A Fateful Antidote

She paused, then quickly caught up with Wilfred and moved closer to him. Just as Wilfred was about to get into the car, her eyes caught a glimpse of a bright light reflecting off the rear window of the car. The light grew larger. Lorry turned and jumped up in 0.1 second.

Wilfred heard the slight movement behind him. He looked over and asked, “What’s going on?”

Lorry stood still, staring in the direction of the second floor window, which was already empty. She looked at Wilfred calmly, “Nothing.”

Wilfred hesitated for a moment. He looked at her face and lowered his eyes, then got into the car.

As Lorry sat in the passenger seat, Robert asked, “Young master, are we going back to Green City International?”

“Back to Yi Jian Cottage.”

Yi Jian Cottage was in a quiet part of a busy district. It used to be an idle old quadrangle dwellings of the Spencer family. After renovation, it became Wilfred’s home in the city.

On the way, Wilfred kept watching Lorry through the rear-view mirror. Occasionally she frowned, but most of the time she was looking ahead or thinking about something.

An SUV was already parked at the door of Yi Jian Cottage. Seeing Wilfred’s car coming, the man in the SUV quickly got out and walked towards Wilfred, “Are you hurt?”

Wilfred closed the door and said to him, “I’m not. Go in and talk.”

At the same time, Lorry got out of the car. She looked at this simple, Zen-style courtyard. With grey bricks and white walls, it was clean, simple and elegant. But she didn’t like it.

Ms Lee had said that a courtyard was a window to a house. Whether it was winding or not, with pavilions and plants or not, it should be warm. That was why she always painted her gardens with distinct seasons, with flowers blooming in spring, trees growing green in summer, rains falling in golden autumn and leaves falling in winter.

But here, in the huge courtyard, she felt so cold and lonely.

Wilfred turned to see Lorry still standing in the courtyard and said to her, “Come in.

She withdrew her gaze. As soon as she entered the room, she shivered. What she saw was a hall with very high ceilings, giving it a feeling of emptiness. All around her were dark coloured furnishings. Even the sofa, the tea table and the floor were made of dark wood in a classic style. It was meticulous, but detached from reality.

If someone wanted to remake the TV series Liao Zhai* (a TV series based on an ancient book about ghosts), there was no need to rearrange the scene. He could just start shooting.

As Lorry looked around, Wilfred said to Dr Jiang, “Go and prepare”.

Dr Jiang replied and took the medical box to one side. Wilfred led Lorry into a side room. The room looked like a study with a leather sofa, a large bookshelf and a wooden desk, all in dark colours.

As soon as they came in, Wilfred said to Lorry, “Get undressed.”

“Huh?”

Before Lorry could understand, Wilfred continued, “Let me see where it hurts.”

Lorry was slightly startled, “How do you know?”

Wilfred stepped forward and looked down at her from two steps away, “No matter how tough you’ve been in front of the rest of the Spencer family, you don’t have to be tough in front of me. Pull your clothes down and let me check the injury.”

Lorry pursed her lips and did not move. She was wearing a white sports t-shirt with a zip and a sports vest underneath, although she did not think Wilfred would be interested in her, he was a man after all.

Seeing that she did not move, Wilfred said, “That man outside is my personal doctor. Before he comes in, I want to confirm the location of your injury.”

Lorry grabbed the zip head. Wilfred’s tone seemed to have a strong sense of oppression that left no room for questioning.

She pulled the zip down over her chest. The light-coloured sports vest was stained with a little blood. Wilfred already knew where the wound was.

He frowned. The wound was about two  inches below her collarbone. Although the bloodstain was not obvious, there must have been some foreign object embedded in her flesh. And the spot was a bit sensitive.

“Take off your T-shirt and lie down on the sofa,” he said after a moment’s thought.

Then he went out and dialed Kevin’s phone, “Kevin, buy some lingerie before you come back.”

Kevin was still in the venue. When he heard Wilfred’s words, his chin almost fell off. He opened his eyes wide and stammered, “Who am I buying it for?”

“…”

There was complete silence.

Kevin asked timidly, “What’s the size?”

No one around Wilfred was a woman. He had never felt that this was a problem. But now he found that it really was a disturbing thing.

“It’s up to you,” he said lightly and hung up.

Kevin was in a daze with his phone in his hand. Paul crossed his chest and looked at Kevin, “What did the boss say to you? You look like you are losing your mind.”

Kevin replied mechanically, “The boss told me to buy some lingerie.”

Paul put on the same face.

On the other side, Dr Jiang had prepared everything and put it all on a tray. He came out and asked, “Where is she?”

Wilfred said to him, “The wound is not that big. Let me do it.”

Dr Jiang looked at him in shock and reminded him, “But she is a woman”.

Wilfred gritted his teeth, “I know.”

Staring at the sharp tweezers and scalpels on the tray, Dr Jiang looked tense, “If you cannot control yourself, she will be very dangerous.”

Wilfred was silent for a moment, then spoke with a calm face, “I won’t hurt her.”

Doctor Jiang still wanted to say no. But Wilfred lowered his voice, “Let me try. If I can’t, I’ll call you in.”

When he had finished speaking, Wilfred took the tray from Dr Jiang. Before he left, Dr Jiang said worriedly, “If you feel uncomfortable, you must come out immediately. How about I go in with you? Just to be on the safe side. ”

“No need.” Wilfred looked at him and added, “It is inconvenient.”

Then he pushed the door open and stepped inside. Dr Jiang stood outside, pacing and looking worried.