Chapter 347 A Little Surprised


    Zed looked away from Jean after finishing his sentence. He was too shy to let Jean see his expression


    after what he just said.


    Jean, on the other hand, was surprised at Zed''s answer to her question. She didn''t expect something


    like that woulde out of his mouth, making her blush.


    "I - I don''t get it, still. What do you mean?" Jean asked, breaking the silence that had loomed before


    them. "When we were in the hospital, I don''t understand why you treated me as if I was the antagonist.


    Do you know how it felt like seeing you? You gave me this grim stare, and... and such hostile eyes


    pierced to my soul making me any more guilty than I already was! Didn''t you see the despair in my


    eyes? Or did you not care at all about my feelings?" Crossing her arms, she questioned Zed in


    disbelief, still notprehending why he treated her that way. He might have answered some of her


    questions, but a lot of question marks were still needing answers for her to pop.


    Zed chuckled at himself softly but enough for Jean to hear, making her all the more confused. He then


    faced her and said,"My silly girl, if I didn''t treat you with hostility, would you have left me like that? If you


    stayed with me, it would be very dangerous." He heaved a deep sigh as he stared at her, who was now


    looking as if a light bulb just appeared above her head. This made his smile bigger.


    Now that Jean thought about it, she now realized why Zed had to treat her that way. She couldn''te


    up with a better alternative, so she left it at that and just nodded her head in agreement. "Well, you''re


    right, but to tell you the truth, if Moore wasn''t there, I can''t imagine how hard it would have been for


    me." She pondered for a while and then remembered, turning to face Zed. "Oh no, I wasn''t able to


    greet him." Zed gave her a confused look, but Jean hadn''t noticed this and told him that she must go to


    the hospital and visit him tomorrow.


    Jean faced Zed, who was looking at her with a questioning look, so she asked what was wrong. "I


    know that both of you have this strong bond that you two even have a connection I can''t quite well


    describe. However, after knowing his true identity, don''t you think it''s wise to distance yourself from


    him?"


    "Why should I distance myself from him? For as long as I had been friends with him, Moore hadn''t


    done anything to hurt me." Jean retorted him, with a puzzled expression.


    He thought about what she said for a moment before asking for confirmation. "You do know that his


    biological father turned out to be Gary, right?" As he noticed that Jean was already calm enough, he


    started the car engine once more and turned the ignition on to continue driving down the road.


    Jean kept her gaze outside of her window and answered,"Yes, I know! It still doesn''t change the fact


    that we are good friends." She nodded her head firmly and continued. "Besides, our friendship has


    nothing to do with his father. As far as I know, Moore haven''t said anything about Gary being his


    father." She shrugged.


    Zed gave Jean a quick nce before returning his attention back to the road. "What do you mean? He


    doesn''t want to ept Gary, let alone acknowledge him as his father? I mean, after all that happened?"


    He couldn''t help but be surprised. Then again, he thought of something and didn''t say anything more


    about the subject.


    Jean noticed his sudden change of mood and faced him. She found his silence almost intriguing that


    she couldn''t stop herself from prying. "What''s wrong? Is there a problem I''m not aware of?"


    Zed gave her another quick nce and shrugged. "Nothing. I just find it surprising. Really. That''s all to


    it." He gave her a reassuring smile and cautiously warned her. "Jean, I''m not narrow-minded, so I


    understand how you feel about this, but please, for your safety, stay away from Moore. His identity is


    just tooplicated. Besides, Hanley is already keeping an eye on him. I trust he would do his job well,


    and I suppose if anythinges up, Edna would be there and beat a path to his door personally soon.


    Please, Jean, for your protection, I sincerely hope that you do your part by keeping away from any


    potential troubles. You, of all people, know how much we''ve been dealing with one already. After all,


    this is the Bai family''s business, and we ought not to get involved in it." He finished and sighed.


    Jean thought of what he said for a while before responding,"I understand what you mean, Zed." Zed


    nodded in relief, leaving them both in thoughtful silence. As for Jean, she didn''t let go of the subject.


    She pondered hard for a while before breaking the silence. With a resolute expression, she told


    Zed,"Even then, I won''t keep my distance from Moore." Zed gave her a questioning look again. He


    thought that she had understood what he just said moments ago, expecting her to take heed.


    "Regardless of who he truly is and what he may encounter, he is still my friend! He never failed to be at


    my side when I was helpless and depressed. He was there when I needed someone to talk to, and he


    was always there tofort me. So I''m sorry, Zed, but I can''t do it."


    Zed stepped on the break as they passed a red light and looked at Jean. He realized how stubborn she


    was and knew that she wasn''t going to let this go easily, and that whatever warnings he would tell her,


    she wouldn''t listen. He broke his gaze at her and looked at the road. Before the red light turned green,


    he sighed andpromised. "Fine! Since you seemed so decided about this, I won''t argue anymore."


    He then turned the ignition on once more and drove. "Although I will try my best to be there whenever


    you need me, I just hope that you can protect yourself also when something unprecedented happens


    again."


    Jean turned her gaze towards Zed. "Does it mean you''re okay about my friendship with Moore?" She


    asked, beaming at him. There was a twinkle in her eyes that sparked with joy, which was something


    Zed could not resist, so he nodded reluctantly.


    Jean couldn''t believe it. Zed used to be very possessive. He didn''t like it whenever there was another


    man lingering around her, whether or not that man had ulterior motives. She didn''t even expect to get


    her way this time that she already half-epted the idea that she was never going to talk to Moore


    again.


    This change of heart made her even more curious. ''Why did he consent when ites to Moore? Or is


    it really just a character development?'' She thought, staring at Zed intently as if trying to read his mind.


    Zed gave her a quick nce and chuckled at how silly she looked. "You were too persistent, and I


    wouldn''t want to be deemed ruthless, would I? Moreover, you are my wife. If I can''t stop you from going


    anywhere near trouble, then I might as well just protect you even better this time." He sighed and


    forced a smile at Jean, who turned red after his affectionate reply. Nheless, she still had doubts in


    her heart.


    "Zed, I find that you have different attitude towards Moore, why?" Jean spit out the doubts in her heart.


    Zed gave this question much thought. He didn''t want to worry Jean more than she already was, so he


    said,"Perhaps, he didn''t rub me the wrong way!" He chuckled and gave Jean another reassuring smile.


    In return, Jean cocked an eyebrow, her eyes narrowing as if trying to tell if there was anything more to


    it. She didn''t understand what he meant by that, but his short response made her feel like he wouldn''t


    say any more. So she turned her body back to face the front, returning her gaze towards the road.


    Zed just gave her a faint smile, assured that Jean wouldn''t question his answers anymore, so he left


    the conversation at that.


    In all honesty, he didn''t have had any dislike or remorse towards Moore the first time he met him.


    Although he didn''t exactly like him either, he developed a sense of confidence in him - a confidence


    that Zed would consider almost close to trust.


    That was why he relented in what her wife wanted. Most importantly, he didn''t want to make his


    beloved woman feel that he was too hard on her.


    He was aware that having trust issues made it difficult for him to trust anyone easily, and that he was


    very discreet about Jean''s safety.


    When ites to Moore, however, he couldn''tprehend and even found it strange to believe in


    someone else, especially someone with a close rtionship to his wife.


    Despite knowing about Moore''s identity and all the cautions he told Jean about this dear friend of hers,


    he couldn''t help but ept that he didn''t look at Moore differently. Nothing had changed except now


    they knew more about him.


    Some things were just unexinable and better left that way.


    While they were talking about other things, they didn''t notice that they had finally arrived at their


    residence.


    As Zed parked the car at their garage, the lights turned on illuminating their house caught their eye.


    Simultaneously, they both looked at each other, and after seeing their confused look was mirrored by


    the other, they rushed out of the car and into the porch.


    After changing their shoes in the foyer, they quickly strode to the living room. Just as they both thought


    moments ago, there on the sofa sat Benjamin in full spirit. When he saw both of them enter, his cheery


    face was swiftly reced by nonchnce as if they just imagined the mirth on his face.


    Even though the room was brightly illuminated by fluorescent lights and a huge ss chandelier


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    hanging on the ceiling above them, the room was filled with a gloomy atmosphere.


    Zed and Jean exchanged worried looks before hurriedly walking over towards Benjamin and sat down


    across him.


    "Grandpa," Jean greeted politely, bowing her head in respect before facing him again.


    Benjamin replied with a cold stare and remained distant even after the respect and politeness he had


    just received.


    Jean''s eyes widened. She felt bbergasted at Benjamin''sck of verbal response, so she lowered her


    head. Before she did, she acknowledged Jesse''s re towards them, who was sitting not far from


    them.


    Jean furrowed her eyebrows but careful not to let Benjamin see her disdain for Jesse that he might


    take it as for him. She couldn''t help but wonder if Jesse was ever finished with her schemes even after


    what happened tonight.


    ''It''s already sote, so why is she still here? Of course, she wants to see me get humiliated," she


    thought, rolling her eyes.


    "Grandpa, why don''t you take a rest? It''s alreadyte, and I know you still haven''t fully recovered." Zed


    suggested, breaking the cold silence that had loomed over the room. He gave Benjamin a weak smile,


    which was returned with a scornful look.


    "I was waiting for you!" It was evident in Benjamin''s face that he was very displeased. He took a nce


    at Jean, who lowered her head even more at his sudden outburst, and turned to Zed, whose smile


    dropped. "What took both of you so long? Do you know how long I have been waiting? An hour!"


    Benjamin cried out in disbelief, while gesturing his wristwatch.


    "I apologize, Grandpa, but we weren''t aware that you''d be waiting for us. Had we known, we would''ve


    rushed home." Zed exined, adjusting his seat before continuing further. "Nheless, we didn''t


    waste time on our way home after the ambush interview of the journalists."


    Benjamin stared at Zed intently, looking for any hint of a lie. When he couldn''t find any, he asked once


    more. "Then, what took you so long? You haven''t answered my question straight up. I am afraid both of


    you purposedly dyed so you two could escape your old man!" After expressing his doubt, he


    unconsciously stared at Jean.


    Surprised, she caught sight of how grandpa turned towards her after saying thatst line. She didn''t


    want to irritate him more, and she knew that if she kept silent, it would just add more fuel to the fire.


    Taking a deep but unnoticeable breath, she lifted her head up and gave Benjamin a smile as wide and


    true as she could possibly muster. "Grandpa, I believe you have misunderstood. It is not what you think


    it is."


    Benjamin narrowed his eyes at her. "Then, tell me, why are you both home sote?" He interrogated


    sternly. At that moment, Jean felt like she was inside an interrogation room. Despite her insides swirling


    with anxiety, she kept her calm from the outside.


    In her periphery, she nced at Zed, hoping he could back her up but found him looking at her


    direction as well.


    She cleared her throat and looked at Benjamin with confidence. She tried so hard to stayposed as


    she responded,"With the night sote and dark, I asked Zed to drive slowly. The dim streetlights


    weren''t enough to cover the entire road, so I told him to ce his full attention to safety." She felt


    Benjamin narrow his eyes more, but she kept her nerves calm, so her excuse won''t be exposed. She


    just hoped that Benjamin would ept this and let go.


    Fortunately, the word "safety" struck Benjamin, and his stern expression slowly turned soft. This was


    one of those asions wherein Benjamin was in a calm state. He nodded at Zed and agreed,"Well, it


    is true that you, young man, should drive slowly, especially at night. It doesn''t matter how long the drive


    might be, as long as you ced safety as your number one priority."


    Both Jean and Zed were shocked at Benjamin''s response. They exchanged quick nces in disbelief.


    Most especially for Jean, as she didn''t expect theircency could release them from Benjamin''s


    hard shell.


    Most especially for Jean, as she didn''t expect theircency could release them from Benjamin''s


    hard shell.


    Jean felt her heart warm at this thought. Sincerely, she gave Benjamin a smile and spoke,"Grandpa, we


    understand. We will ce safety as our first priority. But right now, your health is our priority. You must


    be tired after a day''s work. How about I assist you to your room so you could rest?"


    Benjamin''s eyes softened. Jean''s concern for him warmed and tugged his heart. He looked at her


    before giving her a faint smile and imed in a softer voice,"I am in no hurry to rest! I''m concerned


    about what happened to you at the party, and I would like to discuss it right now."


    Jean''s smile dropped. Her heartbeat started to race.


    She wanted to cry and tried to stop him from making her think and talk about it, but her face showed


    nothing,pletely opposite to what her heart was into at that very moment.