Chapter 188: Chapter 186: What the hell! Are you a pig-brain? (10)
Ethan Ellsworth was in high spirits. "Of course, I’m open. Your Boss Ellsworth is a golden bachelor now. Any high-quality woman is welcome to chase me."
"So, Boss Ellsworth, do you have any requirements?"
Ethan Ellsworth sat down, poured himself half a glass of red wine, and drank leisurely. "Of course I do. First, she has to be easy on the eyes. Second, she needs to have a chest and an ass. Third, she can’t be too smart—I don’t like women who are too smart. Fourth, she has to be steadfast in her feelings. No wafflers."
"Well, Boss Ellsworth, what do you think of me?"
Ethan Ellsworth shot her a glance. "You? Well, you’ve already passed the second requirement, and you’re borderline for the first. You definitely meet the third one. But you fail the fourth. Don’t you have a boyfriend?"
Chloe Marshall immediately said, "I don’t have a boyfriend."
"Oh, right. I made you break up with him. What, you want me to... *use the casting couch* on you?" His slender fingers gently swirled the wine glass, the red liquid sloshing with the movement.
Chloe Marshall looked down, fidgeting with her hands. "If that’s what you want, Boss Ellsworth, I’m willing."
This was probably the boldest thing Chloe Marshall had ever said.
Ethan Ellsworth didn’t reply. He just watched her quietly. Chloe Marshall waited for what felt like an eternity, but when she heard nothing, her heart sank.
When she finally looked up again, her eyes easily met his, which seemed to be drifting and unsteady.
"Dummy, when did you start liking me?"
Such a blunt question, it felt like a heinous accusation.
Chloe Marshall remembered when she first started as his assistant, the first thing he did was warn her.
’Never fall in love with him.’ He didn’t need an assistant whose eyes were constantly fixed on him. And now, she had completely forgotten. ’Is this the price of being impulsive?’
Once Chloe Marshall had said it, there was no taking it back.
But she suddenly felt she had made a mistake.
So, she said nothing.
"Hm? I asked you a question, dummy."
Chloe Marshall’s heart clenched. She suddenly looked up and laughed. "Boss Ellsworth, I was just kidding! Okay, you should get some rest. I’m going back to bed too."
Hearing this, the corner of Ethan Ellsworth’s mouth twitched. "Dummy, you dare mess with me?!"
Chloe Marshall stood up. "Boss Ellsworth, you mess with me all the time. Have you forgotten?"
"How have I messed with you?"
Chloe Marshall said, "Have you forgotten? When I first started, you asked me if I had ever seen *Journey to the West*. I said I hadn’t finished it, and you told me you’d tell me a story from it. But what was it you actually told me? You’ve forgotten, haven’t you!"
Ethan Ellsworth put his wine glass on the table. "What? That was ages ago, and you still remember it."
"You said there was a part in *Journey to the West* where Sawyer was trying to borrow the Palm Leaf Fan from Princess Iron Fan, and the Bull Demon King happened to be coming home from his mistress’s place. When he got to the door, he heard Sawyer’s voice saying, ’Sister-in-law, does that feel good?’ Then Princess Iron Fan yelled, ’It hurts! It hurts so much! Come out, quick!’ Then Sawyer said, ’If I don’t make it hurt, you won’t know how amazing I am!’ And Princess Iron Fan finally pleaded, ’I know how amazing you are, okay?! Can you please just come out?’ To which Sawyer replied, ’Alright, open your mouth and I’m coming out now.’" After reciting all this, Chloe Marshall demanded, "That’s what you told me, wasn’t it, Boss Ellsworth?!"
Ethan Ellsworth roared with laughter. "I saw that online one time when I was browsing. Some genius wrote it, and I just adapted it a little. Do you want to know how the Bull Demon King reacted when he heard it?"
Chloe Marshall pouted. "You never told me the ending. I’m guessing the Bull Demon King went crazy with rage!"
Ethan Ellsworth wagged his index finger. "NONO! That’s not what happened. In the end, the Bull Demon King thought about his own mistress, so he just left the divorce papers at the door and walked away, heartbroken."
Chloe was mortified. "But that’s when Sawyer was in Princess Iron Fan’s stomach! How could he hear that and think they were having an affair?"
Ethan Ellsworth glanced at her. "Go to sleep, dummy."
"Okay. Good night, Boss Ellsworth."
Chloe Marshall turned and left.
Once outside the door, her steps faltered. There was an ache in her chest.
She couldn’t imagine what would have happened if she had impulsively told him the truth just now.
It probably would have become much harder just to see him again.
Tonight, she had still been too impulsive.
Chloe Marshall returned to her room, her mind a mess. That night he had slept beside her, that night he had held her for the first time... She would never forget that feeling.
She walked out onto the balcony. The night view of the film city had quieted down from its earlier clamor.
Leaning on the railing, she heard a sound coming from room 805.
Chloe Marshall carefully tiptoed to get a better look and was surprised to see the director, Cecelia Willow, in Ryan’s room.
Seeing this, Chloe Marshall immediately went back into her room, her face burning.
She left her room and knocked on Ethan Ellsworth’s door.
"Boss Ellsworth!"
Seeing her panic, Ethan Ellsworth thought something was wrong.
"What’s wrong?"
"Come with me."
Ethan Ellsworth closed his door and followed her into her room.
When they reached the balcony, the sound was gone.
"What are we looking at?"
Chloe Marshall pointed at 805. "I was just standing on the balcony. I heard Ryan and our director... doing *it*."
Ethan Ellsworth immediately understood what she meant. He chuckled and patted her on the head. "You heard wrong."
Chloe Marshall shook her head. "I saw them. It was both of them."
Ethan Ellsworth didn’t want her to know about such messy things, so he insisted, "I said you heard wrong, so you heard wrong."
But just as he finished speaking, the sounds started up again, completely unrestrained and unconcealed. They were audible even from the doorway, which meant it was happening right by the window.
"Boss Ellsworth, see? I told you I wasn’t mistaken."
Ethan Ellsworth rubbed his nose and stuck his head out. The lights in the next room were off, but the voices definitely belonged to those two.
He felt an involuntary tightening in his lower abdomen. Chloe Marshall was leaning over the edge of the balcony, craning her neck to look next door.
In the dim light, her face was flushed, tinged with a different sort of color that was rather unsettling to see.
He swallowed, his gaze flickering. "Go to sleep early. Stop listening. What’s there to be curious about? You’ll experience it sooner or later."
"I won’t."
Ethan Ellsworth was confused. "Why not? You don’t plan on getting married in the future? Once you’re married, you and your husband will—"
He couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence.
"Me and my husband will what?"
Ethan Ellsworth spat out, "What the hell! Are you dense?"
"You’re the one who wasn’t clear, and now you’re blaming me," Chloe Marshall muttered.
"Chloe Marshall." He looked at her seriously.
"Hm?"
He suddenly asked, "When do you plan on getting married? As your superior, I need to be prepared so I can find a new assistant in advance."
