Jiang Xia confirmed the video, casually put the camera aside, and sent a message to Kinoshita Yoko.
Kinoshita Yoko was a dedicated star and didn't carry her phone when working. She probably wouldn't see it for a while.
So, while waiting for her, Jiang Xia boredly looked at Ikezawa Yuko, who was lying next to him.
Normally, when he used a hand chop on someone, he knew what he was doing, and could even estimate how long the person would be unconscious.
However, the blow he delivered to Ikezawa Yuko just now was purely a reflex after being startled by her, so Jiang Xia had no real grasp of the force.
In other words, Ikezawa Yuko could wake up at any moment.
…Although her combat ability was very weak, if she really caused a fuss, it would be quite troublesome.
Jiang Xia thought for a moment, picked up Ikezawa Yuko's dropped scarf, and used it to bind her securely.
Afterward, he found a napkin and covered Ikezawa Yuko's face with it.
Jiang Xia didn't want Ikezawa Yuko to see his face, so he was currently wearing a mask.
But wearing a mask indoors all the time was quite stuffy and hot.
Since the person was already knocked out, he might as well just cover Ikezawa Yuko's face with a cloth to block her vision.
Mission accomplished.
Jiang Xia created a suitable environment for himself, sat back down on the sofa, and waited for Kinoshita Yoko to return.
…
More than an hour later.
Kinoshita Yoko finally finished work.
She retrieved her phone, which the staff had helped her keep, and opened it to see the message from Jiang Xia, feeling a bit surprised.
To be honest, since Jiang Xia hadn't contacted her again after they parted ways in the car that day, Kinoshita Yoko had thought she had been stood up.
She hadn't expected that Jiang Xia actually remembered this matter and had even caught the person with high efficiency.
…He really had turned over a new leaf. This efficiency was higher than many Detectives; he truly lived up to his paparazzi origins.
Kinoshita Yoko couldn't help but feel a little touched.
…
She quickly returned home.
After entering the Daimon and greeting Jiang Xia, Kinoshita Yoko remembered that Jiang Xia had waited for her for quite some time, so she planned to make him a cup of tea and some food first, then slowly inquire about the situation.
Passing by the sofa, Kinoshita Yoko's gaze shifted, and she inadvertently caught sight of the humanoid figure on the sofa.
She froze instantly. Her relieved expression shattered.
—On the sofa lay the 'captured stalker.'
Unlike the 'terrifying pervert' Kinoshita Yoko had imagined, judging by the stalker's attire and figure, it seemed to be a stylishly dressed woman.
However, at this moment, the woman's clothes were full of wrinkles, looking as if she had been mercilessly beaten, and she lay motionless.
Especially her face, which was even covered with a white cloth.
"…"
Kinoshita Yoko's heart, which had just settled, instantly rose back into the air.
Looking at her like this, this stalker…
She was probably dead.
It was good for young people to be dedicated, but how, how could he have killed someone…
…
Seeing Kinoshita Yoko return, Jiang Xia walked to the coffee table and picked up the camera. He was about to hand it to her for her to check.
Unexpectedly, upon turning around, he saw Kinoshita Yoko looking at him with an incredibly sorrowful gaze, pressing her hand to her chest, and saying, "Go, I won't tell them I saw you."
Jiang Xia: "…?"
What did she mean, use him and then discard him?
Kinoshita Yoko didn't notice the change in Jiang Xia's expression.
She quickly pulled out her wallet, took out all the cash, and even poured the coins into her palm.
After feeling the thickness, perhaps sensing it was too little, she took out her checkbook and pen.
Kinoshita Yoko bit off the pen cap, and just as she was about to write a check to Jiang Xia for some 'escape funds,' she suddenly paused thoughtfully and mumbled:
"No, the current regulation is 20 for adulthood, and you're not an adult yet. Besides, today's incident was actually the stalker illegally entering first. Also, I hired you, so you took… somewhat excessive measures against her. Instead of running away, why not…"
Kinoshita Yoko frowned, trying to come up with the best solution, and deeply regretted not studying law back then.
"Wait." Jiang Xia vaguely understood. After a moment of silence, he pointed at Ikezawa Yuko on the sofa, "She's not dead yet."
Kinoshita Yoko: "?!"
She was stunned for a while, then walked to the sofa with a mixture of doubt and belief, cautiously reaching for the 'corpse's' neck.
…Warm.
There was a pulse beating.
…She was really alive!
Kinoshita Yoko let out a heavy sigh of relief, collapsing weakly onto the sofa, making the 'corpse' jolt.
Discovering that she hadn't pushed an underage person into the abyss of murder, Kinoshita Yoko's conscience no longer pained her, and she finally had the energy to notice more details.
For example, upon closer inspection, she had seen the stalker's clothes today.
…It seemed to be that very fierce colleague.
Jiang Xia sat down next to her and introduced, "This person is Ikezawa Yuko, you should know her." As he spoke, he handed over the camera, "Watch this. It captured something very useful."
Kinoshita Yoko took it and watched carefully.
Initially, the footage was a bit horrifying. Kinoshita Yoko felt her scalp tingle as she watched Ikezawa Yuko, with her strange expression, haphazardly scattering blood letters.
However, by the end, her gaze had become a little sympathetic.
—Too tragic, Ikezawa Yuko was truly too tragic.
…But it had to be said, well done.
…
Kinoshita Yoko finished watching carefully, put down the camera, filled out the check for double the market price of the commission, and handed it to Jiang Xia: "Thank you, you've been a great help."
Jiang Xia didn't decline, but to be honest, what he wanted was actually a different kind of reward.
Jiang Xia glanced at Kinoshita Yoko's wrist.
The Ghost Infant clinging there felt a chill down its spine, silently shivered, and wiggled a little closer to Kinoshita Yoko, hugging her arm tightly.
Jiang Xia clicked his tongue inwardly, temporarily withdrew his subtly longing gaze, took out the videotape, and handed it to Kinoshita Yoko.
This item, if sold to Ikezawa Yuko's company or rival, could fetch several times the income.
But this matter was quite troublesome, and Jiang Xia didn't want to get involved any deeper. Moreover, he wasn't short on money—he occasionally received income from the organization, and additionally, Jiang Xia Tongzhi's parents had left behind a considerable inheritance.
Across the sofa, Kinoshita Yoko looked at the videotape Jiang Xia handed her, slapped her forehead, and suddenly realized that although she had tried to raise the price, she had still given too little—similar matters were always handled by her agent; she rarely dealt with them herself.
Thinking about the potential value of this scoop, Kinoshita Yoko picked up her checkbook again and earnestly consulted the fake paparazzi in front of her: "I can't take it for free. What price do you usually sell this kind of news for?"
"You've already paid the commission fee, so how can it be considered free?" Jiang Xia didn't care much about money; he only wanted ghosts. "Don't worry, this is information obtained during the process of handling your commission, it's part of the commission. I won't sell it to a second party. How you use it is your business."
Kinoshita Yoko was touched again.
—She hadn't misjudged him; he was indeed a good child with great potential!
However, the additional money would definitely still be given.
Since Jiang Xia refused to say, Kinoshita Yoko planned to ask her agent.
And also ask her agent to come over and help deal with the stalker.
While Kinoshita Yoko was making a quiet phone call.
Next to her, Jiang Xia took out a tablet-sized homemade screen from his bag, connected to several surveillance feeds.
He tapped on one of them, zoomed in to look, and a hint of anticipation appeared in his eyes.
…
After Kinoshita Yoko finished her call with her agent, she suddenly remembered that it was currently mealtime.
Thinking that Jiang Xia must have waited nearby for who knows how long to stake out the stalker, Kinoshita Yoko hurriedly got up: "You haven't eaten yet, have you? I'll go make you something."
But Jiang Xia looked towards the Daimon: "No rush to eat yet, there's one more."
"One more…" Kinoshita Yoko still had a smile on her face.
A second later, she suddenly realized that "one more" referred to a stalker, and her face instantly turned pale: "One more?!"
Jiang Xia nodded: "Yes, it's…"
He was about to say "it's a very fat man" to let Kinoshita Yoko guess it was her ex-boyfriend and prepare herself mentally.
However, at this moment, Jiang Xia's peripheral vision caught something: Ikezawa Yuko's head subtly tilted towards him.
…It was very much like subconsciously "listening in" when hearing an interesting topic.
Jiang Xia silently stared at Ikezawa Yuko and the cloth covering her face: "…"
Her psychological resilience was truly remarkable. In this situation, she still had the mind to feign sleep and listen to gossip.
He stopped speaking and got up, walking towards Ikezawa Yuko.
Ikezawa Yuko was originally still perking up her ears, trying hard to eavesdrop.
At this moment, hearing Jiang Xia suddenly stop talking, she panicked, abruptly realized the situation was not good, and tried to shrink into the sofa.
However, this level of escape clearly had no effect.
Jiang Xia brought down a hand chop, and Ikezawa Yuko's neck felt a dull thud. She fell back into unconsciousness.
Jiang Xia withdrew his hand with satisfaction.
This time, he had acted under very rational circumstances and could estimate roughly how long Ikezawa Yuko would sleep.
Finally, he didn't have to constantly guard against her waking up.
…
Kinoshita Yoko watched the entire process in a daze.
At first, she was still pale with fright at the existence of the "second stalker."
However, at this moment, seeing Jiang Xia's swift actions, she suddenly felt that stalkers weren't so formidable after all.
…They were surprisingly weak.
Kinoshita Yoko calmed down and looked at Jiang Xia, wanting him to continue their previous topic.
However, Jiang Xia didn't speak again.
He made a "shush" gesture to Kinoshita Yoko, then silently walked towards the entrance.
Reaching the Daimon, Jiang Xia pressed against the door and listened. Then, suddenly, timing it perfectly, he pulled the door open.
Just beyond the door, a corpulent man was also leaning against it, eavesdropping.
When Jiang Xia suddenly opened the door, the man lost his support and stumbled heavily forward.
Before he could recover, Jiang Xia grabbed him by the collar and executed an over-the-shoulder throw, sending him tumbling into the entrance.
After throwing the man, Jiang Xia turned back to close the Daimon, locking it with a click. He nodded with satisfaction.
—Stalker Number Two, successfully captured.
…
Stalker Number Two was clearly dazed by the throw. He lay on the ground, grimacing, staring at the ceiling light in Kinoshita Yoko's entrance, unable to sit up for a long time.
Jiang Xia locked the Daimon, turned around, and nudged him with his toe to urge him, but found that Stalker Number Two had no intention of getting up.
So Jiang Xia had no choice but to bend down, grab him by the collar, and with some effort, drag him all the way to the living room. He placed him in front of Kinoshita Yoko—primarily in front of the Ghost Infant.
As expected, the Ghost Infant began to whimper, seemingly cursing—it was probably very unhappy to see its father thrown and dragged.
After whimpering, it continued to hug Kinoshita Yoko's arm tightly, looking at her eagerly, hoping its mother would condemn this barbaric paparazzi so it could experience the deep affection between its parents.
However, things were completely different from what it imagined.
Kinoshita Yoko looked at the man at her feet, her eyes filled only with fear, disgust, sadness, and a hint of indescribable hatred.
Stalker Number Two looked at her with eyes pleading for reconciliation, while mournfully calling "Yoko" and reaching out his hand to her.
Kinoshita Yoko flinched, instinctively hiding behind Jiang Xia.
Then she nervously took out her phone and called her agent again, asking when she would arrive.
The agent had already arrived downstairs and brought several bodyguards with her.
She answered the phone and rushed upstairs anxiously.
After entering the living room, the agent looked at Jiang Xia, then at the two stalkers who looked utterly miserable, hesitated for a moment, and had the bodyguards wait outside the Daimon.
The fewer people who knew about today's events, the better.
…Since Jiang Xia was already involved, why not let him be present and act as a substitute for the bodyguards?
After all, this ex-boyfriend on the ground was a heavyweight human, weighing two or three hundred pounds, heavier than her and Yoko combined.
If this scoundrel truly went all out and stopped being human, wanting to drag them down with him, he could literally crush them both to death just by his weight.
If Jiang Xia wasn't there to keep him in check, the agent really wouldn't dare to let Kinoshita Yoko confront him alone.
…
Three people, one show.
Jiang Xia stepped back two paces, away from the battlefield, and sat on the sofa, silently observing.
Through his false "premonition," he understood much of the backstory and accepted the current turn of events well.
But the Ghost Infant was not doing so well.
Under the Ghost Infant's earthquake-like Pupil earthquake gaze, a long-standing entanglement was brought to light.
Pushing my own book