Take My Breath Away

The first and second prizes for the photo contest were one hundred thousand and fifty thousand respectively. Erica won both for her entries, so the money was immediately transferred to her bank account. The certificates were also sent to the ZL Group. Matthew received them, but he couldn't celebrate her victory with her.

It had been one month and ten days since Erica left. Chantel received a call from Gifford. Before she could get the chance to greet him, he immediately asked, "You were with Rika for two days before she went to Cass, right?"

"Yes. Why?" she answered. Her voice was a little shaky as if afraid of something.

"Did she tell you anything about her plans, like where she wanted to go?" he asked again.

She heaved a sigh of relief first before she answered calmly, "No, she didn't." It was true. She knew that Erica was going to run away from home, but the latter didn't tell her exactly where she was going.

"Really?" He sounded unconvinced. If only he wasn't busy today, he would go back home to ask Chantel in person.

"Yes, really."

There was a moment of silence from the other end of the line before he spoke again. "If she contacts you, let me know immediately."

"Okay." But Erica had not contacted her yet since she left.

Then Gifford hung up the phone.

Chantel was in a daze as she stared at her phone. All of a sudden, her heart felt empty. It was as if she lost something important.

Meanwhile, in the slum located in the opposite direction to Cass, a skinny woman in plain clothes carried a bowl of freshly-cooked noodles into a shabby small room. She then said to the other woman, "Erma, I bought eggs and tomatoes to make these noodles. Eat them while they are still hot."

Erma was currently six months pregnant, but her belly was so big that some people thought she was about to give birth.

She was Erica. When she came to this slum, she decided to change her name into Erma Huo so people wouldn't recognize her. Without minding the shabby surroundings, she took the bowl of noodles and wolfed them down.

The woman who made the noodles for her was Tessie. Looking at her dirty face with a smile, she asked, "Are you leaving tonight?"

Erica stopped eating and nodded. "Yes. And you will go with me," she answered.

Tessie was stunned. "But... Mr. Huo won't allow me to go anywhere." Deep in her heart, she was hoping that Matthew would allow her to go back to Y City after she had been behaving well.

"Don't worry about it. As long as you help me now, I will personally take you back to Y City someday. Matthew won

ght?"

Erica was about to give birth soon, but they still hadn't heard anything from her.

Anger surged in Gifford's heart as he thought inwardly, 'Rika is too thoughtless. If she doesn't want to tell us where she is, she should have at least called Mom and Dad from time to time to tell them she is alright.

But anyway, never mind. She is old enough to know the right thing to do. Instead of thinking about her, I better focus my attention on my son.' Finally, it dawned on him that he was now a father.

The next day, Gifford brought his son to his work. When they came back, the baby boy's chubby face was full of saliva, and his pockets were full of red envelopes.

Two days later, he finally got the address where Chantel was training. He went to see her, but he was stopped by the security guard at the entrance. He was told that outsiders were not allowed to enter the building.

He didn't force the security to let him in. Instead, he stayed at the entrance, smoked two sticks of cigarettes, and left.

Three years had passed by so quickly.

The results of the Twentieth International Photography Competition were already announced. A participant named EM won both the first and the second prizes.

The photo that won the first prize was called "Childhood in Tow Village." In the picture was a calm river surrounded by green trees and plants. There was a swing in one of the trees, and four boys were seated, showing only their backs.

The second prize was called "A Nanny in Tow Village." It was a black and white picture that emphasized the sweat and wrinkles on an old lady's smiling face. She was holding a tray in her hands, and there was a very eye-catching ancient porcelain bottle on it.