Sheffield was often punished by his wife to kneel on the keyboard, which was known to all of his friends.
He put his hand on Matthew's shoulder and told Harmon with a cheeky smile, "I'm doing this because I care about Matthew's happiness! He'll understand, I'm sure."
"Take your hand off me," said Matthew, deadpan, as he looked at the hand.
"Geeze. You're such a neat freak, just like your sister. You two have got germophobia, I tell you. You're sick in the head." With that, Sheffield shuffled a ways off, retrieved his glass, and took a sip.
As soon as his back was turned, Matthew took out his phone and sent his sister a text. "Sis, my brother-in-law said that you're a germaphobe, and that you're probably a neurotic."
When Evelyn saw the message, she replied, "It doesn't matter. I'll have a talk with him when he gets back home."
Meanwhile, Sheffield, who knew nothing about this, was still chatting happily with Harmon.
At eleven o'clock that evening, Erica was lying on her bed, playing with her phone.
Out of the blue, she got a call from Sheffield, who said, "Rika, Matthew is drunk. Can you come by and pick him up?"
'Drunk again?' thought Erica, frowning. She took no time at all to decide what to answer. "No, not a chance. I can't drive. Ask his assistant to come pick him up." The memory of what had happened the last time she'd gone to pick him up loomed large in Erica's mind. Trying again would surely lead to disaster.
Besides, she was still angry and didn't want to see Matthew.
Meanwhile, Sheffield wished the best for Erica and Matthew. He saw this as a good opportunity for the couple to improve their relationship. Since Erica didn't seem to realize this, he said, "Rika, why are you being silly? You know, if you don't come and see him, what if that gives other women the chance to do so? Just come over! When you pick up Matthew, I'll arrange for someone to drive you both back."
Erica's words were heavy and gloomy. "It doesn't matter whether I go see him or not. Other women will have the chance to get close to him either way."
That made Sheffield feel anxious. "How could that be possible? There are only the three of us here right now, all men. Now come here, quickly. I will keep an eye on him until you arrive. I promise no other woman will come near him."
Erica grumbled something and hung up. A moment of fretting came and went, and she slid from the bed. She went to the walk-in closet, changed into the first top she saw, and left the villa.
It was really a pain to have a husband who was incapable of holding his liquor.
After hanging up the phone, Sheffield looked over at Matthew, who had his eyes closed. "You're so pitiful," Sheffield said quietly, trying to sound sympathetic. "First your father doesn't love you, and now your wife doesn't either. You poor wretch."
Matthew and Harmon were rendered speechless.
By the time Erica finally reached the Orchid Private Club, Harmon had left to deal with something, leaving only Sheffield and Matthew in the private room.
Sheffield's face brightened the minute she walked in, and he waved at her. "Rika!"
Erica came over and nodded at him. "Hello, Sheffield."
Beside him, Matthew was still sprawled out on the sofa, his eyes closed. From his lack of reaction to Erica's arrival, she wasn't sure whether he'd known she was coming or not.
Sheffield came up to her and whispered, "You know, Matthew's drunk. Seize the opportunity tonight and take good care of him."
Erica hesitated, sure that he was trying to insinuate something. But she was still angry and didn't bother trying to figure it out.
"Don't worry. I will take him to his woman," she said icily.
"His woman?" echoed Sheffield, who had no idea whom she was referring to.
Erica only nodded and brushed past him. Giving Matthew's shoe a kick, she snapped, "Get up!"
But remembering then that Sheffield was still watching them, she realized that she had to save face. With a great effort, she softened her voice. "Matthew Huo."
Slowly, Matthew opened his eyes and met Erica's. There was a trace of coldness in his look. "What do you want?"
His hand drifted to the nearby end table, toward a half-full glass beside a bottle of white wine. Despite nearly knocking the glass over, he managed to get it to his lips and took a long swig.
Erica took a deep breath. "I've come to pick you up. You've had enough to drink."
"No—I haven't finished yet," he grumbled. "I'm not going anywhere. If you want to talk about something, it'll have to wait until later."
His refusal kindled Erica's smoldering anger into an open flame. Before her husband could react, she snatched the glass from his hand and refilled it almost to the brim.
As the two men watched with some confusion, Erica sniffed the glass, then gulped it down in one go.
Matthew's face darkened. However, Sheffield's stunned look gave way to a smile, and he gave a brief round of applause.
"Rika, I had no idea you were so good at drinking. You really are a credit to the fairer sex!"
Gritting her teeth, Erica held down her frustration, refilled the glass, and downed it again and again until finally the bottle was empty. Practically throwing the glass onto the end table, she spat, "Oh, look, there's none left. Can we leave now?"
Matthew slowly stood up from the sofa and put his hands in his pockets.
For a moment he could only take in his wife's blank stare. "I didn't think you were such a good drinker."
Erica said nothing. One could hear a pin drop in that room.
Unable to bear the silence, Sheffield came over and clapped Matthew on the shoulder. "Well, look, Rika's come to pick you up. It's late. Why don't you two go home now?"
Glancing at the drunk woman, Matthew grabbed her hand and led her out of the room.
The trip home was mostly quiet. Erica seemed her usual self, except that she was as silent as their driver.
They were almost there when Erica suddenly leaned forward and cried, "Stop the car!"
Matthew had a look out the window. Outside was the East River, sparkling in the moonlight as it wound its way beside the Pearl Villa District.
"You want to do something here?" he asked. By way of reply, Erica just looked at him and gave a serious nod.
At Matthew's order, the driver brought the Emperor to a stop on the curb.
Straightaway, Erica exited the car and hurried toward the river. Past a little tract of grass, a waist-high stone wall stood between them and a ten-foot drop into the swift current. Matthew followed his wife, who stretched her arms wide as if to embrace the cold gusts that swept over them. "Balala, the fairies, transform!" she exclaimed, seemingly believing that she had come to transform into an immortal.
Struck speechless, Matthew began to feel nervous about her behavior. The thought that she might be about to throw herself into the river pulled him onward. Otherwise, he would have stayed in the car and pretended not to know her.
What happened the next moment brought him running.
Before his astonished eyes, Erica scrambled up onto the stone wall and gazed down into the waters.
"Erica, come down!" Matthew ordered as he came up behind her.
Hearing his voice, Erica slowly turned around. With an eerie grace, she stretched out her right arm and pointed at the high-rise buildings that glittered on the other side of the East River. "Matthew Xitala, look!" she shouted over the wind. "That's the country I have built for you!" Then she put her hands on her hips and laughed wildly.
Her husband stared at her, mortified. She had come to pick him up in the midst of his drunkenness, but now look at her. Compared to this madwoman, Matthew seemed completely sober.
For a moment he stared up at her in silence, and tenderness began to show in his deep eyes.
A blast of cold wind brought him back to himself. "Erica, come down!"
Erica stretched both arms out to him. "Carry me down!"
"Are you…" Matthew started. He was meaning to say, "Are you trying to earn a good beating for yourself?"
But even as he spoke, Erica began to lean backward on the balls of her feet, as though to let herself fall over the edge. Matthew's heart practically exploded as he leaped onto the wall beside her, where he caught her around the waist.
"How dare you jump!" he scolded, furious.
But Erica was not afraid of him. "If you dared to catch me, why should I not dare to jump?" She giggled, having never doubted that he would catch her. After all, if she got hurt, both of their fathers would hold him responsible, regardless of the circumstances.
That was why she felt confident enough to push Matthew's buttons.
Matthew helped her back down to the ground, only then to sweep her up in his arms and carry her back toward the car. "I'm going to settle accounts with you when we get home!" he hissed.
"Then I don't want to go home!" Erica retorted, squirming to get out of his arms.
Sighing, Matthew gave in and softened his tone. "No, I was just kidding. I won't settle accounts with you."
"Now, that's more like it!" With that, Erica closed her eyes, wrapped her arms around his neck, and buried her face in his arms. He didn't miss the triumphant smile on her face.
