Estelle Lockwood abruptly pulled back the hand she’d raised to knock. "?"
’Wait, why does that voice sound so young? And it’s a little familiar, too!’
’Mr. Lynch is supposed to be a refined, middle-aged man in his forties. He might even be going bald, which could be why he’s living apart from his wife right now.’
’How could a man that age have such a young-sounding voice?’
Estelle Lockwood was a bit dazed, but Enzo Kendrick paid it no mind. "What are you spacing out for? Come on."
Then he pushed the door wide open.
Estelle Lockwood grabbed his sleeve. "Uncle, don’t you feel like something is... off?"
Before she could finish, Enzo Kendrick was already casually greeting the person inside. "Good afternoon, good afternoon."
’So this was Nathaniel Sloan, and he was also Mr. Lynch! Just as I thought. I performed so many divinations for Estelle over those five years, and every single one showed that her destiny with Nathaniel Sloan was far from over. See? This is fate!’
Estelle Lockwood was stunned by how friendly Enzo Kendrick was acting. Her uncle had gone up the mountain with a Daoist priest at the age of five and had stayed in the temple for forty years. He rarely spoke unless he was performing a divination. To put it simply, he had social anxiety.
’So why is he acting so familiar with Mr. Lynch?’
Estelle Lockwood kept her head down, her heart pounding with excitement. She was about to meet the good friend who had helped her for so many years.
’The age gap might be huge, but age doesn’t matter when it comes to friendship. And... I absolutely must not react to Mr. Lynch’s baldness.’
Estelle Lockwood told herself, then put on her most sincere smile and looked up. "Mr. Ly—"
Inside the private room, by the floor-to-ceiling window, Nathaniel Sloan sat bathed in sunlight. He looked up with a faint smile, his gold-rimmed glasses catching the warm light, making tiny golden specks dance in his eyes.
Estelle Lockwood’s smile froze on her face, the word catching in her throat. "?"
She backed out of the room to check the number on the door, then glanced back at Nathaniel Sloan inside. She closed her eyes, waited five seconds, and opened them again.
’Nothing had changed. It was still the same room, and it was still Nathaniel Sloan.’
Estelle Lockwood couldn’t manage a smile. "What are you doing here?"
Nathaniel Sloan gestured for Enzo Kendrick to have a seat, then turned his unhurried gaze to Estelle Lockwood. "Who else did you expect to see, Mrs. Sloan?"
"I was looking for..." Estelle Lockwood stopped herself. ’If I say I was looking for Mr. Lynch, will Nathaniel get jealous and go cause trouble for him?’
"Estelle, why are you still standing in the doorway? Come on in," Enzo Kendrick beckoned. He then turned to Nathaniel Sloan. "A pleasure, a pleasure. It’s good to see you again. I never would have imagined such a coincidence!"
Nathaniel Sloan nodded. "Master Kendrick, I didn’t expect to see you here, either."
"We’re not at the temple, so there’s no need to call me Master Kendrick. You can call me Uncle, just like Estelle does." Enzo Kendrick rubbed his hands together, obviously excited. "I had no idea you were Nathaniel Sloan back then. It’s fate! This is definitely fate!"
’Goodness, to think that back then, a Mr. Lynch came to the temple wanting a divination to find his wife. I was napping at the time and didn’t think anything of the name. Mr. Lynch? Who was that? Never heard of him.’
Enzo Kendrick only caught a glimpse of him from afar as Mr. Lynch was leaving.
He never imagined that years later, he would suddenly learn that Mr. Lynch was actually Nathaniel Sloan! Enzo Kendrick wanted to slam the table. This was fate!
Nathaniel Sloan smiled and nodded.
Estelle Lockwood narrowed her eyes. "You two know each other?"
Enzo Kendrick was about to speak, but Nathaniel Sloan cut in. "I believed you were still alive, but I couldn’t find you. So, I decided to find a grandmaster to perform a divination."
His tone was calm, but Estelle Lockwood pressed her lips together.
’Nathaniel Sloan didn’t believe in gods or spirits, and he certainly didn’t believe in divination. Yet he’d gone all the way to Enzo Kendrick’s temple...’
Before she could even feel touched, Nathaniel Sloan took a sip of tea and asked with amusement, "You seemed quite surprised to see me just now, Mrs. Sloan. Who were you originally here to meet?"
Enzo Kendrick looked over as well. ’That’s right, why was Estelle so surprised?’
Estelle Lockwood smoothed down her hair. "Are you sure you want to know, Mr. Sloan?"


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