Zuko was interrupted by a sudden ringing of his phone. The screen displayed a string of numbers, causing Lina to be taken aback. However, she noticed the calm smile on Zuko's face.
"It's my younger brother," he explained in a low voice. "I remember his number, so I don't save it."
Zuko was about to reject the call, but Lina stopped him. "He must have something important to tell you if he's calling."
"What important matter could he have—"
"Answer it quickly!" Lina smiled gently. "I just finished washing some clothes. I'll go hang them up on the balcony!"
Zuko observed Lina's delicate figure with complex emotions. After a moment of hesitation, he walked out of the room to answer the call.
Before he could speak resentfully and ask, "What do you want?" the other end of the line was filled with Toph's rapid speech.
"Bro, no matter what you're doing right now, you have to let me finish..." Toph's voice came through.
Zuko lowered his voice. "What's the matter?"
"Well..." Toph paused for a moment before cautiously asking, "You're not engaged in any 'serious business' right now, are you?"
"Toph, if you say another word, I'll fly over there and beat you up!"
Toph chuckled, wondering how he managed to make his older brother so angry that he did not even use punctuation in his speech.
"Seriously, I have important news to tell you." Toph suppressed his laughter, cleared his throat twice, and continued in a lower voice. "I have news about Pamela's whereabouts!"
"What did you say?" asked Zuko.
Zuko stood against the wall and forcefully rubbed his temples, feeling exhausted. He couldn't answer that question. He would never be with a woman like Gia, even if he didn't have Lina by his side.
"We'll discuss it in the future. I'm hanging up now."
After ending the call, Zuko was engulfed in chaos for a few minutes. However, he quickly regained his composure and organized his thoughts.
If Gia was indeed Pamela, it was evident that she was unaware of her true identity at the moment. Perhaps Melvin had orchestrated a switch between the girls, and Gia remained oblivious to the truth.
Once she discovered that she was the Thompsons' daughter, she might resort to even more sinister methods to deal with Lina.
Only by revealing his true identity could Zuko protect Lina completely.
His clenched fists trembled slightly, with the veins on the back of his hand bulging.
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