from someone. I don’t know many people, and my neighbors are certainly not among them, or you wouldn’t have come to me, as it would have been exposed. Of course, it’s not the CBI agent, Sarah, who, although a bit temperamental, is generally quite meticulous and wouldn’t have a friend like you. And you certainly weren’t influenced by Eddie, who is still being threatened and lying at home moaning! So, who do you think you are a friend of?”

Jack spoke slowly, but each word made Zoe feel a bit uneasy.

“By the way, I also know a Chinese person, but he hasn’t contacted me for a long time. I also know a cashier at the supermarket named Kelly. If your name is real, I’ll call her. Are you sure I should make this call?”

Zhen Fan picked up his phone, the screen lit up, and he tapped a few times.

“No, no, please don’t!” Zoe’s attitude suddenly softened, her eyes pleading. “Alright, I admit defeat. I do know Kelly, and we are best friends, and she’s my cousin! I was wrong, I just came to test you because….”

“Because what?” Zhen Fan couldn’t help but smile. “I can ask her myself!”

“Alright, I’ll tell you. If you ask her, she’ll kill me because she likes you, but she’s too shy to say it! She’s very reserved, so I came to test you to see if you’re a womanizer.”

“Is that all?”

Zhen Fan looked at her skeptically.

“This time I’m telling the truth, believe me, really, I have nothing to hide! It’s already like this!” This time, Zoe really felt she had failed, her usual cleverness suffering a major setback with Zhen Fan.

“Really, that’s all!” Zoe looked at Zhen Fan pitifully.

“Alright, I won’t hold it against you, but there won’t be a next time! Otherwise, I’ll call the police!” Zhen Fan moved his finger away from the phone. Zoe let out a long breath, subconsciously patting her chest.

“Just now… I wasn’t going to call her!” Zhen Fan couldn’t help but laugh at her. “Actually, I don’t have Kelly’s number, and she doesn’t have mine. I just wanted to confirm if what you said was true. From your reaction, it seems it is!”

“Bastard!” Zoe’s face was full of anger, and she muttered a curse.

“What?”

“Nothing, I’m saying, great, you finally confirmed it, I don’t have to go to the police! Isn’t that good? Let’s bury the hatchet!”

“Rumble!”

The damn stomach growled again, and Zoe looked at Zhen Fan awkwardly. “Sorry, Zhen, I think I should go back!”

“Since you’re here, why not try the Chinese food I made!” Zhen Fan suggested. “Actually, I prepared a lot, including for you. Don’t thank me yet, try it first!”

“You’re too kind, Zhen!” Zoe jumped up and followed Zhen Fan into the dining room. Zhen Fan took out the food he had put away and taught Zoe how to use chopsticks.

“I know how to use them, I’ve eaten Chinese food!” Zoe did it herself, and from her appearance, it seemed she had eaten Chinese food more than once or twice, and she was quite skilled with chopsticks.

“So delicious, better than what I’ve had in restaurants!”

Zoe’s mouth was full of food, but she still flattered Zhen Fan.

“You eat first, and then wash the dishes. I’ll watch TV.” Zhen Fan ignored her, went to the living room, watched TV, and changed several channels, but found nothing interesting, so he picked up a book on traditional Chinese medicine.

Zoe didn’t want to clean up, but seeing that Zhen Fan had no intention of letting her off, she pouted and cleaned the dishes, then came to the living room somewhat reluctantly. When she sat down, she looked at the book in Zhen Fan’s hand, trying to make conversation.

“Are you a doctor? Or a traditional Chinese medicine doctor?”

“Sort of, in less than a month, I will be. I plan to open a small clinic here.” Zhen Fan’s eyes were on the book, and he spoke to Zoe intermittently.

“I’ve studied nursing, how about I be your assistant?”

Zoe moved closer to Zhen Fan, trying to get even closer.

“You need a proper nursing qualification!” Zhen Fan glanced at her. “Maybe I’ll consider it!”

“Oh, in that case, I’ll have to wait!” Zoe sighed, indicating her disappointment. “It’s a pity you’re the one Kelly likes, otherwise, I would have made a move!”

The topic suddenly veered off, making Zhen Fan frown.

“Zoe!”

“What?”

“Don’t mention that again. Whether Kelly likes me is her business, and whether I like her is mine. If you get involved, it will make Kelly feel awkward!” Zhen Fan said seriously, clearly not wanting to get into a relationship so inexplicably.

“Alright, I’ll tell Kelly, but why don’t you try? Are American girls not as good as Chinese girls?”

“It has to happen naturally!” Zhen Fan leaned back on the sofa, eyes on the book. “You should go home now!”

Zoe was reluctant but, seeing that Zhen Fan was completely indifferent to her, felt a strong sense of defeat and got up reluctantly.

“I’m leaving!”

“Yeah, I know!” Zhen Fan nodded, with no intention of seeing her off. “By the way, if you don’t mind, you can pass a message for me. About the spots on Kelly’s face, I might have some solutions, but I need to get my qualification first, and then at my clinic, I’ll help her!”

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