Chapter 165: Blink If You’re Kidnapped
Chapter 165: Chapter 165: Blink If You’re Kidnapped
Rhea Dempsey’s gaze swept over the three people who had spoken, and her expression darkened.
She stared at the last person to speak and demanded in a cold voice, "Where did you hear that? Who told you? Do you have any proof?"
"I was just asking. Why are you getting so worked up?" The person shrank back guiltily.
"Do you even use your brain when you ask questions like that?" Rhea Dempsey’s face was filled with disgust. "How old are you? Don’t you know what’s off-limits to ask?"
"Don’t you go too far. Everyone knows your Renee Jennings gets mixed up with all those men out there."
"Do you have proof?" Rhea Dempsey shot to her feet, pointing furiously at the other person. "Believe it or not, I’ll sue you for slander!"
The person tried to say more, but the others held them back.
A fire burned in Rhea Dempsey’s chest. She took out her phone and sent Renee Jennings a WeChat message: "Maybe you shouldn’t come over."
She was afraid these gossips would start running their mouths in front of Renee Jennings.
Renee Jennings was driving. By the time she saw Rhea Dempsey’s message, she was already in the elevator.
She replied, "I’m already here," and stared at the changing floor numbers while pondering how to ruin her cousin’s engagement.
"DING—"
The elevator doors slid open slowly.
Renee Jennings gave Rhea Dempsey a voice call on WeChat as she stepped out of the elevator.
"Mom, what’s the apartment number?"
"1303."
"Okay, I’m here."
Rhea Dempsey hurried to get the door.
After entering the apartment and greeting a crowd of relatives, Renee Jennings’s gaze landed on her grand-uncle’s unattractive son.
The man of the hour, Cole.
He was thirty-two, with average looks, and worked as a high school physics teacher. He was so arrogant that he looked down on every woman he met on blind dates.
Rhea Dempsey had once introduced him to a friend’s daughter who worked as an accountant for a small company.
Cole hadn’t thought she was good enough, belittling her until she seemed worthless. This led to the girl’s mother holding a grudge against Rhea Dempsey.
"Renee Jennings?" Cole sized her up. "You came dressed like that?"
Renee Jennings was wearing a navy-blue sweatsuit, her long hair tied up in a high ponytail. She looked even younger than the girls in his classes.
"Is there a problem?" Renee Jennings rolled her eyes at him.
Cole ignored her eye-roll and said with a chuckle, "Let me introduce you to my fiancée. Your future sister-in-law."
Renee Jennings saw him holding the hand of a petite young woman.
She blinked and asked curiously, "You’re so pretty, how could you fall for him? Girl, if you’ve been kidnapped, just blink."
Although Cole’s fiancée wasn’t tall, she had delicate features, slightly deep-set eyes, and a high nose bridge, giving her the look of an exotic beauty.
"What kind of thing is that to say?" Cole retorted, displeased. "I may not be as good-looking as Cherie, but I have talent."
"Yeah, yeah, sure," Renee Jennings said impatiently. "If you say so."
"You..." Cole glared at her, then turned to Shirley Griffin. "Don’t pay any attention to my cousin. She’s not a good person."
Shirley Griffin gave a perfunctory nod and pulled her hand away from Cole’s. "I’m a little tired. I’m going to go sit in the room for a bit."
Cole started to follow her. "I’ll go with you."
"Don’t." Shirley Griffin frowned. "Go help my parents deal with your relatives."
"Alright." Cole left the room. Seeing Renee Jennings playing with a cat on the balcony, he walked straight toward her and said in a boastful tone, "This is Cherie’s cat. She spent twenty thousand yuan on it. You’ve probably never earned that much money on your own in your life, right?"
"It cost twenty thousand, but what does that have to do with you?" Renee Jennings shot him a disdainful look.
’He’s talking about twenty thousand yuan like it’s twenty million.’
"Of course it has something to do with me. Cherie is my fiancée now," Cole said smugly.
Renee Jennings let out a dry laugh, then asked with a straight face, "Tell me the truth. Do you have some kind of dirt on Cherie?"
"You!" Cole was livid, and his eyes flickered. "Do you look down on your cousin that much? You really don’t believe Cherie fell for my talent?"
Renee Jennings: "Are you trying to PUA yourself, or are you trying to PUA Cherie?"
"I’ve got nothing more to say to you!" Cole stormed off in a huff.
Renee Jennings rubbed the Golden Chinchilla’s fluffy head and cooed with a smile, "Good kitty. I didn’t realize you were so expensive. What’s your name?"
"Hehe, this kitty’s name is Juniper." The Golden Chinchilla thought Renee Jennings smelled wonderfully fragrant and comforting.
Renee Jennings: "My name is Renee Jennings. You can call me Renee."
"Renee," Juniper purred, nuzzling her palm. "This kitty knows why Cherie agreed to marry Cole."
"You do?" Renee Jennings raised an eyebrow, a hint of delight appearing on her face. "Can you tell me about it?"
Cole, sitting on the living room sofa, caught sight of Renee Jennings talking to the Golden Chinchilla. His eyes darted around, and he said to Rhea Dempsey, "Aunt Rae, Renee Jennings is acting weird. She’s even talking to the cat. Did a bad breakup drive her crazy?"
Rhea Dempsey, still fuming, didn’t mince her words. "If she’s crazy for talking to a cat, then what does that make you people who own them? Are you all nuts or just morons?"
"You..." Cole was so thoroughly shut down that he was fuming but didn’t dare to talk back. After all, his future parents-in-law were there, and he couldn’t afford to make a bad impression.
"Rhea, why are you so aggressive?" Cole’s mother said unhappily. "Cole is just showing concern for your Renee Jennings."
Rhea Dempsey laughed. "Well, I’m just showing concern for all of you, then."
Cole’s mother: "..."
Renee Jennings had learned a great deal from Juniper. As she watched Cole and his family in the living room, she arched an eyebrow, and a slow smile spread across her lips.
’So that’s how it is...’
’Looks like the new mission from System 009 is reasonable after all.’
[System 009: Miss Jennings, this system is, in fact, a good, law-abiding system.]
Renee Jennings sat down next to Rhea Dempsey, holding Juniper in her arms.
Cole’s mother stared at her, a smile plastered on her face. "Renee Jennings, it’s been so long. How come you don’t dress up anymore? Are you seeing anyone?"
"Not yet, Aunt," Renee Jennings replied nonchalantly.
Cole’s mother continued, "Oh my, you’re already twenty-four and still single. You can’t afford to be too picky. When you’re looking for a partner, you have to consider your own situation. Don’t set your standards too high!"
"That’s right! Once a girl passes twenty-five, she becomes an old maid. By then, you’ll be the one getting picked over, not the one doing the picking!"
"..."
The others chimed in agreement.
Rhea Dempsey was speechless. She retorted, "Twenty-five is still young! How is that an ’old maid’? Besides, wasn’t Cole always being picky back then?"
Cole’s mother sneered. "Can Renee Jennings even compare to our Cole? Cole has a secure job as a high school teacher. Renee Jennings doesn’t even have a job. She should be thankful just to find a partner, and she dares to be picky?"
"Our Cole has every right to be picky. Speaking of which, I’m so glad he didn’t end up with that accountant you introduced, Rhea. Finding Cherie is so much better. She’s beautiful, she’s also a teacher, she’s cultured and reasonable..."
The more Cole’s mother spoke, the happier and more smug she became.
Renee Jennings smiled and nodded, even playing along by asking, "I also just heard that Cherie’s family is going to buy them a house and car, paid in full?"