Take My Breath Away

"I heard it from the village head!" Jared replied. He had gone to the village head's house in an attempt to get an electric warming fan or at least, an electric blanket. Much to his disappointment, he hadn't gotten anything. Perhaps, the only thing to help him keep warm now would be wine, which thankfully, their hosts had supplied in plenty. So he joined the village head for a drink with the accompaniment of some hearty talks. But the elder was no heavy drinker. Only a few glasses down and he dropped the guard, turning into a blabbermouth.

In between his juicy tales, he let slip to Jared that someone had requested the villagers to give special care to Debbie. Although he didn't know who that person was, he remembered someone mentioned about a name "Mr. Huo".

From the village head's words, Jared could put two and two together. The surname Huo was a rare name, and even across the city, there was only one "Mr. Huo" whose influence could reach a remote village like the Southon Village.

Touched by Carlos' gesture, Debbie flashed a sweet smile. But she didn't want to admit the happiness exploding in her heart. Instead she faked a retort to Jared. "No, I don't think the village head was telling the truth."

"Oh, really? But I can see you smiling from ear to ear. Why don't you just admit that you're on cloud nine now?" Jared teased.

Debbie turned around and glared at him. "Just go and do night running. It will help you keep warm!"

'Do night running? No way! I would rather stay under the quilt, though I have to tolerate Dixon, ' he thought.

In Y City, by the time Carlos came back, Debbie had already been away for about three days. She had left without giving him a phone call, not even sending him a message.

Sulking silently, he took out his phone and called Curtis. "Have they arrived there?"

"Yes, they arrived safely, although my brother lamented the living conditions. Seems a little seedy over there," said Curtis on the other end of the phone. 'His brother? Gus Lu?'

Closing his eyes tight, Carlos said in a stern tone, "It serves her right. She made her own bed." 'She didn't even ask for my opinion before deciding. I didn't know it until the name-list was submitted to the school, ' he thought to himself.

"Rest assured. I've done as per your instructions and asked the people there to take good care of her. I've also sent Gus there to protect her. I know you feel bad, but it's only a few more days and she'll be back." Curtis understood what was going on in Carlos' mind.

Carlos wasn't convinced that Gus could be of any help. "Do you think I can bank on your unreliable brother for anything meaningful?" he asked. If he hadn't known that Gus had shown no interest in women in the past 22 years and had been suspected to be gay, he wouldn't have agreed Curtis to send Gus there to help Debbie.

The sharp manner of Carlos' question left Curtis doubtful. H

old pillar, planted on permafrost. It shouldn't disturb you even if a bear mauled me to a horrific, painful death.

Written from a poor girl who will be bored to death, freeze into a cold pilar and be mauled to death by a bear."

Finally, she signed off. "Date: Unclear. (I forgot to charge my phone. It's already out of power. I don't know the exact date, nor do I want to ask anyone. That's it! Goodbye!)"

From top to bottom, she had written on every single inch of the postcard, as if it was a novel she intended to write.

Seeing the thin smile on the corners of Carlos' lips, Emmett heaved a sigh of relief, as if a burden had been lifted off his shoulder.

For a moment, he assumed that the postcard would restore calm to the office, but unexpectedly, Carlos angrily threw the postcard on the table and demanded, "Who allowed you to open my letters?"

The smile on Emmett's face froze. "Mr. Huo... Mr. Huo... but you..." Emmett felt wronged. It was him and Tristan who had been handling Carlos' letters in the company all the time.

But he swore that he hadn't read the content of this postcard when he noticed the name was "a poor girl". He knew it was from Debbie, so he immediately hurried to the meeting room and handed it to Carlos.

Out of the blue, Carlos stood up from his seat and announced, "This project is well planned and very creative. The Planning Department has done a good job and everyone in the department can get a bonus equal to your monthly wage." He then turned to Emmett and instructed, "Emmett, ask the directors of the charity foundations to come and discuss about the investment."

There were some non-governmental charity foundations under the ZL Group. Emmett instantly understood what Carlos was going to do.

'Ask the directors to come and discuss about the investment? Oh, if I'm guessing right, Mr. Huo is going to invest in the development of the Southon Village!' he thought excitedly.