213 Lusting for You (1/2)
Ye Shuang asked for more details, and after realizing that the elder's interest was because he had heard about her from Zuo Feiyang, she did not think so much of the invitation.
She knew that she did not have enough fame in Chaohai, and her interaction with the upper society was only at the surface level, so why would a half-retired elder be interested in her‽ He had to have heard some stories from Zuo Feiyang and then said something like 'if he's free, bring him to come see me.' Ye Shuang studied her schedule and rejected it after realizing that she would not have much free time.
Before going to bed, she sent an email to Albert. When she woke up the next morning, she had already received the reply—the man was not interested. Ye Shuang thought about it and grabbed the phone at the villa to make a call.
”Hello?” Albert answered and Ye Shuang cut right to the chase. She described the situation and hoped that Albert could clear his schedule to come help her.
”I wish to stay with Anthony,” Albert said directly. ”Ye, you know why I'm here. I've come to this country for Anthony's sake.”
”Tony will not run from San Lin City anyway. Furthermore, you have to contribute somehow after joining the talent database, or else why would we create this extra trouble for ourselves?”
Albert laughed twice before adding in a semi-sad voice, ”And I thought we're friends? You used trouble to describe me, and that honestly hurt my feelings.”
”Any normal person will feel that way with an FBI agent wandering around them.” Ye Shuang sighed. ”Albert, I understand your job and know that we cannot ask you to stop your work, but you have to understand our situation. Just consider it a fair trade for us letting you stay. When we need you for a favor well within your power, it is not too much to ask for, right?”
Albert was a known agent. Normally, people in his position would not expose their identity, but Anthony's situation was rather unique. On top of that, a foreign agent's movements in China would be limited in a certain way, so after Albert arrived, he stayed behind. If it was an agent in the dark, to not expose their identity, they would have no choice but to finish the assigned mission. However, since Albert had no reason to hide, he had already told everyone his reason for being there, so he also felt no pressure for rejecting the job.
However, while Han Chu did not want to make things even crazier than it was, it did not mean that he would help the man unconditionally. If Albert was going to use them to stay with Anthony, then he had the obligation to complete the case that had been sent his way. Ye Shuang did not want to continue talking terms with a professional profiler because if she did, even if she did get the result she wanted in the end, the process would be incredibly difficult, so Ye Shuang talked about the terms directly.
We can help you stay, but you have to really work for us. Your real target is Anthony, we know, and the jobs are just an excuse. However, that has nothing to do with us. You have to complete the job that you should complete, or we will just go our separate ways.
Albert was silent on the phone for a while like he was seriously weighing the pros and cons. Then Ye Shuang heard a helpless sigh. ”Fine, you arrange the appointment, and I'll go meet the six individuals.”
After a few more words, Ye Shuang hung up and made a call to Zuo Yuanhang's assistant. With Zuo Yuanhang's penchant for scheduling, there was no way the man would talk directly. Other than when he was on holiday or at home, if one wished to contact Zuo Yuanhang, one would need to search for his assistant and then go through the assistant to schedule a meeting.
The schedule had to be followed closely. For example, if the appointment was at 10 am and would finish at 10:15 am, then the fifteen minutes, and only the fifteen minutes, were solely for that appointment. After once the time was up, regardless of whether there was a house on fire or an earthquake, even if a tsunami came, if one wanted to talk to Zuo Yuanhang again, one had to obediently line up for another appointment slot.
Thankfully, Zuo Yuanhang had told his assistant to give special importance to Ye Shuang's request, so not long after Ye Shuang made the call, she received a reply. Mr. Zuo was willing to give her face to chat with her for five minutes. The assistant reminded her closely that she had to call at twelve noon sharp. The five minutes were moved from Zuo Yuanhang's lunch break, and if she missed it, then it would be over.
An Zixuan actually had nothing else to do after sharing his experience with the Si Hai Organization. Technically, he was a free man. He felt that the weather in Chaohai was more suitable for winter, so he decided to stay there until Ye Shuang's return. They changed and went to the beach for a walk. Ye Shuang was thinking about other things while An Zixuan walked alongside her silently. His expression was calm and peaceful—the thorny young man who had returned from overseas had already disappeared. He no longer looked like he was going to harm others at any given moment.
After walking a distance, Ye Shuang realized that it had been too quiet, and she noticed that An Zixuan had not been speaking. ”How have you been?”
An Zixuan was startled, and after giving it some thought, he nodded. ”Things are not bad. Actually, I've adapted to a lot of things lately, and many things no longer seem that important.”
”How about your family?” Since they had started the conversation, they might as well continue it. ”Your big sister seemed to care about you a lot, how have things been lately?”