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Chapter 1 - Chapter 680: A chance encounter

Whether it's Jack's influence or just the world's own interpretation, the love lives of the veteran LAPD members are now peaceful. John and Grace are enjoying a stable marriage, and Tim and Lucy are also planning their wedding.

Back at the BAU, Hotchner's wife, Harley, has long since shaken off the effects of postpartum depression. After all, their son can now speak and is now happily chasing after his father, his little legs flapping and howling.

Jack had originally been skeptical of Red and the young starlet, Leila Aki. After all, their worlds were so different. His initial intention in bringing them together was simply to help a young virgin mature emotionally.

Now, it seems a bit of a coincidence. Both are busy people, and perhaps because distance creates beauty, they're incredibly affectionate when they're together, almost oblivious to the world around them. The sour smell of love makes Emily frown.

Jack is now considered half-boss of Laila. With the filming of the cheesy skits gradually gaining momentum, she's naturally the preferred choice for the lead role.

Perhaps even Laila herself didn't anticipate that her initial appearance, initially a friendly favor, would become a major hit. Her income, based on commissions, has steadily increased, and she's long since grown up renting a place to maintain her celebrity status.

The once-dependent Hunter couple's lonely retirement life has suddenly become more lively after meeting Jack. Retired CIA agent Joe Mason has taken up residence in their home, and with the addition of a young daughter, Isabel, the quirky family of four lives a blissful life.

Jack is also certain that Laila's bodyguard, who bears a striking resemblance to Liam Neeson, is a retired CIA agent. The way he greets Joe Mason suggests they might even be acquaintances.

Unfortunately, even though Jack already knew his name was Brian Mills, he couldn't recall which movie he was associated with. But that didn't matter. At his behest, Chris's film company covered Leila's personal security costs.

In other words, Jack was now half-boss of Brian Mills (Liam Neeson), which gave him a sense of accomplishment, like collecting character cards.

It was already midnight after a busy day. Jack, a little drunk for once, let Jiejie drive while he took the passenger seat. In the backseat sat Red and Leila, hitchhikers.

Leila's bodyguard, Brian Mills, had already finished work and gone home. With three FBI agents in one car, there was no need for him to work overtime.

They say girls change a lot when they grow up. After nearly a year, Isabel, once a little round-faced little girl, was no longer the little girl who used to whimper on Jack's back. Not only had she grown taller, but her demeanor had also matured considerably.

However, upon meeting Jack, Isabel immediately transformed into a little fangirl, constantly chatting him up until Aunt Dee Dee, unable to bear it any longer, came up and found an excuse to drag her away.

On the way home, Jiejie teased Jack about the incident with a hint of sourness, while a young couple in the backseat watched with amusement, after all, it was rare to see someone get humiliated.

The car pulled off the highway and into North Hollywood, not far from the Wilshire Police Department's jurisdiction. Looking at the familiar streets, Jack felt a sudden sense of being transported back to another world, as if it were only yesterday that he was patrolling the streets of Los Angeles in his patrol car.

Seeing a convenience store on the side of the road, he instinctively patted Jiejie's arm and motioned for her to pull over. "You're running low on beer in the fridge. Get some snacks."

Jiejie blushed, knowing exactly what he was asking for. They'd nearly finished a whole box of umbrellas last night, and if they didn't restock, they'd have to make do with the plastic wrap in the kitchen.

"Come on, Red and I haven't seen each other for a long time. It's a rare opportunity for us to get together on vacation. We plan to stay up all night watching videos tonight, so we need to prepare some snacks." Leila's pretty face flushed slightly, as if she had thought of something. Red foolishly followed her out of the car, "I'll help carry the things."   

Jack sighed softly. It seemed someone's emotional intelligence potential had been tapped to its fullest potential by Leila. But that was a good thing, too. Complementary personalities between couples were a great way to get along.

Convenience stores in Los Angeles were typically run by Asians or Latinos. The former were primarily Koreans and Chinese, while the latter were mostly Mexicans, with some from small South American countries like Nicaragua.

This particular convenience store, owned by an elderly Latino couple, reminded Jack of the old couple who had taken over his own grocery store, which was why he instinctively asked Jiejie to stop there.

The four of them got out of the car and walked into the convenience store. There were not many customers inside, only a couple of their own age, whispering affectionately in the snack section.

"Hi!" Seeing the two handsome couples entering, the girl from the couple greeted them warmly.

Jack was slightly startled to see another familiar face. It wasn't the friendly blonde girl, but her boyfriend, a shorter, baby-faced handsome man.

Frankie Muniz was a famous child star in his previous life. "Growing Pains" is universally known in China, but his childhood role in "Malcolm in the Middle," though it came later, is even more famous in the United States.

While the show isn't particularly well-known in Jack's homeland, Bryan Cranston, who plays the father, is equally renowned. He's the kind of guy Jack would instinctively pull out a gun if he met him, The infamous Drug kingpin from the show 'Breaking Bad' But, that's a bit of a tangent.

Jack isn't particularly interested in family comedies, having only flicked through a few episodes of "Malcolm in the Middle" on a whim. He's somewhat familiar with Frankie Muniz because he also starred in two entertaining action-comedy films, "Young Agent Cody" and its sequel.

However, Jack's impression of the actor as an adult is that he went straight into producing, with only occasional guest appearances on TV series. His height is a major drawback; there aren't many European and American actors who are only 1.65 meters tall, making it difficult for him to act alongside actresses.

To his surprise, not only did Red seem to recognize the man, he actually called him by name. "Are you Johnny McHale?"

"Uh?" the short, baby-faced handsome man exclaimed, surprised to be recognized. "Am I already that famous?"

"I really love your comic book 'Blue' I even took time off to attend your book signing."

Red's words made the others smile knowingly.

Then, Jack was recognized. Cartoonists and novelists are both commonly referred to as writers, using the single term "writer." While the two may overlap somewhat, it's common for them to draw inspiration from each other and even collaborate.

It was clear that this Johnny McHale also kept an eye on the bestseller lists. After the two exchanged names, he immediately caught on and politely praised Jack's debut work.

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Authors note- for personal use!!

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