The interest in Yibo was so great that even after Zhan had taken a tour of both lounges and eaten something, he was still surrounded by many guests and Zhan could hardly get closer than three meters to him. However, the two assured each other with glances that everything was all right.

When Zhan saw a couple who had just taken a tour of the entire first floor and were impressed, he decided to take a tour while Yibo was still being held by his followers. In addition to the two bathrooms, he found a well-stocked library and a TV room. And then he came to the kitchen, which really impressed him.

Everything in the kitchen was up to date and very modern. It was even equipped with the stove that Zhan himself had pined over in the kitchen store but hadn't been able to afford. The same applied to the fridge, which had two doors and where he could even get ice cubes at the front of one door by pressing a button.

Zhan's interest in the kitchen abruptly waned, however, when he passed a door that apparently led down to the basement. The acrid smell of bleach and chlorine hit his nose. However, he didn't assume that she might have a pool down there and that was why it smelled so strongly of chlorine. Because he knew that smell only too well himself. After all, he had used the same chlorine and bleach to clean his bathroom and kitchen after his parents had bought him his apartment.

As his parents had bought the apartment unseen and cheaply through an estate agent, they only knew the pictures on the internet and had no idea of the true condition of the apartment. Zhan only found this out when his parents gave him the keys and the purchase contract and he saw his apartment for the first time.

As soon as he opened the front door, he was hit by an unpleasant smell that made him feel sick. He went inside, opened the balcony door and then went to look around. The stench was in every room. But it was worst in the bathroom and the kitchen. He tried to get the stench out with normal cleaners, but he couldn't do it. A professional cleaner recommended chlorine and bleach. Zhan immediately bought these from an internet store and then, wearing a protective mask and protective suit, cleaned these two rooms. The stench actually disappeared and everything shone again.

It was only after he moved in that he found out what had caused the stench in his apartment. The two tenants, an elderly couple, had died there. The husband suffered a heart attack and died in the kitchen. And the wife died in the bathroom while sitting on the toilet. No one could determine exactly which of them died first. This one neighbor could only tell Zhan that the two dead were only discovered when the penetrating decaying smell had spread throughout the house.

Zhan was naturally disgusted to know that these two had died in his apartment and that this stench had come from their decomposing bodies. But at the same time, he still wanted to stay there. He loved the apartment as soon as the stench was gone. And after his dad had wallpapered all the rooms, painted, laid new floors and Zhan's furniture was in place, it was just perfect!

Curious about what was behind this door, Zhan put one hand on the door handle and was about to push it down. But then he remembered that Yibo had told him to report anything suspicious or unusual to Yibo. But Yibo was far too distracted by his conversations with the guests. So what should he do now?

Just as Zhan was about to open the door, the kitchen door opened and Zhan quickly jumped to the side, pretending to be interested in the spices on the shelf next to the door. He slowly turned around to face the person and was surprised to see that it was Isko. And Isko seemed equally surprised to find Zhan there. "What are you doing here?" Isko wanted to know and hurried to Zhan with quick steps.

"Um, I was bored. My companion is busy and doesn't have time for me. So I thought I'd take a look around the house." Zhan replied and felt himself getting hot. Inwardly, he prayed that he wouldn't get red cheeks and that Isko would buy his lie.

"Okay. But you shouldn't walk around here alone. I warned you about my boss. She's after you. And since she's been so unpredictable lately, I don't know what she's up to with you." Isko replied.

"I don't understand that. What would she want from me?"

"I don't know that. But I suspect that she's interested in you herself. Every man she's been with has been younger than her."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes. But I really can't tell you what she wants from you. I don't think she trusts me anymore."

"Why not? Have you done something to make her doubt you?"

"You could say that."

"What was it?"

"I found out my little sister was getting married and I secretly phoned her to congratulate her. She didn't know who I was, of course. But..."

"Wait! Your little sister doesn't know who you are?"

"When my boss..." again he emphasized the word boss in that strange way "... took me away from my parents, I was only 14 years old and my little sister was a baby of just 8 months. And since it seems my parents never told her about me, she can't know me."

"Oh my God. Why did she take you away from your parents?"

"Because they owed her a lot of money and at some point they couldn't pay the monthly installments anymore. She told me that my parents gave me to her voluntarily and demanded that all their debts to her be paid off. And she would have agreed. I don't know if I can believe her. Maybe it's true. She has no reason to lie to me about it. And it's probably also proof of the fact that my little sister doesn't know me."

"That's terrible. That means your parents sold you out to her, doesn't it?"

"In a way."

"And how come you never ran away?"

"I tried many times. But they always caught me again. And then others were punished for it. At some point, I stopped trying."

"And now? I mean, you're an adult now and..."

"I can't. She owns me. Besides, she told me that if I ran away again, she'd take revenge on my sister. Even though she doesn't know me, she's the only one in my family who still means something to me. And I know that she would carry out her threat."

"Is she really as dangerous as I've heard?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell me if it's true that she has something to do with the disappearance of these men?"

"Maybe."

"Okay. I assume you don't want to talk about it."

"Not here."

"Okay. And um, can I ask you why you're helping me and telling me these things. And more importantly, can I trust you not to tell her what you and I are talking about?"

"I'm not telling her anything. And I already told you that I like you and don't want anything to happen to you. And now you really should go back to the others. You're not allowed to walk around here alone!"

"Why not?"

"Because she wants me to distract your companion so she can be alone with you. So come with me now. I'll take you back to the lounge."

"All right." Zhan said and followed Isko out of the kitchen. And then suddenly this woman stood in front of them.

"Oh Isko my dear, you've found him. Zhan, I was wondering where you were." Said Mrs. Isari with a smile.

"Um, I've been looking around here a bit and admiring the furnishings in the kitchen. Especially the stove and the fridge." Said Zhan, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable.

"Isko, please go and get a glass of water for Zhan. He's really pale." She said.

"Yes ma'am." Isko replied and was about to rush to the lounge when she held him back.

"Not from there. Go to the kitchen and get the water there." She ordered.

Isko went into the kitchen and Zhan felt panic rising inside him. He was alone with this woman. But then he improved. He wasn't alone with her. Her driver, this huge guy, came out of the shadows of a room and approached them. This woman nodded to him, the driver came closer and closer. In his mind, Zhan commanded his body to run. But he didn't move an inch. He couldn't move. He was completely frozen with fear.

The driver came closer and closer and as he put his huge hand on Zhan's shoulder and when Zhan thought the worst, he suddenly heard Yibo's voice. "There you are. I've been looking for you the whole time." With quick steps, Yibo was with him and put an arm around his shoulder. "Shall we go back?" Zhan nodded and let Yibo lead him back to the lounge. Neither Mrs. Isari nor her driver said anything or tried to hold them back.

Once in the lounge, Zhan leaned against the wall and bent forward over. He rested his hands on his thighs and breathed in and out deeply several times. Yibo rubbed his back and said softly, "Breathe calmly. Try the breathing exercise."

After two or three minutes, Zhan straightened up again. He had mostly regained control of himself and scowled at Yibo. "I think you're a bad agent. You're a super idol and make yourself perfect as a superstar. But you're no good as an agent."

"What?" Yibo asked, astonished and horrified at the same time.

"Instead of doing your job as an agent, you got distracted by all these people here and chatted cheerfully with them as an idol."

Yibo patted Zhan's shoulder lightly a few times and replied with a smile, "And as an idol, I gathered information about the target. I didn't neglect my work."

"But you weren't paying attention to me. What if you had been just a few seconds late?"

"And you didn't listen to me. I told you not to go anywhere without me. But you went off on your own!"

"I was bored Yibo! I didn't want to just stand in a corner and wait until you finally had time for me again!"

"Then we were both to blame. Agreed?"

"Whatever. But what do you think they had in mind for me?"

"From what I saw, I think they wanted to take you somewhere."

"Not by choice. Shit, I wanted to run away. But I couldn't move. I was completely frozen."

"That happens to a lot of people. If you want, we can break off here and leave."

"No, we're here and we're going through with it. But tell me, how did you know I needed you?"

"I got a message from Agent Nax. You have the microphone in your suit and she heard something was wrong. She sent me a text message on my cell phone and told me to go to you immediately because something was wrong."

"I understand. Thank you Agent Nax." Said Zhan. Three seconds later, Yibo received a new text message.

"Please." Said the text message Yibo showed him. Another five seconds later came another text message. "Good work Xiao Zhan. Now we know that Isko knows more about what his boss is doing and what she is using to blackmail him."

"You found that out?" Yibo asked in astonishment.

"Yes. And I didn't seek out the conversation, it came about on its own."

"Very good. And what did you find out?" Yibo asked and Zhan told him what Isko had told him. "Good, now we're one step closer. Unfortunately, Mrs. Isari isn't interested in me, but is still after you."

"I know." Zhan sighed and his eyes widened as Isko approached him.

Isko handed Zhan a glass of water, nodded to Yibo in greeting and asked Zhan: "Is everything all right? She wasn't trying to get... well, closer to you, was she?"

Zhan shook his head. "Not really. But her driver suddenly showed up and I think they were trying to kidnap me."

"I suspected something like that when she sent me to fetch water. I'm glad nothing happened."

"I am too. Luckily Yibo turned up. He had been looking for me."

"Very good. It's best to stay by his side. Keep an eye on your drinks and never let it out of your sight. And if she wants to talk to you alone, don't go for it!"

"Why would you advise him to do that?" Yibo wanted to know from Isko.

Isko looked at Yibo and took a deep breath before answering: "I know who you really are Wang Yibo. I know why you are here Agent Wang."

"Where..." Yibo was shocked and Zhan stared at Isko.

"A few days ago, I was able to catch a memo. I read it and it said that Wang Yibo was a secret agent and was coming to the party. I destroyed the memo and made a fake memo that I gave to my boss."

"And why would you do something like that for us?" Now Yibo took over the conversation with Isko.

"I'm doing it because I hope you can put a stop to her and put her behind bars."

"Why did you never say anything to the investigators who questioned you about her?"

"Because she has her spies everywhere. And one of them was always there when I was interrogated."

"Who, the investigator? Or the public prosecutor?"

"The public prosecutor. The investigator was always nice to me and even offered to talk to me in private."

"Who was the investigator?" Zhan wanted to know.

"Um, I think his name is Wen Rouhan."

"Oh, my neighbor. Why am I not surprised?" Zhan replied.

"And the public prosecutor? What's his name?" Yibo asked.

"Prosecutor Ximen Dong."

"I know him. Do you know if he's the one passing on the information about us agents to your boss?"

"I don't think it's him. At least not alone."

"I understand."

"I..." Isko stopped as his boss came into the lounge and walked right up to him, Zhan and Yibo.

All three stood against the wall and waited wordlessly until Ms. Isari arrived with her usual sexy walk.