BXBX NOVEL Chapter 339 - Third Wheel
When the newbie was recaptured, it was basically an open secret. To be more precise, between Madam Grace and Ye Shuang, there were some open secrets that they did not tell each other. For example, Grace knew very early that it was Ye Shuang who saved the man, and in return, Ye Shuang knew that it was Madam Grace who was behind the kidnapping. The difference between the two was... the madam thought that she knew more about him, but he did not know much about her. While Ye Shuang knew more than she let on, she pretended not to know anything.
Due to her desire for Brother Shuang and not wanting to do anything too openly, Madam Grace kept her search for the newbie relatively down low. But actually, when Cedrick was assigned to the same hotel, Han Chu and Ye Shuang knew that tragedy was going to strike the poor lamb.
The two villains believed that with Madam Grace’s pride, she would not go after the man’s virginity so soon, but even if she did... it would be fine since the victim was a male, right?
Therefore, when ‘Tess’ was kidnapping the newbie, Han Chu received the notification and called Ye Shuang to come witness the live show.
“Since we have Xiao Su with us, you go and tell her to steal all the cameras later.” Han Chu looked at the video as he issued his order to Ye Shuang without even turning around.
“Okay,” Ye Shuang answered. The longer she stared at the African American in the video, the more familiar she felt. She pieced things together and suddenly yelped, “Wait, that’s the fatty!”
“Huh?” Han Chu turned to glance at Ye Shuang.
Ye Shuang pointed agitatedly at ‘Tess’ who was hauling the man in the video and turned around to tattle. “Madam Grace’s personal bodyguard is Edward!”
Han Chu frowned. He looked at the screen and then at Ye Shuang. After a few second’s silence, he finally spoke. “...Don’t use your finger to poke at my screen.”
That’s not the point, okay‽
Ye Shuang was about to explode when Han Chu continued. “Are you sure?”
Then he fell into silence as his fingers worked to pull out the investigation report on ‘Tess’. “This African American has been with Madam Grace for a long time now. He showed up next to Madam Grace about six years ago and has been by her side ever since. The disguise is not that hard to make with a silicon mask, and the technology now is so advanced that everything from face to body can be disguised. But if it’s just the face mask, the factory on the market will only need several hours to make an exquisite one and only several minutes to finish a rough one...”
“Six years? Personal bodyguard?” Ye Shuang pulled her hand back and frowned. “Like you said, this could be a disguise, but I know that this man is really trusted by Madam Grace. If he has been following Madam Grace for the past six years, how do you explain the identity of ‘Edward’?”
“There is probably a real personal bodyguard.” Han Chu thought about it and pulled out a few more pictures from his file on ‘Tess’. He clicked on a few of them before closing the file. “I don’t have many pictures here, at least not enough to make any comparison, but if your suspicion is right, logically speaking, Edward should have assigned another ‘Tess’ to stay with Madam Grace normally, and he only shows up on special occasions.”
There was a limitation to cranial comparisons. If things like hairstyle, hats, or other objects were in the way, unless there were special devices, it was hard to discern the shapes of two human skulls. Furthermore, even without these things, a normal person would have a hard time telling the difference between two human heads.
Ye Shuang was barely able to tell the difference with her naked eyes. Make-up was invisible in her eyes, and the silicone mask did make things slightly difficult, but she could see make some inferences. As there was not enough pictorial evidence, Han Chu’s suspicion temporarily could not be confirmed.
“Never mind, how he solves the issue of dual identity is not that important. In any case, I can confirm this man is that fatty!”
After some internal conflict, Ye Shuang decided to ignore the detail for now. She wiggled her finger and lampooned the man on the screen. “Brother Han, look, this man is about 180, and he’s tall and fit. Edward normally walks with his back bent, and that lowers his actual height. Combined with the lump on his stomach, it increases that impression even further. His pudginess lowers the suspicion we have on him.”
“Now that you mention it, he was wearing a set of gloves, and the layers were a bit more than usual,” Han Chu said.
The gloves were probably to hide the easily exposed hands, and the extra layers were to hide the change to his physique. Perhaps he had even added foam to his stomach and back to create the illusion that he was fat. Given that he had all the time in the world to prepare, it was definitely possible to create the image of a fat man with a silicone suit and mask. There was once a romance movie in which a forty-eight-kilogram female actress transformed into a woman over one hundred kilograms. The technology was so good that one could not even tell from the details.
However, if this ‘Tess’ received a sudden mission from Madam Grace and then used the opening during his mission to return as ‘Edward’ to attend the discussion, then he would not have the time that he usually had to come up with the disguise. Other than the mask that could be put on easily, the rest of the illusion had to be made up with clothes.
She sighed inaudibly, and Han Chu was ready to accept this new development. “Then it looks like there’s an eighty percent chance that Edward and Tess are the same person.”
“This is so unfair.” When they were deep in discussion, Cedrick walked into the room with a tray of food from room service. He looked so annoyed. “This is my room, but you took over the place and even ordered me out to buy food... What are you hiding from me? I heard the notification from that laptop earlier; it has to be something important.”
Han Chu looked at him expressionlessly. “This is your room, is it? I seem to remember that you were using my card.”
“Don’t change the subject!” Cedrick slammed the tray on the table and walked over. “I did use your card, but don’t forget that I’m going to pay your back.”
So, he was borrowing another person’s money to treat that person? That was so dumb!
Han Chu shared a look with Ye Shuang. After that, Ye Shuang coughed and said seriously, “Fine, then I’ll tell you what we were looking at. Congratulations, your mother just found you... a new stepdad.”
Cedrick did not know whether he was lucky or unlucky. With such a mother who could always manage to destroy his world view, he even managed to grow up to become a stand-up thief. Perhaps the lack of a mother’s love during his childhood was a good thing.
...
Even though he had his reservations, in the end, Cedrick decided to meet his biological mother. The question that he had once wanted to ask her was no longer that important, but he wanted closure.
Ye Shuang was forced to listen to another round of the man’s begging. Cedrick stated his intention clearly; he just wanted an opportunity to see Madam Grace. Other than that, he would not do anything else. He would not expose his identity or create any more trouble for them.
At most, he would share a few words with her, which was not that big of a favor, and even Ye Shuang thought that the man was not asking for much. With Madam Grace’s way of thinking, she probably would not even think much of it.
After analyzing the intertwining relationship web, and believing there would not be any problem, Ye Shuang agreed to help him. When Cedrick was thanking him gratefully, she slipped in a question. “Then what about your father?”
“Huh?” Cedrick was rather stunned.
Ye Shuang explained patiently for Cedrick. “You started this journey to find your father and sister, and then somehow, that led to the discovery of the biological mother, and it turns out all those people who you thought were your family had nothing to do with you... Then what about your biological father? Have you considered that he might still be alive?”
“This...” Cedrick frowned. Since the relationship was too complicated, after he heard about Madam Grace, his attention had been fully occupied by that, and because of that, the relationship to his father’s side had been completely ignored.
With the reminder, Cedrick realized that he should have another real family member, but whether he found this father or not, would it have made a difference?
Thinking about Madam Grace’s large harem and the possibility that his father was one of them, due to his remaining pride, Cedrick felt conflicted.
Some time later, realizing that Ye Shuang was still waiting for his answer, Cedrick stammered, “Do you think... Madam Grace will still remember the men that she had a relationship with in the past?”
The number would reach into the double digit so... she definitely would not remember it!
Ye Shuang went silent. She sighed and patted Cedrick on his shoulder. “It’s my fault for not thinking it through. Let’s forget about it.”
...
Ye Shuang did not need to purposely go look for Madam Grace. As long as Brother Shuang did not change his gender, the woman would find a chance to meet up with Ye Shuang. Occasionally, she would call to ask Ye Shuang out on a date like going to play tennis or golf.
Cedrick started hanging out with Ye Shuang. Other than at night, during the day, they were practically inseparable.
Naturally, after Madam Grace was done arranging the ‘lessons’ for the newbie, she tossed the man to ‘Tess’ to have his resistance crushed. When she came looking for Ye Shuang, there was a Cedrick attached.
“Madam Grace is here.” Cedrick was more observant than Ye Shuang. Even though they were walking in the park, Ye Shuang only focused on the little girls in the park while Cedrick kept his eyes and ears open to all direction.
When a black limo stopped by the roadside, Cedrick’s eyes wandered silently toward it. Then Madam Grace got out of the car. There were only about fifty meters between them, with only bushes and flower pots blocking the way. Even so, Cedrick still gave Ye Shuang the update on first notice.
Ye Shuang pretended not to notice it. He turned to Cedrick and said, “Okay, try not to panic.”