Adam Bolton stood at the doorway, listening to the faint rustling sounds inside. It wasn’t hard to imagine Yvonne Clark changing clothes, but there wasn’t a trace of ambiguity in his mind. There wasn’t a single masculine item in the living room; it seemed that the villa at the northern foot of Xiangshan was actually the place where Yvonne Clark and William Grant met in secret. But now, rumors were spreading everywhere that Yvonne Clark was Henry Harris’s mistress, and Yvonne Clark was about to admit this to the inspection team. But how would she prove it to them? Adam Bolton looked at the white envelope on the corner cabinet, which bore the logo of a photo shop—the one at Xiangshan Forest Park. It seemed that just before he ran into Yvonne Clark, she had picked up some photos from the shop.

Adam Bolton was just about to open it to see what photos were inside when Yvonne Clark, now wearing a plain cotton camisole dress, pushed open the door and came out.

She saw Adam Bolton standing at the doorway and was startled. “Why do you always like to stand at the door and scare people?” She was holding the dress she’d just changed out of, and nudged Adam Bolton’s shoulder, steering him into the living room. “Take off your clothes, I’ll wash them for you. With the hair dryer, they’ll be dry in no time.”

“If you hang them outside to dry, I won’t mind…” Adam Bolton was wearing a narrow-necked T-shirt. As he spoke, his head got stuck in the collar and he couldn’t get it off, the T-shirt covering him completely. He had to let Yvonne Clark come over and help pull it off. When he brushed against her arm, he felt her skin was icy cold.

It was hot outside, and the air conditioning inside hadn’t kicked in yet. Yvonne Clark’s forehead was beaded with fine sweat, but her skin was still cold. Adam Bolton found it odd and wanted to touch her again, but that would be too obvious.

Adam Bolton finally managed to struggle his head out, now bare-chested. At sixteen, his body was thin and his skin pale, with no proud muscles or healthy bronze tan. Meeting Yvonne Clark’s gaze, Adam Bolton looked a little embarrassed. “Your skin is so cool—if I sit next to you, we wouldn’t even need the air conditioning.”

“So skinny,” Yvonne Clark pointed at the ribs sticking out from Adam Bolton’s side, “but you’re pretty tall. I didn’t notice just now…”

“You were wearing high heels just now,” Adam Bolton looked into Yvonne Clark’s upturned eyes. Her forehead was slightly raised, reaching his nose tip. They were so close, he could almost feel her warm breath on his chin. His heart itched, and he suppressed the urge to pull her into his arms, saying softly, “Sister Yvonne Clark, you’re really beautiful!”

“Stop pretending to be an adult,” Yvonne Clark lifted her eyelids. She was tired of hearing compliments, but coming from the boy in front of her, it didn’t feel annoying at all. In fact, she felt a little embarrassed, and pretended to be angry, fanning him with the dress. “You little rascal, what do you know about beauty?”

Adam Bolton chuckled, reminding himself that he was just a boy who had just graduated from middle school, and should behave accordingly, not daring to keep up the smooth talk. Yvonne Clark took both their clothes into the bathroom to wash, while Adam Bolton sat on the living room sofa and turned on the TV, his mind wandering. When the phone rang, it startled him.

Yvonne Clark ran out from the bathroom to answer the phone. Adam Bolton only heard her say into the receiver, “I have a guest here. I’ll come down to see you…” Then she turned to him and said, “I’m going out for a bit, watch the house for me.” She grabbed the keys and went out the door.

Chapter 6: The Evidence Against Henry Harris

Adam Bolton walked to the window. A young man was standing downstairs, looking up at the apartment building. With the reflection on the glass, Adam Bolton was sure the man couldn’t see him, but he looked very familiar. He scratched his head, but couldn’t remember who it was. After a while, Yvonne Clark appeared downstairs. The man went up to her, but Yvonne Clark stepped back, keeping her distance. Suddenly, Adam Bolton remembered who he was. He was Ethan Reed, Henry Harris’s secretary, and the one who had relayed the message to his father that Henry Harris wanted him to temporarily leave Haizhou.

Adam Bolton could understand why Ethan Reed was coming to see Yvonne Clark at this time.

After Henry Harris was imprisoned, Ethan Reed wasn’t implicated at all. He was transferred to the municipal party office to be William Grant’s secretary, and before William Grant was arrested, his career was going smoothly. A year before William Grant’s case broke, he even married Yvonne Clark. Clearly, Ethan Reed had known all along that Yvonne Clark was William Grant’s mistress, and his marriage to Yvonne Clark was just to help William Grant cover up that unspeakable relationship.

To be a pawn to this extent—he was quite a remarkable pawn.

Adam Bolton hid his face behind the window, giving a cold smile. He took the envelope from the corner cabinet behind the door and poured out the photos inside. They were all candid shots of Yvonne Clark’s daily life. In the photos, Yvonne Clark was stunningly beautiful, with a charm that could topple nations. Adam Bolton sighed inwardly: There really is such a perfect woman in this world! Thinking of her possibly struggling under William Grant’s tyranny, and that in a few years she would end her youthful life in prison, Adam Bolton felt a dull ache in his heart, even more infuriating than recalling his own setbacks after turning sixteen.

Damn it, for God to send him inexplicably back to 1994—could there be some unspeakable purpose? With resentment weighing on his heart, Adam Bolton quickly flipped through the photos, thinking that since God had sent him back to this time and place for no reason, he absolutely couldn’t let things develop according to certain people’s wishes.