He put down his hand, and Brian Carter looked at David Thompson with a puzzled expression and said, “Why are you suddenly telling me this? I mean, after all these years, why did you suddenly show up today? And you just happened to appear right when I was being taken away by the police. Logically, you should be very busy, right? Could it be that you’ve been secretly keeping an eye on me all this time? Did you have someone watching me? That’s even more creepy—am I hiding some huge secret or something?”

David Thompson shook his head and said softly, “You’re not hiding any huge secret. I have indeed been keeping an eye on you, but what happened today was just a coincidence.”

“A coincidence? That’s a bit too much of a coincidence. I just got taken in, and you showed up right after.”

David Thompson sighed, then said quietly, “Alright, let’s say what happened today was an opportunity. I’ve never been sure whether I should tell you about this, but after what happened today, I suddenly made up my mind. You’re not that young anymore; it’s time you knew everything. So, I came.”

Brian Carter asked in surprise, “Ah, wasn’t that Grace Bennett arranged by you?”

David Thompson was taken aback and said, “Grace Bennett? The woman who got into trouble with you? Why would I arrange for her to do anything? If I wanted to see you, it would be simple—I wouldn’t need to use any tricks.”

Brian Carter gave a wry smile and said, “Alright, I just thought that Grace Bennett was acting. She was pretty convincing at first, but when she started crying, it felt fake. So I thought maybe it was all a setup by you.”

David Thompson suddenly became serious. He said in a deep voice, “Acting in front of you?”

After frowning and thinking for a moment, David Thompson suddenly stood up, opened the door of the interrogation room, and said quietly to someone outside—someone Brian Carter couldn’t see, “Go check on the other people. Check carefully.”

David Thompson sat back down, and Brian Carter whispered, “No way, you think something’s up? Against me?”

David Thompson said, “We’ll know after we check. It’s unlikely they’re targeting you, but we still need to be careful. Alright, let’s get back to your story. You wanted to join the intelligence department?”

Brian Carter said indignantly, “That’s what annoys me. I know my dad was a spy, and I always thought he was sent by the country, so I really wanted to serve the nation. When I was about to graduate, the security department came to our school to recruit. I signed up, passed the written test, and passed the interview too. But here’s what I don’t get: I was officially accepted, but a week later, someone told me I’d been dropped. And the reason they gave was that I was too handsome! What kind of reason is that? If you’re going to mess with me, at least come up with a better excuse!”

David Thompson gave an awkward smile and said, “Well, you probably don’t know that you got full marks on both the written and interview, right?”

Brian Carter waved his hand dismissively and said, “I didn’t know, but it doesn’t surprise me.”

David Thompson cleared his throat and said, “I was the one who had you dropped. Your background isn’t suitable for joining our country’s intelligence agency. Your overseas connections are too complicated and sensitive. So even though I think you’re the best candidate I’ve ever seen, I still couldn’t let you in. That’s a hard rule—can’t be broken. Sorry. There are people keeping an eye on you, but not all the time. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been accepted in the first place.”

What could Brian Carter say? He could only wave his hand helplessly.

David Thompson also spread his hands and said with a helpless look, “As for the reason that you’re too handsome, that’s actually serious too. You really are too handsome—too handsome to be a spy. If we put you in an office job until you retire, you wouldn’t be happy with that, would you?”

Brian Carter stroked his chin and said indignantly, “So being too handsome is a problem now. Alright, my dad could blend into a crowd, and so can you. Looks like you really can’t be too handsome to be a spy.”

“007 is just a movie. Real spies have it tough—they’re tired, it’s dangerous, it’s ordinary, it’s boring, and sometimes you have to give up a lot of normal pleasures. You have the perfect skills and qualities to be a spy, but your personality just isn’t suited for it.”

After making his comments, David Thompson said with deep emotion, “Your mother was really beautiful, and you take after her. If you looked like your father, you wouldn’t be this handsome.”

Brian Carter said with some frustration, “It seems like you don’t want me to be a spy or an agent. So why are you telling me all this today?”

David Thompson said in a low voice, “I owe your father a huge favor—a favor as big as the sky. So I have the duty and responsibility to protect you, at least until you grew up. I really do want you to live an ordinary, happy, and simple life. But I’m not your father, and I’m not your guardian, so I don’t have the right to plan your future. I originally planned to tell you all this when you turned eighteen, but I thought you were still too young, so I postponed it to when you were twenty, then to twenty-two. Now, today, I finally feel it’s time to tell you everything, and to give you the most important legacy your father left behind.”

Brian Carter pointed at the small notebook on the table and said, “Is it that?”

“That’s right.”

Brian Carter took a deep breath and smiled, “Then give it to me.”