Chapter 5: Eric

The next morning, the heavy rain had stopped and the air was filled with a damp and fresh smell. With two huge dark circles under her eyes, Monica descended the stairs with light steps.

Bella was busy at the dining table and looked up to see Monica. She smiled and said, "Perfect timing, come and have breakfast."

Monica sat down and yawned, "Where's Steven?"

"Mr. Wright went out for morning exercise. He just came back and should be getting ready now."

As soon as she had finished speaking, footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. Steven walked up to the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down. He politely greeted, "Good morning."

He was dressed meticulously, with all the buttons of his shirt done up neatly, his back straight and composed. He was still the flawless professional,. it It was just that wound on his lips, which had formed overnight.

The dark scab on his mouth became even more prominent. Bella brought breakfast and exclaimed, "Mr. Wright, what happened to your mouth?" In a panic, Monica kicked him under the table.

"It's nothing," Steven remained composed, "I accidentally bit it while eating fruit." He didn't mind, and Bella didn't say anything more, turning her head to the kitchen, easing Monica's anxious heart.

Chocolate crawled under the table, herits soft fur constantly brushing against Monica's leg. It tickled her, and she reached down to touch its head, pointing at Steven with a serious expression,

"Remember this bad person sitting next to us, he is Mommy's enemy. From now on, when you see him, bark at him, understand?" The Samoyed looked at her with its round, shiny black eyes, then with a silly and affectionate rush, turned to rub against Steven's leg.

Monica gritted her teeth, "I regret raising you, you little traitor."

Steven leaned down and touched its snowy white fur, clearly in a good mood.

"What should I be called?"

MonicaShe casually replied, "Uncle." "Want to be my niece?" He teased, while petting Chocolate. . MonicaShe glared at him, "I don't call you that, so don't take advantage of me."

Chocolate leaned closer to his palm, and he stroked its chin with his fingertip, confidently concluding, "It sounds better to call me Daddy." Monica thought he was going too far and said, "You're dreaming, I am youryou’re not Chocolates daddy."

After breakfast, Steven drove to the company. It was still before work hours, and not many people were in the office. They were gathered in small groups, holding coffee and chatting. At the sight of Steven, they scattered and greeted,

"Good morning, Mr. Wright." "Good morning," he nodded, but noticed that they were all staring at his face with confusion. He realized what they were looking at, but didn't react and continued to walk to his office as usual.

Whispered discussions erupted behind him, spreading ripples in the still morning like stones being thrown into a pond. Assistant Caspar WilliamsMo Cheng came in as usual to report the schedule and stared at Steven's face for a while. "Have you had enough of staring?"

Steven lightly tapped his pen on the desk, his tone calm, "If you're done, get to work." "Uh? Oh!" Mo ChengCaspar reacted, quickly bowing his head in a fluster.

This couldn't really be blamed on him. . After all, Steven always maintained a meticulous and strict image. Mo ChengCaspar rarely saw him show any emotional fluctuations, let alone an injury appearing on his lips, a place associated with intimacy.

It was like a flaw suddenly appearing on a piece of exquisite white porcelain, making people unable to resist exploring the reason.

Mo ChengCaspar steadied his mind and started sorting through the work tasks. "The News Weekly wants to schedule an interview with you. The preliminary date is set for next week. This is their initial proposal, take a look." Steven quickly flipped through it,

"Alright, let the PR department review the interview draft first." Just as he reached the last page, his gaze fell on a name, "Law..."

"Lawrence Adams? Is this interview part of a series?" Steven asked calmly.

"Yes. They plan to invite young talents from various fields, not just the finance industry, but also law, architecture, and so on." Mo ChengCaspar had heard of this Lawrence and casually mentioned,

"This Mr. Lawrence seems to be a very accomplished young photographer. He recently won an award abroad and is returning to his home country soon."

Steven remained silent for a while, leaving Mo ChengCaspar puzzled. "Boss?"

After a moment, he replied softly, "I see."

In the evening, Monica was nestled on the couch, swiping on her tablet when she heard the sound of a car approaching the villa's gate.

Before long, the gate opened, and clear footsteps echoed.

Without raising her head, she mumbled, "The young master finally decided to come home?"

Eric took off his coat and handed it to Bella, raising an eyebrow at her remark. "Who upset you again?"

Before Monica could answer, he leisurely said, "Oh, I remember now. Bella, wasn't Steven staying at our place last night?"

As soon as she heard that name, Monica immediately sat up from the couch. "It's all your fault, why didn't you tell me he was going to the event as welltoo?"

Eric walked over to the couch, sat down, and leaned back, loosely holding Chocolate's wagging tail in his arms. He spoke calmly, "So what if he went? I didn't ask you to go see him. You were a guest, and he was a guest. I'm actually curious how you two met."

The siblings had similar features, especially their eyes. However, unlike Monica, Eric's eye corners were sharper, giving off the impression that even though he often smiled, there wasn't much gentleness in his emotions.

He was well-suited for deceit and manipulation in the business world.

Monica couldn't say anything and sulkily returned to the couch.

Fate is truly mystical at times.

After dinner, Monica was going to take Chocolate for a walk. Eric rarely had the evening off and didn't have any work to attend to, so he decided to accompany her. The two strolled along the paths in the villa area, attracting the attention of people around them with their good looks.

This semi-mountain villa area was located onin the outskirts of the city and was only inhabited by the wealthy due to its remote access and high cost. DueHowever, due to its distance from the city center, few young people lived here. It was more popular among the older generation as a place of retirement place.

After walking for about ten minutes, they encountered several elderly people taking their dogs for a post-dinner stroll. Chocolate happily joined the pack of dogs and played joyfully.

Eric received a call from Ryan at this moment. Another of Eric’s high school friends.

"What's up?" he answered.

He stood by a tree with his hands in his pockets, feeling the cool breeze of the spring night brushing past.

Ryan's tone was as usual, offbeat. "Do you have time this weekend? The resort I invested in, XishanBurgos Lake View Hotel, is opening for trial operation. Come and have some fun, consider it as supporting me."

"The lake view hotel? Wasn't it said that it couldn't be completed due to fund shortage?"

"I've invested all the money, how could I let it go to waste?" Ryan sighed, "I begged and pleaded with my uncle, and in the end, he lent a helping hand, but now he has control over it."

He let out a frustrated sigh, "I've been struggling to prove myself to him. It's so damn difficult." Ryan continued.

"I won't do this again in the future. I've been so worried lately that I'm starting to get gray hair."

"Steven warned you earlier about the unreliablunreliability ofe joint investors. It's your stubbornness, who else can you blame?" Eric reminded.

"It's my fault, it's my fault. The main thing is, Sterling Holdings mainly invests in technology and biotech sectors. I have little knowledge about the real estate field,"

Ryan sighed despondently. "After a few drinks, I even stopped trusting my own brother's words. This time, I really messed up."

Eric thought for a moment. "I should be free this weekend."

"Okay, then invite more people. Let's drive there ourselves. The scenic mountains along the way are beautiful."

After finishing all the arrangements, Ryan hesitated rather awkwardly, "Um..."

"What's wrong?" Eric asked, guessing where this was going.

"About Steven... Could you make a call for me?"

Eric casually flicked the hanging leaf with his fingertips. "He doesn't want to go?"

"Not really," Ryan sighed. "I'm just worried. After all, I didn't listen to his advice, and I'm afraid he will be distracted."

Eric chuckled, "Do you think everyone is as melancholic as you? It's not his money at stake, so why blame him for not being more persuasive?"

Ryan continued to sigh.

"Alright then, find some assistance." Eric looked at Monica squatting nearby and smiled thoughtfully, "I'll bring along myin your sister, the apple of Steven's ancestoreyes."

"Steven's ancestor?" Ryan was momentarily confused but quickly caught on. "You mean your precious little sister?"

"Ryan, you don't mind arranging another room, right?" Eric asked knowing Ryan wouldn’t refuse.

"How could I mind?" Ryan was delighted and patted his chest. "If your sister is coming, I'll welcome her with open arms. Even if I have to plaster both you and Steven on the wall, she must have a place to stay."

Chocolate went crazy whenever she it encountered other dogs, and Monica couldn't hold herit back no matter how hard she tried. ChocolateIt bounded and jumped around her, while the dog leash wrapped around her legs.

Monica crouched down to untangle it and called Eric over, "Brother, hurry and help."

Eric walked over, untied the rope for Monica, and held onto Chocolate. With his strong grip, Chocolate could only watch herits dog companion going away, pitifully scratching its tiny legs and emitting a whimper from her its throat.

Eric shook his phone, which was currently on a call, and gestured to Monica, "Are you free this weekend?"

"Hmm? I should be. Why?" Monica replied.

"Ryan opened a trial operation for a lake view hotel in XishanBurgos. He's inviting me to go. Do you want to come too?"

Monica was puzzled, "But wasn't the funding chain broken?"

Ryan cursed at the other end of the line.

"Why is this news spreading so widely?! I've lost face!" Ryan shouted.

Eric laughed, "Anyway, he's sorted it out. We're going by car this weekend and staying overnight. Are you coming?"

"Definitely!" Monica was enthusiastic. "I've been waiting for my mentor to be free recently. I'm afraid he'll suddenly call me to revise my thesis, so I didn't dare go on a trip. I'm so bored."

Eric smiled, "Great."

Suddenly he sighed deeply, "Forget it." Monica was puzzled, "What's wrong?" "I suddenly remembered that Steven is also going," Eric pretended to be regretful,

"After all, if you don't want to see him, let's forget it. I'll take you next time when I'm free." Although Ryan wasn't very bright, he could still see through Eric's tricks, "Damn it, Eric..."

It's no wonder Eric and Steven are good friends. Although they have different personalities, they are both cunning. "What's wrong with him going? Just because he's going, I can't go? He breathes on Earth, why can't I breathe too?"

Monica took the bait, saying, "I'm going to have fun, I don't care about him. If he has a problem with me, tell him not to go." Eric smiled and spoke into the phone, "Did Ryan hear that? You better take care of our her.ancestor."

Chapter 6: Road Trip