“I heard you,” Hans broke off his train of thought and smiled faintly. “Zam leaned leisurely back against the couch, saying nonchalantly, “Say, Hans, do you think that this time Julie and I—”

Before he could finish his sentence, Hans interrupted him. “There’s probably no hope for you.”

Zayn’s expression darkened instantly, and he glared coldly at Hans.

Feeling guilty and self-conscious, Hans nervously swiped a hand over his nose before babbling nonsensically, “Things have turned into a huge fuss this time. If you want to reconcile with her, there’s probably no other solution except to marry her.”

Zayn was stunned at his words. Marry Julie? He had never considered the notion before, because in his subconscious mind, he had always found her beneath him.

“Impossible,” he retorted subconsciously, then paused before adding, “My mother wouldn’t agree to it either.”

Hans shrugged helplessly, then decided to drop some sincere advice. “Well, you said it yourself. It’s fine to play around, but Julie is unworthy of marrying into the Peyton family, so why make yourself unhappy? Besides, don’t you still have a girlfriend right now?”

Zam lowered his gaze, deep in thought. He wanted to argue, but it was as if the words were stuck in his throat and he could not figure out what to say.

Suddenly, a phone started ringing. He picked up the phone and slid his finger across the screen, accepting the call. Whatever Priscilla said, it made Zayn frown slightly.

“Got it,” he said in a low voice. Just as he was about to hang up, Zayn decided to ask offhandedly, “How did you manage to find out so quickly?”

“You just called and asked directly?” he commented aloud after listening to Priscilla’s reply. “Alright, got it. That’ll be all.” He then hung up the phone.

Seeing this, Hans immediately tossed his billiards cue aside, walked over to Zayn, and planted himself down on the couch opposite him.

“Who was it?” he asked, his face full of curiosity.

“Priscilla,” Zayn replied straightforwardly.

Hans arched an eyebrow, asking in surprise, “Was it about the investigation into Julie that you asked her to carry out? Did she already obtain the information so quickly?” Zayn picked up the wineglass on the coffee table and raised it to his lips. He chugged the champagne in it in one gulp before replacing the glass on the table.

“She called Julie directly to ask about it,” he finally said through gritted teeth. He felt angry at the mere thought of Julie picking up Priscilla’s call of all people but not his. How well played of her. His expression was as stormy as a raincloud.

Hans ignored his dark expression and asked with feigned nonchalance, “What has Julie been up to recently?”

“She and Amara rented out a fifty-square-meter office space at the International Center and opened up a studio,” Zayn replied grouchily.

Hans could not help his surprise. “The International Center? Didn’t Zachary Quinn also open up a company there?”

A flash of surprise crossed Zayn’s expression at that. “What did you say? Zachary’s brother?”

“That’s right,” said Hans. “He also opened a new company at the International Center several days ago. I even went there to deliver him a gift basket.”

Before he had even finished speaking, Zayn stood up abruptly and kicked the coffee table irritably, cursing.

“That damn Zachary! He still hasn’t given up,” he said angrily.

Hans was bewildered at his sudden show of anger. He was clearly unaware of what was going on between Zayn and Zachary.

“What do you mean, he hasn’t given up?” he asked in confusion.

Zayn did not reply, irritation written all over his face. Hans sat dazedly on the couch, thinking back to Zayn’s previous words. Taking out his phone, he scrolled through his contacts to Julie’s number and called her without hesitation. The phone rang for quite a while before going through. A woman’s voice sounded through the phone. “Hello, who is this?”

The corners of Hans’ mouth unconsciously curved up into an imperceptible smile. His tone became serious as he replied, “It’s me, Hans York.”