"Here, have some tea. I also made a fresh batch of cookies this afternoon, would you like some?" The small old lady looked down at the three guests jammed together on her floral sofa.
Currently sandwiched between Tobias and Shen Jue, Mimi's lips twitched upwards in a smile.
"Uh, yes please."
The old lady giggled. "Such nice manners. I'll get them for you right away."
"Thank you." Mimi bobbed her head in thanks.
When the old lady walked back into the kitchen, Mimi couldn't hold the smile on her face any longer.
What the hell was going on right now?!
The moment the door opened to the house, they were greeted by a small old lady. The lenses to her large glasses enlarged her eyes as she looked up at them, blinking curiously.
She probably thought they were trying to sell her something. However, before they had time to process anything, she had already been inviting them inside for tea and cookies.
This old lady was way too friendly.
Mimi turned to Shen Jue with a scowl on her face. "You said this was the right place!"
Shen Jue looked back at her, his eyes blinking innocently. "This is the right house."
"You said a couple lived here! Not an old lady!"
He shrugged. "It was eleven years ago. It's possible they moved."
She felt the sudden urge to smack the man countless times across the head. Just before she could perform this action, the wide-eyed old lady came back in with a tray of cookies. She wobbled toward them, her back hunched.
Without a word, Tobias stood up from the sofa and grabbed the tray to set them down on the table. The little old lady looked up with her enormous eyes and giggled.
"Thank you, young man, you're too kind." She glanced at his behind. "Firm too."
Tobias was stunned and cleared his throat to rid of his embarrassment. "You're welcome."
Mimi watched the scene before her with a raised eyebrow. She suppressed the urge to laugh at Tobias's awkward expression. She secretly praised the perverted old lady in her heart.
When Tobias sat back down beside her, she purposely shuffled closer to his firm side. From the corner of his eyes, Shen Jue noticed her actions, his expression flat.
Feeling a certain someone leaning close to her, Mimi looked over, scowling. Shen Jue sat beside her and smiled a sickeningly charming expression when she eyed him suspiciously. That smile of his annoyed the hell out of her.
Because the old lady was there, she couldn't kick his ass right then and there. For the time being, she could only wait.
Forcing a smile, Mimi looked at the old lady sitting across from them. "We're sorry to suddenly intrude in your home, but I was curious...do you know anything about the couple who lived here prior to you?"
The little old lady stirred honey into her steaming tea quietly, her expression seemingly unbothered by anything around her. When she heard Mimi's question, she flashed her big eyes and pursed her thin wrinkled lips.
"They don't tell you much about the previous owners when you move in." She set her spoon down on her small plate. "Although I've lived here for six years now and I think I've heard some words from the neighbors."
Mimi's eyes lit up. "Really? Like what?"
"Well, they said a pair of female college students use to live here for a few months. They were incredibly noisy at night. Like dying cats I heard." She sighed.
The three on the sofa went silent. They didn't even bother responding to that.
"But before those two moved in, a married couple lived here, with their son too, I believe." She sipped her tea.
Hearing those words, Mimi's eyes suddenly widened. She seemed to recall the words Monty said to her at the bar that night.
Shen Jue had ordered him to uncover the truth behind a man's murder. For Emily's sake. And that couple had been the last people she saw before her death.
Mimi bore with the discomfort and tried her best to ignore the nausea rising within her. Hiding the anxiety in her stomach and trying hard to avoid looking at Shen Jue, Mimi focused her attention on the old woman.
"Their son...did something happen to him?" She swallowed the tension in her throat.
Mimi felt Shen Jue shift in his seat, his legs crossing over one another in a relaxed manner – as if he was bored.
"Hmm...ah yes!" The old lady's eyes suddenly lit up. "Apparently their son died in an accident when he was in high school. It's a tragic story, really. I'm sure they could no longer stand living in a place with so many memories and decided to move..."
At that moment, Mimi's entire being froze. She could hardly even process the words following, her mind blank. She suddenly felt dizzy. So lost in thought she hadn't even realized when they were already leaving the old lady's house, her hand waving goodbye.
Standing outside on the sidewalk, Mimi walked back to the car until her movements suddenly came to a stop. She shut her eyes and clenched her hands. The two men walking in front noticed her movements and paused.
"Mimi?" Tobias closed the distance between him and the girl in a few strides and looked down at her with a frown. "What's wrong?"
Mimi didn't answer him. Instead, she raised her head. A pair of cold eyes stared at Shen Jue, a suppressed turmoil whirling in their depths.
"Shen Jue, answer me honestly...did you know the son of the couple who lived here?"
He looked at her with a dull expression, his emotions unreadable.
"Let's get in the car and discuss later." He sighed softly.
"No! Answer me!"
Shen Jue was silent. Mimi's expression grew even colder.
"I know about the deal you made with Monty for my sister. When you told me you brought her to Lux Nightclub, it was to meet him, wasn't it? And the man whose murder you wanted to find the truth about, it was the couple's dead son."
Mimi watched as his face shifted through various emotions; they were emotions she could not decipher. A sinister smile suddenly began to show upon her face.
"My sister...she was having an affair with him, wasn't she?"
At that moment, Mimi saw something snap within the usually composed Shen Jue. For the first time, she saw an emotion she hadn't seen in years reveal in his eyes.
Pure hatred.