Lost and Found: Return of My Mysterious Fiancee by KIKI

Chapter 928: The Reappearance of the Female Corpse Case Ruud waited until Tina got up and left before excitedly boasting to Alina, "Alina, did you see that? Our daughter finished the noodles I made!" Alina patted his hand in encouragement. "I told you, you have a knack for cooking. This is just your second time, and you've already won her over. It's not as hard as you thought." "Our daughter will accept you in no time." Tina returned to grab her lunchbox, overhearing their conversation. She smirked faintly and threw out a casual remark as she walked past them, "Next time, remember to wear reading glasses while cooking." Ruud froze. "Is she saying I'm old?" His brief moment of pride vanished as his anxiety returned. "Or... was there something dirty in the noodles?" He anxiously examined the bowl but found nothing wrong after a thorough check. Not knowing what kind of vegetables Tina liked, he had been cautious, adding only simple seasoning to the soup, following what he'd learned from the Reed family.

Seeing Ruud so nervous, Alina couldn't help but reassure him. "She's teasing you. I think it's fine. The noodles look delicious..." Her voice trailed off.

Alina slowly put down her spoon, her expression revealing an understanding she chose not to voice. Out of love for Ruud, she forced a smile and nodded.

"I think it's fine." Ruud didn't believe her. Using her spoon, he tasted the soup himself. For a moment, his face, dusted with flour, froze.

The soup was sweet.

So were the noodles.

Had he mixed up the salt and sugar? That couldn't be! He had carefully read the labels. As someone who could detect millimeter discrepancies in mechanical parts at a glance, how could he confuse salt with sugar? Ruud was dumbfounded.

Alina stepped forward and hugged the man, who was still rooted to the spot, her voice full of tenderness. "Don't be discouraged. This is only your third attempt. We'll have plenty more chances in the future. One mistake doesn't matter." Hearing his wife's comforting words, Ruud felt his heart soften completely.

Ignoring the flour on his hands, he pulled Alina into his arms, pressing his forehead against hers. "You're right. If this doesn't work, I'll try something else. I've learned plenty of tricks from the Reed family to improve my relationship with Tina." If Tina had known Ruud wasn't planning to stop anytsoon, she would never have agreed to the deal she made with her mother. It was like trading a thousand enemies for ten thousand personal losses.

Outside, Tina was about to call Jared when Jayden's call cthrough instead.

"Young Master," Jayden reported, "the people in the village have completely disappeared overnight, along with everything they were hiding." Tina frowned. "Got it. I'll head over now." She quickly dialed Jared to inform him of the situation.

Jared told her to wait at home; he was on his way to pick her up.

Just as they were about to hang up, Jared's tone turned somber. "Tina, there's been another female corpse case in the southern district. Two bodies this time." As Tina got into the car, Hayden asked, "Serena, where to?" He had overheard her conversation with Jared in the car earlier. The case in the village remained unresolved, and now something had happened in the southern district. It all seemed too coincidental. Without hesitation, Tina replied, "The southern district first. Someone is already monitoring the village." Hayden hesitated. "Serena, could the southern district case be a deliberate distraction meant to confuse us and allow them to achieve their real goal?" Tina smirked. "The more intentional it seems, the more reason we have to take a look." "What?" Hayden grew more puzzled by the second.

Jared's sharp gaze met Hayden's through the rearview mirror. His tone was merciless. "If even you can figure that out, what's there to worry about?" Hayden fell silent.

Discussing the matter was one thing, but there was no need for personal attacks.

In the backseat, Jared pulled Tina closer with one arm while handing her the latest report with the other. "Based on the wounds, the murders happened last night." Tina glanced at the report. "The people in the eastern district also disappeared overnight. They couldn't even wait a full day. Something must have happened." Jared nodded in agreement. "The more incidents there are, the more mistakes they'll make. That works to our advantage." Tina turned her head to look at him and found herself momentarily captivated. Jared's jawline was slightly raised, his handsface exuding a commanding aura that seemed to dominate everything around him. She stared, entranced.

Indeed, her Uncle was the most handsman in the world.

Her eyes sparkled as she hugged his lean waist and tilted her head to look up at him. "Uncle, did you misslast night?" Her soft words darkened Jared's gaze instantly, while Hayden, sitting in the front, was utterly flustered.

Not again! Just a second ago, they were discussing the case. How did the conversation derail so suddenly? How did these two manage to switch topics at lightning speed every single time? Before they could kiss, Hayden, well-practiced in this routine, swiftly pulled up the privacy curtain and focused on the road ahead, silently chanting a hundred Buddhist sutras in his mind.

A few minutes later, Jared let out a deep breath and pressed his forehead against Tina's. "Just a few times, and you've already opened the door to a whole new world." Tina blushed but refused to back down. "Uncle, don't you want to?" Jared froze.

To his surprise, half of his face turned red.

He'd been teased-by her.

Tina noticed and smiled mischievously, reaching out to trace his ear with her fingertip. “Uncle, what's wrong? Your ears are so red. They look... so tempting." "Tina!" Jared grabbed her hand, his expression strained. "Stop!" "Alright. If Uncle says stop, I'll stop." Tina sat up straight, her face a picture of seriousness, as if the earlier exchange had never happened.

Jared was speechless.

It wasn't that he didn't want to. He just wasn't sure he could control himself.

Taking advantage of the pause, Tina lifted the curtain and placed her lunchbox on the front seat. "Hayden, return this to Jennie for me."

Hayden nodded, then suddenly m thought of something. "Serena, Jennie's cooking is amazing. Just the smell yesterday made my mouth water. If it's on the way, could I stop by and grab a meal?"

He planned to bring sfor Paula later, too. He hadn't seen her in days and was worried she might be eating poorly. Living alone was worrisome. Without him, she might end up in the hospital from bad eating habits, and no one would know. "Her food is delicious. If you go, bringa portion too," Tina said casually. From the rearview mirror, she could see Hayden's little thoughts clearly, but she wasn't in a position to tease anyone right now.

Just thinking about having to eat Ruud's disastrous cooking every morning made her miss Jennie's meals even more.

Ruud's creations were probably only edible for her mother.

How talentless did someone have to be to turn perfectly good ingredients into something unrecognizable? And yet, with her love-struck mother insisting, she had no choice but to eat them.

Hayden, lost in thought, didn't notice Tina's gaze. "Don't worry, Serena. I'll buy the ingredients myself and make sure Jennie isn't taken advantage of."