Oh, really? You're very well-informed. Could you tell me more specifically what it is? I'm quite interested too, after all, I'm just a runner, and I've never even left New York.
Zhang Jie's expression management was perfect, his face filled with just the right amount of bewilderment and curiosity.
Max's gaze, hidden behind her gold-rimmed glasses, flickered slightly as her slender fingers gently tapped the rim of her wine glass.
"But how would probationary lawyers like us know such big news? We only know some inklings."
Zhang Jie silently gave himself a thumbs-up in his heart.
"That's truly a shame," Zhang Jie mumbled indistinctly.
Mrs. Schneider's gaze darted back and forth between the two, like a spectator watching a tennis match.
Mrs. Schneider's expression was a bit amusing; she was both hoping Max would delve deeper into the topic and observing Zhang Jie's expression. She knew Zhang Jie had been away from home for several days, but she just didn't know where he had gone.
However, it was not difficult to find from the conversation between the two that they seemed to be probing something.
Hey, young people nowadays always like to do some mysterious things.
The Old Lady is still old, after all, and can't keep up with the thinking of young people.
"Grandma, eat slower, don't choke."
Max suddenly turned her head, her tone so gentle it could drip water.
Zhang Jie almost choked, startled by the speed of her changing expression.
Good heavens, did this woman learn Sichuan opera face-changing?
Taking advantage of Max's diverted attention, Zhang Jie quickly devoured the rest of the beef, then stood up.
"I'm full. I don't have to wash this plate, do I, Mrs. Schneider? I think your granddaughter Max would be very happy to honor you."
Max's fork scraped an ear-piercing sound across her plate. When she looked up, a perfect smile still graced her face, but her eyes were as cold as the Siberian permafrost.
"Of course, respecting the elderly and cherishing the young is one of my good virtues."
"Oh, thank you so much," Zhang Jie said with an exaggerated gentleman's bow, his lips almost reaching his ears as he turned away.
Making this sharp-tongued woman eat her words was even more satisfying than surviving in Blackthorn Castle.
After returning to his room, Zhang Jie threw himself heavily onto the bed, the pain from his wound making him grimace.
He stared blankly at the ceiling, his mind filled with Max's eyes that seemed to see through everything.
"Still a probationary lawyer? Lying to ghosts!"
He mumbled softly, his fingers unconsciously caressing the glock hidden under his pillow.
The way that woman walked, with her toes touching the ground first, and her professional scanning method when observing a room, seemed more and more off.
Is she really just a probationary lawyer?
It seems I'll have to find time to talk to Mrs. Schneider to get a better understanding, not just about Max, but also Hanna, the little nurse working at the hospital; she wouldn't have an astonishing background too, would she?
It was normal for Mrs. Schneider to know the rules of the assassin world because she had long dealt with them; after all, renting out houses at such low rents to assassins as a place to settle down was rare in New York.
However, it seemed Mrs. Schneider did not want her family to be involved in the assassin world.
However, her idea seemed to have fallen a bit short.
Max's behavior didn't seem like that of a proper lawyer.
As he was thinking, a gentle knock suddenly sounded on the door.
Zhang Jie shivered all over; the knock was eerily gentle—Mrs. Schneider always just kicked the door open.
The answer was obvious: it was Max outside the door.
"Honey, don't you want to talk to me?"
A sickly sweet voice came from outside the door.
Zhang Jie rolled his eyes. Was this woman taking the wrong medicine or something?
Damn it, who calls someone 'honey' the first time they meet? What's our relationship, don't you have a clue?
He dawdled for a long time before opening the door, deliberately pulling it open just a crack, revealing half a wary face.
"What do you want with me so late at night? You're not going to talk to me about tax evasion, are you?"
Max had changed into a silk nightgown, the wine-red silk fabric gleaming with an ambiguous luster in the hallway light.
She held a glass of red wine in each hand, her head tilted, looking like a fashion magazine cover girl.
"You really have no gentlemanly demeanor, and you are completely clueless about romance."
"Thanks, I don't drink."
"Really? Then what about the whiskey in there?"
She chuckled, her gaze passing over Zhang Jie's shoulder and accurately locking onto the almost empty whiskey bottle on the bedside table.
Zhang Jie followed her gaze back, secretly cursing himself for being careless.
Damn, this damned observation skill.
"Alright, I just don't drink red wine."
He stubbornly argued.
Max smiled even more brightly, extending the wine glass in her right hand forward until its rim almost touched Zhang Jie's nose. "But it's impolite to keep a lady holding a wine glass."
Max's words were as aggressive as ever.
Zhang Jie reluctantly took the wine glass, their fingertips briefly touching as they exchanged hands.
Max smiled slightly, gently clinking her right-hand glass against Zhang Jie's, making a 'clink' sound.
"Drink it or not, it's up to you."
Max said, elegantly raising her own glass, revealing a stretch of snow-white neck as she tilted her head back.
The red wine slid past her lips, a few mischievous drops escaping, rolling down her chin all the way to the hollow of her collarbone, finally disappearing into the subtly revealed cleavage of her nightgown.
Big, truly big!
What white red wine!
Zhang Jie's gaze involuntarily followed that drop of red wine, his Adam's apple unconsciously bobbing.
Damn, who can resist such temptation?
All you handsome and dashing Keanu Reeves out there, can you resist it?
Max's gaze remained on Zhang Jie's face, watching his expression and line of sight, a faint smile slowly curving her lips.
You little rascal, just watch me reel you in.
No one can resist the allure of my beauty.
By the time he reacted, he was met with Max's mischievous gaze.
"Is it good to look at?" Her red lips parted slightly, a hint of allure in her voice.
"Perhaps we can talk about something else?"
Zhang Jie immediately sprang back like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, his back hitting the doorframe with a 'bang'.
"Cough, cough, whatever you have to say, just say it here!"
His voice rose an octave due to nervousness.
Max, however, took another step forward, the hem of her nightgown slightly lifting with the movement, revealing the graceful lines of her calves.
"Why so nervous? I won't eat you~"
She deliberately drew out the end of her sentence, her fingers gently twirling a strand of her golden hair.
Zhang Jie felt all the hairs on his body stand on end; this woman definitely had issues!
He fumbled for the gun at his lower back, but then remembered he was only wearing home shorts.
"You... if you come any closer, I won't be polite!" His voice carried a trace of panic he didn't even notice himself.
Just then, a loud shout came from the stairwell: "What are you doing!"
Mrs. Schneider rushed over like a lioness protecting her cubs, waving a spatula covered in dish soap.
"Zhang Jie! I told you, don't even think about Max!"
Zhang Jie's mouth hung open, his expression like he had swallowed a fly.
Is this Old Lady selectively blind?
--+--
T/N: Although I'm an inexperienced Editor, I do have a Patreon account! Although it seems like I don't have many supporters right now, my webnovel will be released in full every day, and the advanced chapters will be uploaded to Patreon.
It may not be worth it now, but who knows, it might be different in the future. Who knows!
patreon.com/TripleCrown07
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