Chapter 589

When Yuri Walsh suddenly brought up The Serene Leaf Teahouse, Melody Summers took a moment to process it. Frowning, she asked, "...What do you mean by that?"

Yuri Walsh raised his left hand, gently kneading his still-aching and numb right arm. He looked Melody Summers in the eye and said, "Melody, back at The Serene Leaf Teahouse, you didn’t manage to destroy all the security cameras. You missed one..."

As he said this, Yuri Walsh saw, to his satisfaction, the look in Melody Summers’s eyes shift.

He chuckled softly at the sight and continued, "The people at The Serene Leaf Teahouse saw the footage. They know you have a special knockout drug that can make people pass out silently. Now, they’re very curious about you and want to bring you in for questioning..."

"Melody, the people behind The Serene Leaf Teahouse are extremely powerful. It’s not something you can easily stand against. But... if you agree to be with me, I can protect you. I won’t let them harm you."

Hearing Yuri Walsh’s words, Melody Summers felt a swirl of complicated emotions—

’I can’t believe it... I was so careful when I checked, but I still missed a camera.’

’The knockout drug I used is high-tech from the Arcadian Space. If it gets discovered, it’ll definitely attract unwanted trouble, so...’

’So I’ll have to root out The Serene Leaf Teahouse and the powers behind it and crush them as soon as possible!’

Melody Summers looked at Yuri Walsh, her brow furrowed. "You seem to know a lot about The Serene Leaf Teahouse... So tell me, who are the powers behind it?"

Yuri Walsh didn’t answer Melody Summers’s question. He just smiled faintly, a hint of resignation in his expression. "You don’t need to know who they are. You just need to know that I can protect you and keep anyone from hurting you."

Yuri Walsh spoke with a very gentle tone, as if trying to coax Melody Summers, but his words made her feel extremely uncomfortable.

When Melody Summers didn’t respond, Yuri added, "Besides you, I can also protect your family... You wouldn’t want them to be endangered because of this, would you...?"

That got a reaction out of Melody Summers.

Melody Summers looked at Yuri Walsh, blinked slowly, and said softly, "Are you... threatening me with my family?"

—Her family was her breaking point.

As Yuri Walsh crossed that line again, Melody Summers felt the anger she had just suppressed ignite all over again.

But Yuri Walsh seemed completely oblivious. He shook his head gently and, still using that resigned tone, said, "How could you call it a threat, Melody? I told you, I’m serious about you. As long as you agree to be with me, your family will be my family. I can assign bodyguards to protect you all..."

But before he could finish his sentence, Melody Summers had whipped out her taser again. Blue electricity arced with a loud CRACKLE that echoed through the night as she swung it straight for his face—

Yuri Walsh’s pupils contracted at the sight. He sidestepped and retreated two paces, clumsily dodging Melody Summers’s attack. He sounded exasperated as he snapped, "Who do you think can help you besides me? Sophie Thorne? Don’t be a fool!"

"Do you have any idea? After tonight, Sophie Thorne will have a hard time just protecting herself! She won’t have the energy to worry about you!"

Melody Summers froze at his words and asked, confused, "What do you mean by that? What happened to Sophie Thorne?"

’Could it be... that the fire at Sophie Thorne’s house tonight was connected to Yuri Walsh?’

’Why else would he say something like that?’

Meeting Melody Summers’s suspicious gaze, Yuri Walsh’s lips curled. "You want to know?" he asked.

His eyes gleamed with an inexplicable confidence. Melody Summers rolled her eyes at the sight and said irritably, "No! If you’re not going to say, then forget it! You psycho!"

With that, she decided she didn’t want to waste any more words on Yuri Walsh and turned to leave.

Talking to Yuri Walsh right now was a complete waste of time. Melody Summers decided to go home and get some sleep, and she would go straight to the hospital to ask Sophie Thorne tomorrow.

Yuri Walsh stood rooted to the spot, watching Melody Summers’s retreating figure. His gaze was glued to her, his expression growing increasingly dark...

******

When Yuri Walsh returned to his villa, the discomfort from the electric shock still hadn’t completely faded. He squeezed his numb right arm, feeling both annoyed and amused—first a knockout drug, now a high-powered taser. He had no idea where Melody Summers got these things.

Yuri Walsh recalled his first impression of Melody Summers. It had been at a banquet where she’d gotten into a dispute with the young master of the Lancaster family. The Lancaster family’s scion was well-known in their circle for his terrible temper, yet Melody Summers had chewed him out so thoroughly he was left speechless.

Then later, Melody Summers, dressed in plain, inexpensive clothes, had bought several million worth of wonder drugs in one go. He heard she had donated that batch of medicine to the emergency management office for The Metropolis Residences.

Yuri Walsh admitted that he was initially attracted to Melody Summers’s looks, but after getting to know her, he found her to be a walking contradiction, full of mystery, making him want to probe deeper.

As Yuri Walsh reminisced, he struggled to take off his jacket with his left hand. Just then, he caught the scent of cigarette smoke.

Yuri Walsh frowned at the smell. He turned his head and saw his fiancée, Joy Jennings, leaning casually against the doorframe. A long, slender ladies’ cigarette was held between her elegant, pale fingers as she blew out a cloud of smoke.

Yuri Walsh’s frown deepened at the sight. "I believe I’ve told you not to smoke in the living room," he said. "I don’t like the smell."

Joy Jennings, however, completely ignored Yuri Walsh’s words. She narrowed her eyes slightly and took another drag from the cigarette.

Meeting Yuri Walsh’s disapproving gaze, Joy Jennings slowly exhaled a cloud of white smoke. She looked at him and asked in a cold voice, "Who was that filthy woman from earlier?"

Hearing her question, Yuri Walsh paused in the middle of taking off his jacket. He was silent for a long moment before saying softly, "What are you talking about?"

Joy Jennings scoffed at his words. "Stop pretending! I saw you at the hospital!"

"She already rejected you, yet you were still fawning all over her, insisting on walking her home... Don’t you think you’re being ridiculous?"

"...Yuri Walsh, do I need to remind you? You. Are. Engaged! We’re getting married soon!"

Listening to Joy Jennings’s tirade, Yuri Walsh irritably yanked off his jacket. He threw it to the side and said in a heavy voice, "You don’t need to worry about her. She won’t affect our marriage."

Seeing Yuri Walsh’s indifferent attitude, Joy Jennings felt her anger surge.

She viciously stubbed out the cigarette in her hand against the wall beside her. The ash left a black smudge on the pristine white wall, a strikingly conspicuous mark.

Joy Jennings threw the cigarette butt from her hand, stared into Yuri Walsh’s eyes, and said in a furious voice, "Yuri Walsh! I don’t care how many women you’ve messed around with before, but we’re getting married now. You’d better take care of these dirty little secrets!"

"If I ever find out you’re still involved with her, I’ll have her sent to my uncle’s laboratory!"