Copycat - Chapter 34

Chapter 34

◎Strangeness◎

The kitchen was a mess.

The next day, the maids in charge of cleaning blushed as they cleaned up the traces of lovemaking. The morning sun streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Zhou Ziyan opened her eyes and subconsciously reached for the other side of the bed. It was empty. She sat up abruptly.

“Wen Jiao!”

The woman’s panicked voice traveled from the second floor to the villa downstairs. Zhou Ziyan opened the door and walked barefoot to the staircase railing. The expensive red sandalwood railing gave off a faint woody scent. She looked down and saw a woman with her hair in a bun, sitting on the sofa downstairs, her legs crossed, looking at the latest stock market gains.

The anxiety in Zhou Ziyan’s heart slowly subsided. The person downstairs seemed to have been startled by the sound and looked over. Wen Jiao saw Zhou Ziyan standing on the stairs. “What’s wrong? Did you have another nightmare?”

“No,” Zhou Ziyan said, forcing a smile. “What time are you going to the company? Do you want to eat breakfast together?”

The kitchen of the seaside villa was busy from early in the morning. The maids were all doing their respective jobs. A sumptuous breakfast was laid out on the table. The two people sitting at the table were very close to each other, chatting about everyday things. Occasionally, they would suddenly look at each other and laugh heartily.

The new maid was squatting on the floor, wiping the expensive floor with a rag, while secretly glancing at the owners of this luxurious villa. The little maid couldn’t help but sigh in her heart, “How happy they are, just like a real couple.”

After breakfast, Wen Jiao’s driver drove the luxury car out of the garage. Zhou Ziyan reluctantly helped her put on her trench coat. As Wen Jiao adjusted her collar, she felt a warm embrace from behind.

Wen Jiao’s waist was very slender. Zhou Ziyan could almost wrap her arms all the way around her, but she didn’t dare to hold on too tightly. She was too afraid of annoying her.

“Are you coming back tonight?”

Wen Jiao sighed helplessly. “Ziyan, the company is in a growth phase, and there are too many things to do. I can’t be with you all the time.”

Tears streamed down the woman’s face. Wen Jiao reached out and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I’ll video call you tonight.”

“You promise!” Zhou Ziyan sniffled. After being apart for three years, their relationship was now that of a patron and a mistress. Wen Jiao was no longer as compliant with her as she used to be. Wen Jiao often forgot her promises to her, even though she had promised so well in bed.

“I promise,” Wen Jiao said, flicking her reddened nose. “You also have to be a good girl and go see the doctor, okay?”

“Mm.”

Private hospital.

Zhou Ziyan was wearing a mask. The driver opened the car door for her, and she walked into the familiar clinic with her medical records.

“Miss Zhou, good afternoon.”

The doctor who was providing her with psychological intervention was a professional psychiatrist Wen Jiao had hired from M Country. He had extensive surgical and clinical experience.

Zhou Ziyan nodded at him. Doctor Leicester opened the door to the consultation room and pointed to the colorful wires connected to the instruments in the room. “Please come in, Miss Zhou.”

Zhou Ziyan closed her eyes. An extremely bright white light shone on her eyelids, seeping in with a burning heat. Doctor Leicester’s expression was grave. Five minutes later, the instrument stopped running. Zhou Ziyan opened her eyes and sat up. “How is it, Doctor?”

“Has my condition gotten any better?”

Doctor Leicester smiled and nodded. “Your condition is stable and has not gotten any worse.”

Zhou Ziyan frowned slightly. “It just hasn’t gotten worse?”

“I clearly feel—”

“Miss Zhou,” the driver waiting outside the consultation room urged. “Ten minutes is almost up. We should go. Doctor Leicester will send you the results of the examination electronically.”

“But…” Zhou Ziyan hesitated to speak. The driver said calmly, “CEO Wen has hired the famous artist, Ms. Aldrich, for you. The class is scheduled for three o’clock this afternoon.”

At the mention of Wen Jiao’s name, Zhou Ziyan immediately gave in, but she still instructed the doctor to send her the detailed results of this examination via email.

The door to the consultation room was closed tightly. Doctor Leicester stood by the window and watched the woman and the driver get into the car before he quickly took out his phone and dialed the number.

The call rang for a long time. It finally connected after a while. Leicester held his phone, his back bent. “CEO Wen, the patient—”

“What’s the rush? Speak slowly.”

When Zhou Ziyan returned to the seaside villa, the art master, Ms. Aldrich, was talking to her about art movements. However, Zhou Ziyan, who was usually very interested in painting and calligraphy, was distracted, still thinking about what the doctor had said about her condition not getting worse.

She clearly felt that she had… gotten better.

“Today’s class is over,” Ms. Aldrich said, putting down her paintbrush.

Zhou Ziyan was stunned for a moment and quickly apologized: “I’m sorry, teacher. I didn’t mean to zone out. I’m very interested in Western art. Please don’t be angry.”

Aldrich was over fifty, and her hair was gray. Her eyes were kind and gentle. “I’m not angry. I can see your passion for painting in your eyes. I’ve seen your work. You’re very talented and spiritual, but perhaps now is not a good time for you to learn how to paint.”

Zhou Ziyan’s eyes were confused. “Teacher, what are you saying?”

Aldrich pointed to the area slightly to the left of her chest. Zhou Ziyan subconsciously followed her gaze and placed her palm there. A heavy and oppressive beat came from her nerve endings.

“What do you mean?”

Aldrich smiled without speaking and then pointed to the wall, tracing a circle around the room. Zhou Ziyan was even more confused, only thinking that she was still angry.

She began to explain a lot to the famous art master. Aldrich listened patiently. She talked until her lips were chapped, saying almost everything she could. The other person still looked at her with kindness and pity. Just then, a knock came from outside the door. Aldrich opened a paint box and, in front of her, put something inside it.

The movement was incredibly fast.

“Ms. Aldrich, thank you for your guidance. It’s time to go. Please come this way.”

The female housekeeper opened the door and, with a smile, escorted Aldrich out.

After Aldrich left, the female housekeeper said again, “Miss Zhou, CEO Wen has to go to M Country for an important matter and told me to inform you that you don’t have to wait for her tonight.”

“I understand.”

Zhou Ziyan’s expression was momentarily lonely. She had grown used to this feeling of disappointment. Even though she put down her pride and used her body to keep Wen Jiao, she couldn’t stop her from returning to her real home.

“Miss Zhou, I’ll accompany you back to your room,” the female housekeeper said. Zhou Ziyan shook her head: “With her not here, I feel scared being in such a big room by myself. I want to be alone in the studio.”

The female housekeeper’s expression was blank: “Miss Zhou, you should follow the doctor’s orders and go back to your room to take your medicine and rest. Please don’t make things difficult for me, a maid. If CEO Wen gets angry, no one can afford it.”

Zhou Ziyan sighed and compromised: “Okay, then please trouble you to move the paint box and canvas to my room. Today’s lesson was too difficult, and I want to review it tonight.”

The female housekeeper did not refuse this request.

The maid placed the paint and canvas in a corner of the huge bedroom and left after tidying up. Only Zhou Ziyan and the housekeeper were left in the bedroom. Zhou Ziyan sat on the sofa in the bedroom. The housekeeper took out three pills: a capsule, a white round pill, and a red round pill.

Zhou Ziyan frowned slightly and pointed to the red one: “Why is there an extra one?”

“Doctor Leicester gave you a new medicine,” the female housekeeper said, handing her a glass of warm water. “Please, Miss Zhou.”

Zhou Ziyan didn’t think much of it and swallowed the pills directly, drinking all the water.

The female housekeeper’s expression softened a little, and her attitude became gentle. “I’ll be going now, Miss Zhou. If you need anything, you can come down to the first floor and call me.”

Zhou Ziyan nodded faintly: “There is one more thing I need to trouble you with.”

“The new girl’s cooking is quite good. Have her make me a bowl of milk and white fungus soup and bring it up.”

“Okay, Miss Zhou.”

The housekeeper closed the door.

After the housekeeper left, Zhou Ziyan immediately locked the door. She took out the thing Aldrich had left for her from the paint box and fiddled with it for a while.

It was a new type of mini-device from a foreign country. It was only the size of a thumb and could not only have a SIM card inserted but also had functions like calling, internet access, and recording. The most important thing was that it had an anti-surveillance system installed and could not be tracked by anyone.

Zhou Ziyan didn’t understand why Aldrich would leave this for her.

There was only one foreign number in the mini-device’s contacts. She guessed that the owner of this number was Aldrich.

Zhou Ziyan lay on the bed, bored, and explored the functions of this small smart device. After opening the memo, her expression was stunned. She finally understood Aldrich’s intention.

“If you are being illegally held captive, please contact me. I will call the police to help you.”

Zhou Ziyan gave a bitter smile and said to herself, “It seems my sponsorship relationship with Wen Jiao has been misunderstood by others after all.”

Zhou Ziyan scrolled down through the messages Aldrich had left for her, from praising her great talent in painting to hoping to book her a flight to M Country for advanced studies in the art industry.

Zhou Ziyan’s lips couldn’t help but curl up. To be affirmed by a master with profound achievements in the art world was probably the best thing that had happened to her in a long time.

Her sliding fingertip paused slightly at the end of the memo. “If I’m not mistaken, one of the pills you’re taking seems to be Olivia Spay capsules, which are strictly controlled in M Country. I still recommend that you stop taking them, otherwise it will cause irreversible damage to your nerves.”

The door was knocked on at that moment. Zhou Ziyan jumped and hid the things Aldrich had left for her under her pillow.

“Miss Zhou, I’ve brought you your milk and white fungus soup.”

Hearing that the voice belonged to the young maid from the villa, Zhou Ziyan’s tense nerves relaxed a little. “Come in.”

The girl bounced in and placed the cooked milk and white fungus soup on the cabinet near the bed. “Drink it while it’s hot. I’ll go back downstairs now.”

“Wait,” Zhou Ziyan said.

The young maid stood still obediently. Zhou Ziyan asked, “What’s your name, how old are you, and who hired you?”

“Miss Zhou, my name is Ren Li. I’m sixteen this year. I was arranged to come here by a domestic service platform. CEO Wen only signed a one-month contract with our batch of newcomers.”

Zhou Ziyan nodded. The young maid’s smile was bright and sunny, and her two symmetrical little canine teeth looked well-behaved and cute.

“Ren Li,” Zhou Ziyan’s tone suddenly became serious. Ren Li subconsciously stood up straight, but her young face still showed confusion about the situation. “What is it, Miss?”

“Are you willing to work for me?”