Take My Breath Away

Debbie scratched her head in hesitation, mulling over her plan. "No. I don't think it's anything criminal, but we'll be stepping on Carlos' toes. Will you guys still do that for me?"

Her friends all looked perplexed at her words. Kasie couldn't bear hearing Debbie speak in riddles anymore, so she asked, "Okay, Tomboy, just lay it out. What are you planning?"

"Get this. I'm lying in a hospital bed, wearing these ugly patient clothes, and I've been put on a drip and had stitches in my forehead. This is all thanks to one woman! So I need your help to teach her a lesson!" Debbie said between gritted teeth.

'Her...' Even though Debbie didn't explicitly spell out the name, they all knew who she was talking about.

Familiar with upper-class circles, Jared and Kasie were both well aware of the consequences. They simultaneously shook their heads disapprovingly. Jared blurted out, "Don't do that. Mr. Huo and Mr. Li are protecting her. She's the apple of their eye."

Kasie slapped Jared's shoulder to stop him. "Shut up! That was then and this is now. Tomboy is Mr. Huo's wife!"

Jared noticed a dash of sadness flash through Debbie's eyes. Realizing that his words had hurt Debbie, he was full of remorse and hastily apologized, "Yeah. My bad. Tomboy, I'm in! Whatever you want. Okay?"

"Count me in. Anyway, Mr. Huo will probably take your side. There's nothing to be afraid of! Look what that bitch has done to you. She needs a whooping," Kasie said. She knew most of the story. She couldn't swallow her anger over what Megan had done to her best friend.

Hearing them, Debbie slapped her leg and said resolutely, "Exactly! I'm tired of being a doormat. I never did anything to get back at her because I didn't want to hurt Carlos. But she's crossed the line. She's sabotaging our marriage. My husband and I are being driven apart because of her. I won't let her off the hook!"

'On top of that, I almost died thanks to Megan's phone call!' she thought angrily.

"Kasie, you can swim, right? I may need your help for this. And Jared, I just need you to do me a little favor. Kristina, you don't have to come with us. Just stay at home and wait for the good news." Then, Debbie told everyone her plan and assigned a task to each of them.

At last, Kristina looked at Debbie, embarrassed. "Debbie, I... I want to go with you too." She also was angry with Megan and wanted to watch this good show. However, she didn't have someone that had her back once things turned serious. Everyone else had wealthy parents that could pull some strings.

Touched by Kristina's gesture, Debbie patted her on the shoulder. "Kristina, don't follow bad examples. It'll make you a bad girl. I know your heart. Thank you. Just wait for us at home an

ld be quite high.

"Okay, please come this way. Let me wash your hair first!"

Then, she followed the handsome man to another room to have her hair washed.

"So, just a haircut, or...? What about a dye job or perm too? Actually, you're lucky you came in today. We're running a special offer now. It'll be cost-effective if you buy a VIP card..."

Debbie paused. "Just a trim and perm the ends of my hair a little. And how do I get a VIP card?"

As the grey-hair man dried her hair, he gestured to another young man, asking him to come over. When Debbie saw another young man coming up to her, she couldn't help but marvel in her mind, 'Wow! Another handsome boy. Why are all the hairdressers here so handsome? Do they need to win a beauty contest before becoming a hairdresser?'

When Debbie knew that the price of a simple haircut was already 1, 200 dollars, she was taken aback. Her lips twitched. 'God! I'll never get a haircut in the Shining International Plaza again. That's way too expensive!

Are they hoodwinking the customers? How can Carlos allow such a hair salon to open here?' she wondered.

"But if you apply for a VIP card and save 10, 000 dollars in it, you'll get an extra 5, 000. And we have different bonuses at 30, 000, 50, 000 or 100, 000 dollars. Besides, we'll give you a coupon for one free hair dye and hair perm which is worth 3, 888 dollars... It's our 10th anniversary, so that's what we have for you. It's really a bargain. You look so beautiful, and to come here more often would only add to your beauty."

Debbie felt a little dizzy hearing the young man's endless prattling. They were doing the hard-sell here. It seemed that it would be a better deal to buy a VIP card. She would actually get a 50% discount, if her calculation was right. And moreover, she'd have a free dye and perm...