Debbie looked at Erica with a smile. "I just have this one hobby in my life. Everyone knows about it! In fact, that's why people are always sending me lipsticks. It's just so hard to resist some shades, so I try to collect them. Is there anything you'd like for yourself? You can pick whichever you like."
Erica shook her head. "No, thanks. I don't really use lipsticks a lot." As a young girl, Erica had hardly bothered with make-up as her youth made her beautiful enough. Eventually, due to her lack of interest in cosmetics, she ended up never wearing makeup or lipstick.
In fact, the only times she had a full-on makeup were when she had to take pre-wedding photos with Matthew and on the day of their wedding. However, on both occasions, Erica could neither find any noticeable changes with her face, nor could tell if she looked beautiful or not.
"Really? I don't believe you! You're a girl, aren't you? Girls like to be beautiful. Applying lipstick not only makes women look spirited, it also makes them feel more beautiful!" Debbie said.
"Mom, I hardly use cosmetics... I don't even know how to apply a lipstick properly," Erica said honestly.
Debbie looked at her sympathetically. "Alas! It's all Matthew's fault. He should take you out shopping more often. Don't worry, I will teach him a good lesson when he's back!" Perhaps when Erica was a little girl, the fact that she hid her femininity was defensible. However, she was now a married woman, and Matthew, as her husband, should have done more to help her embrace her feminine side.
The two most important attributes a woman had to have was a kind heart and a pretty face. Erica already had a kind heart, all she needed to do was take better care of her face, dress better and she would become even more delightful.
"No, no. It's not his fault. It's really my problem." Erica was different from most of the other girls in her class who cared only about beauty and desirability.
Debbie held her arm, took the lipstick from her hand and put it back in its place. "Since you don't seem to like the ones here, I'm taking you to the mall. We just need to find you the color that suits you best. I know just the person for that. Let's go!"
"Oh, that's very sweet of you!" Erica realized that resistance was futile, so she followed Debbie out of the collection room first.
The two of them happily dropped by a spa first and then went to the shopping mall.
Debbie picked the lipstick stores and outlets first. Most of the store managers and sales-clerks knew her.
In a popular lipstick store, she sat Erica down in the VIP lounge and gestured at the person in the counter with her hands. Before long, a sales-clerk waltzed in with a tray lined up with lipstick shades that would be suitable for the young girl.
Despite her initial reluctance, Erica wore some light make-up and tried on a few different shades of lipsticks. Soon enough, she found a few she actually liked.
All thanks to Debbie's encouragement, Erica walked out of that store with six new lipsticks just for herself.
In the evening, after having dinner at the Huo family's manor, Erica went back to the Pearl Villa District. On the way, she secretly applied the lipstick on her lips because she had wiped them out for dinner earlier on.
The car was going 60 miles per hours on the motorway when suddenly a person, came out of nowhere and stood in front of the car.
The brakes screeched and the engines shuddered to a halt.
Erica hit her head on the back of the front seat. 'Ouch!'
"Mrs. Huo, did you see that? Someone jumped in front of me out of nowhere!" The driver's voice was trembling in fear. After all, this was the first time something that had happened in his twenty years of driving.
Erica's heart skipped a beat. She quickly opened the door and got out of the car with the driver.
Sitting on his knees, in front of the car, was a man, clutching at his left arm and squinting his eyes in agony. He looked like he was in a lot of pain.
Erica walked over and squatted down in front of him. Then she saw the man's face clearly.
'Wow! What a handsome man!' His skin was fair and he had delicate facial features. His lips were reddish-pink and his teeth were white.
His reddish-brown hair fell over his forehead; he was dressed in a green casual coat over a thin black sweater. He seemed like the energetic type.
Erica called out to him, "Hello!"
The man slowly opened his eyes. The moment he saw the girl in front of him, his dull eyes widened. "Eri... Erica?"
Erica was surprised to find that the man knew her name, but she didn't seem to recognize him at all. "I'm sorry, have we met before?" she asked.
When did she become so famous? How would an unknown person that bumped into her car on the street know her name?
The man's eyes squinted up in pain as he barely managed to form a smile on his lips. "Yes. I was a high school senior at the A Country Bilingual School!"
'A Country Bilingual School?' Erica had spent her junior high and senior high school years there, but she had never seen this person before.
Logically speaking, she should have noticed such a handsome boy. How could she not know him?
However, as she realized that there were far more pressing matters than figuring out the man's identity, Erica changed the topic immediately. "Did you get hit by our car? Are you hurt?" she asked with concern.
"Don't worry, your car didn't do this to me. I'm being chased by someone. Could you please give me a ride? Thank you!"
As soon as the man finished his words, a group of people rushed out of the bushes on the side of the road and started running towards him.
"Get in the car first!" Without wasting another second, Erica helped the man off the ground and into the car with the driver's help.
Soon after, the driver turned the car around and drove past the people, speeding until he couldn't see anyone behind him through the rear-view mirror.
Erica asked the man next to her, "What's your name? We have to take you to the hospital."
The man opened his eyes wide and his red lips were pale as chalk. "My name is Watkins Chai. Please don't take me to the hospital. If it's not too much trouble, could you please take me to your home first? I'll have someone pick me up from there later."
"But you are bleeding and we need to get that arm of yours looked at..."
Watkins Chai shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter. My friends will come to get me very soon. If it's too much trouble, then never mind..."
Erica hesitated for a while. 'It shouldn't take too long. I guess it will be okay.' So she said, "All right then. You'd better call your friends now and ask them to pick you up at the Pearl Villa District."
"Thank you very much." "You're welcome!"
Hoping to put her doubts to rest, Erica stifled all the thoughts inside her heart and stared out the window to keep herself distracted.
At the Pearl Villa District
Erica and the driver helped Watkins Chai into the villa and sat him down on the sofa in the living room.
Since Matthew wasn't at home, Erica knew that she would have to be more vigilant. She left the driver to look after the injured man while she went upstairs to look for the first aid kit.
It took Erica a while to find the first aid kit as she had never used the one in the villa before. Fortunately, it had everything she needed.
When she came downstairs with the first aid kit, Watkins Chai's face was as pale as death now. Wasting no more time, Erica asked the driver to take off the man's coat.
Then she took out a scissor from the box and carefully cut off the long sleeve of his sweater so that it would be more convenient to clean the wound.
She took out a new bottle of disinfectant spray and reminded him, "I can only disinfect your wound. I can't do anything more than that. Please make do with this now, but you need to get professional help eventually."
Erica knew her way around a first aid kit because she'd always find some way to get injured as child.
Every time she got hurt, Wesley treated her wounds with disinfectant spray first, then he'd apply the medicine or wrap it up with medical gauze.
Much to her surprise, Erica had managed to pick up some useful skills from her father.
Watkins Chai smiled with trembling lips and said, "Thank you very much for your help!"
With his permission, Erica shook the bottle and aimed the spray at his wound. Before her fingers could press down the top of the bottle, the door of the villa was pushed open abruptly from the outside.