Chapter 211 Whether It Ends or Not Is Up to Me
Caroline had no idea that Leopold went to the brick kiln factory the very next day.
Before getting off work, Caroline received a WhatsApp message from Leopold.
Leopold: [I'll be back late, don't wait for me for dinner.]
Caroline thought he was working overtime and didn't think much of it.
Caroline: [Got it, remember to eat dinner.]
Leopold: [Okay.]
Night fell heavily, and the bright moon cast its soft silver glow over the quiet Elderwood Village. A blue Porsche Cayenne was parked by the roadside at the village entrance, its lights off. Moonlight swept across the car's body, reflecting a luxurious and dangerous sheen. The person inside glanced at the time on the dashboard—it was already past eleven at night.
Leopold stubbed out his cigarette, opened the car door, and got out. He took gloves from the trunk and put them on, then pulled out a baseball bat and swung it a few times. The air whooshed with each swing. The village dogs were alert and started barking at the strange sounds. Leopold casually pulled a sausage from his pocket and tossed it over the wall. Instantly, the dog stopped barking.
He walked into the village carrying the baseball bat along the small path. The houses were connected in rows, and further in was a large courtyard with its own separate entrance.
Leopold came to the back window and heard a woman's suggestive moans through the glass, along with rhythmic slapping sounds. He then circled around to the courtyard wall. The wall was about as tall as a person. He stepped back a few paces, took a running start, pushed off with one foot to climb up the wall, and jumped over.
He walked to the front door and pounded on it hard with his palm. The door rattled loudly, and the people inside were scared out of their wits.
Leopold heard the woman inside say, "Oh no, my husband's back. The back, the back—go out through the back window."
They didn't dare turn on the lights inside. Parker didn't bother getting dressed and ran toward the back window naked, clutching a bundle of clothes.
Leopold heard the back window open, quickly jumped back over the wall, and chased to the back window just in time to see a naked man holding his clothes jump out.
He kicked him hard. Parker cried out in pain and fell to the ground. Leopold bent down, wrapped the clothes around his head, and swung the baseball bat at him repeatedly, beating him until he howled.
The woman inside heard the fighting outside and thought it was her husband catching them in the act. She didn't dare show herself and hid inside, barely breathing.
Leopold growled, "That's for touching my wife."
Parker had already been beaten to a pulp, rolling on the ground in pain. Thinking it was the woman's husband, he could only hold his head and beg for mercy, "I won't do it again, I won't do it again, I'll never come back."
Leopold was tired from beating him. The commotion had caused lights to turn on in several nearby houses. He slipped away under the cover of darkness, returned to his car, tossed the baseball bat onto the floor behind the front seat, started the engine, and drove off.
Even without Caroline saying anything, Leopold could find out everything. He'd dug up Parker's entire background.
Parker had a lover in the village. With his wife Xyla detained, and the woman's husband supposedly working in the city, it was too good an opportunity for Parker to pass up.
Hearing someone opening a door and afraid of being seen in his miserable state, Parker endured the pain, grabbed his clothes, and limped into the nearby cornfield.
On the drive back, Leopold didn't drive particularly fast. He rolled down the window, rested his hand holding a cigarette on the window frame, and exhaled a thin stream of smoke through his lips. Thinking of Parker's pathetic state earlier, a satisfied smile curved at the corner of his mouth.
His wife had been injured all over, needed three stitches, and Xyla just got five days detention and has to pay medical expenses, and that's it?
Damn it! Whether it was over or not was for me to decide!
He couldn't hit a woman, so he could only settle this score with Parker.
By the time Leopold got home, Caroline was already asleep. After showering, he went to the fridge to get a beer. He saw a cute pink sticky note on the fridge door that read:
[Mr. Wipere: There's the spicy and sour lemon shrimp I made in the refrigerator. Feel free to taste it.], with the signature "Your wife".
Leopold's gaze instantly softened. He opened the fridge and took out the lemon shrimp.
A summer night, ice-cold beer, spicy lemon shrimp, and his sleeping lover in the bedroom.
Leopold was content with and treasured his current life.
Because of her injuries, Leopold hadn't touched her since coming back. Even lying in bed, he was extremely careful, keeping a person's width of distance between them. The reason he kept his distance was that Leopold worried he might unconsciously pull her into his arms while sleeping and hurt her shoulder and waist.
Leopold let out a soft sigh. His tender gaze traced her sleeping face in the moonlight. Being able to look but not touch or hold her was truly frustrating.
He lay on his side, gently removed a strand of hair from her eyelashes, couldn't help himself, propped himself up on his elbow, leaned over to kiss her lips, then lay back down.
Leopold frowned, grumbling to himself—just one kiss, and why did he get hard!
He turned over, facing away from her, and muttered, "Went too easy on him, should've hit him harder."
Dawn broke, and the morning light appeared.
Caroline opened her eyes to see Leopold's broad back, with lazy morning sunlight falling on him. His hair was dyed almost transparent by the golden light, looking soft and fluffy. The scene was warm and pleasing to the eye.
She gently touched his back. He stirred, and she withdrew her hand.
Leopold turned over, sleepy-eyed, and said, "You're awake?"
Caroline smiled. "Good morning."
Leopold instinctively reached to hold her, but stopped halfway and put his hand down. Caroline knew he was afraid of hurting her, so she moved into his arms herself, nuzzling his chin with her forehead.
The familiar scent, her soft body—Leopold felt inexplicably at peace. She was his emotional stabilizer.
"What time did you get back last night?" Caroline asked.
Leopold said, "Around midnight, I think. Don't really remember. The lemon shrimp was delicious."
Caroline smiled with her eyes closed. "I still sleep better when you're holding me."
Leopold kissed her forehead. "See, I told you—you can't sleep without me."
Caroline rubbed her forehead against him. "Other people kiss their cats and dogs, but you only ever kiss me."
"Don't want me to?" Leopold teased deliberately. "Should I ask around? Maybe someone else would be willing."
Caroline opened her eyes. "I'm going to bite you."
Leopold laughed. "Then let me kiss you two more times."
Caroline blocked his face with the blanket. "No, you haven't brushed your teeth."
Early in the morning, Caroline joined Oliver and Ulysses again to check for electricity theft. On the way, she heard some shocking news from Oliver.
Oliver laughed meaningfully. "Ms. Tudor, let me tell you something. You'll definitely feel better after hearing it."
Caroline was puzzled. "What is it?"
Oliver said, "That brick kiln factory owner Parker got beaten up last night. My wife's sister-in-law works at the village chicken farm and heard he was probably caught cheating. Someone saw him crawl out of a cornfield naked. Talk about karma. He won't even admit it—insists he fell. His face is all swollen from being beaten. Who's going to believe he fell? Just wait till his wife gets out of detention—those two will probably have another fight."
"Really?" Caroline didn't react much.
Ulysses said, "It's a small village, word travels fast when anything happens."
Caroline turned to look out the car window. She wasn't interested in this kind of gossip. Instead, she was thinking about how they'd only been checking for a few days, but the confirmed amount of stolen electricity they'd discovered was already quite substantial.
She calculated in her mind—looked like they need to speed up implementing technical monitoring for electricity theft.
Meanwhile, Nash arrived at Seaside City Power Supply Station looking cheerful. Just as he was about to knock on Caroline's office door, Jasper stopped him.
"Mr. Hearst," Jasper called out, "looking for Ms. Tudor?"
Nash said, "My project bid was accepted. I'm here to sign the contract with Ms. Tudor."
Jasper said, "Ms. Tudor went to investigate electricity theft. Not sure when she'll be back."
Nash said, "I'll give her a call then."
"Oh, by the way," Jasper stopped him from making the call, "here's a chance for you to score some points. Ms. Tudor got injured while investigating electricity theft a few days ago. She got three stitches in her arm. You could use this opportunity to show some concern."
Nash's heart skipped a beat. "Three stitches?"