I Am a Scorpio(5)

15

"Joel, ask your classmate to continue chatting with her and drag her. If not, he can give her a monetary gift. He must keep chatting with her, no matter what. Then we will go to Mark's house to see if they are at home and make a surprise attack." I stood up and walked out with my bag in my hand.

Joel caught up with me from behind and took my hand. "I can beat Mark. Don't worry."

He was serious and didn't show any signs of joking. It seemed that he was going to support me.

My heart was warm, and I let him hold my hand.

When we arrived at Mark's house, the lights were switched on inside. We could faintly hear Mark and Xenia quarreling.

It would be easy to settle this issue when they were at home.

Then, I asked Joel to ask the supervisor. The latter said that he was still chatting with that person.

It was even easier to handle the situation.

Just as I was about to knock on the door, I thought of something and took out the spare key from the fire hydrant in the corridor.

This was my habit. I didn't expect Mark to still store the key here.

I didn't care if I was trespassing.

I snapped my teeth and opened the door to rush in. Mark wore an apron and cooked in the kitchen. His face was full of grievances and resentment.

Xenia was lying on the couch and playing with her phone.

Joel moved quickly. He grabbed Xenia's phone and opened the software running in the background of the phone. Sure enough, that WhatsApp was opened in the app.

"Are you two insane? You are trespassing. I'll call the police!" Xenia rushed over to grab the phone.

I stood in front of Joel to shield him and called the police calmly in front of her.

Then, while she was looking astonished, I told the police, "Someone spread my private photos without my permission. Please come and deal with them."

After giving the address, I hung up the phone.

Mark came over with a puzzled look. Just as he was about to ask me something, I slapped him in the face. I felt it was not enough, so I slapped him again.

"Delete all the photos of me that you're still keeping. Do you hear me?" I said.

He came back to his senses and seemed to realize what was going on. He raised his hand and slapped Xenia in the face, roaring, "Who the hell did you send it to?"

I wondered what that was supposed to mean, and if they were trying to blame each other.

I sneered and watched Xenia fight with Mark. Joel took my hand and protected me by his side.

When the police came to knock on the door, they finally stopped.

After telling the police everything that had happened, Joel's supervisor also rushed over.

The chat history on the two phones was hard evidence.

And Mark's testimony, as Xenia's boyfriend, had left Xenia no room for defending herself.

I was not moved by Mark's sudden help.

I just sighed at the fact that he was such a bad boyfriend toward Xenia.

After our statements had been taken, I said to the police, "I don't accept settling this matter in private, officer."

Finally, Xenia apologized to me and got fined 75 dollars. She was also detained for ten days.

But I was not very satisfied. I told Joel about her fake academic qualifications in front of her again.

Joel covered his mouth with exaggeration. "Isn't this too much? I'll tell the HR department right now and ask her to investigate it carefully. Oh, I also have to inform the legal department. This is subject to legal liability, after all."

Xenia was so angry that she couldn't speak and only cried desperately.

Mark was about to say something but stopped.

I rolled my eyes at him and said, "You have to apologize to me on your Instagram. All of our friends think I dumped you and that I have a personality problem..."

Joel whispered to me, "It's true that you dumped him."

I clicked my tongue. "Although I dumped you, I didn't do anything wrong to hurt you. Instead, you hurt me. Please apologize to me publicly and never disturb my life again."

Previously, I could bear it because I always felt that I was also wrong. I thought it was because I had poor taste in men. As for Xenia, I had no evidence to prove that she hurt me.

Now, I couldn't endure it anymore.

They destroyed my image in front of Joel and almost ruined my career.

I couldn't tolerate it.

"Angel..." Mark spoke timidly.

I quickly interrupted him, "Please call me Angeline or Ms. Ellis."

Joel let out a soft chuckle. Apparently, he had a hard time holding back his laughter.

"I was wrong," Mark said with reddened eyes.

"Post it on Instagram. The main point is to explain that you don't understand the boundaries during your relationship. You hurt me, and then you are dumped by me." I smiled politely. "You can also refuse, so I'll trouble the police again and say that you also spread my private photos. How about that? I'm afraid you'll lose your job if this matter spreads to your company, right?"

I added, "By the way, it must be visible to all people for more than three days! Every day, you must take a screenshot of the likes and comments and send it to me."

He smiled bitterly. "Angeline, you are so ruthless."

It was not elegant to have fallout with someone, but it was so satisfying.

16

Joel's supervisor understood all of this and said that he appreciated my vigorous working style.

At the thought of him seeing my sexy and pretentious photos, I was so ashamed that I wanted to find a hole in which to hide.

Luckily, I didn't listen to Mark. I chose a more conservative style rather than taking bolder photos.

Joel noticed my embarrassment and hurriedly took me away.

It was already midnight when we got home.

I slumped on the couch in a complicated mood.

Joel thought I was worried about the bidding, so he comforted me. "You've already cleared things up. Don't worry. Are you hungry? I'll make you something to eat, okay?"

I suddenly got my spirit up. "Joel, your classmate said I'm the girl you liked, right?"

Joel's face turned red in an instant.

When I was about to continue making my move, he suddenly took out a pink folder from his briefcase and gave it to me.

I took it over and found that it was his physical examination report, resume, bank statement, social security card, and ID card inside the folder.

My first reaction was to question whether this man was applying for a credit card or buying insurance.

"Angel, I'm ready. Do you think I can pursue you?" Joel's Adam's apple rolled. His tone was very nervous. "I've wanted to tell you since a long time ago, but the ID card was delayed... I've liked you for a very long time."

"Since when?" I held the folder, and my eyes were hot and swollen.

"Since the first day that I became your colleague and you greeted me in a floral dress."

Tears rolled down my cheeks as I choked, "I forgot..."

He chuckled, his eyes glimmering. "I remembered."

He took out a ring from the inner pocket of the suit and looked at me with a blazing gaze.

Before he could speak, I had already reached out my hand.

In our relationship, it was always him who had been putting in effort silently.

He helped me find a house, changed his job in advance because he was worried about being in an office romance, and helped me out of my gloomy life with his meticulous care.

In that case, I shall be the one who should take the final step toward him.

Joel's Extra

My name is Joel Walker.

I might be a hopeless romantic.

From the first time I saw Angeline, I felt my heart, which had been still for over 20 years, become inexplicably restless.

That day was my first day of work at the company. As an old employee, she was responsible for leading me to be familiar with the company.

I still remembered that she was wearing a light-colored floral dress with fluffy and soft curly hair hanging loosely behind her back, and her faint fresh and sweet perfume scent permeated my nose when she was walking around.

After spending the whole day together, my deepest impression of her in my mind was that she loved to smile.

When we got off work, she stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window and turned around to smile at me. "The skylight during dusk is the most beautiful because it means that I can get off work soon.

The clouds in the sky were dyed a fiery red, and my heart started beating violently at that moment.

From then on, I fell in love with the sunset.

But I didn't expect her to have a boyfriend. I felt sad because of that for a long time.

I struggled internally with myself every day. I always wondered if I could steal her from her boyfriend, and if so, how should I do it. Other than that, I also contemplated if I could make her happy. I thought I'd better try my best to shine first to see if I can attract her.

After competing for the title of outstanding employee many times, I realized Angeline didn't care who won the title, as long as it was not herself.

When I received the award and looked at her affectionately, everyone could see it except for her, as she didn't notice anything.

I sighed.

I was extremely excited when she just broke up with her boyfriend.

It seemed that I had become a restless teenager again.

Knowing that she was looking for a house, I quickly introduced the house next to mine to her.

Actually, the previous tenant, who was staying next door, was my cousin, Dylan Porter.

In order for Dylan to move away, I paid a higher price to rent a new house for him in a better location.

After Angeline moved here, I made a lot of plans eagerly.

Yet, I didn't dare to start carrying out my plans.

I had never been in a relationship before. I was afraid that I would cross the line and scare her.

Plus, at that time, she had just broken up, and she was in a particularly depressed condition. She was still fine at work and relied on her will to hold herself up forcefully. As soon as she got off work, I saw her withered like a plant that had been squeezed dry.

I felt sorry for her, but I didn't know what to do.

On the weekend, I was so worried that she was alone at home, so I fabricated a lame excuse to ask her to come to Dylan's home to tutor him in Further Mathematics.

Fortunately, she agreed.

After a show of attentiveness, I felt that she didn't seem to be disgusted by me.

So I went further and asked her out to eat stew together.

But we had never expected that we would meet her ex-boyfriend in the mall's elevator.

Also, we met her ex-boyfriend's current girlfriend there, too.

I was nervous and excited at that moment.

I was nervous because I couldn't embarrass Angeline when the four of us were in the same space.

I was excited because her ex-boyfriend had a new girlfriend, and there was no way they could get back together again.

That woman said, "What a coincidence, Angel. Is this actually your boyfriend?"

I noticed Angeline was in a weird mood after hearing that.

After brainstorming in my mind, I, the wiser, figured it out.

The point of that woman's sentence was the word "actually."

When Angeline's ex-boyfriend bumped into me before, he suspected Angeline had been with me for a long time, and that Angeline had cheated on him. At that moment, if Angeline didn't explain, then Angeline would be admitting to the accusation.

It was simply her ex-boyfriend's scheming idea.

He was just bullying Angeline, who was not good at expressing herself, was shy, and didn't like to hold things against someone.

But I was different. At that moment, I thought of a wonderful idea.

I asked Angeline right in front of the other two people in the elevator, "Angeline, I've liked you for a very long time. Can I pursue you?"

I chuckled internally. These statements could let them know that Angeline was excellent and didn't cheat on others. Besides, these remarks could also let Angeline know my feelings.

When Angeline and I were the only ones left in the elevator, she asked me if I was just saying that to help her provoke Mark.

When I summoned up the courage to tell her that I didn't do it for that purpose, another thought occurred to me. I wondered what we should do if the people in our company found out that she had agreed to be with me, and we had become a sweet couple.

After all, the company didn't allow office romances. Angeline would be very uneasy then.

I also wondered what I should do if she might want to agree with me, but she was worried that the company would not allow an office romance.

After thinking for a while, I decided to be safer and resigned first.

After resigning, I began to look for an opportunity to express my love. Unexpectedly, Angeline's ex-boyfriend suddenly appeared and even brought his mother along to pester Angeline.

They said a lot of harsh words.

It wasn't until then that I finally found out how much Angeline had suffered in the last relationship.

I didn't dare to act rashly anymore. I was afraid that she would distrust me and my feelings.

I tried my best to cling to her while preventing her ex-boyfriend from hurting her again.

When she attended the company dinner, the kiss that almost succeeded made my heart ripple for several days.

I really liked her so much that I wanted to plan my future for her and present it to her.

I worked hard, bought a house and a car, and worked hard for a promotion.

I wanted her to see my ability and sincerity.

More importantly, I wanted her to see the answer in me. I wanted her to know that love really existed and that I would love her until death.

On the wedding day, Angeline was sitting in a daze in front of the makeup mirror.

I walked over and hugged her from the back.

She asked me again, "Joel, what exactly do you like about me?"

I put my chin on her shoulder and looked at her in the mirror. "Silly, I don't like you because of your traits. I like all of you. I like you because of who you are."

I was being truthful.

From the moment I fell in love with her at first sight, I kept falling deeper and deeper for her.

I had no resistance. All I wished to do was to tie myself to her and give her all my enthusiasm and love.

She was the girl I wanted to protect for the rest of my life.

At the beginning of the wedding, when she walked toward me step by step in a white wedding dress, I burst into tears.

No matter how hard I tried, I could no longer hold it in. I couldn't even speak.

However, she was very strong. She smiled gracefully and even wiped my tears considerately.

I looked at her with a confused look. "Aren't you excited?"

She replied, "Many people are taking photos. Today, I will appear on many people's Instagram. I can't ruin my makeup."

I repeated the word "Instagram?" silently in my heart.

Sure enough, all kinds of ugly photos of me came out that night.

I wouldn't ask for more since I had a wife that was so smart, beautiful, and a visionary.

However, more people said I was a hopeless romantic.

The end.