Chapter 7

In the coffee shop, a young white woman was playing country music on a harp.

Zhen Fan glanced several times at the beautiful but somewhat melancholic woman. Beautiful women, everyone likes to look at, especially those who are beautiful and have a melancholic aura.

After lunch, Sarah generously invited Zhen Fan to the coffee shop.

"I checked the records, you seem to have recently immigrated here. How about it? Do you feel fresh and excited in this place with a foreign flavor!"

Sarah sat more upright, looking at Zhen Fan seriously. It seemed like casual chat, but it didn't look like casual chat at all, more like interrogating a suspect.

"That woman must have encountered something sad!"

Zhen Fan answered off-topic.

"Do you need to comfort her? This might be your chance. Flirting, going to bed, and then abandoning her!" Sarah frowned and looked at the woman.

"No, you can feel the sad atmosphere from the music!" Zhen Fan also looked serious, "Don't say you can't hear it. I can assure you, this girl must have been abandoned!"

"I can't hear it at all, you're just making it up!"

Sarah glared at Zhen Fan in dissatisfaction. Then she was surprised to see Zhen Fan snap his fingers at a nearby waiter, who quickly came over.

"Ten dollars for a rose, give it to her! The rest is your tip!"

"As you wish, sir!"

The waiter kept smiling, feeling extremely pleased.

"What are you doing?"

Sarah pursed her lips, thinking this way of flirting was too old-fashioned.

"If I were you, I would go straight to her and ask for her phone number or invite her for a drink!"

"Too bad you're not me. If you were, you'd be a vulgar person!"

At the end of the song, the waiter timely handed the rose to the girl and pointed toward Zhen Fan, whispering a few words. The girl was surprised and looked over at Zhen Fan.

Zhen Fan waved, and the girl smiled slightly.

"Can you feel the coolness of the ice mountain melting?" Zhen Fan turned and looked at Sarah with a grin, "A flower can reduce one sad person in the world, and even more, it can reduce one who is ready to commit suicide!"

"Nonsense, do you think she will commit suicide?"

"Why not? Don't you understand, I'm actually a medium. I just sensed the girl's soul, full of disappointment, pessimism, and despair, no vitality, these are the signs of someone about to commit suicide! We mediums call it a premonition!"

"Medium? Nonsense, I don't believe in that. If I did, I couldn't be a police officer, and it wouldn't affect my work."

Sarah once again thought Zhen Fan was talking nonsense.

"See, the truth always invites suspicion, while lies are always popular! According to Chinese people, I'm actually a Taoist, with special abilities to communicate with human souls!"

The more serious Zhen Fan was, the less Sarah believed him.

After all, in the recent murder case, he showed strong reasoning and observational skills, and these ghost stories were purely for fun!

The two sat for a while.

"I have a good idea... Do you want to hear it..."

Sarah seemed to hesitate.

"No!"

Too direct, making Sarah instantly dissatisfied.

"Alright, or I have a good suggestion for your current state. You just immigrated here, and it will take some time to find a job. How about... working as a consultant for our special investigation bureau?"

"No!"

"You can't do nothing, right? You have to work, right?"

Sarah seemed to want to persuade this stubborn guy.

"Let me tell you a secret!" Zhen Fan supported his elbow on the table, leaned over, and beckoned to Sarah with his finger.

Sarah also leaned over, their heads almost touching.

"You'll dream about being in bed with me tonight, I have this premonition. Honestly, I'm a bit excited, you know, your figure is really good!"

"Spit!"

Sarah sprayed a mouthful of coffee, splashing Zhen Fan's face, which he didn't expect.

"Get lost, don't let me catch you doing something wrong again!"

"Didn't you say you would take me home?" Zhen Fan said with a grin.

"Sorry, there's a case at the police station, here's my share!" Sarah stood up, put four dollars on the table, and drove off in a huff.

"Hey, why don't you keep your word?"

Zhen Fan felt he had overplayed his hand. Aren't Americans supposed to be quite open? Isn't talking about going to bed as common as drinking coffee?

"Sir, you need to pay for your cup too!"

Zhen Fan quickly put down four dollars, preparing to get up, but the waiter took the money and still stood there.

"Do you want double the tip?" Zhen Fan looked unhappy.

"But sir, you haven't given me a tip yet!"

"Forgot? When I bought the rose, the change was the tip!"

It seemed the waiter was right, his face fell as he watched Zhen Fan walk away. What kind of thing is this, is this how it's done?

Sarah had already driven off, clearly not intending to wait to take Zhen Fan home, probably because she was angry with him. Zhen Fan stood on the street, looking around, seeing cars and tall buildings everywhere, feeling a bit lost, not knowing which direction to go.

"Screech!" A taxi stopped.

"Hey, buddy, I knew it was you, I knew it. What are you doing here? I'll take you, where do you want to go?" A black head poked out from the driver's seat.

How could he run into this guy everywhere?

"Alright, Kry, take me home!" Zhen Fan opened the door and got in.

"Ed, my name is Ed, buddy, did you lose the note I gave you? I rarely write notes with my phone number and name!"

Ed seemed very dissatisfied.

"Did you dye your hair? Are you getting plastic surgery? What's with the bandage on your nose?"

Zhen Fan noticed something different about him today, a bandage on his nose, clearly injured, but still holding up.

"Buddy, I've had a very bad couple of days, done by that damn Jim and his damn gang. I used Bruce Lee's fighting style, but there were too many of them. One-on-one, I would have shown them! Damn, I lost five hundred dollars for this!"

Ed seemed very agitated.

"Didn't you report it?"

"Don't be silly, buddy, if I reported it, my body might be floating in Osage Lake tomorrow, surrounded by a bunch of police, saying, 'Look, that damn black guy was high on marijuana and caused trouble, or saying I was a drunk who fell into the river and drowned, it's his own fault!'"

Ed rambled on.

"Best not to look at me while driving, or we might end up as two dead bodies on the highway, surrounded by a bunch of police saying, 'Look, the damn Asian and the black guy were gay, and the Asian was stabbing the black guy's ass when they crashed!'"

Zhen Fan also started to ramble.

"Enough, buddy, I'm not gay, don't expect anything from me, my ass belongs to me and my girlfriend, you're really disgusting!"

Ed finally couldn't take it anymore, stepped on the gas, and the car took off.

"Buddy, I decide to forgive you, even though I'm not sure if you're gay, I think I can continue to be friends with you!"

After driving for a while, Ed couldn't resist and started talking again.

Zhen Fan finally got to him, but didn't expect him to relapse so quickly, patting his forehead, but this black guy was really straightforward.

"I'm here!"

"Screech!"

A sudden stop, Zhen Fan's forehead almost hit the front seat.

"Eight dollars and fifty cents, give me eight dollars, who cares, we're getting along so well, I feel like we're almost family, I just need a brother, you know, I used to have a brother, he fell into the lake and drowned last year, damn weird fish, it dragged my brother and the fishing rod into the lake, and we never found the body!"

Ed took the money Zhen Fan handed over.

"Truly unfortunate!"

"Don't be sad, buddy, I'm not happy either, of course, I'll be happy after I deal with Jim and his gang, but it's not easy!"

Ed generally said, the car "whoosh" and was already far away, not sure if Zhen Fan heard the rest, it seemed like he was talking to himself.

Just as he walked onto the lawn, he saw his neighbor, Annie, with her daughter Claire, standing there, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Sorry, Claire thinks your cake is very delicious, so..."

Zhen Fan nodded, squatted down, pinched Claire's cheek, and smiled, "No problem, if you like it, I'll make it for you!" He opened the door, inviting the mother and daughter in.

"No, Zhen, we'll go back first. Can you call me when it's ready?"

"Of course!"

"That's great, thanks, Zhen!" Annie said, very happily leading the somewhat gloomy Claire to their house.

Thomas, standing nearby, waved to Zhen Fan. Zhen Fan waved back, then opened the door and went in.

After resting for a while, he started making the cake. Then he sat in a chair, drinking tea and reading a book. Feeling bored, the cake was just done, he called Annie.

"Hello, Mrs. Moore? The cake is ready, should I bring it over, or will you come to get it?"

"Of course we'll come, thank you so much!"

Surprised cries came from the other end. Soon, he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in, I put the cake on the table!"

Zhen Fan let Annie and Claire in.

"Alright, now the cake belongs to Claire!" Zhen Fan pinched Claire's cheek. Claire smiled.

"Mom, can I eat it here at Uncle Zhen's and then go home?" Just as Annie was about to say goodbye to Zhen Fan, Claire suddenly looked up at her.

Annie seemed surprised, then her eyes sparkled with joy.

"Of course, sweetheart, you can stay wherever you want, but we should ask Uncle Zhen first!" Annie said, looking at Zhen Fan hopefully.

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