As Stephanie kissed my face, one of the house housekeepers knocked at the door. “Director Bloom, Mr. White says his stomach hurts. Please come see him…”
“I’ll be right there, John. I’ll come back and stay with you later,” she said.
The warmth from a moment before vanished. She rushed away and did not return.
I went to the bathroom and washed the places she had touched more than ten times, until my skin stung. Only then did my disgust lessen a little.
The next day, Stephanie told me to dress up nicely.
“Tim is really thoughtful. He tried to celebrate your return and prepared a welcome dinner just for you. John, don’t let Tim’s kindness go to waste,” Stephanie said.
I also wanted to see what Timothy was really up to, so I agreed.
The dinner was quite large. Besides people from the company, there were also Stephanie’s business partners.
During these three years, her career had flourished. She met powerful elites from many industries and many of them had secretly received her help.
They repaid her in kind—when they became successful, they provided her with funding and support. It helped her company to grow even more.
As soon as I entered the celebration venue, two buckets of black pig's blood were dropped square at me.
“What are you doing?!” Stephanie shouted angrily at the waiters.
Timothy quickly stepped forward and explained timidly, “Steph, please don’t be mad. Johnny just got out yesterday and I heard that black pig’s blood can wash away bad luck. The prison isn't exactly a lucky place, right? My stomach hurt last night and I was worried it might affect the baby…”
“I was only thinking for Johnny’s sake. Even if no one says it out loud, people might still wishes bad things for him. So, throwing the blood at him is aimed to remove any bad energy and calm everyone down. But don’t worry—I’ve already prepared clean clothes for him. It’s a gift I bought specially.”
After hearing that, Stephanie’s anger eased a little. “Then I’ll take John to change first.”
But Timothy gently grabbed her hand. “Steph, your business partners are here today. If you don’t greet them first, they’ll think we’re being rude.”
“Tim, you’re so considerate.” Stephanie thought for a moment and nodded. “John, you go change yourself. I’ll wait downstairs.”
When I arrived, I was wearing a formal suit — long sleeves and long pants. But the clothes Timothy had prepared for me were a sleeveless vest and shorts.