“You’re lying!” Judy Sue couldn’t help but shout excitedly, “He didn’t! He’s always been such a cold person, no one has ever seen him give anything passionately, you’re just trying to trick me into giving up!”
“Miss Judy, please calm down and listen to me…”
“No! I don’t want to hear anymore!” She shook her head resolutely. “You don’t need to say anymore, he can’t possibly be like what you say.” “But…”
“Judy says she doesn’t want to hear it anymore,” Richard Sue interrupted David’s futile persuasion. “No need to waste words. Today we’ll wait until he’s done, and we’ll settle the marriage…”
The office door suddenly opened, and a burst of giggling laughter, almost choking her breath, rang out first.
“You are my slave. You must obey my orders. If I tell you to go east, you can't go west. If I tell you to go to heaven, you can't go to earth, OK?” Everyone stared in astonishment as Joel hunched over and strode in, his coat draped over his arm, his long hair flowing down his shoulders, a helpless, indulgent smile on his face. His tie was being tugged at by the little woman in front of him, who had a bright smile on her face. She was holding a pair of mid-heeled shoes by her left hand, and Joel's headband was tied around her neck. “Huh? Why are you all hiding here?” Sisi noticed Judy Sue and her father on the other sofa. “Come and see my slave! Look! Doesn't he look like a slave from ancient Rome?” She said, tugging at Joel behind her.
Philip laughed uncontrollably. "So alike, so alike! Will you listen to me or not?"
Joel glared at him, but he was too preoccupied to move and didn't notice the two strangers. "Obey me, of course I'll obey! One hundred percent obedient," she said smugly, tugging at his tie again. "Hey! Slave, are you going to listen to your mistress or not?"
Jasmine turned her back and kept laughing, while David and Philip burst into laughter as well.
Joel reluctantly took a step forward, wrapping his arms around Sisi's waist from behind, and gently biting her ear as he looked down. "I'm the most obedient slave, is there a reward? Perhaps I can claim the reward myself, hmm?"
Just as Sisi was about to close her eyes and relax, she saw Jasmine give her a sharp look. Turning her head to look closely... "Ah! Someone's here!" Her hand, gripping her tie, instinctively tugged hard...
"Cough cough, baby, cough, let go!" Joel's face turned red from being strangled.
She was startled and quickly let go, and he immediately loosened his tie and gasped for breath.
"My God! I almost suffocated."
“I’m so sorry, so sorry! Are you alright?” Sisi stood on tiptoe, stretching out her hand to gently stroke Joel’s neck. “I’m fine.” Joel finally noticed Judy Sue and her father, who were staring blankly at him and Sisi with their mouths slightly open. He frowned slightly, then said gently to Sisi, “Sweetie, I have something to do. Can you wait for me in David’s office?” He picked up Sisi’s shoes, knelt down on one knee, and put her feet on his knee to put them on for her. “Oh,” she said, looking at Letty Sue and her father with her hand on Joel’s shoulder, also frowning. “Strange, I feel like I’ve seen them somewhere before. Who are they?”
Joel switched to his other shoe. "You haven't met him, just a business acquaintance."
Sisi frowned, deep in thought. "But...I feel...clearly..." She caught Joel giving David a meaningful look. "Hey, what are you hiding from me now?" She began to scrutinize Judy Sue and her father. They looked so familiar, but who were they? Philip intentionally or unintentionally moved closer, blocking her view.
“Sorry, you’re blocking my way.” She couldn’t push him away. “Philip, you’re blocking my way…” “Sisi, let’s go to my office and wait for Joel. He should be done soon.” David helped her walk out. “But I haven’t… Damn it! David, let go of me… You’re afraid I’ll find out something, aren’t you?” The anger in Sisi’s voice made Joel shiver involuntarily.
“Joel, you just wait… don’t pull me… I won’t let you get away with this, Joel, I’m warning you…” David dragged her out of the office. A sudden, unsettling premonition rose in Joel’s heart, and his face stiffened instantly.
He picked up the hairband that had fallen to the ground and casually tied up his long hair. He whispered a few words to Jasmine, who nodded and left. Then he went to the bar, poured himself a drink, and silently watched Judy Sue and her father.
“Who is she?” Judy Sue asked sharply, like a wife caught in the act of adultery. “I’m your fiancée, I have the right to know!” “You are nothing,” Joel sneered. “And you have no right to ask me anything.”
Judy Sue's expression changed. "You... how could you say that? That day..."
“That day?” Joel scoffed. “That day was a complete farce, it meant absolutely nothing.”
Richard Sue's face darkened. "President Rox, please don't forget what I said that day..." "I haven't forgotten," Joel interrupted him immediately. "That's why I said it was a farce. Do you think this is the first time I've encountered something like that? Wrong! There have been far more ridiculous situations. I was just considering your daughter's feelings and didn't want to embarrass her too much by directly confronting her. I planned to let time fade the matter away. Did you really think I was afraid?"
Joel scoffed dismissively. "I don't care what others think of me. The Rox family has never cared about public opinion. No one can threaten me, you understand?" Stunned by Joel's arrogance, Richard Sue was speechless for a long time, finally letting out a dejected sigh. "Judy really loves you, can't you…?" "So what?" Joel interrupted him again. "Countless women love me, am I supposed to accept them all?" He sneered. "I'm not Superman."
Judy Sue gritted her teeth in fury. "I...I'll kill myself! I can't live without you, otherwise I...I really will die!" Joel shrugged nonchalantly. "Whatever."
Upon hearing this, she finally couldn't hold back and burst into tears.
Richard Sue roared in fury and grief, "Do you have no heart at all? How can you just stand by and watch my daughter walk down a dead end? Have pity on this old man who only has this one daughter, save her!" Joel's face grew even colder. "Save her? Then who will tell me, with so many women wanting me to marry her, who should I choose, who should I abandon? No, I should say, who should live, who should die? Hmm? Perhaps you think other women who love me deserve to die, as long as it's not your daughter who dies, right?" Richard Sue choked, unable to find the words to refute, and could only murmur words of comfort while embracing his veiled, weeping daughter. Suddenly, Philip asked Judy Sue, who was still sobbing in her father's arms, "Miss Moody, I've heard you have many suitors who genuinely admire you, why don't you consider them?"
“I don’t love them!” Judy Sue blurted out.
“Yes! Of course you can reject them because you don’t love them, but why force Joel, who doesn’t love you, to accept you?” he calmly retorted. Judy Sue paused, then frowned and bit her lip. “That…that’s because…because…this, this is a little different…” “How is it different? Because they didn’t say they would commit suicide for you?”
She glanced helplessly at her father. "That's not what I meant..."
“Is it because women have the right to refuse, and men don’t?” Philip pressed relentlessly. “I…I don’t know! I just think it’s different!” Judy Sue cried out playfully. “There are plenty of women who admire Joel. You’re neither the first, nor the most beautiful, nor the richest, and most importantly, you’re not the one Joel loves. That’s why you resort to such despicable means, am I right? Alright, now you should understand that unless it’s someone Joel truly loves, no amount of maneuvering can make him submit. Why not just give up, hmm?” Philip’s words were incisive, leaving Judy Sue speechless. After a moment of silence, Richard… Sue finally opened her mouth again, "Judy, I think..." The office door was suddenly slammed open, and David stumbled in, "Joel, I'm sorry, Sissy... Sissy, she's..." Joel, his face contorted with rage, strode forward and grabbed David, "I'm going to kill you!" He threw a punch, then another... "Joel, you're insane! Stop it!" Philip tried with all his might to pull Joel back, "He's David! Your own brother! God, you're going to kill him!" Philip turned to the stunned Richard Sue for help, "Come help me! What are you looking at... Joel, calm down, we need to find Sissy first, stop it!"
"I'll kill him first, then go find someone!" Joel broke free from Philip and Richard Sue's grip and kept throwing punches... "Huh? What are you doing?" Sisi stood at the door, looking around in surprise. "Philip, what are you doing holding Joel like that? Hey! David, what happened to you...? It looks like you've been... beaten up?"
The earth-shattering fight suddenly stopped, and everyone stared in disbelief at Men Ri's slender figure.
“Sis... Sis, where... where have you gone?” Philip cried out in a terrified voice.
"Me? I'll go..." She only managed a few words before Joel rushed over and hugged her tightly. "What's wrong? Joel, what happened?"
“Please don’t leave me,” Joel’s voice trembled. “Never leave me again!” “I didn’t leave, I just went to the dressing room… uh, maybe it took a little longer, but sometimes it takes a little longer, I’m not… wait, Joel, what’s wrong…”
To everyone's astonishment, Joel, who had his back to them, was trembling violently; was he crying?!
"Joel, please don't do this! I really didn't leave, I never even thought about it! Please don't do this!"
Sisi's voice was filled with helplessness and panic. Only she knew how agitated Joel was; her hair was wet, and tears streamed down her forehead. "Philip, can you leave this to me? Joel seems a little... out of control. I'd better take him away for a bit. David, could I borrow your office... Come on, Joel, let go of me, let's go to David's office..." Sisi finally broke free from Joel's tall frame. She wrapped her left arm around his waist and looked up at him gently. "Come on, let's go. They can handle this. I really don't know how a conversation could have ended like this. Maybe you should take another vacation... How about Egypt? I've been wanting to see the pyramids for a long time..." Her voice faded until it disappeared.
Philip let out a long sigh and went over to help David, who was still sitting on the floor in a daze, to his feet. "Are you alright? Do you need to see a doctor?" David, looking exhausted, staggered to the sofa and sat down. "Let them go on vacation, the farther the better! Damn it, what an innocent disaster!" he said bitterly. "Really don't need to see a doctor? You look..." Philip's lips began to curl into a smile, "...very...funny!" He finally couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Good heavens! Shana will be scared to death by you."
"Damn it! What's wrong with him?" David touched his bleeding lip, wincing in pain. "You asked for it. Xixi went to the dressing room, why are you so worried?" Philip said gloatingly. "Damn it! Go get me some ice... I was going to the restroom too, and when I came back she was gone, how was I supposed to know..." David touched his eyes, gasping in pain again. "If it weren't for him being the older brother, I would have fought back."
"Forget it!" Philip handed him a bag of ice. "Even if you fight back, you can't beat him. He'll make you crawl on the ground!" David scoffed. "That was before. Now I'm younger than him, so the outcome is hard to say."
“Ha!” Philip laughed, making David furious. “Who is she?” Judy Sue suddenly asked.
The two, forced to stop arguing, exchanged a glance. "She's Joel's beloved woman," David replied cautiously. "Joel's beloved woman?" she murmured blankly to herself.
“In fact, Joel cannot live without her. He would die for her and do anything for her, as long as she doesn’t leave him.” David hesitated for a moment. “She is Joel’s wife, Cecilia Rox.”
"Wife? He's married?" Richard Sue exclaimed.
"The very morning after you two announced your engagement without my consent, Joel dragged Sissy to get married." "Then why didn't he…"
"Joel doesn't want to embarrass you too much."
“Really?” Richard Sue smiled wryly. “I didn’t expect we really put on a farce.”