Matthew didn't need to finish his sentence because Paige already knew what he was going to say.
She couldn't control the urge to laugh but Matthew's eyes stopped her, as she cleared her throat and said, "Mr. Huo, I think... you should let the person who said those words explain it to you."
Paige didn't want to be the one to do the explaining because she knew that Matthew would only respond with anger. Needless to say, she didn't want to deal with her boss's anger.
'Let Erica explain it to me?' Matthew felt a dull pain in his head just at the thought of it. He shook his head, knowing full well that he would never be able to get Erica to explain it to him properly.
Having realized that it would be more fruitful to just ask Paige, he insisted, "Just tell me!"
"Um..." Paige hesitated. She struggled to find the words to give him a response.
Matthew, however, had run out of patience and demanded, "Just spit it out!"
'Fine!' Paige had no choice but to start explaining. "Xitala is a surname. Recently, someone made a historical drama series which became a big hit. A female role's name there is Erqing Xitala. Although her face conveys innocence and harmlessness, she is concisely manipulative and vicious. When the drama series ran on TV for some time, this surname became a household name to every person in the country. The name is infamously popularized by the people who use it to describe those who are vile and detestable. So, 'Xitala, you'd better be kind' is an expression usually said to someone a person despises, telling them not to be so repulsive."
Paige figured "Matthew Xitala" must be the way Erica had addressed Matthew. 'Good luck, Mrs. Huo, ' she thought.
Each word she spoke caused Matthew's face to darken in anger.
Paige added, "To be honest, sir, it's also just a joke. You shouldn't take it too seriously."
"I see. Thank you. You can go now."
Leaning against the back of the chair, Matthew thought about how to punish his bold and troublesome wife.
Meanwhile, completely oblivious to the fact that Matthew had found out the meaning of what she said, Erica gleefully kept herself entertained on Weibo after Ethan fell asleep.
She posted a photo of her and Aaron with the caption—"Finally, I've met my idol! I'm so happy!"
However, her face was pixelated and the netizens were mainly focused on Aaron's handsome face.
Most of Aaron's female fans were unapologetically envious of her and one of them commented, "It must be nice to have all the connections. Mrs. Huo even has a close-up picture. I wish I were as lucky too!"
The comment section was filled with envious comments. Almost everyone apart from one person, whose user name was "Can't Do Anything," seemed to have a similar opinion. "Don't you know that Aaron was in a relationship with three different people at one time? Besides, he even got a room in a hotel with the boss of a company just to win a bid."
Before Erica could even reply, Can't Do Anything's comment had already caused chaos—ninety-nine out of one hundred comments were accusing him of spreading false rumors.
Needless to say, Erica was infuriated. She couldn't just let some random person slander her idol like that. Spitting furiously, she sent Can't Do Anything a private message. "Why would you spread such ridiculous lies about Aaron? Are you aware of the legal consequences of your actions?"
Can't Do Anything replied, "I'll gladly take responsibility for everything I've said. Besides, the CEO who got a room with Aaron was a man. Do you need me to send you proof?"
Erica stared at her phone, utterly shocked, but also too angry to ask for proof. What proof could this person have? She was afraid of seeing something that would make her unhappy, but she also wanted to prove Aaron's innocence. "How did you come to acquire such proof?"
Can't Do Anything replied, "It doesn't matter how I got it. Would you like to see photos or videos?"
Taken by curiosity, Erica decided to find out if any of the person's claims was true or false. If this all had turned out to be one big lie, she would hunt this person down to the ends of the world. "Videos!" Erica thought videos would be more convincing.
A few minutes later, there was a video in her inbox and she clicked it immediately.
As she watched it, Aaron's inviolable image in her head got shattered into a million pieces.
The content was very eye-catching to say the least. Aaron was seen being pushed up against an office desk as a man kissed him. While Aaron clearly seemed to have welcomed it as he kissed the man back.
What followed after was R-rated content which Erica couldn't bring herself to watch any further. She turned it off and threw her phone on the bed.
'What did I just see? How?' Erica wanted to burst into tears. Aaron was a symbol of innocence and purity in her heart. She wasn't expecting him to do such a repulsive thing.
However, Erica was unyielding. She immediately wrote back, saying, "Nowadays, anyone can fabricate a video with the use of modern technology and other equipment. How do I know you're not just framing Aaron?"
"Fine! Aaron's still in Y City. If you're interested, you can go to the hotel at nine o'clock tonight and see for yourself who he checks into a room with."
The confidence in the way the person responded made Erica want to cry. For some reason, she found this person to be as hateful as Matthew was!
This account name had appeared in her comment section many times. Frustrated, she asked, "I'm sorry, but do I know you?"
Erica's user name on Weibo was "Rika, who lives on the moon." All her friends knew her as Rika.
Can't Do Anything answered, "I know that you're married to Matthew Huo. If you don't believe me, you can go home and ask your husband."
'Ask Matthew Huo?' If Matthew knew that her idol had done such shameful things, he would surely laugh at her. Erica decided to get to the bottom of the matter.
At half past eight in the evening, Erica called Matthew's cellphone. "Hello, Matthew, can you do me a favor?"
"What is it?"
"I have something important to do. I'm worried about leaving Ethan at home. Can you come back early to look after him for a while? If you are busy, just forget it."
Matthew paused to think and then said, "Bring him to me."
"Bring Ethan to your office?"
"Yes!"
"Okay."
At ZL Group
Matthew hung up the phone and faced Harmon Lu, who was sitting on the sofa. "My wife will be here soon. You should get going."
"Oh, so my nephew's wife is coming?"
"Yes!"
"Good! I'd like to see her. I heard that she is quite the troublemaker. I couldn't meet her on your wedding day. I must meet her this time!" Harmon Lu was the youngest son of Curtis. He had never met Erica because he was still living abroad when the two got married.
"There will be more chances in the future!" Matthew implied that Harmon Lu would have to wait another day.
Fortunately, Harmon Lu decided not to make his life miserable and stood up, buttoning his blazer. "Fine. I'll be in Y City for a few days. When you have the time, invite Sheffield and Joshua. Let's have some drinks."
"Sounds like a plan."
"Bye."
Silence befell Matthew's office for about ten minutes before the door was pushed open from the outside.
Erica walked in with baby Ethan wearing a yellow onesie in her arms. "Phew! I am so exhausted! This little fellow is getting heavier and heavier! Matthew, come here and take him," Erica said.
Matthew put down the pen in his hand, walked over and took over Ethan from her arms.
Erica heaved a deep sigh and said, "I've got something important to do and I can't bring him with me. Please take care of him. I'll be back soon!"
Glancing at her, Matthew asked, "Where are you going?"
"Oh, I'm going to..." Erica paused and told him the first excuse she thought up in her mind. "I'm going to see a friend."
Matthew caught the look of guilt in the girl's eyes. Obviously, she was lying!
"I see," he simply said.
"Thank you!" Erica was surprised how easily Matthew had dropped the topic. 'That's it?' Erica was pleasantly surprised.
"You're welcome," Matthew said. He walked to his desk and sat Ethan down on top.
Erica grinned and waved at the baby before she disappeared from Matthew's office.
It was only Matthew and the baby in the office. The two stared at each other in silence for a while, before Ethan leaned forward and prostrated himself on the desk.