"How is the matter you promised me going?"
Hearing the café owner’s words , Jason continued to eat voraciously on the surface, but deep down, he was quickly contemplating.
Another acquaintance!
And one even more troublesome than the owner of the appliance store!
Clearly, the owner of the appliance store was merely a nodding acquaintance, not familiar with his ’identity’.
But what about the female owner in front of him?
She should be quite familiar.
Not just from the words just now, but also because they were neighbors living one above the other.
How should he respond so as not to reveal any flaws?
Although not the best choice, it was Jason’s safest bet.
Fortunately, the food in front of him made this ’excuse’ seem quite legitimate and reasonable.
Watching Jason eating mouthful by mouthful, the female café owner frowned, unconsciously opened her mouth to speak, but ultimately said nothing and just turned back to the bar. She then took out a piece of paper from a drawer on the side of the bar and approached again.
She placed the paper on the table and stared at Jason.
The paper was filled with text, essentially stating that Jason accepted the commission from café owner Hui Lijing to find her sister Hui Lixiang, and as a reward, the second floor of White Bear Café would be rented to Jason free of charge for one year.
At the bottom were signatures and handprints from both parties.
"You’re not thinking of welching, are you?"
The female owner asked, staring intently at Jason.
"I need more information!"
Jason said, chewing his food with his speech slightly unclear.
He did not go along with the question.
Without knowing the specifics, going along with the owner’s words would only make him fall into her rhythm, something that Jason definitely did not want to happen.
Therefore, Jason started counter-asking.
This made Hui Lijing frown.
"I’ve told you everything I know!"
The female owner emphasized.
"But that doesn’t prevent me from asking again."
The woman’s frown deepened.
"Do you suspect I have something to do with my sister’s disappearance?"
Hui Lijing raised her voice a notch, sounding very angry.
This scene seemed strangely familiar.
Similar settings, similar situations, which made Jason instinctively think of the female pastry chef.
However, even if he was feeling nostalgic inside, Jason remained wisely silent at this moment.
At this time, saying anything was redundant, and it was better to let Hui Lijing come to her own conclusions.
After all, what one comes to realize on their own is what they will acknowledge and prefer to see.
Whether or not the sister’s disappearance had anything to do with her, Hui Lijing would show some form of reaction at this time.
This was one of the little tricks Jason had learned in Nightless City.
Or rather, a necessary survival skill.
There, every resident of Nightless City had similar skills, it was just the way they manifested them that varied—some habitually used words, others actions, and many simply with a look or expression could pressure someone into divulging more information.
As a ’postman’, he did not need to do so.
He just had to do his job well and then, keep silent.
Those employers would always end up revealing more on their own.
Of course, most of the time, he definitely would not stare at someone’s hairline.
Although doing so might yield more information, more likely it would result in facing a barrage head-on.
At this moment, Jason chose silence.
After several quick breaths, Hui Lijing calmed down.
"I knew it, choosing you was a terrible mistake, if I still had my detective license, I could have conducted the investigation myself, without needing you at all."
The female owner glared at Jason before speaking.
However, immediately after, she spoke again.
"My sister is the former owner of the White Bear Café, 23 years old, an extremely annoying person who would stop at nothing to get money, and, with a pretty face, very popular amongst some men. At her peak, she dated 11 boyfriends at once. She saved up for the White Bear Café with her own schemes once she reached adulthood."
"Our relationship is very bad, especially since my sister dropped out of high school and ran away from home; for nearly two years, we had no contact. Afterward, me becoming a detective after fulfilling my dream of becoming a barista, we gradually got back in touch. She had a wide network and could always procure some difficult-to-find information, especially evidence of men’s infidelity."
"Later, I would occasionally come here to gather information, which my sister would sell to me at a 9.99% discount from the market price, and then take a 0.01% handling fee."
"About two weeks ago, my sister disappeared. I started investigating using every means I could think of, but it wasn’t going well, I found nothing, and I don’t even know where she disappeared."
"Then you appeared, I must have been out of my mind, thinking that my sister might have encountered something out of the ordinary, that’s why I commissioned you."
As she spoke, Hui Lijing glared at Jason, her cheeks puffing up round and angry, like an annoyed pufferfish.