"Well, yes. I don't know anything else. I never went to college," Chantel replied. She grew up in a remote village, and her family was one of the poorest in that community. She didn't have the money to attend college in the city. Her parents had passed away long ago, and she'd been taking care of her grandfather until he died two days ago. So, she simply gave up on the idea of going to college.
After pondering this for a while, Gifford blurted out, "Do you want to go with me?"
Chantel's eyes widened in surprise.
Gifford explained to her, "Let's get out of here—the village, I mean. I'll help you find a place to stay. It's better than staying here and feeding chickens."
"But… I can't do anything except farm work."
"Can you wash clothes, cook and clean?"
"Of course. I mean, yes!"
"Those are basic maid skills. You could draw a paycheck on those."
"But what about Grandpa's chickens?" Chantel's grandfather had raised hundreds of chickens, and they were almost mature enough to be sold.
Gifford said helplessly, "Give them all to the villagers. Do you want to take all those chickens with you?"
The girl didn't know what to say.
Soon, Gifford asked someone to bury Chantel's grandfather, and then gave all her chickens away to the other villagers. He didn't have to ask twice. At last, he left the village with the girl—and without the chickens.
Chantel left the village with Gifford. On that fateful day, she never would have imagined that she'd move to a big city. And never in her wildest dreams would she expect to become an international figure in the future.
At Li family house
The moment Blair saw Chantel, she suddenly lost her interest in the baby Ethan. She immediately handed off the boy to Wesley, who had to struggle to adjust his arms to cradle the child. He'd been caught off-guard. Blair half-walked/half-ran over to her son and the girl, a big smile on her face. "Son! You finally have a girlfriend! I'm so excited!"
Gifford was already 32 years old, and hadn't found a girlfriend yet. She was close to arranging blind dates for him.
Although the girl in front of her was dirty all over, she might look pretty after a good shower.
Wesley couldn't help blaming Gifford, "What did you do to her? Why don't you show her where the shower is?"
His mood now gloomy, Gifford tried to explain. "It's not what you think. I was on a mission, and she was taken hostage. I rescued her, but that didn't make things much better. Her family's dead, she's homeless. So I took her back here so she can live with us. She can be the new housemaid."
"What… She's… not your girlfriend?" Blair was visibly disappointed. 'Dammit! When do I get a daughter-in-law?'
Chantel immediately summoned a smile and greeted the two elders obediently, "Uncle, Aunt, nice to meet you. I'm Chantel Ye, just a country girl. You know, I'm a hard worker and can do anything you want. I don't need anything other than a place to stay and something to eat. Let me stay and you won't be sorry!"
Blair was satisfied with how polite she was, and how innocent she looked. It was so sad she wasn't her son's girlfriend. "I see. Chantel, right?"
"Yes, Aunt."
Blair called a servant over and told Chantel, "You need a shower first. I'll get you some of Erica's clothes so you have something nice to wear. You can come downstairs and catch some dinner after you're changed."
"Thank you!" Chantel followed the servant upstairs.
Downstairs, Gifford took a sip of tea and told Wesley, "Dad, I'd keep an eye on that girl, if I were you. She's as naughty as Rika. Be careful."
Wesley frowned. "What are you talking about? You brought her here, and you don't trust her? What's up with that?"
"No, I just want you to be careful. Don't let her make mistakes or cause trouble like Rika. I'm afraid you'll start getting headaches again."
Blair disagreed with him. "I think she's much nicer than Rika. And she knows how to do housework, too. Your little sister doesn't seem to know anything. I'd take Chantel's word over hers any day."
"Mom, don't let Rika hear you say that. She'd be so mad!"
Thinking of Erica's tantrum, Blair felt a dull pain in her head. "Well, she's Matthew's problem now. Poor guy!"
After drinking a cup of tea, Gifford put on his military cap and said, "Well, I'm taking off." Then he pinched Ethan's tiny face and said, "Little guy, next time I come back, I hope you can call me Uncle!" He said this, knowing full well the kid had to be 18 months before he even started doing anything other than babble. On the other hand, he wasn't here that often.
Ethan grinned at him.
Gifford's mood was instantly brightened by Ethan's cuteness. "Can I hold him again?"
Seeing him like this, Blair sneered, "Why don't you find a wife to give you a cute child? Why do you always hold other people's babies?"
Gifford sighed, "You don't think I want one, Ma? But it's hard to find a girl I like."
"Well, our neighbor's daughter is back home. She just finished up a degree in the U.S. She's very pretty. Hey, I could fix you up. Just let me call them— Gifford! I wasn't done! Where are you going?" Before Blair finished talking, Gifford was already out of the door.
She couldn't help complaining to her husband, who was busy playing with the baby and making cooing noises. "Look at your kids. Only Yvette is worth a damn. The others think we're running a motel. Erica brought a baby with her, but isn't married to the dad. Gifford brought a girl back here, but he's not married to her. Just once I'd like a proper grandkid. Is that too much to ask?"
"Well, Erica could probably do it. She's married now, and Matthew probably wants a kid of his own," Wesley said.
So, Blair called Erica again.
"Rika, Debbie and I were talking, and if you have another kid we'll take care of it. You don't need to worry about anything."
Standing at the school gate, Erica looked up at the sky with a camera in her hand. "Mom, what's with all this talk about babies? Why do you tell me to have a baby every day? We've been over this—I'm not having another one for at least another year. It's dangerous. Don't you have your hands full with Ethan? Aren't you tired?"
"I like playing with Ethan. He's lovely. I just want you to have another baby so that Ethan can have a playmate."
Erica didn't know what to say. She and Matthew weren't in love at all. How could she just ask him for a kid? "Since you love kids so much, how about you and Dad go for number four? It would be fun to have a sister to play with when I'm there. Or a brother…I'm not picky."
"Erica Li!" Blair was so angry that she wanted to beat Erica with a broom.
Before her mother said anything they'd both regret, Erica had hung up the phone immediately.
At ZL Group
Erica pointed the camera at her husband, who was hard at work and didn't even lift his head. "Matthew, come on, say cheese!" The man didn't raise his head. "I don't like having my picture taken."
"But my teacher asked us to hand in some portrait studies by tomorrow. Just one pic. Pleeeaase!" She'd never met a more photogenic man in her life. It was like he made love to the camera. If she got a pic of the ultra-handsome Matthew, she'd get high marks for sure.
"No way!" Matthew refused bluntly.
Erica thought for a while. 'Wait. He told me I should be more persuasive if I ask him for help.'
At the thought of it, Erica put the camera on his desk, sat on his lap, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips.
In fact, she felt so gloomy. Why couldn't Matthew just help her once without asking anything in return?
'Damn it! No wonder he's a businessman. Everything he does for someone has a price tag of some sort. But no! It's not equal at all. He takes advantage of me every time! He's such a horn dog, ' she thought angrily.
Satisfied with what Erica had done, Matthew wrapped his arms around her waist in response.
Three minutes later, Matthew whispered in her ear, "Mrs. Huo, do you want to wrap me around your little finger? And you can do whatever you want?" His voice was hoarse and tempting.
