"Uhm.What did you hear?" Ethan asked.
"I heard you saying I belonged to you.Does this mean you've accepted me?"
"Please don't misunderstand.It was an emergency.I had to…"
"Thank you!"
Although Shirley was smiling, her eyes filled with tears.
"I have no regrets after hearing what you said.Thankfully, I won't become an aimless, wandering spirit after I die."
"What are you saying? What do you mean after you die?"
Ethan felt a tightness in his chest.This woman was weird.It sounded like she was saying her last words.
"Can I ask for a small favor from you?"
Shirley grabbed Ethan's arms and asked in a sad voice.She looked so pitiful that Ethan couldn't help but give in.
"Tell me what it is."
"After I die, keep my ash in a small box and bury it in a well in the village.You don't have to organize any rituals.Just send someone to pray for me each year..."
She was barely breathing when she said this.
Ethan felt something was off.He asked sternly, "What's the matter? Are you keeping something from me?"
"I'm fine.I...Bleurgh!"
Shirley suddenly threw up a mouthful of blood and fell unconscious.
Ethan panicked.He quickly carried her to the car.
"Hang in there.I'm taking you to the hospital right now! Stay strong!"
He drove as fast as he could despite the heavy traffic.
This was perhaps the moment their fates became intertwined.
Just as the old man had explained, according to the bamboo stick, Shirley was fated to be in Ethan's life.
That also meant she posed a challenge for him to overcome! .Ace returned from Water Dock to Moran Villa on his own.
By the time he arrived home, it was already late at night.
Nobody had found any new information regarding Joanna.
This woman had disappeared from the face of the earth as if she wielded magic! "Ace, don't worry.I'll send more people to search for Ms.Pierce.They will expand their search abroad...I've already reached out to the intel departments of other countries to lock in on information related to her.I believe it's only a matter of time until we find her!" Christopher said.
However, Ace had lost his passion.
"Stop the search.Let her be!"
"What do you mean, Ace? Are you giving up?"
"We have too large a gap between us, she and me.Even if I find her, we'd only end up hurting each other.We might as well just live our lives apart!" Ace exclaimed.
"That makes sense, but...Are you sure you can move on?"
"Does it matter? Perhaps, she and I were never right for each other, to begin with.I only refused to let go because the divorce happened out of the blue.Time will heal everything."
Ace didn't suddenly think things through.It was all thanks to the things the old man said to him.
The old man told him that he and Joanna wouldn't have anything to do with each other for the next four years.
Whether that would change after four years would depend on their feelings toward each other.
Time was a good thing that gave a person an opportunity to think things through before arriving at a conclusion.
It also allowed people who had intense feelings to gradually understand themselves better.
Ace believed that both he and Joanna needed time on their own to calm down and sift through their emotions...
After finishing his sentence, Ace returned to his bedroom upstairs.He put the silk object he bought from the old man on the table.He then spread a sheet and pieced the two together.
Just as he thought, it was a drawing of a phoenix and a red spider lily.
The patterns seemed to suggest it was a map.He salvaged this sheet from the Pierce family's residence on the day of the fire, but he never told Joanna about it.
Back at the antique market, he felt that the drawing on the silk object had something to do with Joanna's sheet the moment he laid eyes on it.
Ace took a closer look.
Suddenly, he discovered something.
"This map..."
Ace was shocked to discover that the topographical structure and direction of the route on the map were identical to the entrance of the Moran family's ancestral grave on Mount Lodge in North City.
The Moran family spanned a long history that dated as far back as the Thame Dynasty.
In fact, there were generals and ministers in the family throughout the generations, and they all held prominent positions.
The family had always been active in North City, and their ancestors were also buried on Mount Lodge, which had the best Fengshui and was inaccessible to outsiders.
Only during his great-grandfather's generation did his family move south to create their business empire in the City, which was located on the other side of the country.
Apart from periods when important festivities were held, the Moran family rarely returned to North City.
"This is odd.Why would the map to the Moran family's ancestral grave be sewn on Joanna's sheet?" Ace asked out loud.
Could there be a connection between the Moran family and the Pierce family from the time of their ancestors? Ace would have to ask his grandfather when the opportunity presented itself.
With this in mind, Ace carefully stored the sheet and the silk object in a small box.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to him.He retrieved Joanna's notebook and called Ethan on the phone.
At that moment, Ethan sat on a long bench outside the emergency unit while waiting for Shirley to be treated.He thought he had probably gone mad.
Clearly, he wasn't the nosy type of person, and he was used to doing everything for himself.This time, he was actually "kind" enough to tend to someone else's "trouble." He even skipped dinner because of this trouble."
"Ace, it's late.What's up?"
Although Ethan picked up Ace's call, he was still focused on the blinking red light above the emergency unit.
That's because the end of the blinking indicated that the treatment was complete.
Although he knew next to nothing about Shirley, he couldn't help but feel worried about her.He hoped she wouldn't die at such a young age.
"I showed you the notebook in the car not long ago.You promised to do something for me.Do you still remember that?" Ace asked patiently.
"Ahem, can I say otherwise?"
Ethan knew Ace was up to no good.
In other words, Ace dug a hole and pointed at it while asking him, "Didn't you say you wanted to jump into a hole? Here, I already dug it for you.Hurry up and jump in."
"Don't be nervous.This is a profitable deal.I won't cheat you, "Ace said.
"Thank you, Ace, but I don't need the money.You should do it yourself if it's profitable!" Ethan replied.
'Don't be silly"
Ethan, Ace, and Christopher had been joined at the hips since they were kids.
Ethan knew exactly the kind of people they were.
As soon as Ace called, Ethan knew something fishy was going to happen.
The most sensible thing was to turn it down! "You don't need the money, do you?"
Ace asked half- jokingly.
"Looks like the Stuart family's business has been doing very well.It's time for them to go through a little hardship..."
"Hang on, Ace.Stop beating around the bush.Just tell me what you need help with."
Ethan was afraid of getting into trouble again.He surrendered immediately.
If Ethan was a predator that everyone avoided, then Ace was the apex predator that he avoided.It was a losing war whether Ethan fought back or not.He might as well just surrender from the get-go! "What did you think about the content of the novel?"
Ace asked in a serious manner.
"It's great.I think it's the best novel I've ever read!"
Ethan slapped his own thigh.He instantly felt inspired.
Perhaps, he genuinely felt this way.He might've also done this because he wanted to insult Ace.
"The male lead couldn't have been described better.He's a literal piece of trash, a monster, and the ultimate representative of a scumbag!" Ace frowned intensely.
He suspected that Ethan might have been indirectly insulting him, but he didn't have any proof.That was because he, too, agreed the male lead was dumb and an absolute scumbag!