Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

Luke stood behind a nearby shelf, taking in everything in sight.

How could Val's tracking skills possibly deceive him? Although he knew someone was tracking him, he didn't know it was Val.

Seeing Val's work clothes and the scolding from a supervisor, Luke immediately understood everything.

However, he had no intention of going out, as doing so would only make Val more embarrassed at this time.

As for why Val would want to hide from him, Luke could guess some of the reasons; his uncle, although ineffective in achieving things, was someone who cared about face.

Since childhood, Val's dream had been to become a singer, and he had even formed a band in high school, gaining a small reputation at school.

Perhaps it was the high spirits of his high school days that made him even more committed to his music dreams. However, reality is always cruel.

In college, Val's band broke up.

He had always hoped to reform the band and continue the glory of his high school days.

But due to various reasons grounded in reality, this dream never came to fruition.

This led to him being somewhat stuck between success and mediocrity.

He wanted to be a singer but lacked the ability, and when looking for other jobs, he lacked the necessary skills.

He could only engage in lower-end occupations, but his pride was strong, always feeling that he couldn't lose face.

In his heart, he still saw himself as a singer, and the gap between expectation and reality twisted his life even more.

He became the 'fat otaku' in his family's words, a 'loser' among friends.

For a few hundred bucks in pocket money, he went to his father or pleaded with his sister, frequently.

Now, he had set his sights on his wealthy nephew. Val cared about his face; he didn't want to do this and certainly didn't want his nephews to look down on him.

He wanted to change and become self-reliant, and that was also why he went to work in the supermarket.

Although he wasn't very successful, he was already on the path of trying…

…

At Daisy's house.

In the afternoon, after seeing his uncle's plight, Luke had felt rather choked up inside.

As a child, his uncle had been quite good to Luke, often taking him out to play, that is, until Val became what others called a 'loser.' His own life a tangled mess, he naturally couldn't care for his two nephews.

It wasn't until Daisy returned home that Luke's mood began to lift.

However, new frustrations arrived, as Daisy also brought back a pile of documents.

Daisy had given Luke a clear understanding of what it meant to be a workaholic.

Back in China, Luke often worked overtime too, but that was involuntary overtime. Daisy was different; hers was voluntary overtime.

Daisy hardly ever rested, and even when she did, it was just occasionally for half a day. Always ready to handle legal matters, she was on call.

Luke felt Daisy's work pattern was not healthy. People should balance work and leisure to maintain long-term and efficient work performance.

Take Luke for instance. It was normal for him to work overtime when there were cases, but once a case was solved,

Luke would certainly take a good few days off, resting as much as possible as long as his superior approved.

What's the purpose of working if not to live well? One shouldn't get the priorities wrong.

The two set the tableware and poured the wine, starting their dinner.

Luke raised his glass to Daisy with a clink, "Busy tomorrow? Can you take a day off?"

Daisy put down her glass and counter-asked, "Is there something you need?"

"Nothing in particular, just seeing you're too tired and wanted you to rest a bit. Also, tomorrow night is our family's dinner gathering. I'd like to invite you to join us."

"Wow… a family dinner…" Daisy seemed troubled and declined politely,

"Tomorrow might not work. I've got a pile of cases recently, including the one where you want to sue the news TV station.

They are tough to handle, so I need to be fully prepared."

Luke advised, "Daisy, don't put too much pressure on yourself."

"I know, but clients come to me as a sign of trust. I don't want to let them down."

"Cases are never-ending. Working intensively all the time, I worry you'll get too tired."

"Don't worry, I won't. I quite like the state I'm in when working."

Luke didn't persuade any further and bowed his head to eat.

Although he always felt there was a barrier in the emotional communication between him and Daisy, their physical relationship was very harmonious.

That was what mattered most to Luke.

The rest could come slowly.

…

Early morning.

The sun rises in the east.

People started their busy routines again: students to school, workers to work.

A yellow car drove into the neighborhood, signaling the start of a new day.

The community where Daisy lived and the one where Luke lived were both middle-class, differing mainly in one having more white residents and the other more Chinese residents.

Across the street not far from Daisy's place, there was a parked silver Hyundai.

Inside sat a white man around 60 with graying hair.

He was peering toward Daisy's home through binoculars.

At 8:00 a.m., Daisy left home on time, driving to work.

Before long, Luke also left home, driving away in his Mercedes G500.

The white-haired man watched the Mercedes G500 with annoyance, muttering, "Another rich bastard."

The old man put down his binoculars and sat in the car for a while, occasionally glancing at Daisy's house, seemingly hesitant to get out of his vehicle.

"Thump thump."

The passenger window was knocked on.

The old man turned his head and jumped, seeing the dark muzzle of a gun pointed at him.

A young man with black hair shouted, "LAPD, don't move."

Faced with the dark muzzle, the white-haired man did not dare to make any sudden moves. Following Luke's instruction, he slowly opened the car door and got out.

Luke looked at the man and smiled, "Hey, we meet again. How's your injury from last time?"