CHAPTER 101: CHAPTER 101: THE LITTLE WOLFDOG SHE KEEPS

Monday morning, the office area of the magazine was still tinged with the lingering laziness of the weekend.

The humming sound of the coffee machine, the occasional clattering of keyboards, and the casual chats of colleagues intermingled.

Jean Ellison walked into the office right on time, but her steps were noticeably slower than usual.

Upon closer inspection, her left foot landed with a slight, almost imperceptible hesitation and stiffness.

She wore a cream-colored turtleneck sweater, trying to cover her neck.

But occasionally, when she turned her head to organize documents, the collar would slightly slip, faintly revealing an ambiguous red mark on the side of her neck.

As soon as she sat down at her desk, Lily from the next table slid over with her coffee cup, sharp-eyed, lowering her voice with a teasing grin.

"Oh, what’s up with our beautiful Jean? Did you go hiking over the weekend or... engage in some more intense workout?"

Her gaze subtly hinted as it swept over Jean’s neck and her slightly awkward sitting posture.

Jean’s cheeks instantly flushed with a thin red, instinctively pulling up her sweater collar.

Her eyes flickered slightly, pretending to tidy the files on her desk: "No... it’s nothing, I just accidentally twisted my foot."

"Twist your foot and it ends up on your neck?"

Lily clearly didn’t believe it, smiling more suggestively, and gently nudged her with her elbow.

"Still pretending with me? Come on, confess, are you secretly seeing a young stud? Two days without a word over the weekend, and now you come back looking all ’well-used’... Wow, Jean, always seemed so cool and detached, didn’t know you had it in you?"

"Lily!"

Jean’s ears turned red, embarrassed, trying to stop her from saying more absurd things.

"Really, nothing of the sort! Stop making blind guesses."

"Tsk tsk tsk, you’re even blushing."

Lily found her face reddening even more entertaining.

"Can’t be so thin-skinned. Tell us, what kind of handsome guy could make our famously cold beauty in the office swoon? And so good in bed too..."

A few colleagues around who heard the commotion also looked over curiously, smiling teasingly but good-naturedly.

Jean felt like she was sitting on pins and needles, wishing she could dig a hole and hide in it.

She could only put on a straight face and pick up a document to pretend to be engrossed in it, trying to use work to block out the gossip.

"We’re on work hours, stop messing around. What if the Editor-in-Chief comes and sees this?"

Lily saw she was genuinely embarrassed and finally laughed it off, sliding back to her workstation, but before leaving, she winked and mouthed silently.

"Interrogation tonight."

Jean sighed helplessly, forcing herself to focus on the computer screen.

But as her fingers touched the keyboard, the skin under the high-neck sweater seemed to burn faintly, as if the chaos and heat from the weekend still lingered.

She tried hard to shake off those untimely images but couldn’t stop her ears from continuing to heat up.

In the Editor-in-Chief’s glass office on the second floor, Leah Sutton was sipping a cup of black coffee, habitually scanning the open office area on the first floor through the blinds.

Her gaze paused slightly when it passed over Jean’s workstation.

She saw Jean’s somewhat unnatural walking posture, and she saw Lily leaning over to gossip, Jean’s face turning red instantly and tugging her collar up instinctively.

Leah’s brow twitched almost imperceptibly.

She’d been in the workplace for years, sharp-eyed, those slight abnormalities instantly forming a tacit assumption in her mind.

Jean has a boyfriend?

When did that happen?

The Jean she knew, stunningly beautiful, but had an extremely simple and low-key life outside of work, even a bit too closed off.

Apart from that daughter called Jesse, she had rarely seen her closely interacting with anyone.

How could it suddenly...

Just then, she saw the photographer Vic, with a camera bag, briskly walking past on the first floor, looking like he had just returned from or was about to head out for fieldwork.

"Vic!" Leah pushed open the glass door and called out to him.

Vic looked up at the sound, seeing it was the Editor-in-Chief, quickly jogged upstairs: "Editor-in-Chief Sutton, you called for me?"

Leah gestured for him to enter the office, then nonchalantly closed the door.

She returned to her chair, tapping the desk lightly with her fingers, eyes on Vic: "Have you been going out on assignments with Jean a lot recently?"

Vic scratched his head: "Not too much, Editor-in-Chief, Miss Ellison mainly handles writing and planning, I mainly handle shooting. Whenever there’s an assignment requiring photos we go out together."

"Recently she..." Leah carefully chose her words, trying not to seem too deliberate, "seems a bit different in terms of mood or state, have you noticed anything? Like, did she get a boyfriend or something?"

"Boyfriend?" Vic was taken aback for a moment, then laughed loudly, waving his hand, "Haven’t heard, Editor-in-Chief! You know Jean, don’t you? Apart from working, she just goes home to take care of her kid, keeps her distance from us guys, where would she have a boyfriend? It’s not true."

Leah neither confirmed nor denied his denial, continuing to ask: "Has there been any change in her life recently? Like moving houses or something?"

"Oh! That’s there!

Vic remembered, slapping his leg.

"Jean did move houses a while ago, probably last month. Moved to that upscale neighborhood, called... Sovera! Yes, that’s the place."

She recalled Justin Holden living in that famously secure and private-oriented Sovera.

Leah’s hand holding the coffee cup tightened slightly, her heart skipping inexplicably.

Sovera... Justin Holden lives there too.

Such a coincidence?

"How do you know this?" Leah maintained her outward calm, continuing to ask.

"Oh, one time after finishing a late field assignment, it was on the way, so Jean had me give her and Jesse a lift back to pick up some things. Man, the security at that place is tight, got questioned for ages before letting us in."

Vic marveled, "But the environment is undeniably great, quiet, well landscaped, you can tell it’s expensive. Jean’s quite impressive, being able to move there."

"Do you remember which building and unit she moved into?"

Leah’s voice still sounded casual, as if asked offhandedly.

Vic tried hard to recall, looking troubled: "The buildings and units... I didn’t really notice. It was almost dark then, I just remember turning left after entering the gate, seemed like it was further in, didn’t drive far before she said it was there. Specific house number... Ugh, didn’t pay attention. Editor-in-Chief, you’re asking this for...?"

"Nothing, just asking casually."

Leah immediately composed herself, showing her usual competent smile.

"Just concerned about subordinates’ living conditions. Alright, nothing else, you can go back to work."

"Alright, Editor-in-Chief, I’ll head out then."

Vic nodded, though feeling the Editor-in-Chief asked quite meticulously today, he didn’t think much of it, turned and opened the door to leave.

The office door closed again.

Leah’s smile gradually faded.

She stood up, walked once more to the blinds, casting her gaze down at the graceful figure downstairs already back to work, focused on the computer screen.

Sovera.

Positioned deeper inside.

Justin Holden’s apartment is in the building towards the back of the Sovera community.

Jean moved to Sovera.

After the weekend, she appeared with ambiguous marks and discomfort.

These pieces of information swirled and collided in Leah’s mind, gradually piecing together a stifling, unbelievable, yet unavoidable possibility.

Could it be... Jean and Justin...

She tightly gripped the coffee cup in her hand, her fingertips turning slightly pale.