Ch. 1651..1660
Never Late, Never Away Chapter 1651
“My hand is numb…”
Larry moved his body and allowed Joan to pull her hand out. “You’re awake.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“How long have you not had regular meals? Are you trying to kill yourself by pulling late nights constantly? Do you think you’re a phone that can always be on standby twenty-four hours a day?” Larry began to lecture her in rapid-fire.
Joan pouted helplessly. “Why are you admonishing me now?”
“I’m not reprimanding you, Joan. I’m reprimanding the mother of my son,” Larry replied.
“Alright, alright, I thought my dizziness was caused by not having enough sleep. I didn’t expect for it to be so serious that it would cause me to faint…” Despite her feeble voice, Joan tried to vehemently defend herself.
Larry thought that she still hadn’t realized her mistake. “What? Why are you still making excuses? Despite being an adult, you don’t even know how to take care of yourself. So who gave you the courage to steal Larry away from my parent’s house?”
Despite his lectures, Joan knew that he was obviously worried about her, causing her to burst into laughter.
Larry’s anger turned into a smile. And just like that both of them gazed into each other eyes and laughed heartily without care.
At that moment, Larry was shocked as he didn’t know why he was suddenly laughing aloud.
“Let’s not talk about that anymore. Joan… you… do you really not want to explain… about what happened with Dustin?” Larry smiled faintly. He had wanted to ask her about the matter calmly but ended up stuttering instead.
Meanwhile, the cicadas outside continue to chirp incessantly, singing their song without a care of what was going on inside.
Joan shook her head but still managed to gather her courage to explain. “I… Dustin and I, actually…”
Ring… Ring… The jarring sound of the phone interrupted them. Larry apologized to Joan, “I’m sorry. I’ll need to take this call outside.”
Joan’s heart suddenly sank as her heart was filled with mixed emotions. It felt as if she had channeled all her energy into a punch but she had thrown it at empty space instead.
In less than a minute, Larry ended the call as he came back in. He looked like he was visiting an old friend instead of taking care of his lover.
As he approached Joan, he helped tucked her in properly, as if he wasn’t going to bring up what they were just talking about. “Joan, I need to return to the office for an urgent meeting. Don’t worry, once I have dealt with work. I’ll come back to accompany you.”
“Go ahead…” She was never one to quibble. Despite how reluctant she was to see him go, she would never allow herself to express it.
Larry leaned forward and gently kissed her on the forehead. With his body right next to her, a refreshing fragrance enveloped her senses while his warm breath suddenly gave her the impulse to burst into tears.
“In that case, I’m leaving now,” Larry remarked.
‘Mmm-hmm.” She nodded slightly.
The moment he turned away, she had the urge to grabbed onto his sleeve and say, “Larry, don’t go. Stay with me.” As her hand reached forward, all she could grasp was air.
When her right hand fell helplessly back onto the bed, her heart seemed to have sunk along with it. Tears followed the very next moment. Despite how they seemed to have made up, Joan still felt that something was missing; she was unsettled.
She could feel that something had changed and it was no longer the same as it used to be. Suddenly she could feel a sense of disappointment well up within her.
As she tried her best to stop her imagination from running wild, the feeling had taken root in her. She had no way of untangling herself from it other than helplessly casting it aside and ignoring it.
Never Late, Never Away Chapter 1652
Joan called a female team member in the design department to ask her to bring the unfinished design drawings to the hospital. She thought she could force herself not to think about Larry by being occupied with work. The team member agreed to her request right away.
However, her final year project was left in Nirhaven College. She couldn’t think of any of her classmates who would be willing to bring it here. Am I really an ill-mannered girl who has no friends?
As she pondered over it, she felt even more out of sorts. Then, she covered her head with the blanket and forced herself to take a nap. Suddenly, someone arrived and knocked on the door. Since she thought that it was her team member, she said while still hiding in the blanket, “Please come in.”
“Is that Lyla? You can put the design drawings on the cupboard on the side. Thank you for bringing it here.”
Nevertheless, that person didn’t reply but came up to Joan and put his hands on the blanket near her head. Joan knew that they weren’t a woman’s hands.
“You can leave it there. Thank you.” Joan felt bewildered and pulled the blanket tighter.
“Ahem…”
Joan shivered as soon as she heard him coughing.
Dustin was amused as Joan sprang up from the bed. On the other hand, Joan heaved a sigh of relief when she realized that it was Dustin.
“It’s you… I thought.. it’s my colleague.”
“Do you feel better because it’s me?” Dustin’s smile was still as warm.
Upon hearing it, Joan felt uncomfortable and recalled that he grabbed her hand when she tended to his bruises in the past. It became extremely awkward as both of them fell silent.
After a while, Dustin took the initiative to break the silence. He took out something from his back and presented it to Joan like a treasure.
“Look!”
Joan saw a pile of papers before her. Apart from her design drawings, Dustin had also brought along her final year project.
Joan’s eyes beamed as though she saw some precious treasure. She immediately took the papers and said surprisingly, “My god! I never expected that you would bring these to me. Dustin, you can really read my mind! How did you know that I wanted to get my final year project from campus? Besides, you even brought the design drawings from my company! This is incredible!”
“Initially, I went to your company to visit you but bumped into your colleague who wanted to bring the documents to you. Since I thought you would need the final year project, I decided to bring everything here. I hope… you won’t be mad at me for doing it.”
As Joan flipped through the page, she replied smilingly, “I won’t. In fact, I’m grateful for your help.”
Dustin shook his head helplessly and replied, “Well, it looks like I’m not as attractive as the documents.”
Joan was amused and said, “Alright, why don’t you take a seat?”
Dustin grabbed a chair and sat next to her bed. “By the way, you haven’t told me why you’re admitted to the hospital? Are you sick? How serious is it?”
“Er… I’ll be embarrassed whenever I explain it. When I visited Leslie, I fainted at the doorstep because of anemia.”
Dustin picked up an apple on the cupboard and began paring it. “Since you’re a workaholic, I guess you must be exhausted due to stress at work.”
Meanwhile, Joan had taken the pen that was clipped on the documents and began sketching. “It’s not a big deal, actually. I can be discharged anytime.”
Dustin replied as he threw away the skin of the apple, “If you really can be discharged anytime, why are you doing your work here?”
Never Late, Never Away Chapter 1653
“Well, I’ll be alone if I’m at home. Also, I won’t have time to do my work and the report if I have to rest at home. So, I might as well stay here and get some IV drips.”
Dustin handed over the apple to her and asked, “IV drips? Is this how you take care of yourself by getting this at such a young age?”
Joan took the apple from him and replied, “Dustin, thank you for visiting me when I’m sick. Besides, you’ve even brought along the things I need the most. To be frank, I owe you a lot all these years. However, you don’t have to do this to me again because I don’t want to owe you more.”
Dustin pretended to be upset. “Who do you think I am to you?”
“My good friend,” she replied.
“Other than that?”
“Hmm… You’re also my savior who saved my life,” she answered seriously.
Dustin heaved a sigh. “Well, in that case… am I a nobody to you?”
“Of course not!” she immediately denied.
“I’m relieved. Joan, you can owe me forever because I allow you to do so.” He flashed her a smile.
“Dustin, I’ really don’t know what I should say now. By the way, I would like to treat you to dinner two days later to repay you…” Before she could finish, Dustin waved his hand to interrupt, “Treat me to dinner? No way, that’s too simple. Well, I have an idea. We’ve known each other for many years, yet you probably haven’t tried any food that I cook. Why don’t you show me some support? I mean, this is way better than treating me to dinner outside.”
Joan was a little hesitant. “Well…”
Dustin began to tidy up the drafts and papers on the bed. “Don’t think too much. Besides, you said that you want to repay me. You can’t renege on your promise all of a sudden.”
“Alright then…” Joan agreed to it. When she took a bite of the apple, she felt that it wasn’t ripe yet. Besides, tears nearly dropped from her face as the apple tasted bad.
Dustin was aware of the limits. As such, he didn’t bring Joan to his house but chose to go to Joan’s rented house instead. As soon as Joan heard it, she scratched her head and said embarrassedly, “I’m sorry, Dustin. Since I rarely cook, there are no food ingredients or even rice for that matter at my house.”
Nonetheless, Dustin didn’t look surprised as she expected. Instead, he chuckled heartily and said, “No problem. However, you’ve to come with me to the market as compensation.”
“Ah?” The next moment, Dustin dragged her to leave the ward before she could react.
As soon as they arrived at the market, Joan could feel that the smell of vegetables and meat permeated the air. Most of the customers here were elders who came with their grandchildren or middle-aged couples. Due to their young age, Joan and Dustin became rather eye-catching when they were in the market.
“Mister, how much are the oysters?”
“Nine per kilogram.”
“No way, that’s too expensive. I can buy more for seven per kilogram.”
“Alright, seven it is.”
Joan elbowed Dustin and said, “I didn’t expect you would bargain with the hawker. I mean, you didn’t save a lot of money anyway.”
Dustin handed over a bag of oysters to her and replied, “Thriftiness is a way of life that even wealthy people should practice.”
Then, Dustin brought her to buy some fresh fruits and vegetables and bargained along the way. Joan saw that all of the hawkers who refused to give discounts submitted to his way in the end.
“Dustin, do you always come here to buy some food?” Joan asked.
“Hmm… not really. Since I’ve to work on my research at Nirhaven College, I usually have lunch and dinner at the canteen. So, I rarely have time to cook.”
Joan grasped the bag in her hand tighter and said, “I can cook but usually prepare roughly the same dishes. Before I fell out with Larry, I used to eat the food prepared by the housemaid. Since you’ve bought so much food today, I’m a bit worried we can’t finish them.”
Never Late, Never Away Chapter 1654
Dustin chuckled and replied, “It’s fine. I bought a lot of food so that you can learn to cook for yourself. I mean, you can’t ignore your health due to work. Good health is the most important thing for all of us. Without good health, everything we possess worth nothing in the end.”
Later, Joan tried to bargain with the hawkers like how Dustin did. However, she didn’t realize that someone was observing them some distance away. As soon as Joan turned around, Dustin met the person in the eyes. Suddenly, a sense of cunningness flashed across Dustin’s piercingly sharp eyes.
When they arrived at Joan’s house, she opened the door and invited Dustin to come in. It was a little dusty as she hadn’t cleaned up the house for quite some time.
Even Dustin, who was courteous, couldn’t help but wave his hands about to get rid of the musty smell.
Joan immediately said to divert his attention, “I’ll clean the stove now.”
Buzz!
The phone in Dustin’s pocket vibrated. He took it out and unlocked the screen only after Joan left.
It was a short and concise message from S.
The photos are sent.
“Mr. Norton, this is the partnership proposal couriered by Hilbert Group. Please take a look.”
“Okay.” As Larry took the pile of documents in a paper bag from his assistant, he couldn’t help but feel curious. Why did he say that the documents were couriered? Which company would courier the documents to us?
He opened the paper bag and took out the documents carefully. Apart from the word “Partnership” on the cover page, an email address was written on every paper.
In the past, Larry would think that it was a prank made by one of his disgruntled employees. This time around, the email address appeared to have some magical power that enticed him to open it.
He quickly typed the email address on his laptop. The next moment, several emails popped out, of which the first one showed the word “Welcome”. He clicked on the arrow with his slightly shivering hand.
The next word that came into sight was “Search”. Although it seemed like a boring prank, Larry somehow felt that he would discover more information soon.
As he opened the next email and saw the word “Truth”, his heart skipped a beat.
It was the last word that he saw. The subsequent emails contained pictures depicting the ordinary life of a man and a woman. In some of the pictures, they chatted and took care of each other. The man also pared an apple to the woman lovingly. Besides, some photos also showed that they seemed to be rather intimate.
They looked indeed like a husband and a wife who visited the market, bought food, and bargained with the hawkers.
Larry’s heart went cold as he looked at the pictures one by one.
At this moment, he didn’t feel sad, devastated, nor angry. After all, he had felt totally drained whenever he read the news about Joan every day. As he felt exhausted, he didn’t want to think about or be mad at her anymore.
Nonetheless, there was one thing that he had to do—he had to go to the hospital. He wished to find out if she was still there and waiting for him.
Once Larry made up his mind, he rushed out of his office without shutting down the laptop. To avoid the heavy traffic, he even made a detour to the hospital where she was admitted.
He felt that everything on the streets moved swiftly because he ran as fast as he could. After a while, he finally arrived at the hospital, panting and covered in sweat. However, she had moved out of the ward, and nothing was left in it.
“She’s gone.”
He couldn’t help but laugh at himself. Larry, you already have the answer before this. Why do you still waste time taking a look in person? Will you be satisfied only after witnessing everything that you loathe? Is this how you’re finally willing to give up on her?
Never Late, Never Away Chapter 1655
It was the first time in his life to enter a bar. He used to tell Joan that he looked down upon those who came to such places. When Joan asked him why, he said, “It’s because they are lazy and selfish. They don’t work hard but choose to numb themselves with alcohol in such places. So, they’re merely losers left out by society… they’re the pest to society.”
Gazing at several bottles of vodkas in front of him, Larry laughed at himself again. How could I look down on them? Well, I became an idiot who has fallen for the tricks, just like all of them. I became someone whom I loathed the most.
If the blue vodkas resembled the vast sea, he was the traveler drowning in the deep sea who couldn’t clutch at any straws.
Larry somehow saw the reflection of a beautiful lady’s face in his wine glass. After staring at the face in silence for quite some time, he gulped down the wine and murmured, “Joan, you made me into what I am now.”
Meanwhile, Caspian came to the company to visit Larry as he felt guilty. Nancy told him that the misunderstanding between men remained unsolved often because they either felt embarrassed or dared not speak first. Besides, since Caspian trusted their friendship and brotherhood that had lasted for years, he mustered up his courage to be here.
“I’m sorry, sir. Mr. Norton has left for quite some time.”
“Do you know where he went?”
The assistant put on an apologetic smile and said, “I’m sorry. Mr. Norton didn’t disclose it. If you really have important matters, you may wait for him in the president’s office for a while.”
Caspian waved his hands and said, “It’s okay. I can come again next time as it’s not an urgent matter.”
The assistant still smiled at him politely. “Sure. I’m sorry, but would you excuse me? I’ve to get back to work.”
Larry nodded in response while thinking to himself. Larry is a workaholic who keeps immersing himself in piles of documents. Since when has he learned to get some rest? The night had fallen when he wanted to leave Larry’s office. Suddenly, he saw that something in the office was not turned off, thus giving out a faint glow.
As the door was partially closed, he entered the room and saw a white laptop that wasn’t shut down. He realized the glow came from it and was reflected on the wall.
“Since when did Boss become so careless? Why did he forget to shut down the laptop before leaving?” Caspian murmured.
When Caspian grabbed the mouse, he saw a photo on the laptop of a man and a woman. Apparently, they visited a market together.
“Is that Joan? And Dustin?”
After investigating Dustin thoroughly and obtaining his personal information, Caspian always saw Dustin as his archenemy. Caspian believed that Dustin definitely had a poor character since he had the cheek to ruin the relationship of others.
A moment later, Caspian mustered up the courage to look at the next photos. There were more than twenty photos of Joan and Dustin, which were taken from various angles.
Click, click! He immediately took out his phone to snap pictures of everything, including the photos, email address, and the sender. After saving all of the pictures, he sent one of them to Nancy and a voice message to briefly explain the situation. Also, he asked Nancy to think about where Larry would have gone.
Now I understand why Boss left without shutting down his laptop. If I were him, I would smash my laptop and punish the jerk myself.
Caspian felt restless as he walked out of Larry’s office. Will he take things too hard and harm himself? No, he’s not that vulnerable. He only needs some time to calm himself down. Caspian said to himself as though he wanted to have peace of mind.
After that, he quickly hailed a cab and told the taxi a few locations. He went to different places in the same cab to save time.
First, Caspian went to Larry’s house. However, he couldn’t enter it because the gate was locked. Although he could enter the house of Larry’s parents, Finnick and his wife told him that Larry had not visited them for a few days. They even asked if Caspian knew what Larry was up to recently. Caspian came up with a story as he dared not tell them what had actually happened.
Never Late, Never Away Chapter 1656
Caspian went to many places, including their favorite restaurant, gardens, and so on, yet there was still no sight of Larry. Given that he nearly went to all places in Marsingfill, even the cab driver couldn’t help but ask if something happened.
After searching Larry for two hours, he almost wanted to burst into tears. He felt that it was way more tiring than the military training that he went through. After all, mental exhaustion was more devastating than physical tiredness. Leaning against the headrest in the passenger’s seat, he covered his eyes with a hand while massaging his temples with the other.
“Young man, where should we go now? I’ve been to all of the places you told me.”
Caspian replied in a weary voice, “I don’t know. Just go straight.”
After going straight for less than two minutes, Caspian’s phone in his pocket suddenly rang. Thinking that it could be Larry’s call, he hastily picked it up.
“Hello, are you Caspian? Where are you? I’ve been looking for you for almost the entire night!”
Since it was a stranger’s voice, Caspian immediately felt that something wasn’t right. He glanced at the phone screen and confirmed that it was Larry’s number.
Why does he have Boss’s phone? Holding on to his curiosity, he calmed himself down and continued answering the phone, “Who are you? Why do you have my friend’s phone?”
“Your friend is dead drunk in my bar. When I asked him some questions, he didn’t answer me at all. Instead, he handed his phone to me and fell asleep right away. I don’t mind if he’s drunk, but he hasn’t paid me yet. After all, these few bottles of vodkas are quite expensive. Since you were the last one he called, I thought I should call you. Are you to pick him up? Otherwise, I’m going to call the police.”
Upon hearing it, Caspian immediately asked the driver to make a U-turn. “May I know where your bar is? I’ll be there right away. You don’t have to worry about the bill. Please don’t call the police.”
The stranger gave Caspian the address. It was a place where even Caspian, who knew the ins and outs of Marsingfill, wasn’t familiar with. Shortly afterward, the cab arrived at the bar.
After paying for the ride, Caspian realized that he only had two hundred left. Nevertheless, he didn’t think too much about it as the only thing in his mind now was to pick Larry up.
As soon as he entered the bar, he was overwhelmed by the deafening music. Since he didn’t hear any noise outside, he couldn’t help but feel impressed with the soundproof quality of the door.
Although the bar wasn’t cramped, it was crowded with many rich decadents, disheveled men, and women in revealing clothes and excessive makeup. It instantly gave him goosebumps.
After all, it was the first time that Caspian visited such a place. He was dazzled by the lights that kept changing colors. Eventually, he was lost in such a dimly lit and chaotic environment. When he felt increasingly uncomfortable, a few bartenders noticed him.
Soon, one of them asked if he was looking for someone and led him to Larry.
Finally, Caspian saw Larry lying on the brown bar counter listlessly. Caspian was certain that Larry wasn’t asleep as he was still shaking a wine bottle with one hand while holding a glass with the other. As Caspian came closer, Larry gulped down the wine in his glass.
Caspian rushed toward Larry to grab the wine bottle. It was only now that he saw a row of empty vodka bottles next to Larry.
“Put it down!” As far as Caspian remembered, Larry wasn’t good at drinking. He would only drink a little when he had to meet his clients. As such, Caspian was shocked to see that he drank so much, as though vodka was water.
As soon as Caspian sat next to Larry, he could feel an overpowering smell of alcohol.
On the other hand, Larry flashed Caspian a grin when their eyes met. However, he basically stuttered as he had too much vodka. Caspian couldn’t understand a single word but could tell that Larry was probably inviting him to drink together.
Never Late, Never Away Chapter 1657
Caspian was furious to see that his good friend-cum-boss became decadent. Unable to hold on to his anger, he grabbed the bottle from Larry and gulped down the remaining vodka.
“Ahem…” As he was choked, he coughed vigorously as though blood would spurt out from his mouth anytime. I really don’t understand how a bitter drink can drown our sorrows.
Meanwhile, Larry seemed to be gloating over it when Caspian was coughing. However, his body was shaking as though he would fall to the floor the next second. After Caspian put down the bottle, Larry realized that it was empty. The next moment, he stammered loudly, “Get me another bottle!”
This time, Caspian finally understood what Larry said. He immediately grabbed Larry’s hand and berated, “Do you want to drink more and die due to alcohol overdose? Do you think alcohol is just like water?”
Larry tilted his head and stared at Caspian like a drunkard. A few seconds later, he put on a wry smile and replied, “Yes, I want it!”
What do you want? Do you want to die? However, Caspian held his tongue. As they were even closer than blood brothers, Caspian couldn’t say such nasty things to Larry when he was drunk. As such, Caspian only stared at Larry silently. Even though Larry was drunk, he still remembered the things that troubled him.
Caspian was in a daze for quite some time before he recalled that there were many bottles of vodkas on the table. Since he couldn’t pay the bill with only two hundred in his pocket, he called Nancy and asked her to bring a debit card to the bar.
“Boss, do you know you look exactly like a drunk who has no home?” Although Caspian was talking to Larry, he seemed to be saying this to himself.
Meanwhile, Larry had sat straight when Caspian was calling Nancy. After Caspian finished, Larry gazed at him and said, “There’s no home. My home is gone long ago.”
Caspian felt a little heartbroken upon hearing it. Since Caspian couldn’t comfort Larry, he only patted Larry’s back to give him some insignificant moral support.
Larry had always been an overbearing figure both in business and on the battlefield. However, he seemed to have turned into a totally different man in the bar. In this world, only Joan could destroy this invincible man.
Caspian seldom talked behind someone’s back, particularly Larry, who was like his family member. Nevertheless, Caspian cursed Joan deep in his heart numerous times. He couldn’t understand why Larry kept giving Joan chances. Even more so, he had no idea why he was willing to be dead drunk for a woman like her.
As Nancy arrived, a bartender stood before Caspian, urging him to pay the bill. She rushed toward them and showed them the debit card. “Let me get the bill.”
The bartender took her card and left. Before Nancy asked what happened, she saw Larry lying on the table next to Caspian.
Meanwhile, Larry probably felt a lot better than before. At the very least, he stopped whining sobbingly and was lying silently.
As Larry was dead drunk, Caspian said to Nancy, “I think Boss can’t go back by himself. Besides, we can’t drive him to his parent’s house because they’ll be worried about him.
“Nancy, I think we should bring him back to our house. Look at him. He certainly can’t take care of himself now.”
Nonetheless, as soon as Larry heard that they were going back, he started struggling on the chair and murmured, “I can still drink. I’m not going back!”
Never Late, Never Away Chapter 1658
Given Caspian’s strength, it would be no problem for him to bear Larry’s weight. However, he was already getting a headache the minute he entered the rowdy bar with blasting music. Coupled with how much Larry was squirming, Caspian almost fell to the ground while helping him up.
Meanwhile, Nancy had noticed how much trouble Caspian was having, so she stepped forward and hooked one of Larry’s arms around her neck. Needless to say, it was a lot easier for Caspian with help from someone with a Taekwondo black belt. As he naturally took the other arm, they managed to drag the drunk man out.
It did not take long for them to help Larry into the car. But since Nancy drove here with a navigator, she had already forgotten the way back. Therefore, Caspian took the driver seat instead.
“Why did Larry drink so much? How did even you find out that he was here?” Nancy questioned the moment they were seated in the car.
“Who knew that Joan turned out to be someone like that? I can’t believe that we tried to keep her secret and even hid it from Larry. If only we revealed it to him sooner, he would not have assumed that we all lied to him and betrayed him. He probably wouldn’t have downed this much alcohol either,” she continued to grumble.
At that time, it was already past midnight, and there were lesser cars on the road. As though taking the opportunity to vent his anger, Caspian began to speed. He slammed the steering wheel with his left hand and growled, “This can’t do. I must take revenge for Boss.”
“Please slow down…” Nancy anxiously yelled as she felt the car accelerating. Then, she noticed the hand beside her twitching, so she snapped her head in its direction. Larry was mumbling something repeatedly while changing his sitting posture restlessly.
“Don’t do anything funny behind our backs, and don’t you dare lay a finger on Joan. I still have faith in her,” Nancy turned back to Caspian and defended Joan.
By then, Caspian had slowed down, but he was unconvinced. He reasoned, “Didn’t you see those photos? It may simply be a coincidence if we only had one photo. The second may be accidental too. Unfortunately, there are more than twenty pictures of her. Do you still think that she did nothing wrong?”
Firmly standing her ground, Nancy insisted, “Aren’t you curious about where these photos came from? Who and why do you think took them?”
“Seeing is believing, and we have already seen it twice. Don’t you think that’s enough evidence? I will be sure to investigate the source of those photos,” the man at the wheel replied after taking a moment to ponder over it.
Nancy kept quiet. Even though she believed Joan, she could not refute that ‘seeing is believing’. Glancing at the intoxicated man beside her and the driver who was releasing his anger behind the wheel, she decided that silence was the best choice in that situation.
As they drove, the scenery outside the window flew by in a blur. The ground reflected the dull moonlight, and it looked like the Earth was covered in a translucent veil that dyed the night sky into a mysterious color.
Miles away, Joan was holding onto her fork as she stared at the dishes prepared by Dustin. For some reason, she felt uneasy. She repeatedly poked her cheek with the back of her fork, and for a long time, she did not touch any of the food.
“Are you not hungry?” Dustin propped his hands on the table and asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”
Immediately, Joan scooped a bunch of vegetables and shoved it into her mouth. She forced a smile and mumbled with her mouth filled with food, “It’s delicious!”
The dishes were tasty, but she could not comprehend why she was feeling this troubled. There was a dull throbbing in her heart, and she felt an inexplicably bad premonition.
Although this was the first meal Dustin had ever cooked for Joan, she did not enjoy it as much as she expected. Like they were strangers at a college canteen eating together, they barely exchanged words across the dinner table. Clearly, it was an awkward situation, but they seemed unbothered as they mulled over the worries of their own.
On the other hand, Nancy was assisting Caspian to bring Larry into the house. After they moved him to the guest room, she hurriedly went to fill up a pail of warm water for Caspian to help Larry wash up. Following that, she picked out a shirt Caspian rarely wore and passed it to him.
Never Late, Never Away Chapter 1659
Thankfully, Larry stopped fidgeting ever since he got into the car. Even so, they still met some difficulty before they finally managed to tuck him into bed. As he heard the incoherent strings of words that Larry occasionally blurted, Caspian thought his boss had a bad dream in his sleep.
The next morning, Larry woke up as usual, yet he felt that something was off. His last memory was drinking at a bar, so how did he end up here?
The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was the sky blue ceiling above him. Naturally, he started to scan his surroundings. He felt fine initially. However, as soon as he tilted his head, it felt as though his soul had left his body. All he felt was a nasty headache and a heartache now.
I felt fine last night while drinking and did not feel intoxicated then. Why am I having such a bad hangover?
The unfamiliar furnishing around him only confirmed his suspicions that he was not in his own house. Instantly, he tried to stand up while using the bed as his support. To his surprise, he realized he was in a different set of clothes from last night. Did someone bring me here and help me change yesterday?
By chance, he also noticed his mobile phone placed on the bedside table. Alas, the screen was black, like it was turned off or out of battery. Frustrated, he ruffled his fingers through his hair, desperately trying to piece together the fragmented memories he had of the previous night.
Squeak. Suddenly, someone pushed open the door, and it turned out to be Nancy, who was holding onto a bowl of soup. “Oh Larry, you are awake.”
“What… am I doing here?” Larry stammered.
“You had a little too much to drink yesterday, so Caspian and I spent some time before we found you at a bar. Following that, we took you here, and Caspian helped you to change out of your dirty clothes.”
Putting on a tough act, Larry got out of bed and muttered, “I’m fine. Both of you don’t have to worry about me.”
Nancy sighed and held the bowl up to the man in front of her. “Larry, you were dead drunk last night. Have some of this hangover soup. Otherwise, your headache will persist throughout the entire day.”
Before he could respond, Nancy forced him to take the bowl and went out to look for Caspian. Left alone in the room, Larry stared blankly at his reflection in the soup.
He could still remember the photos he saw the previous afternoon and the details of everything that happened at that time. The memories made him feel suffocated, and his throat felt hot as though it was on fire. In the heat of the moment, he slammed the soup onto the table, and its contents splashed everywhere. A few drops even scalded his hand. Unknown to him, a few drops also landed on the table, looking like raindrops that were falling on the surface of a river.
“Boss, you’re awake.” Caspian warily poked his head from behind the door like a spy who was checking the situation out.
Hearing no response, he let himself into the room and quietly closed the door behind him. He sat on a chair facing Larry, and they sat there in silence for a long time.
Time went by, and the hangover soup that Nancy prepared had already turned cold. Caspian finally mustered up the courage to speak. “Boss, I’m sorry for hiding things from you previously. Actually, I…”
Larry raised his head and looked at Caspian with disappointment. He interrupted his bodyguard, “Is there any point to talk about this now?” At this stage, he felt helpless, like he was at the bottom of the sea with no one who could save him.
Unsure of what to do, Caspian stammered, “What are you planning to do then?”
“I have no clue.”
It was four simple words, yet this was the first time Caspian had ever heard Larry say something along these lines. From his memory, his boss was a fearless individual who had countermeasures for every situation, and Caspian did not expect to see a day where Larry would be as helpless as he was now.
For most men out there, it would be hard to forgive someone who betrayed you. In particular, if the traitor were to be someone you were close to, as it would be a fatal blow.
Trembling, Caspian cautiously probed, “Then…should I continue to look into this matter?” He was afraid that he might touch the wrong nerve if he said something wrong.
Never Late, Never Away Chapter 1660
In response, Larry shook his head and said nothing. Every time Larry remained silent, Caspian only felt more resentful towards Joan. Did he drink a potion instead of the alcohol yesterday? He was hysterical the previous day, but he seems calm and reserved today.
“Boss, you are abusing your health like that. From as far as I can remember, you have never had this much alcohol before. Here, let me reheat the hangover soup while you lay down and get some rest in the meantime,” Caspian suggested.
Despite what Caspian had said, Larry did not move an inch. He was looking out in the distance and watching the greenery outside the window. Seemingly deep in thought, it was difficult for anyone to get through to him.
Caspian could only sigh and leave the room with the half-filled bowl of soup. To his surprise, he saw Nancy hiding behind the door when he went out. Grabbing her arm, he quietly dragged her away.
“How did it go? Did he open up to you? How about his state of emotions?” Nancy shot him with a flurry of questions.
With a bitter smile, Caspian stated, “He’s doing more than okay, and there are no traces of the heartbreak he had last night. However, he seemed to have lost his spirit. Earlier, he barely responded to whatever I said.”
This made Nancy worried. “Oh? Is it that serious? I guess he is really devastated by what Joan has done.”
“He is not just devastated… it broke him. I think he has lost his willpower to even live on.” Abruptly, Caspian thought of the photos taken, and he hurriedly ran to the study to enter his email address and search for the sender ‘S’ on his laptop.
Curious about what was going on, Nancy followed him into the room and read the email sent by ‘S’. Sure enough, the person left nothing but his nickname in it. Caspian was baffled by who it might be and what to do next, but Nancy stepped in to take the lead. She smacked her forehead and exclaimed, “I know what to do, the IP! Search for this IP address right now, and we can trace it back to him!”
“Oh yes, why did I not think of that?” At the speed of light, Caspian’s fingers began dancing across the keyboard. It did not take him long before he found the IP address of the sender.
However, how could it be this easy for them to track the anonymous sender down? Even though Caspian dug out the IP address, he realized it was different for every photo sent. How could the person exist in more than twenty over places?
Nancy and Caspian exchanged glances. Was this how they were going to end their investigation? Messaging his temples, Caspian closed his laptop.
“Why would someone use these photos to blackmail others? Caspian, do you think that the perpetrator is doing this for money?” Nancy thought out loud.
Glancing at her, Caspian calmly explained, “No, that’s highly unlikely. If he is after money, he will take these photos to Joan instead because she would likely buy them to protect her marriage with Boss. Besides, the mastermind can only maximize his self-interest by going to Joan, and not Boss.”
“So he is not motivated by money…” Nancy pinched her chin and continued, “Is he trying to break up their relationship?”
Rather than replying to her hypothesis directly, Caspian threw her another question, “Nancy, have you ever considered the possibility that Joan might have really done something to let Boss down? As you know, his company has been closely monitored by various media outlets, and all its stocks and related products are heavily affected by Boss’ every move. In the case where they expose the couple’s emotional discord, do you know how much impact it would have on the company’s stock prices?”
It was one of the rare moments where Nancy did not argue with him. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Caspian finally revealed the things he had been keeping mum. “Nancy, you insisted that you are certain about Joan’s character and her love for Boss. However, in the face of so many photos and evidence, have you ever asked yourself if you truly believe in Joan’s story? Has it never crossed your mind that she was only doing it to please Boss?”