After getting his praise, Erica seemed delighted. She ran to look at herself in the mirror happily.
"Matthew, are these stud earrings too eye-catching?" It was true. From their very appearance, they seemed precious. One could tell at a glance that these jewels were worth a lot.
Matthew didn't seem to think so. "No, they aren't," he said.
"Well, what if I lose them?" She had lost a lot of things owing to her rash and careless character in the past. And with that in mind, even the thought of wearing the huge diamond ring Matthew had given was too much for her.
He replied indifferently, "If you lose something, then you get something new."
"Won't you blame me for losing something so valuable?"
"No, I won't."
"Matthew. Are you really not going to give these to your goddess instead of me?" He was being so good to her that she was both flattered and confused!
He cast a cold glance at the inquisitive girl in front of him and replied shortly, "You have too many questions. I'm busy right now." Then he turned around and walked into the bathroom.
Erica looked at her image in the mirror in confusion. Was she really asking too many questions? She had only asked four or five questions.
This man was way too impatient!
'Yes! He's such an impatient man!'
That night, as usual, Erica went to sleep with the Wuba doll in her arms, and was fast asleep before Matthew had finished his work in the study.
At about eleven o'clock, his phone rang. It was Phoebe. "Hello."
"Matthew, I need a favor from you," she said; there was a hint of expectation in her voice. And that expectation was justified at least to her; he was the only one in the world who could satisfy all her requirements.
"Okay. What's it?"
"I heard that Maestro GL recently released a new pair of ear studs. They were limited edition but I saw the photos online and really liked the element of cheetah. Sadly, they were bought by some mysterious person so they're out of my hands. Could you...?" She paused.
Matthew frowned as he heard her words. If Phoebe had asked for something else tonight, he would have agreed without hesitation.
However, Erica really liked what Phoebe wanted.
"That mysterious person is me."
"Oh, I see! So you bought them. That's great. Matthew, can you give the earrings to me if you don't need them?" Phoebe knew that Matthew didn't care about the money. Looking back, more than half of the money she had spent on herself as well as the baby in her womb had come from Matthew's pocket. Therefore, she now took whatever Matthew had for granted.
After a moment's silence, Matthew confessed, "I've already given them to someone else."
"What? Oh. I see..." Phoebe's tone was full of disappointment, but she still wanted to make some efforts. Maybe he'd change his mind. "Can't you give something else to that person?"
"No. She likes them very much as well..." Matthew had always been a straightforward person in front of outsiders.
Phoebe was at a loss for words. She was disappointed and embarrassed, but she had no choice. "I see. Can I ask who you gave them to?"
"My wife."
That meant there was no hope for Phoebe anymore. There was silence on the phone. After a long time, she managed to find her voice and replied, "Oh, okay, then I won't disturb you anymore. Good night."
"Night."
After hanging up the phone, Matthew didn't go back to work. Instead, he turned off his computer and shuffled towards his bedroom.
The girl was fast asleep, and he again had to maneuver her into his arms before falling asleep together.
The next afternoon, Erica completed her class and then decided to abandon Hyatt and go find her husband.
Perhaps she would have a chance to take a few pictures of that handsome man while he was working, so that she could deal with Professor Feng's assignment next time.
She told Hyatt before leaving school, "Listen. You can go and read something in the dormitory by yourself. If you have nothing else to do, try and find a girl, go talk to her, and enjoy a bit. I think your mother also wants you to date a girl. I need to go find my husband, so I can't accompany you."
Hyatt nodded and then shyly told her, "I've already been talking to a girl in our school recently. She's in the department of broadcasting. I've seen her pictures and she's quite beautiful."
"Really? Let me have a look! But hurry up!" Hyatt talking to a girl other than herself was a rarity much harder to witness than winning the lottery.
Hyatt, who never hid anything from her, took out his phone and showed a photo to Erica. "That's her..."
The girl in the photo was about the same age as them. Her skin was fair and she did look quite pretty.
But why was such a beautiful girl interested in Hyatt? The guy was basically a nerd! Erica was confused.
She cautioned him, "She looks nice, but be careful. Don't be cheated. Talk to her, chat with her, but don't fall in love with her before you know her well, okay?"
People were always like this. When it came to advising and educating others, they would sound and act so experienced. But they would instantly become foolish and naive children when it came to their own affairs.
"Yes I know. See you soon." Hyatt waved at her.
The two separated and with a heavy camera slung on her back, Erica went to ZL Group.
On the floor of the CEO's office, Erica greeted the people in the special assistant area and finally found Paige. "Is Matthew inside?"
"Mr. Huo is there," she confirmed. 'But there is already someone else inside, ' Paige thought.
"That's good. I'll go in myself! Please continue your work!" Then she walked towards Matthew's office. Without knocking at the door, she pushed the door open and walked in. "Matthew, it's me—" Her voice trailed off.
Besides Matthew, there was a familiar figure in the office.
It was Phoebe.
She was wearing a loose dress over her swollen belly; her pregnancy was visible now. Her feet were covered by a pair of soft flat shoes. She was looking out the window and chatting with the man sitting at the desk. She stopped talking upon seeing Erica.
Embarrassed, Erica looked at Matthew and asked, "Did I disturb you?"
"No," he replied indifferently.
But her arrival had instantly dissipated the smile on Phoebe's face.
And on the other hand, even if the man said she wasn't disturbing them, Erica still didn't know if it was appropriate for her to enter or not. If she went inside, then she would feel a little embarrassed since she had come in second.
But if she didn't go inside... From the very bottom of her heart, she didn't want Matthew to stay with Phoebe alone.
But Matthew made her struggle easy when he said, "Come in!"
"Okay!" 'Huh! I have the surveillance video at the door as my proof! It was Matthew who asked me to come in. It wouldn't be my fault if the atmosphere ever became awkward!' she thought happily in her mind.
And yet, her arrival didn't make Phoebe take her leave. She continued chatting with Matthew, ignoring his wife. "They only have eyes for Camille. I don't want to go back home anymore."
Matthew simply replied, "Then don't go back."
Erica thought to herself, 'Wow, he spoils her that much?'
Phoebe still kept her eyes on the man and protested, "But now they have been coming to me recently. My mother has been trying very hard to persuade me. At the same time, my father's words are very unpleasant to hear. He blamed me, saying that I had hooked up with you and that I had abandoned my family. I really don't know what to do!" Her tone sounded very helpless.
Glancing at the girl who was playing with her phone on the sofa, Matthew replied shortly, "Let me handle it." '
Humph! He's indeed doting on Phoebe, ' Erica thought, angrily. She turned to catch a glimpse of the man, but she didn't expect to meet his eyes.
In order to hide her eavesdropping, Erica quickly looked away and tapped on a voice message her instructor had sent. "We'll be checking the student dormitories tomorrow morning..."
Phoebe noticed what was going on between them, but she just ignored it and continued to complain, "Tessie has been in some financial troubles recently. Her money tends to run out faster than her time, and she comes to me to borrow some. How could the Su family have so many troubles?"
"Who did you say has financial troubles?" This time, it was Erica who had spoken up.
She had suddenly raised her voice and asked the woman standing in front of the French window.
Phoebe glanced at her indifferently and answered her question for Matthew's sake, "I said Tessie!" Then she sneered, "Mrs. Huo, do you still remember once having a good relationship with Tessie?"
But then, her eyes happened to fall on the studs on Erica's earlobes. They were the same pair that she had asked Matthew for last night!