Zhen-Zhen woke up at the feel of a warm hand caressing her face. When she opened her eyes, she found out that she's already lying in a soft bed. Someone was stroking her hair.
She blinked her eyes to clear her vision and turned to her side only to see Alice looking at her worriedly.
"Lillie, my daughter, you are finally awake. Are you okay? How do you feel?" Alice asked her anxiously.
Zhen-Zhen was confused for a moment. The last thing she remembered was that she's in Clifford's house. She just got out of the comfort room and about to say goodbye to Clifford when suddenly she blacked out. She couldn't remember what happened next after she fainted.
"Ma? What happened to me? Where are we?"
Alice helped Zhen-Zhen to sit up. She let her lean on the headboard of the bed before answering her queries.
"This is your room, at our place, don't you remember?"
Zhen-Zhen nodded her head. Her mind was still hazy the moment she woke up, that's why she had not recognized her room right away. But how come she's here? As far as she remembered she's still in Clifford's house when she fainted.
As if Alice had read her mind, she spoke up to explain to Zhen-Zhen what happened.
"A handsome guy dropped you home. He said he is your friend and his name is Clifford. He said you suddenly fainted and got drunk after drinking a glass of wine. You silly girl, don't drink if you can't handle it," Alice slightly scold her but there was a hint of worry in her voice.
Zhen-Zhen became more confused when she heard that. She was certain that the wine had nothing to do with it. She just drank a glass of wine and there's no way she would get drunk easily and end up fainting. Wine only has a low alcohol content compared to beer and other liquors.
Furthermore, she was also wondering how Clifford found their home. She had not told him about her parents' address.
Little did she know, Clifford already knew her parents' address because he did a background check on her. He had gathered enough information about her and about her parents.
"Ma, did you call my phone and tell Clifford our address?" Zhen-Zhen asked her quizzically.
Alice shook her head. "No, we didn't call you since you already informed us that you were coming home already. Your father and I were waiting for you. When a car stopped in front of our gate, we knew that you were inside the car."
"We are surprised that a handsome guy alighted from the car while carrying you. You were unconscious so we got worried. We thought something bad happened to you, it turned out you just fainted after getting drunk," Alice sighed deeply while looking at Zhen-Zhen helplessly.
Zhen-Zhen furrowed her brows upon hearing that. As far as she knew Clifford was injured as he sprained his ankle during the motorcycle accident on the road.
'He's injured. How come he was able to carry me just fine?' Zhen-Zhen marveled at that thought. She was now feeling a little bit suspicious about Clifford.
"Your father is cooking a hangover soup for you. Pam-Pam and Famo are in the living room, playing. I didn't let them in afraid that they might disturb your sleep," Alice informed her.
FaMo wanted to watch over Zhen-Zhen and stay by her side a while ago but Alice sent him away together with Pam-Pam.
Zhen-Zhen just nodded her head absentmindedly. She was still thinking of what happened to her in Clifford's house. This was the first time she experienced that. Though she had slept for several hours she felt like her energy was drained.
'What's wrong with me nowadays? I can't understand this feeling,' Zhen-Zhen thought to herself.
After a few seconds, Zhen-Zhen gasped as she remembered a certain someone. Tristan's angry face popped up in her mind.
"Ma, where's my phone? I have to talk to Tristan," She asked her in her panicking voice.
"Wait dear, let me get it for you. Your bag is in the living room," Alice said before standing up to get Zhen-Zhen's bag.
When the door was opened, FaMo immediately entered and approached Zhen-Zhen. He was also worried about her.
"Zhen-Zhen, how are you? Do you feel unwell?" FaMo asked her while moving closer to her.
"I'm fine now, FaMo. You don't have to worry about me," Zhen-Zhen reassured him. She immediately scooped FaMo in her arms and cuddled him. She began petting his head.
"Hmm, By the way, Zhen-Zhen, where did you meet the guy who sent you home tonight? He also looks like a rich and wealthy man just like Tristan. Aside from that, he is also good-looking. Is your husband aware that you have a handsome friend like him?"
FaMo was curious because he knew that Tristan was a jealous man. And the guy who's with Zhen-Zhen a while ago looked like a potential competitor.
Unconsciously, FaMo had begun to worry about how Tristan would feel if ever Zhen-Zhen got closer with other men. It seemed like FaMo had started to root for Tristan.
Zhen-Zhen heaved a deep sigh when she remembered Tristan's reaction when he found out about Clifford.
"He just found out today.FaMo… Tristan got mad," Zhen-Zhen mumbled. She felt like crying.
FaMo just patted Zhen-Zhen using his paw while he listened to her as Zhen-Zhen told FaMo about her last conversation with Tristan.
After hearing her out, FaMo sighed helplessly. "I'm not surprised that he reacted like that. Don't take it to the heart, Zhen-Zhen. I could understand his feelings."
"He just got mad because he was worried about you and he was definitely jealous. Imagine, you are alone with a guy in his place. Don't do it again, Zhen-Zhen," FaMo explained to her.
Zhen-Zhen nodded her head in agreement. She won't do it again. She understood Tristan's feelings after hearing FaMo's explanation.
'Tsk tsk tsk. That fool got mad and jealous after knowing that Zhen-Zhen was with another guy. I bet he would become furious and might go wild once he learned how handsome that Clifford guy was. Tristan will feel more threatened though he has nothing to worry about since Zhen-Zhen is faithful to him,' FaMo thought to himself as he analyzed things.
"Don't be sad, Zhen-Zhen. Tristan will not get mad at you for too long. Just explained to him everything, okay?" FaMo softly said, consoling Zhen-Zhen.
Soon, Alice returned to her room, carrying a bowl of hot soup. Thomas was following her behind. He was the one holding Zhen-Zhen's bag.
"Take this hot soup first before you take a quick shower. I will prepare the bathtub for you, dear, and fill it with warm water," Alice said, putting the tray and the soup on Zhen-Zhen's bedside table.
Thomas handed her bag and sat down on the edge of her bed. "Do you feel better now, my dear daughter?"
"Yes, Pa. I'm sorry for making you both worry about me." Zhen-Zhen smiled at her foster father with an apologetic look on her face.
"Don't apologize, dear. Hmmm. It's just natural for a parent to worry about his child. Here, have a taste of this soup first."
Zhen-Zhen finished the bowl of soup her foster father had prepared for her. Alice and Thomas already left her room to give her privacy. It's already 11:00 pm. the husband and wife would go to bed to sleep.
FaMo and Pam-Pam stayed in her room while Zhen-Zhen took her warm bath. She felt more relaxed after dipping her body in the warm water.
When she got out of the bathroom, she immediately checked her phone. It got empty so she charged it before taking a shower.
When she turned on the phone, 30 missed calls and 40 messages from Tristan greeted her sight. Zhen-Zhen bit her lower lip upon seeing those missed calls and messages.
"I'm doomed!"
*******
Meanwhile, in the meeting room of the Overseas' branch of the Heavenly Star Enterprise, the staff could feel the chilly atmosphere because of their CEO.
Tristan's foul mood was affecting everyone. They were scared to interact with him today as he was surrounded by a frightening aura. Only Matthew had the guts to approach him.
Tristan vented out his frustration on the staff and Matthew, scolding them for no reason. They didn't know what they had done wrong.
Tristan seemed like a very different person today. Just this morning he was in a very good mood. They wondered what happened that made him become so grumpy today.
During the entire meeting, they noticed that their CEO was just looking at his phone with his dark expression. It seemed like he was waiting for someone to contact him.
He couldn't concentrate during the meeting. He was not paying attention nor listening to the speaker and presenter but they still continued the meeting.
Fortunately, Matthew was there. He was the one giving them feedback from time to time.
After a while, Tristan could no longer bear it. He stood up and left the meeting room in a hurry.
Everyone was shocked and no one dared to stop him. Matthew also stood up to follow him.
But before leaving the conference room, he told everyone to adjourn the meeting. The meeting would just resume tomorrow.
Matthew dashed out of the meeting room, trying to catch up to Tristan.
"Tristan! Wait!" He called him out. "Where are you going?"
Tristan didn't stop on his track but he responded to Matthew.
"Matthew! Book me a ticket now! I'm going home!"
"Eh? What?! You're going home?!!"
Th𝗲 most uptodate novels are published on free(w)ebnov(e)l.𝒄𝒐𝙢