You Taught Me!

The next day.

Lake opened his eyes and saw a pendant hanging from the ceiling.

"What are you looking at?"

"…"

Lake turned his head. Rachel, wearing a loose T-shirt and holding two cups of coffee, walked in from outside. "This pendant."

Rachel walked in with the two cups and handed one to Lake. "Do you like it?"

Lake nodded. "It’s very special."

Just like everything that had happened last night, it was very special.

How to put it.

If being with Seifer was like walking a tightrope on a cliff with one foot, then being with Rachel was like hunting on the ancient African savanna, full of wildness and untamed spirit.

So, it was very special.

After hearing Lake’s evaluation of the decoration she made herself, Rachel said thank you and then added sheepishly, "Sorry, I ripped your T-shirt."

Lake said, "It’s fine."

"And your jacket."

"It’s fine."

"And your pants."

"…It’s fine."

After Lake finished speaking, he fell silent.

They were all ripped?

Then what would he wear?

Lake looked up at the ceiling, glanced at Rachel, who was sipping her coffee with her hair down and a smile on her lips, and also smiled. He shook his head, found his phone, and dialed someone.

"…Hello?"

"Get up and bring me some clothes."

"…What is it?"

"I remember I left a set of clothes at your apartment. Bring them over quickly, I’ll send you the address."

Lake directly called Betty, who was still asleep, and then hung up. He edited a text message with his current address and sent it.

Fortunately, he had changed into a suit when he showered this afternoon.

It was lucky he hadn’t worn the suit Seifer gave him.

A blessing in disguise.

The last time Lake was in Washington, he had stayed at Betty’s apartment there. When he left, he had left a set of clothes there that were always hanging up.

That year, a pervert appeared near Betty’s apartment and liked to break into single women’s apartments to steal their underwear. People discovered that if there was a man in the house, their underwear would not be stolen. So, Betty asked Lake to leave a suit hanging there when he left temporarily, to prevent the pervert from breaking in.

After hanging up, Lake looked at Rachel. "So, I have about an hour of free time."

Rachel understood and smiled slightly. "Is that enough?"

Lake shrugged. "Let’s try?"

Rachel put down her coffee cup. "Okay."

The next second.

Rachel’s laughter echoed through the bedroom. In an instant, the bedroom once again transformed into the ancient African savanna.

Lake had said before that he didn’t like married women, but now, Rachel was divorced, so she wasn’t a married woman anymore.

Married women and widows.

These were two types of women Lake would never touch.

Anything else…

Lake could accept.

Anyway, he wasn’t in a committed relationship with any woman at the moment. In fact, after personally killing Maureen, Lake felt he had developed a mental block.

How to put it.

To prevent such a thing from happening again, Lake felt it was better not to define any relationships. It was not only tiring but also easily gave him a bad reputation. If they weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend, then killing them wouldn’t be a problem.

Forty-five minutes later.

Lake’s phone rang urgently.

Rachel, who was straddling Lake, glanced at the ringing phone, leaned over, picked it up, and handed it to Lake, slightly out of breath. "It’s your boss calling."

Boss?

Secretary Kelly.

Lake, after answering the call, smiled as he looked at Rachel, who was riding a horse again. "Good morning, Madam Secretary."

Secretary Kelly said directly, "An hour from now, come to my office. I’m not feeling well."

After speaking.

Secretary Kelly’s call ended abruptly. Looking at the front-page headline of The Sun today, his expression was grim and displeased.

Lake listened to the dial tone on the phone and chuckled.

Ten minutes later.

Following Rachel’s loud cry, silence fell. Rachel lay on Lake’s chest, panting, "Don’t move, stay inside for a while."

Lake said, "Okay."

Fifteen minutes later.

The doorbell rang.

He opened the door.

Betty, standing outside and seeing Rachel wearing a stylish outfit and glasses, looking like a lady, opened her mouth. "Uh… I don’t know if this is…"

Rachel smiled, "Betty Ross?"

Betty nodded.

Lake’s voice came from the bedroom, "Here."

Betty blinked her eyes.

As expected.

She said she wasn’t interested, but ended up hooking up with him?

Just like you.

My brother.

Scumbag.

Hmph.

Ptooey.

Ten minutes later.

Lake, dressed in a suit and tie with gold-rimmed glasses, walked out of the bedroom and kissed Rachel. "Sorry, the boss has something urgent, see you later."

Rachel kissed him back.

Thirty seconds later.

One minute later.

One and a half minutes later.

Betty, who had been watching with a severe twitch in her eyelid and could no longer stand it, coughed heavily. "Hi! Hello! I’m still here."

Lake released Rachel and glanced at Betty. "Let’s go. Why are you still here? Waiting for Rachel to treat you to breakfast?"

Betty shrugged. "I was actually… Hey, hey, hey, don’t drag me, let go of me…"

Downstairs in the apartment building.

Lake got into the car.

With a bang.

Lake raised an eyebrow as Betty opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat. "What are you doing?"

Betty looked at Lake speechlessly. "I specifically took a taxi to bring you clothes, so you wouldn’t have to wear your ex-husband’s. And you just crossed the river and tore down the bridge?"

Lake asked curiously, "Where’s your car?"

Betty said exasperatedly, "The engine broke down. I’m saving up to buy a new one. Can you sponsor me a bit?"

Lake nodded.

His sister wanted to buy a car, and as a brother, he should sponsor her a little.

Lake took out his wallet and counted out five Franklin bills, handing them over. "Here, don’t mention it."

Betty was silent.

After a while.

Betty grabbed the five hundred dollars. It was better to take it than not.

Lake laughed, started the car, turned it around, and drove towards Betty’s apartment first, planning to drop her off.

"By the way."

"What is it?"

Betty suddenly frowned and looked at Lake. "Are you serious about this female reporter?"

Lake smiled and said, "What do you think?"

Betty said, "Let’s just forget about it."

Lake was puzzled. Hadn’t this girl been trying to set them up before? "Reasons?"

"She has a daughter."

"Adopted."

"She’s divorced."

Betty said, "My mom will definitely have opinions too, and we have a tyrant in our family. Do you think our General Ross would agree?" Lake chuckled, "My business is not for children to pry into. You just worry about yourself. Are you talking about finding a boyfriend? Have you found one? When can you bring him out for a stroll so I can see him?"

Betty rolled her eyes, "Do you think he’s a dog?"

Stroll?

Lake burst out laughing and said nothing more.

However…

What Betty said did have some truth to it.

If Karen of Rockefeller could marry Ross, then naturally, Karen had no objections to any kind of love, and she would never interfere with Lake’s life, as long as Lake didn’t regret it.

But the tyrant General Ross mentioned by Betty?

Lake didn’t take that to heart either. He respected General Ross out of admiration for Karen. Besides, Lake didn’t think anything would come of his relationship with Rachel.

At the very least.

Although Lake didn’t have many requirements for his future wife, she at least couldn’t have children with someone else.

That was the bare minimum.

He had to have some bottom line. If he didn’t, Lake figured he’d soon have no bottom line left.

So…

He’d see.

He’d just treat it as a temporary collaboration.

Lake was very open-minded about it.

Department of Homeland Security Building.

Lake arrived at Secretary Kelly’s office almost exactly on the hour, down to the second. "Good morning, Secretary."

Secretary Kelly looked up.

Two minutes later.

"Bang!"

Secretary Kelly pointed at The Sun newspaper he’d thrown onto the desk. "Look."

Lake picked up The Sun from the desk.

Oh.

Not bad.

It was published on time. The front-page headline of The Sun was the sample Rachel had shown Lake last night. The cover photo was of Lake, suited and booted, holding two guns and firing at the White House.

Handsome.

Just as expected from the woman I’ve taken a liking to. Her photography skills are top-notch.

As Lake thought this, he curiously looked at Secretary Kelly. "The photo is good, but the shirt is a bit dirty. I’ll contact them and see if they can retake it."

Secretary Kelly was almost choked with anger.

Was this about the photo?

Secretary Kelly took a deep breath. "This female reporter learned about the Secret Service’s corruption from that insider."

Yesterday, the President had already said that the official announcement would be that the Chief of the Secret Service was killed by a thug. After all, Mr. President and the Chief of the Secret Service had known each other for several years. Since the man was dead, they should leave him some dignity.

But…

Today’s report was a blatant slap in the face.

It was possible that another special prosecutor would be appointed to investigate this leak.

Lake responded with an "Oh," saying, "About that, Rachel called me and asked me about it. So, I told her. When I left this morning, she even asked me if it would have any impact."

"You just told her…"

Secretary Kelly clutched his chest, his chest heaving. He paused, then looked at Lake. "Wait, what did you just say? Left from her place? Jesus Christ, you got involved with her?"

Lake was unhappy. "Secretary, what do you mean ‘got involved’? I’m single, she’s single. It’s just mutual affection."

Secretary Kelly sneered repeatedly. "Then have you considered that she might be using you to get information?"

Lake nodded. "Of course, I’ve considered it. But what direct connection does her getting information have to me sleeping with her?"

Secretary Kelly covered his forehead. "Then do you know what will happen if Mr. President asks about this now that you’ve admitted it?"

Lake chuckled. "This is perfect. It gives you an excuse. I’ve found that I’ve offended quite a few institutions in Washington. A little self-sabotage, you taught me this, what do you call it? Political wisdom!"

Secretary Kelly: "…"