Chapter 72 A Big Trap
Jane chatted with the driver all the way, and the time didn't feel so long. The moment the driver stopped the taxi, she was still wondering why until she realized that it had turned dark without her realizing it.
She paid the driver and got out of the taxi. Standing at the entrance of the garden-style restaurant, she dialed Mary's number.
The phone rang a few times, and the one at the other end of the line answered the call, "Miss Cooper, have you arrived?"
"I've arrived at the entrance. Where are you?" Jane said.
"I'm in a traffic jam. Please let me call Eloise's family member and ask him to go out to receive you."
They hung up their phones. A few minutes later, a man in his 20s came out and called, "Miss Cooper."
Jane watched in the direction where the voice came from, and saw a man, who was walking over with a smile. "Have you been waiting for so long?"
"No, I just arrived moments ago. Who are you?" Jane said with a small smile.
"James Wright. Eloise is my sister," the man said. Actually, Eloise was his cousin, but he didn't make it so clear.
"Nice to meet you," Jane nodded and said.
"Let's go in," James said with a smile.
GraceLand was a place of classical Chinese garden style. From the outside, people could only see gray walls and red tiles, but they could not see the inside. Jane was walking inside with James. As soon as she had walked through the entrance, she seemed to feel that she had entered the back garden of a prince. In the light of the path lamps, she saw a landscape consisting of terraces, pavilions, rockeries, ponds, and man-made waterfalls. Inexplicably, she thought of two lines of verse:
The sparse shades going across the limpid shallow water,
The hidden fragrance floating in the dusk moonlight.
S City was spring all year round, most suitable for cultivating the sumptuous nobility and romance.
The two of them chatted while walking. James said, "Miss Cooper, today I just learned that you are my sister's tutor. I've long heard of your fame, thinking I must treat you to dinner."
"You're so kind," Jane said smilingly.
"No, it's not kind. You are the tutor of both the Smith family and the Perez family. This news has long been spread in our circle. The families who have children all want to hire you. Unexpectedly, I have this honor," James said.
"I'm just carrying out my duty. I'm only an ordinary tutor, not as magical as everyone describes," Jane said.
"Many of my friends want to see you. Even though you don't have time to give extra lessons, it's also good if you can spare some time to give advice and guidance."
While talking, the two of them had come to a small three-story building. As they went farther inside, the place grew brighter. In the end, they stopped at the door of a private room, and James opened the door for her. Before she walked in, she heard a roar of laughter from inside. She was in surprise, which was shown in her eyes, but it was already too late. She had taken a step automatically.
This was an antique private room, in which about 20 people were sitting around a carved round table. Jane stood there, motionless until James came in after her. Hearing the sound, the others watched in this direction.
Then Jane calmly watched the man sitting on the host's seat, and the man was looking at her without blinking, but he seemed to be surprised for a moment when seeing her. But then he smiled and said, "I was wondering who you are. Oh, now I see. You are my sister."
Ken Garcia.
Jane had not expected to see Ken here.
Standing near the door, she was motionless and silent. The people around the table were all staring at her. James, who was closest to her, whispered apologetically with a smile, "Miss Cooper, I'm sorry I didn't tell you that my friends are also here. You don't mind, do you?"
In just a few seconds, Jane had pondered over a few things. She was wondering whether it was Mary who trapped her or James. Or perhaps, Ken Garcia was the man behind the scenes who had arranged such a very indirect way. She knew this never was a coincidence.
No matter what, she was now already in the trap. But considering that Ken had helped her before, she could not turn around and leave, anyway.
She moved on with James. Although she looked calm, she was actually vigilant and had suspicions.
Since the moment she appeared, Ken's eyes had never left her. When she had come near, half of the people with sharp eyes around the table moved away, simply aiming to leave the seat beside Ken to her.
"What's going on? You know Miss Cooper, Ken?" James asked in faked seriousness.
"Your birthday present is really special," someone around the table commented.
"Yeah! We racked our brains to think about giving presents, but nothing could give Ken such a broad smile."
James glanced at Jane, baffled. "I really didn't know Miss Cooper is my sister's tutor, so I thought about treating her to dinner."
These words showed that he took her like an idiot. Was it appropriate to invite her to dinner when he was having a party? Did he want them to go Dutch or simply ask her to pay the bill?
Having been smiling, Ken said, "Sister, come to me."
His eyebrows went upward. Even if he only had a small smile, his eyebrows would slightly arch. They were the so-called smiling eyebrows.
Seeing the cake as tall as a few people put together from the corner of her eye, Jane said without showing her emotions, "Mr. Wright didn't tell me there were also others here, and I didn't know today is your birthday. Happy birthday to you. I think I'd better leave."
Hearing this, James was a little panicky. He had brought her over with so much difficulty, so how could he let her leave so easily?
"We're all friends. There're no outsiders, and you're already here. More importantly, today is Ken's birthday," he said hurriedly.
"Today is Ken's birthday, but why ask me to come here? Regard me as a present or a program?" Jane wondered.
She didn't complain, but she kept a straight face in front of James.
"Earlier, I told you I would treat you to dinner when I was free. Recently, I've been busy, and I haven't had time. You happened to be here, and you might as well sit for a while. When you have eaten the cake in a while, you can leave."
Jane didn't owe James anything, but she had something on her mind. Last time, the matter had gone to that extent. She didn't care if Grace had gone crazy, but she herself had been involved anyway. Then, she owed Ken a favor.
Everyone was waiting for her to sit down. Since she couldn't leave or refuse, she simply took the seat next to Ken naturally.
Ken became delighted and looked at her, saying, "Whether you came here because of me or not, I'm happy."
Whenever he mildly spoke to any woman, the woman would be either entranced or at least fascinated when seeing his face. But Jane had no interest in men, and what she had was only vigilance. She said calmly, "I have no presents, so I could only say 'happy birthday' to you."
"I'm happy. Don't you see I've been smiling?" Ken responded.
The people around the table were watching their fun intentionally or unintentionally. Jane didn't feel embarrassed, but she was unhappy unavoidably. She said softly, "Thank you for what you did for me last time."
"What is it?" Ken asked.
"The villa along Pearl Road," Jane answered.
Ken let out an "oh" and said, "My fault. I let you take the blame for no reason. I haven't apologized to you yet."
"Sir, you don't have to apologize to me. Just don't haunt me like a ghost," Jane said inwardly.
Ken stared at her for a few seconds before he suddenly lowered his head and whispered, "You don't think it's I who asked someone to bring you here, do you?"
Jane was silent but soon studied his eyes, measuring whether he was innocent or was pretending he didn't know anything.
Seeing it, Ken looked up at James across the round table and called with a different expression and tone, "Hey."
James looked back at Ken, and Ken asked seriously, "Who asked you to bring my sister here?"