Vicky was acting like a buffoon. But Summer had lost her interest to watch anymore. She headed to the bus stand and took a bus and went home.
She threw her handbag to one side and collapsed on the sofa, dog tired. Not that she had done anything physically straining, but she just felt exhausted. Probably it was mental fatigue, she figured.
She switched on her mobile and went to Weibo. The words’toxic factory’ and’sex- video toxic factory’ had become the hottest keywords of the day. Most comments were critical. A few voices in defense of Jarrett Group and Vicky were quickly drowned out by the tide of criticisms.
Before long, Summer saw the video of Vicky surrounded by reporters in front of the Jarrett Group. Vicky appeared like a total madwoman. The top comment below the video went:
“Is it just me, or is the woman a complete psycho? She would not still have the nerve to scold the reporters, especially after her sex video leak.”
“Agreed. I’m lucky she is not my friend. A psycho like her wouldn’t be deemed guilty even if she kills somebody.”
“She is a lunatic!”
“She looks hot. Any idea she would charge per night?”
Summer put down her mobile, not worth her time.
Apart from the few bodyguards outside, the entire mansion was empty. She wondered if Leonardo and “Douglas” were home. She thought for a second, then sent “Douglas” a message.
“Are you coming home for dinner?”
If “Douglas” was not coming home, she was not going to cook. After all, the bodyguards could cook.
Leonardo had just finished a three-hour meeting, feeling a little tired. He came back to his office and saw Summer’s message. Just when he was about to reply, Carl flew in excitedly.
“Leonardo, look!”
Carl extended his phone in front of Leonardo’s eyes. Leonardo took a gander, eyes squinting.
“The factories owned by Jarrett Group had long been plagued by this problem. Anyone with ill intentions could easily use this information to bring down Jarrett Group. But in business, no one is a saint. If not in desperation, no one would want to use it against Jarrett Group.”
Carl nodded in agreement. “In this case, will the old Jarrett come home from abroad?”
“Possible.” As if Leonardo had thought of something, his voice grim. But Carl had not noticed that and came with more questions.
“This thing seems to have come out of the blue. No one had got wind of it before. Who do you think is behind this?”
Who was behind this? It seemed Leonardo had worked something out but remained expressionless as he looked at Carl.
“I won’t tell you.”
“You have figured out the person behind it by just glancing at the news?”
Leonardo ignored him, switching on his computer and looking for the news about Jarrett Group. But Carl would not give up.
“Can you give some hints? Was it a business rival?”
“No.” Leonardo gave a simple reply.
There was nothing new; everyone was just hurling abuse at Jarrett Group. A few minutes on, Leonardo got bored. He suddenly realized Summer’s message. Picking up his phone, he wrote a reply and pressed send.
Just when Carl still wanted to ask something, Leonardo took his jacket, got up and headed for the door. He knew Leonardo was sending a message just now, but he did not see the content. Only one person who could make Leonardo reply messages and that was Summer.
“You’re going home for dinner? I didn’t drive today. Give me a ride to your house!” Since the last time he had dinner at Leonardo’s place, Carl had been looking forward to it. He missed Summer’s cooking.
“We are not heading the same way.” Leonardo looked back and threw him a cold reply.
“Oh, come on! Don’t be so cold. Just dinner at your house. Bro!”
“No.”
That did not deter Carl from hopping into Leonardo’s car.
…
Summer stared at the message from “Douglas”, which was just a one-word reply: Mm. Poor people like her should add “Douglas” in her Wechat, so she did not have to pay for every SMS she sent to him. Scrolling through her Wechat contact list, she found no “Douglas”. He did not even use Wechat?
Summer put down her phone, got up and went into the kitchen. Just when she got the vegetable cut into chunks, she heard the roaring of the engine outside. It must be “Douglas”, she thought.
“Summer!”
The voice… She turned back and saw Carl came in, smiling like a Cheshire cat with a nice little box in hand. The logo on the box told her it was a bakery, Jessica’s favorite.
“I didn’t drive today and had no transport to go home. You know what, I just bumped into Douglas and he was nice enough to give me a ride. I tell you what, I Will spend the night here. And I really look forward to eating the dishes you cook. I’ve brought you some cake.”
He did not become the CEO of the biggest entertainment company for nothing. No way she was going to say no. But Summer still felt it weird when Carl addressed her as Summer.
“Thank you,” she said.
Carl was handsome, likable, and nice. There was no reason for Summer to decline. She took the cake and returned a smile.
She took a photo of the cake and sent it to Jessica, who replied with an angry emoticon.
“Why didn’t you bring me there?”
“It was Carl. It looks like he bought it from someone’s favorite bakery. I wonder if that someone has ever met him there before…”
Jessica sent her a Forty-meter-long-sword emoticon. Not wanting to tease Jessica anymore, she changed the topic and remembered Jessica had wanted to celebrate with her.
“Come over for dinner?”
“No!”
No way Jessica would appear when Carl was present.
…
During dinner, Carl could not shake off the thought of the Jarrett family’s factory incident and brought it to the conversation. Summer said nothing, just concentrating on her meal.
After talking for a long while, Carl realized Summer came from the Jarrett family. He asked, “Summer, how is your family’s company now?”
Summer? Leonardo squinted over at Carl and said, “Get the hell out of here if you’ve finished.”
Did he say something wrong again? Carl was dumbfounded.
Summer shook her head, used to Leonardo’s erratic behavior.
“I don’t know. I am just a small fry in the company,” she said.
“Douglas” was sitting across her. He suddenly turned his eyes away from Carl and looked at her, his eyes telling her she was lying.