"I heard it from the village head!" Jared replied. He had gone to the village head's house in an attempt to get an electric warming fan or at least, an electric blanket. Much to his disappointment, he hadn't gotten anything. Perhaps, the only thing to help him keep warm now would be wine, which thankfully, their hosts had supplied in plenty. So he joined the village head for a drink with the accompaniment of some hearty talks. But the elder was no heavy drinker. Only a few glasses down and he dropped the guard, turning into a blabbermouth.
In between his juicy tales, he let slip to Jared that someone had requested the villagers to give special care to Debbie. Although he didn't know who that person was, he remembered someone mentioned about a name "Mr. Huo".
From the village head's words, Jared could put two and two together. The surname Huo was a rare name, and even across the city, there was only one "Mr. Huo" whose influence could reach a remote village like the Southon Village.
Touched by Carlos' gesture, Debbie flashed a sweet smile. But she didn't want to admit the happiness exploding in her heart. Instead she faked a retort to Jared. "No, I don't think the village head was telling the truth."
"Oh, really? But I can see you smiling from ear to ear. Why don't you just admit that you're on cloud nine now?" Jared teased.
Debbie turned around and glared at him. "Just go and do night running. It will help you keep warm!"
'Do night running? No way! I would rather stay under the quilt, though I have to tolerate Dixon, ' he thought.
In Y City, by the time Carlos came back, Debbie had already been away for about three days. She had left without giving him a phone call, not even sending him a message.
Sulking silently, he took out his phone and called Curtis. "Have they arrived there?"
"Yes, they arrived safely, although my brother lamented the living conditions. Seems a little seedy over there," said Curtis on the other end of the phone. 'His brother? Gus Lu?'
Closing his eyes tight, Carlos said in a stern tone, "It serves her right. She made her own bed." 'She didn't even ask for my opinion before deciding. I didn't know it until the name-list was submitted to the school, ' he thought to himself.
"Rest assured. I've done as per your instructions and asked the people there to take good care of her. I've also sent Gus there to protect her. I know you feel bad, but it's only a few more days and she'll be back." Curtis understood what was going on in Carlos' mind.
Carlos wasn't convinced that Gus could be of any help. "Do you think I can bank on your unreliable brother for anything meaningful?" he asked. If he hadn't known that Gus had shown no interest in women in the past 22 years and had been suspected to be gay, he wouldn't have agreed Curtis to send Gus there to help Debbie.
The sharp manner of Carlos' question left Curtis doubtful. He paused for a moment and then replied, "Well, anyway, he's a man. Somehow, I believe, he can protect the girl should the need arise. Besides, Jared and Dixon went along with Debbie. So just rest assured."
'Rest assured?' There was no reason for Carlos to be distressed that she might suffer some harm. If anything, he was pretty sure she'd be just fine. But how would she cope with the other inconveniences of the trip?
It was not until she set out for the Southon Village that he learned about the dismal living conditions there. It seemed like a village abandoned by the government, with virtually no basic infrastructure.
'For three whole days of her stay there, she hasn't bothered to call me. Not even once! I think I should just let her be. Why should I care after all?' Carlos was angry at the thought.
Yet much as pretended not to give a damn, for the three days of her absence, everybody around him could sense his palpable anxiety. For fear of getting on his wrong side, they went about work with caution.
Now, seeing Carlos' deadpan face made Emmett shudder in fear. He knew his boss must be in an extremely terrible mood. Before he followed Carlos to the company offices, he took out his phone and secretly sent a message to the WeChat Group consisting of his colleagues. He wrote, "My dear fellows, attention please! A 'volcano' is on the verge of erupting! Anyone who doesn't want to die, please mind your steps and don't step on our CEO's toes!"
So, when Carlos arrived at the company building, all the staff tried their best to stay away from him after greetings.
Nonetheless, even after Emmett's kind warning, there were still a few managers who were unluckily caught by Carlos and given a tongue lashing.
The next day, the air in the CEO's office still felt heavy and oppressive. Standing next to Carlos, Emmett wished the ground under him would magically open up and swallow him to save him from this demon. But he knew he had to finish reporting to his boss no matter how much he wanted to escape. "Mr...Mr. Huo, Mrs. Huo is having... a good time with...a minority young boy..." 'The young boy is quite handsome!' Emmett thought in his mind.
He continued, "Mr. Huo... Mrs. Huo is dancing with that young boy."
"Um...Mr... Mr. Huo... Mrs. Huo is taking a walk with that young boy."
On the third day, everyone in the meeting room held their breaths. They couldn't utter a wrong word, because they could feel the dangerous aura around their boss.
When Emmett saw a postcard, he finally felt a hope. 'Oh! The senior executives and managers of the ZL Group finally can be saved!' Emmett exclaimed in his mind.
For the first time, as the CEO's personal assistant, Emmett rushed into the meeting room without even knocking at the door.
Carlos' cold voice came. "Emmett, what are you laughing? You have a good mood? Then how about I send you to the remotest place in the world to study the market there?"
Under everyone's curious and nervous gaze, Emmett mustered up his courage and walked toward Carlos.
Carlos' cold voice came to a sudden stop when Emmett handed him a postcard.
He took it and had a better look. On it was a picture of a beautiful landscape. There were words written on its back. "Carlos, this is my second day in the Southon Village. Have you come back from your business trip? I'm freezing to death but you haven't given me one single call. I hate you!
Carlos, I'm still so angry with you. It is just that this postcard is very beautiful so I sent it to you on a whim. Then again, I think I'd better write a few words on it to jolt you out of your arrogance.
Carlos, I said I missed you, but why haven't you said anything back? Do you still love me? Fine, if your answer is no, then I'll stay in the Southon Village for the rest of my life. That way, you can enjoy your time with Miss Lan or Miss Mi. No one will ever stop you from doing whatever you wish.
Carlos, the village head's son is very handsome and his mother treats me really well. I'm moved. What should I do? But when I remember that your mother treats me even better, I'm left at crossroads. How can I forget you, even if it's only on Mom's account?
Anyway, the children here are really cute. I've given some of your money to them in secret. Will you get angry with me? Some of them are orphans. If you still love me, how about we adopt one from them? I won't need to experience the pain of giving birth to a baby. But...if there is a chance that you want a baby of our own and you still love me, then I'll consider giving birth to a baby for you!
Carlos, there is no more blank space for me to write anything on. I'll stop now. Take care! But if you don't need me anymore, I'll be okay with it. You shouldn't let it bother whether I'll be bore to death or freeze into a cold Pillar, planted on permafrost. It shouldn't disturb you even if a bear mauled me to a horrific, painful death.
Written from a poor girl who would be bored to death, freeze into a cold Pillar and be mauled to death by a bear."
Finally, she signed off. "Date: unclear. (I forgot to charge my phone. It's already out of power. I don't know the exact date, nor do I want to ask anyone. That's it! Goodbye!)"
From top to bottom, she had written on every single inch of the postcard, as if it was a novel she intended to write.
Seeing the thin smile on the corner of Carlos' lips, Emmet heaved a sigh of relief, as if a burden was lifted off his shoulder.
For a moment, he assumed that the postcard would restore calm to the office, but unexpectedly, Carlos angrily threw the postcard on the table and demanded, "Who allowed you to open my letters?"
The smile on Emmett's face froze. "Mr. Huo... Mr. Huo... but you..." Emmett felt wronged. It was him and Tristan who had been handling Carlos' letters in the company all along.
But he swore that he hasn't read the content of this postcard when he noticed the name was "a poor girl." He knew it was from Debbie, so he immediately hurried to the meeting to and handed it to Carlos.
Out of the blue, Carlos stood up from his seat and announced, "This project is well planned and very creative, The Planning Department has done a good job and everyone in the department can get a bonus equal to your money wage." He then turned to Emmett and instructed, "Emmett, ask the direction of the charity foundations to come and discuss about investment."
There were some non-governmental charity foundation under the ZL Group. Emmett instantly understood what Carlos was going to do.
'Ask the directors to come and discuss about the investment? Oh, if I'm guessing right, Mr. Huo is going to invest in the development of the Southon Village!' he thought excitedly.