Take My Breath Away

Erica turned on the tap and began to wash her hands. "We are in the same dorm. There's no need to be so formal with me," she told her roommate.

After having a noon break, they went for their afternoon class, which, as per schedule, was theory of photography and styling. Somehow, Erica managed to get through the class without falling asleep.

After that, she walked out of the teaching building with Hyatt. Just as they were passing a corner, they heard a group of girls whispering something among themselves.

Erica was not interested in it at first, but she accidentally heard them mention the names of Phoebe and Matthew. That piqued her interest.

Immediately, she stopped Hyatt who was about to turn the corner and said, "Shush! Wait a moment!"

The two leaned against the other wall and nonchalantly began to eavesdrop on the girls' discussion. From what they could make out, there were three girls in the group.

The first one was saying, "Of course I know. I know Phoebe very well. I know that she is the woman in Matthew's heart."

The second one exclaimed, "Really? Tell us more!"

The first one continued, "Matthew and Phoebe have been in love for several years now. However, Erica Li, the Miss Troublemaker who gave birth to an illegitimate child, intervened in their relationship. Colonel Li then sought out Mr. Carlos Huo and asked permission to engage their children in wedlock. It is already common knowledge that Colonel Li and Mr. Carlos Huo have been good friends since before their children were born. How could the former CEO refuse his best friend's request? So he agreed to the marriage. After finding that out, Phoebe had a big fight with Matthew and then married his best friend instead."

The third girl chimed in, "Wow, I heard rumors but never expected that it would be such a twisted story! I think Phoebe married Matthew's best friend on purpose just to get revenge on him."

The second one agreed, "I think so as well. Is it true that Phoebe is pregnant?"

The first one could then be seen shaking her head. "I don't know. I'll ask her and tell you when I find out."

Then the second one said, "Let's go now. And we should stay away from that Miss Troublemaker in the future. Hey, what's that on your head? Oh god! It's a spider! There is a spider on your head—"

"W-what? Where?" The first girl was so frightened when she heard that she stepped back suddenly and lost her balance in the process. She fell down and judging by her pained groan, also managed to sprain her ankle while doing so.

The third girl screamed, "Ah—Miss Troublemaker... Why are you

lding some documents and told Owen, "I am going to the financial department first. Remember to bring the data with you later."

"Yes, Mr. Huo."

Matthew entered the elevator with two documents in his hands.

When he reached the financial department, he discovered two employees in the secretary division whose heads were lowered and they were doing something under the table.

He took a couple of steps forward and saw that the two women were engaged in origami. They were constantly folding a straw shaped thing back and forth in their hands.

Some of the work had been finished and Matthew saw that they were making colorful stars.

"What are you doing?" He spoke so suddenly that the two employees, who were completely engrossed in their work, got startled severely.

When they turned around and saw that it was the CEO of the company himself, their faces turned pale. The straws in their hands fell to the ground. They quickly stood up from their chairs and said, "Mr.... Mr. Huo!"

Matthew picked up a long and slender plastic tube from the ground and looked at it for a long time. But he couldn't figure out what it was.

One of the employees apologized, "I'm so sorry, Mr. Huo. We understand that this was wrong. But we've already finished our work for today... We shouldn't do this at office hours. Mr. Huo, sorry..."

"What's this?"

Matthew interrupted their apology and his question left them dumbfounded. After a while, the other one told him in a low voice, "This is the plastic tube for folding stars, sir."

"Why are you making plastic stars?"

The employee blushed. "Tomorrow is my boyfriend's birthday. I want to give these to him."

Matthew asked, "How many stars do you want to make?"

"999."