Back in Blenheim City.
Having experienced a series of events just now, Ronald actually felt he was in great spirits.
He didn’t plan on waiting until tomorrow either.
Heading straight in the direction of Nicole’s home, he walked over decisively.
The night was Ronald’s best disguise, and the regular night patrol officers had no chance of spotting him moving through the darkness.
It took just over a quarter of an hour, and he arrived at Nicole’s house.
Looking at the unchanged little house in front of him, Ronald was momentarily stunned.
"Could it be... she’s not here?"
Not far ahead, Nicole’s little house was pitch-black.
Ronald knew Nicole’s habits, and at this hour, the investigator girl definitely wouldn’t be in bed sleeping.
If nothing unexpected had occurred.
Tonight, Nicole should have been on patrol duty for the Investigation Bureau.
The harsh reality doused him with a bucket of cold water, and no matter what, Ronald couldn’t make the investigator girl appear in front of him.
Left with no choice, he had to take out paper and pen from his jacket pocket.
After writing a note and stuffing it into the mailbox, Ronald shrugged his shoulders and then turned to leave the street.
After all, no matter how good his mood was.
He wasn’t so bold as to go looking for an investigator on duty in Blenheim City in the middle of the night.
Judging by the way the investigators conducted their business.
Nicole probably wouldn’t have any complaints, but what her partner would think was hardly optimistic.
He safely made his way back to the Chancellor Apartments.
Ronald skillfully took out his keys, gently opened the front door, and entered.
Mrs. Hudson, who had good sleep habits, had already retired to bed, and he had eaten a dinner provided by the businessmen in the suburbs.
That’d be all for today...
Thinking this, Ronald groped his way to the second floor in the dark, lay down on his bed, and drifted off to sleep like that.
After getting up, Ronald went to the apartment’s entrance as usual, leisurely retrieving the day’s newspaper.
The landlady was not at home at this time.
Judging from the food situation at the apartment these past few days, Ronald felt she was probably out buying fruit.
He absentmindedly analyzed the trivial matters in his mind.
While taking his food beside the first-floor fireplace, Ronald slowly made his way back to the second floor.
Miss Hudson’s breakfast today was still quite satisfying.
A piece of warm bread, a cup of tea with brown sugar added, and a few slices of fried bacon.
Sitting at the desk, Ronald ate his breakfast while flipping through the newspaper.
The Coastline Daily’s news was the same old stories.
Although some things could provide a bit of help to Ronald, their actual use was not presently apparent.
At best, they served to supplement information.
After looking through a few important sections, Ronald quickly finished reading the parts he needed, subsequently closed the newspaper, and set it aside, planning to pick up a different publication to read.
However, just as he was proficiently flipping through the Coastline Daily.
A pale yellow envelope fell out from the slightly loose newspaper pages.
The letter with the ginkgo leaf pattern hit the desk.
Aside from being slightly smaller and not directly stating "Ginkgo Leaf Business Alliance" on top, it was nearly identical to the last.
Raising an eyebrow, Ronald put down his cup of tea and opened the envelope.
It was a letter sent by Everton in his personal capacity, and its contents were simple and clear.
The exhibition outside of Blenheim City has had to be temporarily suspended due to the current situation.
Therefore, your duties are temporarily on hold.
Considering your hard work over this short period, the commerce association will pay a certain compensation based on the proportion of work hours, expected to be delivered within a week by the agreed method.
If possible, we look forward to continuing our cooperation with you in the future.
Just that much in less than a page of text.
Patricia looked at the message the letter in her hands conveyed; Ronald’s expression, however, grew complicated for a moment.
After a while, he began to speak to himself in a stilted tone:
"So, dear Mr. Ronald has lost his job again?"
"Yes, just like that!"
"In less than two months, Mr. Ronald has been fired from three different jobs..."
"Although, although he did receive some compensation..."
After making fun of himself, Ronald raised his hand to cover his face.
He couldn’t help but sigh.
Although Everton’s letter wasn’t about firing him, just about suspending the exhibition work,
after the series of events, he felt it was still a bit odd.
It was like trying to play a mobile game three times in a row, only to be interrupted by an unexpected phone call each time, which was frustrating.
Fortunately, Ronald still had quite a bit of savings in hand.
The money he’d earned in the past two months could at least sustain him for a year and a half.
With a resigned shake of his head, he tossed the letter into the wastebasket beside the desk.
"Who cares about a job anyway?"
"After all, Mr. Ronald is definitely not the type to care about being unemployed..."
Just as Ronald was muttering to himself, someone knocked on the second-floor door.
Next, Mrs. Hudson’s familiar voice called from outside:
"Mr. Ronald, are you home?"
Ronald immediately responded:
As he answered, Ronald got up and walked to the door.
As he opened the door, the scene before him took him by surprise.
Right at the second-floor entrance.
Mrs. Hudson was looking at him with a subtle, and even somewhat regretful, expression.
She surveyed Ronald up and down as he stood in the room, then said with a bit of an odd tone:
"Mr. Ronald, your friend is downstairs looking for you."
"A cute little girl, indeed."
Ronald suddenly understood the situation.
It must be Nicole who had come to his place, and Mrs. Hudson had greeted her.
The timing was delicate.
Patricia had not been gone from Blenheim for long, and he had also mentioned that he was going to Springs.
Then, considering that Mrs. Hudson knew he wasn’t a local and didn’t have a wide social circle, the fact that another young girl had come looking for him just days after Patricia left could easily lead to misunderstandings...
Obviously, in such a scenario prone to misinterpretation...
The landlady’s thoughts had gone astray.
Realizing this, Ronald immediately started to clarify:
"Mrs. Hudson, please don’t misunderstand."
"Nicole is a friend from work I had before, and she’s here today to discuss official business!"
Mrs. Hudson looked at Ronald with a skeptical eye.
After a moment, she still nodded:
"If she’s a friend, then you’d better go down quickly."
"Don’t keep her waiting."
Ronald immediately replied:
"Alright, I’m on my way down."
He practically rushed down the stairs, but as he reached the first-floor hall, Ronald again fell into confusion.
Because there on the chair in the lobby, Nicole’s state was completely unlike what he had imagined!