The next morning, the sky in Kityall City was overcast. As soon as Pearl came out from her apartment, it started to rain heavily. She had no choice but to retreat into the building and sighed silently.
"Beep! Beep!"
The sound of the car whistle suddenly came, and it was particularly clear in the rain. Pearl looked up and saw a white car parked at the door of the building. The window rolled down slowly, revealing a familiar face inside.
"Morning, Pearl."
Pearl was stunned. "Alex?"
The rain in summer did not last. Shortly after the car left the block, the rain outside gradually decreased and it became quiet inside the car .
"Sorry to trouble you. You even made your way to pick me up." Pearl stared at Alex and said.
Alex's slender fingers held the steering wheel, and he looked clean. His face was calm, and he always had a faint smile on his face.
"I t's fine. I'm on the way there too."
"On the way? The academic exchange is not over yet?" Pearl recalled that when Alex sent her back yesterday, he mentioned that he went to Jackson Hospital for academic exchange.
"No, our hospital is also cooperating with Jackson Hospital, so I have to stay there to give surgery guidance."
"Really?" Pearl asked in doubt, "Did you offend someone?"
"Why do you say that?" Alex chuckled when he heard that.
"Jackson Hospital is too remote, and it's hard to find a restaurant to eat. If you didn't offend anyone, then why would you be transferred here?"
That's true. Jackson Hospital was located in the most remote suburbs of Kityall City, and they barely had any patients. Otherwise, it would not be selected by the crew as the shooting place.
"Alex, it's easy for you to be a target since you're too soft. Sometimes it's better to be tough. If you accept all the jobs, they'll throw the dirty work at you. They will bully you for your kindness. Working in a hospital is similar from working in a normal company."
Pearl talked to Alex on about life, completely forgetting that she was in a similar situation too.
If she hadn't been caught because of her carelessness, she wouldn't have been sent to this remote hospital.
On the way to the hospital, Alex was mostly silent. He focused on driving while listening to Pearl nagging. Occasionally, he would chuckle and cut in. That was how they always interacted with each other over these years.
It cleared up after the rain, and the clouds were gone. Finally, the scorching sun covered the whole city, drying the ground. It seemed like there was no sign of there being a thunderstorm in the morning.
In the dining hall of a villa, Adriana took a sip of coffee, and it was too bitter that her frowned.
Hattie, the maid on the side, immediately noticed that something was wrong. She turned around and scolded the servant preparing breakfast, "what's the matter? Haven't I taught you the ratio of coffee and milk several times? Why can't you remember?"
Upon being rebuked, the new maid turned red and held her breath.
"Hattie," Adriana was indifferent as she spoke, "It's just a cup of coffee, don't be so harsh. Just ask her to make a new one. You scared her."
"Yes, Miss," Hattie replied politely and gave the maid a warning look. "What are you waiting for?"
"Yes, I'll make a new cup of coffee right away. Thank you, Miss." The maid thanked Adriana hurriedly.
Hattie glanced at the maid while serving breakfast. "Miss, you're too nice. You pay them well, so you should teach them a lesson if they do something wrong."
"It's just a small matter, so it doesn't matter to be nice to them."
Referring to the Zellweger family, Adriana suddenly had confidence. Her eyes flickered, "Hattie, go and get the oil painting I got from the auction last month."
"Miss, why would you need that?" Hattie was confused.
"I'll go to the Zellweger family." Adriana's eyes were dark, "I haven't seen Aunt Helena for a long time. I should visit her often, as their future daughter-in-law, right?"
...
Before she left, the new maid brought a new cup of coffee to the dining table and asked, "Miss, how about your coffee?"
Adriana was expressionless. Although she maintained her usual gentle look, she said to Hattie before getting in the car, "Fire her."
Hattie was stunned for a while, but she was not too surprised. She nodded and replied, "Yes, Miss, I'll find a replacement soon."
Adriana nodded and closed the door. The black Rolls-Royce sped off, heading towards the eastern district.
The rearview mirror reflected Adriana's gloomy face. She kept lowering her head and scrolling through the chat group. There were many photos taken from different angles.
The kids stayed in Zellweger Group for the whole afternoon. Pearl was so shameless to say that she did not return for Richard? Did she think that everyone was stupid?
Then she exited the messaging app and dialed a number. When the call was connected, she said in a gentle and warm tone, totally different with her black face. "Hello! Aunt Helena, it's me, Adriana."
...
"Oh, nothing important. I haven't seen you for long, so I wanted to chat with you. By the way, I just bought a new painting."
...
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Mysterious Mr.Richard