Chapter Twenty-Eight: I Went to Find That Woman

"Where did you get this phone and number?" Xu Jiayi asked Zhou Yongtai.

"After we won the lottery, we bought them at a roadside shop. No work permit was required."

"Did you pick the shop at random, or did someone take you there?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever downloaded WhatsApp?"

Zhou Yongtai nodded. When he was picking up extra work at the exhibition, Ada had quickly learned to use WhatsApp to respond to wealthy clients immediately.

Xu Jiayi added his WhatsApp to receive the photos.

The woman in the photos wore a large face mask and sunglasses, making it impossible to discern her features. However, after Jiayi zoomed in on the image, her gaze immediately locked onto the front of the woman's gray dress.

...

"Look, this dress has a really interesting pattern. I asked the shop assistant, and it’s called a 'Heracles knot.' Sailors and doctors often use this knotting method because it’s very secure. So, this knot symbolizes invincible courage. And since it happens to start with 'He-ra,' doesn't it suit you perfectly?"

"Is this dress expensive?"

"Not at all. I bought it at a designer studio in Bugis Street, only two hundred Singapore dollars."

"Two hundred Singapore dollars is not expensive?"

"Just tell me, do you like it or not?"

"I love it! I'm going to wear it on my first day of work!"

...

Luo Nan watched as Xu Jiayi stared at the photo for a moment, then bit her lower lip with her front teeth.

He had once known her so well. On many nights, he would sit beside her, calmly and contentedly sketching portraits of her profile. He knew that this specific gesture of hers signaled a sudden emotional shift.

"Jiayi, is there something wrong with this woman?"

"I might know how to find her," Xu Jiayi said straightforwardly. "Additionally, I’m going to visit the food court where you two first ate, as well as the lottery outlet. Especially the food court—I need to see which company manufactured the broken cleaning robot and who is responsible for its daily maintenance. I suspect Ada was being targeted even back then. Before I find anything further, you two should return to Geylang and wait for my news."

Zhou Yongtai asked anxiously, "Will this put Mr. Luo in danger?"

Xu Jiayi smiled. Recalling the Malay note Singh had read over the phone at noon, she looked at Luo Nan. "Do you think you’re being hunted?"

Luo Nan replied sheepishly, "At the time, I was afraid that if I didn't make it sound serious, you wouldn't come. Actually, I don't think it's reached that point yet. They probably think my place is some sort of special base and that other AGI robots might appear there."

Jiayi nodded. "Right, so why would they dare to raid your home and finish you off? Just go back and paint with peace of mind. Oh, and if you want to calm your nerves outside, it’s perfect—the National Gallery is right nearby. You can take Mr. Zhou for a tour and give him a guide; that’s your specialty."

There was no hint of exaggeration in Jiayi’s expression. Only Luo Nan knew that the first half of those words was laced with sarcasm, while the latter half was profoundly bittersweet.

Jiayi had already stood up and headed toward the lobby.

Singh pretended to hand her a maintenance checklist to sign and whispered that he had checked the surveillance cameras inside and outside the police station. From the moment Luo Nan and his companion arrived until Jiayi rushed over, and up to the present, people had been coming and going, and no suspicious individuals had been loitering.

That meant, at the very least, even if the "bad guys" had the ability to tail a Grab car all the way to Old Hill Street, they might not necessarily have linked Zhou and Luo, who had come to report the case, to Xu Jiayi.

Twenty minutes after Xu Jiayi left, Luo Nan and Zhou Yongtai also exited the Old Hill Street Police Station through the interior fire escape Singh had pointed out to them.

Noticing that while Zhou Yongtai was no longer as panicked as he had been earlier, he was still deeply dejected, Luo Nan was about to ask where he wanted to go when Zhou Yongtai spoke first.

"Mr. Luo, did Ms. Xu just say that the National Gallery is nearby?"