Chapter 197
Zinnia exclaimed, “Yannis, you won’t believe this! My deckmate aced math, language, biology, and geography. I feel like my brain has gone missing!”
With the parent-teacher meeting matter resolved, Zinnia let it go. She wasn’t one to be petty; once something was over, she wouldn’t dwell on it. She propped her chin in both hands and watched Yannis tidy the desk, sharing school stories with him. She felt her deskmate, Lydia, was absolutely brilliant and felt lucky and honored to be sitting with her. In fact, Zinnia felt no jealousy; Lydia was always buried in books, so Zinnia felt she deserved top scores.
“You’re amazing, too,” Yannis said. “You’re great at medicine and playing the zither.”
As Yannis watched her share so animatedly, a warm sense of satisfaction welled up in his heart. “It’s all thanks to Master,” Zinnia blurted out. “He’s the absolute best. There’s nothing he can’t do!”
Yannis asked, “Zinnia, did your master teach you to play the zither?”
He thought about the past couple of days. Many things had happened, and he hadn’t found the right moment to ask Zinnia.
“Yes,” she replied. At the mention of her master, Zinnia rested her chubby cheeks in her palms, her expression clouded with worry. It had been three months since she last saw him. She wondered how he was doing and felt anxious whenever she thought about him.
“Zinnia, I’ve never asked before,” Yannis said, “Do you know who your master is?”
Yannis sat down, his expression serious, as if preparing for a meaningful conversation. Not long ago, he investigated the small town where Zinnia used to live—a renowned large-scale herb cultivation base supplying the government and major pharmaceutical companies. Fields of medicinal herbs stretched as far as the eye could see, all in Zinnia’s name, transferred to her a year ago when she turned sixteen. Her background was extraordinary, even surpassing the Shaw family. But who owned the fields before was untraceable; only Nathan could find out. Even if Zinnia didn’t return to the Shaw family, she would still be worth a fortune. But Zinnia herself neither knew nor cared about any of this; her master had handled all the transfer certificates.
Hearing Yannis’s words, Zinnia bit her lip, wondering what kind of person her master was. “Yannis,” she said, “I don’t know what kind of person he is. All I know is that he’s the one who raised me since I was little.”
Yannis’s probing was obvious. He had asked about Zinnia’s master multiple times, almost as if he knew him. Realizing this, Zinnia grew guarded. She thought, ‘Master told me not to look for him. Is Yannis trying to find him?’
Yannis said, “Zinnia, I mean you no harm. It’s just that your master might very well be the person Jackson and I have been searching for all these years. If you ask who else knows the Moon Scay Cream and the massage techniques you taught Grandpa, only the person we’ve been looking for would possess such knowledge.”
Yannis certainly noticed her wariness. He realized Zinnia still didn’t fully trust him, and a bitter ache settled in his chest. That was why she became instantly guarded about anything related to her master.
“Who are you looking for?” Zinnia asked, feigning ignorance. She could tell from Yannis’s words that he wasn’t against her master, but she remained on guard.
“Nathan Moore, the heir of the Moore family,” Yannis stated bluntly. “He might be your master.”
Zinnia realized Yannis was indeed searching for her master and guessed he was most likely from the Moore family. Zinnia’s hands clenched involuntarily.
“I don’t know my master’s name,” she said. “We grew up in that small town. Aren’t the Moore family supposed to be abroad? Why would my master have anything to do with them?”
Yannis said, “Zinnia, I have a family portrait of the Moore family. Your master should be around 27 now.”
Yannis picked up his phone, opened it, and found a picture of a handsome man, a pretty woman, and a good-looking boy. In the photo, the woman sat on a bench, while the man and the boy stood on either side of her, all three facing the camera. The woman was beaming, while the man and the boy gazed at her with gentle, loving smiles. The warmth and happiness of this family practically leapt from the photo.
The Moore family’s past was so tumultuous that any photos once circulating online had long been wiped clean. Zinnia had searched in vain for their pictures. In fact, the rare photos that did exist were only of the head of the Moore family, Richard Moore. His wife and son were kept well out of the public eye. Still, in elite circles like theirs, there were always ways to obtain photos. Just a couple of days ago, Yannis managed to get his hands on the photos through his connections.
Zinnia’s gaze locked onto the boy in the photo. He looked no older than seven, but his features were incredibly delicate, hinting at the striking beauty he would grow into. His face was refined, and his eyes were pure, sparkling with gentle mirth. Just looking at him, a girl would feel like she could lose herself in his eyes forever.
Zinnia’s breath caught. She thought, ‘That’s really Master.’ Zinnia rarely saw her master’s face. He always wore a mask, explaining it was to avoid scaring people because his face was burned and disfigured. He only took it off to comfort Zinnia when she was sick. Just seeing his handsome face always made Zinnia feel better; it even helped her eat more. Even though she only saw his face a few times, those moments were etched in her memory forever.
The boy in the portrait was an exact scaled-down version of her master. As he grew up, his features became even more striking. But his gentle, luminous eyes rarely held a smile, and more often, they brimmed with quiet sorrow.
Yannis said gently, “Zinnia, Nathan grew up with Jackson. We’ve been searching for him all these years. We just want to know if your master is Nathan and if he is still alive. We won’t hurt him.”
Her reaction told Yannis everything: Nathan was undoubtedly her master. Yet it was clear that Nathan had never revealed his true identity to her. When Zinnia saw the photo, the shock and unfamiliarity in her eyes were genuine. She truly hadn’t known before. She might have had her suspicions, but her actual confirmation came only when she saw the photo Yannis had shown her.
Zinnia said, “You’ll never find my master. I don’t know where he is either. He told me not to look for him, so you two should stop searching. He must have his own plans.”
Zinnia lowered her lashes, veiling the sorrow in her eyes. Yannis noticed the sorrow and gently tousled her hair, saying softly, “Zinnia, I’m here for you.”
“Yannis, how did you figure out my master is Nathan Moore?” Zinnia asked. She wondered why Yannis waited over a month to ask her if he had guessed it earlier.
Yannis replied, “Jackson recognized the technique when you played the zither.” Jackson and Nathan had been inseparable since childhood. Their mothers were best friends, and the two boys grew up side by side, so they knew each other inside and out. Therefore, the moment Zinnia’s zither performance video appeared in the group chat, Jackson immediately grew suspicious. At first, Jackson hadn’t imagined that Zinnia’s master could be Nathan; her massage techniques only planted a seed of doubt. However, when Jackson learned about her unusual physical condition, the undetectable ingredients in Moon Scar Cream, and Henry’s confirmation, he truly began to suspect her master’s identity. Later, when Jackson observed her distinctive zither performance, his suspicions grew even stronger.