After Matthew went to the study, Erica eschewed a shower. She sat back down at the dresser, found the foundation, and began to apply it in front of the mirror.
Twenty minutes later
Someone pushed the door open quietly from the outside. Inside the study, Matthew was having a video conference with his subordinates.
He stood in front of the window, his back to the door. He listened carefully to what one of his employees was saying. He didn't feel it necessary to turn around. An aide was giving her report, her tones even and devoid of feelings. She was all business. "Last month, the profits of our branch company were up six percent. It's very likely it will…"
Matthew froze for a moment. He felt someone approaching him from behind. His hand hovered over his phone, held in place.
Erica tried to mask her approach, tiptoeing across the carpet. Matthew's keen senses still picked her up.
Right now, there was no one else in the study except his wife.
He pretended not to notice and wanted to see what tricks she was going to play.
The video conference was still going on. "But the staff turnover in the branch company is not stable and the rate of loss is quite—aahhhh!"
The subordinate who was reading her report out loud suddenly screamed, and a dozen senior executives attending the meeting heard the shrieking. They simultaneously looked up at their own computer screens to see what was going on.
Unexpectedly, more and more people began to scream, until it reached a crescendo. Everyone on that call was spooked.
"Oh my God! It's a ghost!" another man exclaimed.
"What the hell?" "
Aahhh…" The video conference was a total loss. Someone took his suit jacket off and threw it over his screen. The camera in his square went black.
Matthew finally spun, trying to see what was going on with his staff, when suddenly he saw a white figure standing beside him out of the corner of his eye.
When he took a closer look, his heart trembled violently.
Then he realized who it was; he closed his eyes in despair. The woman was dressed all in white in a form-hugging gown.
Her long black hair spilled around her shoulders and back, and her face was painted bone white, with thick eyebrows and big eyes. She had traced lines under her eyes with red lipstick, like blood was dripping from her eyes.
Her lips were painted with that same shade, red and glistening as if she had just partaken of some blood.
Silently, she stepped into the frame of the webcam on Matthew's computer. In the middle of the night, she looked like a ghost. No wonder his staff was scared to death.
Actually, Erica didn't mean to scare any of the employees. She just wanted to frighten Matthew.
But when she passed by his computer, she heard a voice from the speakers. Out of curiosity, she paused there to take a look.
So everyone attending the video conference saw the "ghost" and was frightened to death.
Matthew pulled Erica out of the frame and said to his subordinates apologetically, "Sorry, everyone. It's not a ghost. My wife is being a bad girl. Please continue."
The executives were gobsmacked. 'Wow! What a brat!
Mr. Huo, you really know how to pick a woman, ' thought many of them.
The employee who hadn't finished her report was still in a state of shock. She motioned for her husband to join her, while she continued to report so she wouldn't get scared.
After confirming that it was Matthew on the other end of the video, and not a ghost, she picked up her notes and continued to recite facts and figures, but her voice was still a little shaky.
Matthew glared at Erica, who looked quite innocent, turned off the mic on his computer and scolded, "Go wash your face!"
Erica pointed at his computer. "Is this fun? Let me see!"
"No need!" He was afraid that if she showed her face again, his meeting would be completely ruined. Plus, he would have to pay a huge amount of mental damages and medical fees, and also lose more than ten people. Top talent was hard enough to come by.
"Fine!" Erica blinked innocently. Before leaving, she leaned her head over and asked Matthew, "Did I scare you?"
Embarrassed, he covered his camera and answered, "No."
'Too bad! My little makeup job was in vain. My foundation fluid and powder were wasted!' she thought.
After Erica went to the bathroom to remove her makeup, Matthew went back to the bedroom as well.
Hearing the noise in the bedroom, she poked her head out and asked, "So are you done?"
"Yeah. I told them we should call it a night." 'I need to let them get over the shock, ' he thought.
"What a great boss!" Erica sighed.
'It's all your fault!' he thought.
In a village of H Country
A girl shivered and hid in a car, desperately looking at the inky blackness outside. She wanted to escape, but she couldn't get away. There were two strong men outside, peering inside.
The area was deserted. They'd set out tomorrow and arrive at a heavily wooded forest. It would take three hours to get there, so they decided to pull over for the night.
She struggled to get away the whole way here, but in the end, she failed.
She now regretted trying to mess with Erica, framing her and beating her for money, but it was too late.
The night passed quietly as she repented. On the second morning, one of the men threw two buns, a bag of pickles and a bottle of water to her. "Breakfast!"
Lenora was very hungry, and the two buns sounded really good. Hopefully they would stop the rumbling in her stomach.
On their way to the woods, one of the men got a phone call. After the call, he told her, "We were going to keep you out here for a month. If you cooperate, you can come back in a week. Mr. Huo's orders."
Lenora would still have to stay in the woods. But at least her sentence was reduced. As long as she could stick it out for a week, she'd be off the hook.
She chewed the bun in her mouth and swallowed hard. "Okay, okay, I'll watch it!"
The car passed through the deserted area and arrived at the expanse of trees. An old man in little more than rags glanced at Lenora and led the group into the forest.
The road to the primeval forest was covered with loose dirt and silt, making it difficult for people to go on foot, let alone drive through here.
After an hour's walk, they finally saw a small cave entrance.
The old man pointed at the entrance of the cave and spoke in a local dialect that Lenora couldn't understand. "That's it. There's enough food for a week. If you're smart, you won't use it up. If you need anything, you know where I live."
Civilization was pretty far away, including the nearest cell tower. Phones would be useless here. The old man would be waiting at the entrance.
"Thank you, sir!" The two men thanked the old man and led Lenora into the cave.
The closer she got to the cave, the more her fear threatened to overwhelm her. The towering trees and lush green plants were now twisted mockeries of themselves. The rushing stream seemed to be laughing at her.
The scenery was beautiful, but it would be horrible if she had to stay here overnight.
The thin man next to her muttered what he had said countless times on the road. "Who do you think you pissed off? Why did you have to mess with Mr. Huo? We gotta stay here with you, which sucks—a lot. Mr. Huo gave us hazard pay. The zeroes are in the right place, at least. If they weren't, we wouldn't be here."
"I…I'm sorry…" Lenora apologized timidly. She was stammering, because now she knew it was all real.
There was no way she'd survive in the forest by herself. If they left her alone here, she would probably die. So she couldn't afford to tick these guys off.
The fat man glanced at her and said to his companion, "You know, we're alone here. How about we…?" He flashed a lewd grin.
Though he didn't finish his sentence, Lenora immediately understood what he wanted. She shivered and was about to cry.
The thin man patted him on the head. "You think I don't want to? But what if something happens to her after we fuck her? Mr. Huo told me that he just wants her to stay in the cave for a month. So, not a good idea. If something happens to her, we'll get blamed for it."
