Chapter 198 Have You Seen the Little Happiness of Summer?
Sensing something was off in Maddox's tone, Leopold asked, "Did you two have a fight?"
Maddox clicked his tongue, "Are you psychic or something?"
Leopold laughed, "Need any help?"
"No need," Maddox was being stubborn, "I've dated so many girls, you think I need your advice?"
Leopold said with a smile, "You've dated a lot, but I've dated with quality."
Where did he get this confidence!
Maddox said, "Just tell me, how can I make things right with Erica? You have no idea, Erica is really hard to please. I've tried everything and she just won't talk to me."
Leopold said, "Send her a transfer for 143 dollars."
Maddox didn't get it, "What?"
"How many letters are in each word of 'I love you'?"
Maddox frowned, stopped what he was doing, thought for a moment, "Exactly 1, 4, 3."
"Right." Leopold continued, "When she asks what it means, just reply 'I love you.'"
Maddox was completely impressed, "Brilliant! You're really something, you've got all the tricks!"
"I need to call her first about business, you send it later." Leopold said.
Maddox still had work to do anyway, "Okay. You go ahead."
After hanging up, Leopold dialed Erica's phone.
When Erica received Leopold's call, she had just finished rock climbing and was sitting on the side, covered in sweat, taking a break.
She answered the phone, "Who's this?"
"Erica, it's me, Leopold."
"What's up?"
Leopold asked, "If I remember correctly, you mentioned you work at Cyber Entertainment Company?"
"Yeah." Erica smiled with narrowed eyes, "Is Mr. Wipere looking to do business?"
Talking with smart people really saves time and effort, cutting through all the roundabout stuff.
Leopold said, "I'm considering it, but I need you to make an introduction."
Erica became interested. How could she not be happy when business came to her door?
"Tell me about it, what's the deal?"
Leopold roughly explained his idea to Erica, then asked, "Can you make it work on your end?"
Erica readily agreed, "No problem. When the client's loaded and generous, nothing's impossible, and the terms you're offering are really sincere. How about this, tomorrow I'll talk to the provincial TV station contact I work with, and I'll let you know when I have news."
"Thank you, Erica."
Erica was straightforward and easygoing, "What are you talking about, you're my best friend's husband. Helping with this is totally within my abilities and it's what I should do. Plus, I have this connection, right? If I didn't have this capability and you asked me to help, I couldn't help anyway, you know? Saying more would just be too formal. Just treat Caroline well, that's better than anything."
Leopold looked down with a smile, "Don't worry, whether you help or not, I'll treat Caroline the same. She's my wife, treating her well is what I should do."
Erica said, "Alright, just for that, I'll do everything I can to make this happen for you."
Before hanging up, Leopold asked, "Did you and Maddox have a fight?"
Erica pressed her lips together, her smile fading, "Yeah, you know about it too? He called you to tell you?"
Leopold said, "I called him to get your number, and from his pitiful tone, I could tell. He had no energy at all, like he'd lost his soul. I've known him for so many years, and this is the first time I've seen him this down. Maddox, even though he likes to joke around, he's actually a good guy. Don't stay mad at him. Getting sick from anger only hurts yourself. Compared to men, your health is more important."
Erica's expression softened. After he put it that way, it really didn't seem worth being angry about.
"Okay, I got it."
Leopold had done what he could for Maddox, "Maddox was even crying when we hung up earlier, crying while drawing. Just imagine that scene, pretty pitiful, right?"
Erica caught on, "With his carefree personality, he could cry?"
"He really did cry." Leopold repeated.
Since knowing Leopold, she hadn't seen him joke around much, and his tone was quite serious. Erica was half-convinced.
"I'm about to go, anything else?"
Leopold replied, "That's all."
After hanging up, Leopold sent Maddox a WhatsApp message.
Leopold: [I told her you were crying because you missed her, get your emotions ready.]
Maddox was fully absorbed in his work and hadn't gotten around to checking his WhatsApp.
Having found a contact for the collaboration, Leopold's work for the day was pretty much done.
He tidied up his desk, locked away important documents, and left the office.
On his way home, Leopold passed by a barbecue stand and ordered a bunch of skewers to take home.
Caroline wasn't asleep yet at this hour. He called her, "Honey, you asleep?"
Caroline had just finished showering, "Not yet."
"I bought barbecue, don't go to sleep."
Caroline's eyes curved with a smile, "Really?"
"Do we have beer at home?"
"Let me check."
He heard her cheerful footsteps through the phone. Leopold's profile looked even softer under the streetlight. He heard her say from the other end, "There are still two cans of beer."
"I'll go buy another case at the store by our place."
"I'll make a cucumber salad."
Leopold's tall figure stood by the barbecue stand, his eyes fixed on the meat skewers over the fire. The charcoal lit up his deep eyes with love. As the vendor flipped the skewers and sprinkled cumin powder, sparks flew, smoke rose, and the aroma filled the whole street.
Had you ever seen summer's little happiness?
Grilled skewers and drinking with the one you love, that's all it was.
Elysia was strict with Caroline, never letting her eat from street stalls since childhood. As a result, when she grew up, she ate from street stalls almost rebelliously, and thought they tasted pretty good. In Caroline's words, she felt like everything tasted delicious.
Actually, small stalls had their own joy, and fancy restaurants had their own comfort. What kind of life you chose, didn't be too rigid. Life was simple, happiness was what mattered most.
At that moment, Maddox, having finished his work, saved his drawings, picked up his phone, and sent Erica a transfer.
Erica only saw Maddox's message when she got home. Staring at the transfer record in the chat box, she frowned.
"Throwing money at me?" Erica gritted her teeth, "You really need to be taught a lesson!"
She frowned and replied: [What's this supposed to mean?]
Maddox was surprised, "She actually replied. This method works! High-quality men really are more efficient at dating."
At this moment, Maddox, unaware that the person on the other end of the screen wanted to teach him a lesson, was wildly testing the edge of getting beaten up.
Maddox replied cheerfully: [Do you know what 143 means?]
Erica's molars ground together. Throwing money at her was one thing, but now he was testing her knowledge late at night.
"Sick!" Her eyes practically rolled back, and she replied: [No idea.]
Maddox: [There's a phrase with these three numbers, do you know what it is?]
Erica's face turned completely dark. She really must be sick to stay up all night listening to his lecture.
Erica: [No idea.]
Maddox frowned. She wasn't following the script.
Maddox: [I love you, you don't even know that?]
What Maddox meant was, I'd already told you I loved you, didn't you understand my feelings?
Not only did Erica refund his transfer, but she called him an idiot.
Maddox was confused, "She's cursing at me? Why is she cursing at me?"