Ethan Wu was perplexed. Why was someone suddenly following and surveilling him?
His new life had just begun today, and while it had been eventful, news shouldn't have spread fast enough for anyone to be tailing him at this point.
Could it be Dylan Ding?
But Dylan wasn't omniscient; he couldn't possibly know about Ethan's presence already. It should be at least a few days before he'd catch on.
Or was it Tyler Li?
Had Tyler arranged to have him watched, even in the restroom? That didn't make sense either. Tyler wouldn't do something so foolish, nor would his trusted men make it so obvious as to be easily detected.
Ethan kept walking, unfazed. Lunch was still the priority; his life was free now, and he intended to enjoy it. Even though being watched might indicate some looming trouble or even danger, he was unbothered.
Ethan didn't believe there was any situation he couldn't handle — otherwise, the thousand-year loop he'd endured would have been a waste.
Back in the private room, as soon as he shut the door, a man in a baseball cap peeked around the corner, glanced at the door, and pulled out his phone to make a call.
"Hey, boss."
"Where is he?"
"He's having lunch with Mr. Li and Miss Li."
"Keep an eye on him, but be careful. Don't get caught."
"Got it, boss. Should I…try to listen in on their conversation?"
"Are you nuts? If Mr. Li catches you, you'll be fish food by tomorrow! Just track him and see where he goes."
…
Inside the private room.
"What were you guys talking about?" Ethan asked casually as he took his seat.
"Oh, we were talking about you, brother-in-law," Tyler said immediately, sounding even more respectful than before. "Brother-in-law, I never asked, are you from Sea City?"
"Yes, I am. From Ning'an County," Ethan replied, adopting a casual tone.
The moment Tyler started speaking, Ethan already knew he was probing. But he didn't mind playing along.
Isabella also noticed Tyler's intention but didn't intervene, as she was curious herself about how Ethan would respond.
"A county, huh? Do you live in the city now?"
"Yeah, in the old district, East Street, Moon River Community."
"Oh, that's… an old neighborhood. Brother-in-law, with your abilities, you didn't consider buying a better place?"
"No, it's the old family home, and it's quite comfortable," Ethan replied.
"Old family home?" Tyler echoed, picking up on a potential inconsistency and pressing further, "But didn't you just say your family's from Ning'an County? How do you have an old family home in the city?"
There was a potential gap in the story.
"It's our old home," Ethan said with a smile. "My parents moved to the city together after they got married. My dad's a cook — makes noodles and stir-fries — and my mom's a bit more educated, so she worked as an accountant. That was more than twenty years ago, and property was cheap back then. They saved up for years to make the down payment on that place."
"Then… my grandfather was in poor health for many years before he passed. When my grandmother passed away, my parents decided they needed to look after the family elders, and since they couldn't afford a storefront in the city, they went back to the county to open a small restaurant. It was easier to care for the family that way."
"So, they rented out the place in the city for years. Property values kept rising, and they couldn't bear to sell it. When I entered high school and attended Sea City No. 1 High School, I moved back to live there."
Ethan didn't mind sharing family details. He knew that with Tyler's connections, his background could be uncovered in minutes.
One thing worth noting: Ethan was from a parallel universe and had effectively assumed the life of his parallel self. This meant that, in this world, his parents and relatives were the same as before, and so were his feelings for them.
Though some life experiences differed slightly, the essentials were the same.
Tyler was left with two words after hearing Ethan's story — "Ordinary" and "Mundane."
Too ordinary, too mundane!
Ethan's parents had once shared big dreams when they moved to the city, like so many others of their generation, hoping for a better future.
But fate often has a way of playing tricks.
After all their hard work in buying a home, they eventually returned to the county to live a stable life, giving up their city dreams. Ethan, as he claimed, was just an ordinary person from an ordinary family — or so he said.
Not a word of it, Tyler believed.
It was all lies!
An ordinary person wouldn't know intelligence as if by magic.
An ordinary person couldn't beat a top-level gambling expert from Macau.
An ordinary person wouldn't chop off a man's hand without so much as blinking.
In truth, Ethan wasn't lying. Up until "yesterday," on July 7, 2020, he had indeed been a regular person. If he hadn't experienced 365,000 iterations of July 7, he would still be an ordinary man today.
"Brother-in-law, did you live alone in high school? Didn't your parents consider accompanying you?" Tyler asked, probing further.
"Nope," Ethan replied promptly. "I have a younger sister, five years younger than me. Someone had to look after her, and they couldn't close the noodle shop — we needed to make a living. I was fifteen or sixteen then, so living alone wasn't a problem. With a bit of allowance, I could get by just fine. Boys don't need coddling."
Unbelievable!
Tyler still didn't buy it. Only a fool would believe Ethan's story of such an "ordinary" life.
To Tyler, the more ordinary Ethan made himself seem, the more suspicious he became. Tyler was definitely going to investigate Ethan thoroughly, and Ethan knew he would.
But Ethan didn't care! He had nothing to fear.
If Tyler could find any evidence that Ethan was lying or hiding a major background, then he would have truly encountered a supernatural phenomenon.
Because he'd told the absolute truth.
"Your gambling skills are amazing, brother-in-law," Tyler praised, adding, "Who taught you? If you don't mind sharing?"
"I picked it up myself in my spare time," Ethan replied casually.
This, however, was a lie. But no one could find out where he'd learned to gamble since that period of his life had already been reset.
"And how do you know… all those things?" Tyler pressed, referring to Ethan's intel.
"That's a trade secret." Ethan flashed a mysterious smile.
"Alright, enough with the interrogation," Isabella interjected, putting a stop to Tyler's questioning. He was asking things that couldn't be answered, and she knew that as an intelligence broker, Ethan was bound to keep some secrets.
Knock, knock!
There was a knock on the door, followed by the door opening as the waiter came in to serve their meal.
It was a French-style lunch: steak, foie gras, pumpkin corn soup, and some desserts.
They enjoyed a pleasant meal, chatting casually and getting to know each other better over the food.
After lunch, the three of them left the restaurant but got into different cars.
Ethan rode with Isabella back to Radiant Style, while Tyler returned to the Crown Entertainment Club.
As they parted ways, Ethan sat in the back seat of the Maybach, glancing at the rearview mirror, then turning to look out the back window. Isabella noticed and looked back too, seeing nothing out of the ordinary — just traffic and their bodyguard's car behind them.
"What's the matter? Missing my brother already? He's long gone," Isabella teased. It wasn't like her to joke, but they had quickly become more familiar over the course of the day.
"Nothing," Ethan replied with a smile.
In truth, he'd noticed a car following them!
And he already knew who it was.
Earlier, in the restaurant hallway, the man in the baseball cap had been too obscured for Ethan to see his face. But while people might disguise themselves well, cars were harder to hide. Ethan recognized the unassuming black Volkswagen trailing them.
The bodyguard sitting in the front passenger seat suddenly pressed a hand to his earpiece, listening intently before murmuring a response: "Understood."
He then turned to Isabella and said, "Miss, the car following us has been confirmed by our rear vehicle."
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。