“No, no, please understand that I wouldn’t even dream of attempting such an act. My thoughts are merely centered around my rather unfortunate string of events. It just so happens that on my very first workday, I managed to sprain my ankle, coincidentally witnessed the rather uncomfortable scene of my boss ending his engagement, and subsequently lost my job. Now I possibly need to visit a doctor alone, yet lack the necessary funds…”
“I’m going to be fired, no, be persuaded to resign soon anyway. I’m not afraid of offending you. Mr. Hans, do the people of the upper class all get married based on interest? If their marriage partner can meet their requirements, will they get married even though they don’t love each other?”
“I am like this. As for others, I don’t know,” Cristofer answered as he took out his phone and typed.
“Have you ever been in love with someone?” Eva suddenly asked.
“… Of course.”
“Then why don’t you marry the woman you love?”
Cristofer cast her a wordless glance, taken aback. “What was your college major?” he inquired.
“Me? I pursued a major in Secretarial Studies.”
“I must admit, I had the impression you were majoring in stand-up comedy,” Cristofer remarked, accompanied by a mocking snort, his voice tinged with sarcasm.
“Well, well. I was, in fact, a member of the stand-up comedy club at my university, and I even secured the top prize in the club’s competition!” she replied with a touch of pride.
“Oh, your achievements are certainly impressive,” Cristofer uttered with a stoic expression.
“Mr. Hans, there’s a change in your demeanor compared to earlier,” Eva observed.
“I’m displaying a difference from before?” Cristofer inquired.
Rubbing her chin thoughtfully, Eva quickly stated, “Yes. According to my observation, you seem to have two personalities. One is very mature and steady, and the other is very childish and irritable.”
“Huh?”
“When engaged in work or talking with Miss Wilson, you maintain professional and distant behavior. However, in your recent interaction with Miss Hudson, you showed a playful and somewhat irritable attitude, as if you became another person,” Eva remarked.
Hearing this, Cristofer was stunned and silent.
Eva then continued, “But after chatting with you for a while, I can see that you are just pretending to be cold and distant. Actually, you are an easygoing person. By the way, Mr. Hans, shall we wait until your assistant comes to pick up Miss Wilson?”
“No. Let’s go now,” Cristofer declared.
“Okay. I’ll drive.”
“You don’t need to drive. I’ve called for a chauffeur service.”
Soon after, the driver arrived.
“Take us to Hans International Corporation Tower.” After telling the driver the address, Cristofer closed his eyes to take some rest.
The red signs on the navigation system showed that the city was in serious traffic congestion caused by the heavy rain.
“Mr. Hans, I’m familiar with an alternate route that’s rarely used. It’s likely to be free of traffic congestion,” Eva, situated in the front passenger seat, turned her head towards Cristofer and shared her suggestion.
Upon hearing this, Cristofer cracked his eyes open and glanced at her skeptically.
Eva tapped her chest reassuringly and added, “Mr. Hans, have faith in me. The urgency to return to the company is shared. I must promptly reach the human resources department to report my occupational injury. They might have already finished their work hours if we arrive late!”
Cristofer was speechless, closing his eyes and continuing to have a rest.
Interpreting his silence as agreement, Eva guided the driver along the path.
Finally, they successfully took a shortcut to the Hans International Corporation.
The driver, taken aback and impressed, commended Eva, “Miss, your knowledge of the city is truly remarkable. You seem to know it even better than I do.”
Eva’s laughter rang out in response to the driver’s words, and her mood lifted.
Upon returning to the company premises, Cristofer went straight back to his office while Eva headed to the human resources department to initiate her resignation procedures and formally report her occupational injury.
After everything was done, she went to the CEO’s office with two forms.
“Mr. Hans, may I come in?” she asked cautiously.
Cristofer was looking at something in his wallet. Seeing her come, he quickly closed his wallet and put it aside with a hint of chagrin on his face.
Then he frowned and inquired, “Yes. What’s the matter?”
“This is my resignation application and occupational injury report form. Please sign on them,” Eva said as she placed the forms on his desk.
Looking at the beautiful handwriting on the forms, Cristofer suddenly remembered that Estelle could also write excellently. Back then, he observed Estelle when she practiced calligraphy every day.
Actually, there was no candidate he was satisfied with in the interview today. But Eva’s beautiful handwriting attracted his attention.
In modern society, people usually use mobile phones and computers to type and print, and very few people would write, not to mention be able to write such a beautiful script as an italic script.
Besides, he found that Eva and Estelle’s handwriting was much alike.
“Do you know why I hired you as my secretary?”
Eva was confused, stating, “I don’t know.”
“Because your handwriting is very beautiful.”
“What?” Eva was stunned.
“Stay here and continue to work for me. I’ll double your salary,” Cristofer announced as he put the forms on the desk into the paper shredder. “Would you stay?”
When Eva heard this, she was overjoyed. “Yes, yes. I will stay!”
“But I have three requirements for you,” Cristofer suddenly snapped.
“No problem. What are your requirements?”
“First, you will need to hand in a handwritten work report to me every day.”
“Okay. I’ll write in italic script every day if you like it!”
“Second, I will give you three days to treat your ankle. No matter what method you use, you must recover in three days. I don’t need a secretary who limps behind me every day.”
“No problem! I promise I will recover in three days! What about the third one?”
“The third one…” Cristofer hesitated momentarily and said, “Keep a good relationship with her. Tell me immediately if she has any difficulties or if anything unusual happens to her.”
Eva blinked and asked, “Who is ‘she’?”
As soon as she finished her words, Eva realized that he was referring to Estelle and then nodded repeatedly.
****
By the time Estelle returned to the Grand Hotel of Hadale City, darkness had already fallen.
Observing her drenched appearance, Aurora, who had been waiting anxiously, was taken aback and inquired, “Where did you go? Oh my goodness, you’re completely soaked!”
It was December. During their time in Europe, their home remained comfortably warm due to a sizable fireplace, regardless of the frigid weather outside.
Given that Hadale fell within the semi-tropical zone, winters weren’t particularly cold in the area.
However, the weather that day seemed unusual. The wind was biting, and a sudden and bitter cold had descended on the night.