Chapter 24 - The Locket Pendant

Andrea had trouble getting back. The location was rather remote and she did not even have somebody to ask for directions. Though the GPS helped, but driving on a road with no road signs was rather troublesome.

Along the way, she found an old shop selling carved woods. She decided to stop and ask for a clear direction. When she entered the door, pieces of wooden pendants caught her attention... One of them specifically caught her attention. It was a wooden locket pendant engraved with a tree-like design on the outside. She swore to have seen one before but could not point a finger to it.

"Do you like it?"

She turned to see an old woman behind her.

"It's the last piece of what my husband had made with that design. He loved trees." The lady said with a smile recalling her late husband.

"It's beautiful…how much is it for?"

"That one is worth 350 Yuan. My son can engrave your name on it if you like."

Then all of a sudden flashes of memory came back. She recalls receiving the same kind of locket pendant when she was a child but as she opened the locket, she could not remember the engraving. Curiosity got to her.

"Your husband made these? What are the chances that someone else can make them?"

"We'll it is possible my dear but my husband was really one of the best during the days. These tree designs were his signatures and had sold a lot during his prime, but I don't recall he made a lot of these locket pendants. You can imagine, it is not as light as those metallic ones, so it did not sell that much."

"I see. I want to have it engraved but I don't want to do it now. Can I come back another time? I'll buy the pendant for now."

"Of course, my dear. So long as we are still open." The old lady smiled.

After the pendant, she found a few more pieces that she bought for her sister. She then asked her for directions so she could find the main high-way.

It was already past noon when she arrived at the Starlight. She was tired of having very little sleep last night and just wanted to have a quick nap. When she entered her apartment she was stunned with the smell food inside.

She found Aunt Rosa in the kitchen table preparing for a meal!

"Oh, my dear. What took you so long? I have been waiting for you for over an hour now."

Andrea was tongue-tied for a moment and asked, "Aunt Rosa, how did you get in my apartment?"

"Oh my...I thought Lu Fang told you I would prepare for your lunch. He gave me your password."

She remembered that he owned the building but that doesn't mean he could just get her door opened for anyone! "He did, but I was not expecting that you'd be in my apartment."

"Anyway, its fine Aunt Rosa, but I will change my password after you leave so I can rest at peace."

"Of course, my dear. I understand."

"Aunt Rosa?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Can you join me?"

Aunt Rosa smiled and stayed to eat with Andrea. After helping her clean-up she gave a paper bag to Andrea and left.

Andrea was wondering what was inside the bag and as she entered her bedroom, she took a peek inside and found 2 pieces of a man's T-shirt and a piece of paper that says "Wear me when you sleep."

She let herself fall to the bed while laughing at the thought of this mischievous man and although he wronged her by accessing her password, she thought he was really thoughtful as well.

For some reason, she wanted to share this bizarre feeling with her sister and gave her a call.

"Lu Fang asked me if I can be his Sugar Baby. What do you think about that?"

The two sisters were laughing unrestrained on the phone as Andrea narrated Lu Fang's eccentric punch lines.

"Sis, setting this aside. I do need help with something. I am dead beat tired at the moment. The person who attacked us last night had a familiar tattoo. I think it may be related to Xio Hanxi's parents. "

"Sure, send it over and I'll update you when I have enough data…and Andy? I think I like him for you."

"We've only known each other for a few days, let us not get into conclusions."

"Well I've known him since he was a teenager, you just need to trust your sister on this!"

"Let us stop from here, please my match-making sister."

After the call ended, she sent her sister the pictures she took of the doctor's tattoo. Shortly after, she forwarded to Lu Fang what she discovered from the Ace of Spades database and a few suspicious transactions over at Lu-Wei Enterprises. She suspects that someone from the inside is leaking information and moving money elsewhere.

She then called the man to inform him that she had sent him something in the email.

In Gabriel's Den, Lu Fang's hands were covered in blood. It hasn't been a while that he had gotten his hands dirty but being the target himself, he could not hold back. He was about to move on to the doctor when Gao Rou brought his phone holding it towards him.

Seeing his babe's number calling made his heart melt and at an instant, a broad smile was plastered on his face.

Gao Rou's look became unpleasant seeing the reaction of his brother, but he was kind enough to put the phone on speaker for him.

"Hi babe, did you miss me already?"

"Mr. Lu, I sent you some data that might interest you. Please have Gao Rou check it as well."

Crickets***

"Mr. Lu? Lu Fang?"

Crickets***

"Babe, are you there?"

"Yes, Babe, you were saying?" The man finally answered.

Gao Rou shook his head.

Andrea was in disbelief! In the midst of the recent complications, he can still manage to tease.

"Babe, the email I sent you will contain access to a secure site where I placed all the leads I got trying to trace who might have hired the assassins. Please check it."

"Thank you, babe. I miss you already."

Andrea blushed but she kept it to herself and avoided the topic.

"Be sure to be safe and have Gao Rou escort you back when you get home."

"Yes, Babe."

"Before I forget, don't ever… ever access my apartment password ever again."

"Okay. I'm sorry, Babe. I won't do it again."

Technically, he did not lie. He had already known Andrea changed her password earlier so moving forward, he won't find out her password.