BOOK 9. Zhao Yunlan is a private investigator who will accept almost any case as long as it pays, and when he finds a client's lost cat, they ask him to look into their friend's memory loss but he refuses. Shen Wei is an architect and after he mee...
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Ava was unsure of what was happening when the kitchen was suddenly blasted into bright light, followed by ten noisy men who laughed and joked as they entered before they took their seats around the table. It was easy to spot the couple, who were seated close to each other but the rest seemed more like family all dressed in casual clothes, so it was just going to be a tea break. Yunlan could see how unusually nervous she was and he called to her as she stayed a small distance away.
"Ava, come and sit with us, someone else can make you tea tonight, here, sit in Daqing's seat across from me. He's going to change soon and he won't need it."
Daqing nodded and the cat slipped under the table quickly before their visitor saw him transform. Guo Ying stayed active collecting mugs and taking orders for tea or coffee, while Shen Wei threw a restraining dome over all the occupants at the table. If their visitor moved into another person, it would stop them from escaping and he would instantly know which one.
"Tea Ava? Two sugars? Take it slowly, it's hot."
Yunlan studied the behaviour of this version of Ava sitting across from him. The real one was never this nervous about anything and she would never have risked damaging one of her beloved pots by using it as a weapon. She also never took sugar in her tea but preferred coffee. The company of men at the table became silent and waited until Yunlan began to speak to their unexpected intruder.
"So, what do we call you because we're not talking to Ava but I trust that she is well, probably asleep?"
The spirit was tired and the comfort of being given a hot sweet drink was helping to calm her, and this was the person who had offered her help earlier, even though he didn't know who she was.
"My name is Ying Chun. I've been looking for a safe place and when I saw all the protection around your house, I came in to see why and decide whether to stay or not. But when I saw the guards, they scared me and I knew why the house was protected. Ava was the best person to hide in. I wouldn't have chosen a man."
Yunlan watched while the feeble spirit sipped her tea and cradled the mug as if she had been given a precious gift, but he didn't understand exactly what she was and nodded to Wei while he sat quietly enjoying his coffee.
"Ying Chun, you are welcome to stay, as long as you never inhabit another person ever again. We respect the privacy of others in this house. Why did you leave your last garden?" Wei asked.
She wasn't sure who this person was asking her questions but the kind person obviously trusted him and there seemed to be love in the way they acted towards each other, so she saw no reason to fear him.
"People of this city find it easier to use chemicals in their gardens and it was dangerous for me to stay any longer, but I couldn't find a place that felt safe until I reached here."
