Raising his eyebrows, Niles was left utterly dumbfounded. A wealthy and good-looking man, he had rarely been turned down by women. But in that very moment, a gorgeous woman just refused his offer. That being said, he couldn't help himself from taking a good hard look at her once more.
Truly as pretty as a picture, she was wearing a white waisted blouse matched with a latte ankle-length skirt, and sporting a pair of stilettos. It was such a sight to see; she just appeared so fashionable and elegant. The way she carried herself gave Niles a good impression of her. He promptly stepped out of the car, opened the passenger door for her, giving her a soft smile. "Don't mention it. We're friends, aren't we? And friends should lend each other a helping hand, isn't that right, Miss Nian?"
'Since when have we been such good friends? When did Carlos find a friend like this? So cheerful and kind?' Debbie pondered to herself for a second there.
"It would be totally fine for you to sit in the passenger seat. I'm not taken," Niles went on.
Upon hearing that, Debbie was amused. "I'll take you up on that offer then," she replied. Since Niles had been quite insistent, Debbie stepped foot into the car and proceeded to sit in the passenger seat.
After asking Debbie where she was gonna be heading, he drove over to the place she mentioned.
For a little while, none of them said anything to each other as they were on their way. Some relaxing music was being played on the speakers, and one of the songs caught Debbie by surprise. "By any chance, do you like this song?" she asked Niles the second the song started.
Glancing over at the video player, Niles answered, "Yes. I've actually been listening to it for a couple of days now. Unfortunately, the artist's name isn't indicated anywhere in that video. It's just so heart-breaking. Whenever I listen to it, I feel like crying, as though I'd just broken up with my girlfriend. But truth be told, I've never fallen in love before."
That last part cracked Debbie up. "Maybe you should give Irene's songs a listen then. They are uplifting and energetic, much like the style you prefer. I think you might like them."
"I've heard of Irene. She is a well-known singer in Z Country, isn't she?"
Debbie quickly nodded in agreement, "Yes, indeed she is. And on top of that, she is a really nice person as well." As she told him things about one of her closest friends, she had a smile on her face.
"Do you know her personally?" Niles asked, looking at her with curiosity written all over his face.
"Yeah, I sure do. She's a friend of mine," Debbie told him straight away. For some reason, she felt at ease being around Niles, so she learned to trust him.
"Really? The two of you are friends? Then what is your line of work?" Niles wasn't expecting that at all.
Pointing at the title of the track that was currently playing, Debbie replied, "The song you've been listening to, Loner of the City, I'm the singer."
"Wow!" Niles blurted out. "So you are a superstar. I never would've thought of that. You just seem so modest. Your name is… Debbie…Debbie Nian, am I right?" At that point, Niles suddenly recalled that there was a singer who went by that name.
"I'm pleased that you've heard of me." A smile crept onto Debbie's face. She enjoyed having this conversation with Niles.
The man sitting quietly in the back seat didn't utter a single word throughout the ride as he leaned back into the seat with his eyes shut. However, his face turned pitch black as the two in the front seats continued chatting.
'She is definitely one promiscuous woman. Just a minute ago, she was claiming that she loved me, and here she is now, getting all over another man.'
The conversation had been going on so well that Niles thought of asking Debbie out to grab a drink or two. "There's no need for you to hurry. We're going to meet up with a few close friends. There aren't going to be any outsiders. I can assure you of that. I would truly appreciate it if you could come and join us." Having such a good time talking to Debbie, Niles completely forgot about the fact that there was actually someone else riding along with them in the back of the car. As they waited for the traffic light to turn green, he looked back at Carlos and asked him, "Carlos, you wouldn't mind if I ask Debbie to tag along with us, right?"
Hearing such an atrocious question, Carlos quickly opened his eyes and stared at him intently. "I actually do mind," he frigidly answered.
Both Debbie and Niles were lost for words at his terse statement.
The air inside the car suddenly thickened, filled with so much awkwardness. Debbie tried to break the silence by saying, "I'm grateful for the invitation, Dr. Li. But there's someone waiting for me at her place right now. Maybe some other time."
It totally slipped Niles' mind that Debbie and Carlos actually knew each other. In a low voice, he tried his best to explain, "That's too bad. Okay then. Please don't mind my friend. Carlos just doesn't like interacting with strangers, especially women."
'Strangers…' A bitter smile was embedded onto Debbie's face after hearing that word. "I'm aware of that. I know Carlos Huo well," she told Niles.
This time, it was the two men who were caught off guard.
Knowing full well that Carlos would never tell him anything about it, Niles thought it would be best to ask his two other friends about this mysterious woman and Carlos when they got together later. Carlos had never gotten himself involved in any kind of gossip, to avoid being the talk of the town. Be that as it might, his relationship with Debbie probably wasn't as simple as it appeared to be.
Niles was such a gentleman. As soon as they got to Kasie's building, Niles immediately opened the door for Debbie and lent her a hand in getting out of the car. "Thank you for dropping me off, Dr. Li. And goodnight, old man."
Both of them were taken aback by the way Debbie addressed Carlos before she left.
Her way of saying it… felt so personal and sounded so intimate.
Those words became the last straw for Niles. He just couldn't contain his curiosity any longer. The second Debbie stepped foot inside the doorway to the apartment, he quickly contacted his brother, Wesley. "Wesley, do you know of a girl named Debbie Nian?"
Some time had passed and yet, there was only silence on the other end of the line. When Wesley finally opened his mouth to answer him, he said, "Where have you heard that name from?" Niles was so certain that there was a bit of displeasure in Wesley's voice. Since the phone call had been made through the car's LED screen, every person inside the car could hear the conversation.
Niles could easily tell there was something going on.
Through the rearview mirror, he shifted his gaze over to Carlos who was still silently leaning against the seat with his eyes closed. "What? I just wanted to know." Niles grinned much like a Cheshire cat.
"Did you bump into her somewhere?" Wesley was showing no intentions of dropping the topic.
"Yes, I was with her at the hospital just a while ago," Niles told him right away.
"Did Carlos come into contact with her? Where is he right now?"
"He is right here with me in my car."
"Let's just discuss this when you get to the club, okay?" Wesley told him.
The other two felt how serious he was about this.
At Orchid Private Club
The moment Carlos and Niles finally reached the club, Damon and Wesley had already been waiting for about an hour. Damon had never been the patient type. "You finally showed up. What took you so long? I thought the two of you eloped or something," he grumbled.
Awkwardly trying to explain the situation, Niles replied, "Something came up at the hospital. I had no choice but to work a bit of overtime. Carlos dropped by the hospital."
Pouring them a glass of wine each, Damon fixated his gaze at Niles and asked him, "Do you enjoy being a doctor?"
Shaking his head, Niles protested, "Not a single bit. Patients would always be coming in left and right. To make matters worse, more and more medical records are piling up on top of all the operations."
Looking at Niles unsympathetically, Wesley remarked, "You're the one who chose that." Wesley already lost count of how many times he had talked to Niles about this, hoping that his younger brother would enlist in the army alongside him. But much to his dismay, Niles had always dreamt of being a doctor.
Brushing his hair, Niles retorted, "It might be tiresome, but I still think it's much better than being in the army. The rigorous training the soldiers have to go through just isn't for me." He had always wondered how the soldiers made it through such harsh conditions. 'Wesley is such a brutal and relentless leader. Don't they ever get worried that they might meet their end through his hands one day?'
Resting his hand on Niles' shoulder and patting him, Damon commented, "It takes an uncompromising commander to build up a strong army. You should realize that it's your brother's toughness that's helping those people to turn into remarkable soldiers. All of them are considered elites. When they go on a mission, every single one of those men would be capable of fighting several enemies."
