Livestream Conflict-solver: The Whole Internet Begs Me for Justice!

211: A woman’s old storiesZhang Ze followed Caitlin into the modernist-style villa.

The entire living room was dominated by a minimalist palette of black, white, and gray, with the unbeatable night view of Beverly Hills visible through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows.

Inside, however, there was nothing but a few highly-designed—yet clearly uncomfortable—sofas and a massive coffee table large enough to serve as a helipad.

It was cold and utterly devoid of warmth or human touch.

”Have a seat.”

Caitlin gestured toward what looked like the most expensive sofa.

She herself walked elegantly over to the bar, pulling a bottle of red wine from a high-tech looking wine cabinet.

”What can I get you to drink?”

Sera, already acting completely at home, kicked off her shoes and ran over barefoot, wrapping her arms around Caitlin’s waist from behind.

”Mom, I want your special reserved juice!”

Caitlin patted her hand in exasperation: ”How old are you? Still drinking juice.”

Despite her complaint, she still retrieved a beautifully packaged bottle of berry juice from the fridge.

Her gaze returned to Zhang Ze.

Zhang Ze was sitting bolt upright, his back perfectly straight, like a recent graduate preparing for a job interview.

”Whatever Big Sister is having, I’ll have the same.” He gave her a meek smile.

”Pfft.”

Caitlin was once again amused by him calling her ”Big Sister.”

She poured two glasses of red wine, handing one to Zhang Ze.

”Have a taste. It’s an ’82 Lafite.”

He took a small sip.

Smooth and rich.

”Lowell mentioned that you single-handedly eliminated an arms family’s base in Los Angeles and even managed to extract someone from the FBI’s custody.”

Her tone was very flat.

[What the heck! Is this father-in-law selling me out completely?! He’s practically stripped me naked!]

Sera, sitting beside him, completely missed the underlying tension, proudly puffing out her small chest.

”Yeah! Zhang is super amazing! There were tons of bad guys! They were shooting ’bang bang bang’! Then Zhang went ’whoosh’ and ’smack’ and knocked them all down!”

She was gesturing wildly, vividly recreating the gunfight blockbuster she had concocted in her mind.

Zhang Ze: ... My dear daughter, your description, compared to your dad’s exposé, is simply adding fuel to the fire.

Caitlin looked at her innocent daughter, shook her head helplessly, and her gaze returned to Zhang Ze.

”So, Mr. Zhang, what exactly do you do? An internet celebrity Streamer? Or...”

She paused, seemingly searching for the right word.

”... special operative?”

This question was lethal.

Zhang Ze’s brain raced, and his Master Actor skill was instantly maxed out.

He set down the wine glass, leaned forward slightly, and let his smile fade, replacing it with an expression mixing sincerity, world-weariness, and a touch of perfectly calibrated helplessness.

”Big Sister, actually... my company is called ’Guardian’.”

”We provide some... relatively high-end security services.” He chose his words carefully. ”Our clientele is rather specialized, so sometimes, the methods we use to handle issues need to be a little flexible.”

This explanation was perfect!

It both explained his combat ability and elevated his status, making him seem like a man with a past.

Caitlin listened, then nodded noncommittally.

”So, you are a businessman.”

”Yes, Big Sister.” Zhang Ze immediately nodded. ”We are in the same line of work.”

[In a sense, helping fans deal with their problems counts as a service trade, right? Nothing wrong with that.]

Caitlin seemed relatively satisfied with the answer, and the atmosphere eased considerably.

”Sera has been spoiled since she was little. She’s naive and trusts people easily.” She looked at her daughter. ”When she sets her mind on someone, she dives in headfirst. I hope you won’t make her sad.”

Was this... the mother-in-law’s warning?

”Big Sister, please rest assured. I will never do anything to hurt Sera in my life. She is my baby; she is my everything.”

Sera’s cheeks flushed crimson under his gaze, and she shyly buried her head in Caitlin’s embrace.

”Mom! Stop looking at him!”

Caitlin gently patted her daughter’s back, finally revealing the first truly genuine smile of the evening.

”Such a smooth talker.”

Although she said that, the wariness in her eyes had visibly dissipated by more than half.

Success!

The first hurdle, barely cleared!

Zhang Ze mentally gave a thumbs-up.

Next, as long as he stayed steady and didn’t push his luck, he could safely get through the night!

The three then casually chatted about light topics, ranging from Dragon Kingdom cuisine to Hollywood movies.

Relying on his silver tongue and the exquisite acting skills granted by the system, Zhang Ze charmed Caitlin until she was beaming happily.

He realized that this Queen of Wall Street was, at heart, just an ordinary mother.

She cared about whether her daughter was happy and whether her daughter’s boyfriend was a good person.

With her armor removed, she also enjoyed hearing funny stories and loved being complimented on being young and beautiful.

Seeing the atmosphere grow increasingly harmonious, it seemed they might officially accept him into the family tonight.

Zhang Ze felt it was time to make a bold probe.

He brought it up in a seemingly casual manner.

”Speaking of which, the reason things went so smoothly this time was largely thanks to Mr. Lowell.”

The smile on Caitlin’s face vanished, bit by bit.

The gentle warmth that had just been present in her beautiful blue eyes silently receded.

What the heck!

He hit a nerve!

This atmosphere is all wrong!

Big Brother, you buried this landmine way too shallowly!

He could clearly feel the temperature in Caitlin’s blue eyes plummeting at a visible rate.

We were just sharing a moment of familial affection, and now she’s ready to draw swords?

This speed of change is faster than my magic tricks!

”Mom, Dad was super helpful this time! He helped Zhang Ze so much!”

My dear daughter!

You are just fanning the flames!

Are you trying to make sure your boyfriend dies faster?!

Zhang Ze was roaring frantically inside, yet on his face, he maintained an innocent, ”I just mentioned it casually” expression.

Caitlin finally moved.

She did not look at Zhang Ze, but directed her gaze toward the brilliant city night view outside the window.

She gently swirled the wine glass in her hand, the crimson liquid leaving streaks along the glass.

After a long silence, she let out an extremely faint sigh.

”Lowell.”

”I used to truly dislike his ’business’.”

Zhang Ze instantly pricked up his ears, his gossip-loving soul burning fiercely.

Sera also quieted down, sitting obediently next to Caitlin and resting her head on her shoulder.

”He always said he was building an empire. But all I ever saw was danger.” Caitlin’s voice was very soft and flat, as if she were recounting an irrelevant memory from the past.

”I didn’t want Sera to live in that kind of environment. Worrying every day whether enemies would show up, worrying every day whether her father would come home safely.”

”That’s why we separated.”

Zhang Ze silently took a sip of his wine.

Hmm, the classic formula, the familiar taste.

For the sake of the child, for the sake of peace, the righteous heroine parts ways with the crime boss.

I know this script by heart! This is how they always play it in TV dramas!

[Ding! Lie Recognition skill alert: Emotional Keywords — ’Helplessness’, ’Self-Persuasion’.]

Huh?

This plot, there’s a twist?