Javier Zhong shook his head lightly, "There was a day when I was going through my mother's things after she had passed on... I noticed a White envelope stuck between the pages of her diary. The letter inside wrote..."
[If you are reading this note and I did not come back alive on 21 March, know that I was murdered.]
With a heavy pause, he said, "That was the exact day that she had passed on. Though the writings were poorly scribbled, I could still recognise that it was my mother's handwriting."
"..."
Seeing the hurt written on his face, Stephanie Ruan could imagine the shock that this incident must have brought to him, especially at such a young age.
In her past impression of Javier Zhong, she saw him as someone who is very powerful and ruthless, without any emotions of his own at all.
And this is the first time that Stephanie Ruan has felt that he is more 'human', as he opens up a more vulnerable side of himself to her.
In fact, it is only right at this moment that she sees him in a different light... that beneath his perfect public facade, lies a very lonely and wounded man.
After a brief moment of silence, Stephanie Ruan tactfully responded to him, "I'm sorry to hear this..."
"Have you... managed to find the murderer?" She added while turning her head to look at him.
To which he immediately replied with no hesitation, "I will... I will do whatever it takes to find that person!"
Hearing that, it truly felt as though she is looking at a spitting image of herself in him!
It was the exact same determination that she had when she made the decision to avenge her family's death as well.
"..."
Meanwhile, Javier Zhong wondered why he would share such a personal story with someone whom he did not know very well?
He usually isn't such a guy who would pour out his feelings like this!...
In fact, this is something that even his good friend - Daniel Yan, does not know about!
Was it because the atmosphere tonight is ideal for this conversation to happen?
Or... was it because she is actually the first person who cared enough to ask him about this??...
Sitting together on the bench to stargaze, a wave of indescribable peace and comfort is filling his heart tonight.
...
Holding onto his phone and typing a few words, Javier Zhong turned to Stephanie Ruan, "Follow me, I'll send you back."
Since it is already quite late in the night, she nodded her head and accepted his kind offer.
"Chairman Zhong." The driver quickly greeted him and went forward to open the back door for him.
However, this time, Javier Zhong generously stood aside and raised his arm slightly to signal for Stephanie Ruan to enter the car first.
Unexpectedly impressed with his small action, she did not forget to praise him before entering, "Wow! Such a gentleman, thank you!"
Satisfied with her compliment, the sides of his mouth have unknowingly raised a little as he closed the door for her and entered the car from the other side.
A few minutes into the quiet ride, Javier Zhong started clearing his dry throat repeatedly. He is experiencing some discomfort in his mouth as well.
"A-hem!... A-hem..."
Seeing that there are a few new bottles of water placed in front of them, Stephanie Ruan immediately opened one and passed it over to him.
Meanwhile, the driver looked at him through the rearview mirror and saw that his neck is starting to become red with rashes.
Appalled by it, he asked his boss worriedly, "Chairman Zhong, did you accidentally take any garlic during dinner?"
Though this does not happen frequently, the driver has been with Javier Zhong long enough to be familiar with his allergic reaction to garlic.
Upon hearing that, Stephanie Ruan widened her eyes and spoke directly to the driver, "Yes! Our soup base had minced garlic in it!"
"I didn't know he is allergic to garlic...", she added with a softer voice.
At this point, Javier Zhong's condition has gotten worse as he shut his eyes and muttered softly, "My head... dizzy..."
"Let's send him to the hospital." Stephanie Ruan felt that she is responsible for this and is regretting having made him finish the few slices of meat that she had cooked for him.
However, the driver respectfully explained to her that Javier Zhong does not like to visit the hospital and would always get his personal doctor to come over to his house.
After he made a quick call to his personal doctor, the driver spoke to Stephanie Ruan while driving at a high speed, "I'm very sorry, Director Ruan, I will have to bring Chairman Zhong home first before I can drive you back later."
In which she immediately shook her head politely, "Please don't worry about me. It's my fault that this had happened to him, so I'll be staying with him until he gets better."
Throughout the entire ride to his house, Stephanie Ruan sat closer to Javier Zhong and held onto his arm worriedly.
"Are you still feeling dizzy?... Hang on there for a little while more alright??... We are reaching soon."
She is constantly wiping away the beads of perspiration on his face with a clean handkerchief that she has brought along in her bag today.
Within about 10 minutes, they have finally reached his standalone villa. It seems as though the servants at the house have all been notified and they are already standing outside, waiting for his arrival.
Thankfully, his personal doctor arrived soon after Stephanie Ruan and the driver helped Javier Zhong to his bedroom.
"Doctor, how is he??" As soon as he had finished examining Javier Zhong, she asked him anxiously.
"Don't worry, Chairman Zhong will be fine after taking the prescribed medication", the doctor kindly assured her.
Phew!! Thankfully he is alright!!...
"Thank you very much, doctor."
He then nodded his head at her while bringing over the medication for Javier Zhong to eat.
After which, the doctor spoke to everyone briefly about Javier Zhong's recommended diet plan for the next few days before he left the villa.
Seeing that Javier Zhong is currently resting on his bed with his eyes closed, Stephanie Ruan put her bag down on a nearby sofa chair before walking out of the bedroom.
But the moment she opened the originally shut door to exit the room, she is startled at the scene of servants who are standing right outside.
In fact, this should be the full team of servants - about 20 of them, who have assembled at the entrance of his bedroom.
"..."
With so many eyes suddenly staring at her, Stephanie Ruan could only let out an awkward smile, "Ahh... Chairman Zhong is currently resting inside. You guys need to speak to him?"
The head servant, Mdm Li, quickly spoke up on behalf of them, "Actually we are not allowed to enter his bedroom after the housekeeping hours... But we wanted to check with young master if he needs any food..."
Upon hearing that, Stephanie Ruan smiled at her gently, "Please bring me to the kitchen. I'll prepare the food for him."