"I'm sorry. I ate too much tonight."
"In China, if girls eat well it means that they'll have a good life."
"But neither the west nor the east like fat girls, right?"
"I like plump girls like you."
Gerlyn was indeed a bit thick, but she wasn't that bad. At least, she was still okay for Chen Zhao.
"What are you looking for?"
"I think my pet must have followed me secretly," said Chen Zhao, because Gerlyn had indeed eaten a bit too much.
Gerlyn was a bit bigger than other girls, but her appetite shouldn't be to this extent. Thus, Chen Zhao suspected there was something else.
"Hey…Look there. Your little demon is there." Gerlyn saw him. "What's on its neck? Oh my god, it's a snake."
Chen Zhao rubbed his forehead. "I hope we won't get kicked out."
A high-class restaurant like this didn't allow pets, but Gerlyn laughed and said, "I'm full anyway. Let's go."
When they reached the entrance, the two demons followed out too.
"How come it has a snake on it?"
"I found it yesterday and they became friends… Good friends…"
"A dog and a snake can be friends? That's incredible. Does it bite?"
"No, he's very obedient. His name is Raymond."
Since they were here, Chen Zhao had to use them well. "Raymond, say hi to Gerlyn."
Raymond raised his head up high and then nodded up and down.
"Oh my, it's so smart. How did you do this? Unbelievable. A snake is greeting me."
"How did you two get over here?"
"..."
Chen Zhao found out soon. They'd secretly gotten onto Vincent's car at the same time that Chen Zhao had.
"Where are we going next?"
"How about we go to my place?" Chen Zhao glanced at Raymond.
Gerlyn pursed her lips slightly and a rare blush appeared on her cheeks. "Sure."
The two called a taxi and went straight to the motel and began a wild night. They both enjoyed it. Gerlyn was a very open girl and was okay with any position.
Under the two demons' eyes, the man and woman went through round after round of "battle".
Gerlyn was a very good companion. The best thing about her was that she didn't get too attached.
They were only friends with benefits. Chen Zhao had made this clear before. They weren't dating and both could go for their own relationships. If one of them wanted to end this, they would break off immediately.
Chen Zhao was satisfied with this. Neither of them had any emotional baggage.
The next day, Gerlyn left, but Chen Zhao remained in bed. Admittedly, he'd overestimated his own abilities and gone too wild the night before. His waist was hurting now.
"Human, are you satisfied with my work?"
"I won't get into how you two acted on your own accord last night. However, this doesn't mean that you can do whatever you wish without my permission. If you use your abilities on me or the people around me without my permission, I won't hesitate to cook a nice pot with you two in it. You know, as a Chinese, I don't want to create a hundred ways of eating demons as an innovation in cuisine."
...
"Chen, there's a new client. I'll give you the address. This one promises $1000."
Chen Zhao arrived at the client's home and discovered that she was a third-tier Hollywood star with STD. And she still wanted to use her body to pay instead of the $1000.
Chen Zhao wouldn't agree unless he was crazy. In the end, she unwillingly paid the $1000.
In the following four days, Chen Zhao received three jobs. The most expensive one was this celebrity. The cheapest one was only four hundred dollars. After taking out Ethan's commission, these three jobs together gave him close to fifteen hundred dollars.
Chen Zhao was pretty satisfied with this kind of income. After all, he could manage to survive in LA with this.
The preconditions were that he couldn't go to Platinum Building to feast every day. Gerlyn wasn't a shallow girl either. She could eat fancy meals but also fast food. She also wouldn't make Chen Zhao pay each time.
Chen Zhao and Gerlyn didn't cling to each other every day either. They both had their own lives and space. They kept a nice distance between each other.
"Chen, where are we going tonight?"
"There's a nice grill near my place. The best part is that they allow pets inside."
"Okay. I can only come after 7 o'clock."
"No problem. I'll wait for you."
Unlike the first time when they both dressed up, they wore more casual clothes this time.
Gerlyn had just gotten out of the police department and Chen Zhao noticed that her left hip bulged slightly. She probably had her gun with her.
After they became familiar with each other, they grew more casual with each other, eating and drinking without concern.
Gerlyn knew a bit about Chen Zhao's illegal medical practices. However, they rarely talked about work. This let them have some privacy too.
"Is it okay for Raymond to eat cooked food like this?" Gerlyn looked at Raymond on the table. Curled up in a bowl, he opened his mouth wide and swallowed a chunk of meat.
Gerlyn had seen some TV shows. She knew what snakes looked like when they ate, but she'd never seen one eat cooked food.
As for the Shar Pei dog Beelzebub, he was much more normal. Of course, this was only in comparison with Raymond. Beelzebub was standing on the chair on his hind legs and pawing at the food on the table.
Gerlyn looked away. Chen Zhao noticed her staring at someone behind him. Just as he was about to turn around, Gerlyn said, "Don't turn around."
Chen Zhao obediently lowered his head and continued eating. He noticed Gerlyn touching her waist, seemingly going for her gun.
"Can you tell me what's going on?" Chen Zhao asked.
"The man at the counter is the suspect of twelve robberies and murders. He was the one who robbed your motel that day. Three people have died in his hands so far. One was a cop."
"You want to arrest him here?"
There were at least twenty customers in the restaurant and that suspect was diabolic. He definitely wouldn't surrender and let himself get arrested. It could very likely evolve to a mass shooting.
If it was on TV, Chen Zhao wouldn't mind enjoying a battle between cops and robbers. In real life, though, this didn't feel good.
"Perhaps the little demon and Raymond can help," Chen Zhao said.
"What? Them? How can they help?"