Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

Jean Grant’s eyes grew moist, and she nodded.

”Brother, I’ll live my life to the fullest.”

By the time she got home, it was already evening.

Nicholas Ainsworth was already back.

”Where did you go? I called your phone, but you didn’t answer.”

Jean Grant forced a smile and quickly checked her phone. ”It was off. I went to my mom’s house.”

Nicholas looked at her pale face. ”What’s wrong? You look unhappy.”

She shook her head. ”It’s nothing. I’m just really tired. I think I’ll go upstairs and sleep.”

Nicholas watched her dejected figure, the color in his eyes deepening.

He knew about Marlon Marshall’s death.

Even though there was little media coverage, the news had still reached his ears.

He followed her upstairs, pushed open the bedroom door, and saw her lying there, completely still.

Nicholas walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. ”Is Marlon’s death bothering you? He was your ex-husband, after all.”

Jean jerked her head around to meet his gaze and denied it. ”No. It’s because I’m so happy that someone like him is dead.”

”Then why don’t I see any happiness on your face?”

Jean didn’t want to discuss the topic any further. ”I’m going to take a shower.”

She got off the bed and put on her slippers.

Nicholas watched her, feeling a slight sense of unease.

At the kindergarten, during the last class of the day.

The teacher wrote a few sentence-building exercises on the blackboard.

”Everyone, please make a sentence using ’because... therefore...’ Who wants to go first?” the teacher asked with a smile.

Elmer Grant raised his hand. ”Teacher, me!”

”Alright, Elmer, you can go first.”

Elmer pondered for a moment, then said seriously, ”Because I’m handsome, therefore, little girls always like me.”

The teacher was speechless. ”Do you have another one?”

He thought again. ”Because I have a daddy and mommy, therefore, I was born into this world.”

The teacher’s mouth twitched. ”Sit down. Would any other children like to make a sentence?”

Dorothy Ellsworth bravely raised her hand.

”Dorothy, please stand up.”

Dorothy Ellsworth stood up.

The teacher said, ”Can you make a sentence using ’and... and...’?”

”Teacher, I know how to do this one.” Without a second thought, Dorothy Ellsworth said, ”After school yesterday evening, I ate a bun, and I drank a can of juice, and I ate some cookies, and I played for a while, and finally, I ate dinner, and I went to sleep.”

The teacher was stunned. ’Is that even a sentence?’

’But for a child who’s just over two, it’s not easy!’

”Ver-ry... good!” The teacher forced a smile. ”Dorothy, you can sit down. As for making sentences, let’s talk about that another time. Alright, you can have free play now while you wait for school to end.”

The classroom immediately erupted in noise. Dorothy Ellsworth sat next to the two Grant boys. The male classmate sitting in front of Dylan Grant turned his head. ”Are you guys sleepy? I really want to sleep. My dad’s snoring kept me up all night; it was killing me.”

Dorothy asked, ”You’re this old and you still sleep in the same bed as your mom and dad?”

He nodded. ”My mom doesn’t feel safe leaving me alone. But my dad snores all night long, so I can’t sleep at all! AAARGH!”

Elmer picked his nose. ”You could use some tape to stick your dad’s nose shut at night.”

”But then my dad would have to breathe through his mouth, right? What if he forgets to breathe through his mouth? Wouldn’t he die?”

”Dummy, how could that happen?” Elmer urged him. ”Why don’t you get a bottle of super glue and stick your dad’s nose shut? If his nose is uncomfortable, he’ll forget to snore.”

Dylan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ”Don’t listen to Elmer’s terrible idea. What he’s saying would never work.”

”Can’t your dad just not snore? Can your mom stand it?” Dorothy asked.

He sighed. ”Sigh. My mom said she only found out he snored after they got married. But you can’t get a divorce over something like that, so she just has to put up with it.”

Dorothy reflexively asked, ”Your poor mom. Couldn’t she have just slept with your dad once before marrying him? That would be much safer.”

Dylan: ”...”

”Of course not. My mom is very traditional. You can’t do that kind of thing before marriage.”

”Oh, so that’s how it is. How sad. I have to make sure I never marry someone who snores.”

Dylan, trying to stop her from saying more, grabbed her arm. ”Don’t worry, I don’t snore. Elmer can vouch for me.”

Dorothy met his eyes, her face turning slightly red as she nodded.

Alveria’s nightlife was always vibrant and colorful.

That evening, Zoe Ellsworth sat alone in the main hall of ”Lip Service.”

Watching the strippers on stage and then looking at the crowd of drooling men below, she felt utterly bored.

She grabbed the microphone from the table and stood up on the sofa. ”Hey, hey! There are beautiful women dancing, but are there any handsome men to dance for us?”

The crowd erupted, and everyone immediately turned to look at her, wanting to know who she was.

Because Zoe Ellsworth was wearing a fox-like mask.

But no matter how she disguised herself, she couldn’t escape the eyes of a man on the second-floor balcony.

He was holding a wine glass, and he squeezed it so hard it shattered. He then tossed the pieces into a nearby trash can.

Seeing this, the subordinate standing beside him broke into a cold sweat for Zoe Ellsworth.

”Give the order. Prepare a dancer’s outfit and bring her to a room. Tell her a handsome man will be dancing for her and to please... enjoy the show!”

The final three words were spoken with heavy emphasis. The subordinate nodded fearfully. ”Yes, I’ll see to it at once.”

Zoe Ellsworth tossed the microphone onto the table, picked up a glass of liquor, downed it, and lay back, narrowing her eyes. Just then, someone came to her side. ”Miss, a handsome man has invited you to watch a dance. Would you be willing to go?”

She sat up straight. ”Oh yeah? Sounds good. What’s the room number?”

”Room 666 on the sixth floor.”

”Uh-huh, got it. I’ll be there in a bit.”

She sat there quietly for a few minutes before getting up, walking into the elevator, and heading to the sixth floor.

A bald, middle-aged man in the elevator tried to hit on her.

”Miss, that was very brave of you earlier.”

Zoe Ellsworth shot him a glance. ”What do you want, old man?”

”Name your price.”

Zoe Ellsworth leaned against the elevator wall. ”Old man, were you the original pig-face in a past life? Why don’t you go take a piss and look at your own reflection first. Showing off your chump change.”

The middle-aged man got angry and moved closer to her. ”Little girl, let me see your real face. Believe it or not, I can make sure you don’t walk out of this elevator.”

Zoe Ellsworth dodged the hand reaching for her mask and kicked him to the ground. ”Get lost.”

He scrambled back to his feet and lunged at her.

Zoe Ellsworth was pissed now. She landed three more consecutive kicks to his face, then did a quick turn and swung her hand at his chin. The middle-aged man let out a yelp, stumbled back a few steps, and fell to the ground.

Zoe Ellsworth sneered, ”With a pathetic face like yours, you still think you can pick up girls? Go fuck yourself. You can’t even take a fucking hit! Go home and train for a few years before you try messing with me again!”