Take My Breath Away

"But..." Kinsley continued after pondering over Stephanie's looks, "I'm not interested in her. High-flyers tend to be boring."

"That's not true. I mean, she could be different. You can't judge a person just from their status in the society. What if you find her attractive?"

"Then I will have to turn you down right away. If I fall in love, then I'll have to get married. No way!" Kinsley rejected hastily. A wise man had once said that marriage is the grave of love. Kinsley was only thirty-one. He was not ready to step into the grave yet.

Debbie rolled her eyes. "Just give it a try. To see if your charm works on her, okay?"

"What if Carlos really cares about her? I heard that they were getting engaged in two weeks."

"That's why time is pressing. You have to charm Stephanie away from Carlos before their engagement ceremony. Seduce her. Woo her. Do whatever it takes to make her fall for you and give up on Carlos." Then Debbie turned to Ruby, who had been eating silently. She asked, "Am I sinking too low?"

Ruby knew a little about Debbie and Carlos' past. Shaking her head, she replied, "She stole your love life. She doesn't deserve your pity. Don't be soft."

Ruby's words worked like a spell. Debbie's guilt disappeared instantly.

Kinsley sighed when he heard Ruby's words. He raised his glass and said to Debbie, "Drink with me."

Although he didn't say it, Debbie knew that he had just agreed to do her the fovor. Her mood brightened. "Yes! Let's drink to the brink!"

As a result of that, Debbie made headlines once again.

In the manor, Carlos stared glumly at his phone screen, which was displaying the latest entertainment news.

The headline read, "Kinsley and Debbie on a date. Their relationship is finally public."

Below that were nine pictures. Some had been snapped when they were entering the restaurant, and the rest as they were walking out together. According to the pictures, they had entered the restaurant separately, yet when they left, Debbie's arm was wrapped around Kinsley's waist, and the man had his arm around her neck. They looked intimate.

Actually, he was too drunk to even get into his car, and Debbie was supporting him.

Yet, the reporters carved a hell of a story out of it. Kinsley was a superstar in the show business, and gossips around Debbie never stopped. So, the news about the two hit the Internet like wildfire.

Carlos glowered at the pictures. 'She told me it was a business trip. But she's out, having fun with this man. And she asked me to take care of her daughter while she dated some other guy in the meantime. Does she really love me?' Carlos fumed.

Piggy was playing beside him with a robot dog. The girl was so adorable that Carlos' anger vanished as soon as he laid his eyes on her lovely face.

Debbie didn't see the news until the next morning. She texted Kinsley immediately. "Clear it up. The comments section on my Weibo is driving me crazy." Some fans were demanding clarification, while others made vicious comments, the gist of which was that Debbie wasn't good enough for their dream man, Kinsley, and that she was trying to seduce him.

Kinsley replied lazily, "Why bother? To hell with those damn gossipy, despicable paparazzi!"

"If you refuse to clarify, I'll release that photo of you and your fan to the press," Debbie threatened flatly.

"Debbie Nian! You heartless woman! Don't forget that you asked me for a favor just last night!"

"I haven't forgotten. But that's a different matter. Hurry up! Or Carlos will shut you out of show business if he reads the news."

Kinsley felt bullied. "What did I ever do to deserve this? Why did I ever meet you, Debbie Nian?"

"You should be honored," Debbie replied, snickering.

Ignoring Kinsley, she called Carlos. The phone continued to ring, but no one answered.

Debbie frowned. 'What's going on? Has he already read the news? Is he angry?

No, he wouldn't be angry. He doesn't even like me right now. He wouldn't be mad about this.' She stared at her phone in disappointment.

In the manor, Carlos watched his phone buzz again and again. He ignored it.

Piggy noticed this. She asked with a little frown, "Uncle Carlos, why aren't you answering your phone?"

Carlos said flatly, "Because I'm mad. The woman who is calling me doesn't behave herself."

"Oh, Uncle Carlos, don't be angry. Piggy behaves." She put down her toy and ran to Carlos, hugging his leg.

"Yes, you do," Carlos said with a heartfelt smile. 'How come that annoying woman has such a sweet kid?' he wondered, shaking his head.

Under twenty minutes, Kinsley's studio made a statement on Weibo, with a warning to the reporter who had started the gossip. At the bottom of the article was the stamp of his studio. Kinsley reposted the article and mentioned Debbie in it. "Dude, someone is making up things about us." At the end of the sentence, he added a yawning emoji.

Debbie was relieved to see his post. She reposted it and replied to his comment, "They meant well, I guess. Since I'm not as famous as you are, they were just trying to help me become popular by putting you and me in the same picture." At the end of her post, she added a giggling emoji.

Kinsley replied to her post, "My eighty million followers and I love your songs, Debbie."

"That's such a great honor."

They chatted for a while on Weibo.

Their fans realized that they were not hiding anything; they were just good buddies. Soon, the Internet went back to its peaceful state.

Debbie wondered if the clarification would convince Carlos into believing that there was nothing romantic going on between Kinsley and her, though she doubted that he cared.

While this gossip subsided, another piece of news bombarded the Internet the next day.

This time, it was about Carlos.

A photo of him holding a super cute little girl in his arms had been released online. They had been spotted by the paparazzi at an amusement park.

In the picture, Carlos was wearing sunglasses and white casual clothes. They assumed that the little girl was about three years old. She was in a cream-colored dress and a hat to go along with it. She was wearing sunglasses with a cream-colored frame too. Her ankle-high sandals were the same color as well. She looked like a pricey doll.

They had shown up in a Disneyland amusement park. Carlos was holding the little girl gently, with so much care that many women were attracted to him even more now.

Although Carlos had tried his best to be inconspicuous, reporters had noticed them due to his outstanding presence. Everyone was curious about the girl in his arms.

The media tried to find out who she was, but nothing came up. Some of them intended to dig deeper than the others, but Carlos' assistant sent them a timely warning, so they had to stop.

Some casual readers gave it a try as well. Unfortunately, all they could see in the photo were her clothes and that her face was round. Her features were a mosaic.

Some of the visitors in Disneyland had recognized Carlos too and had snapped some pictures. But before they could post them online, Carlos' bodyguards had forced them to delete all the pictures.

Soon after the news came out, James called Carlos. "Carlos, who's that lovely girl in your arms? I've never seen her before," he asked, fiegning a casual tone. He was actually sweating nervously. 'Is she Debbie's child? What should I do if she is?'

Recalling Debbie's warning about James, Carlos answered casually, "A client's daughter. He's busy with some work. So, I'm looking after her for a few days."

Wiping the sweat off his forehead, James said, "I was wondering if you had a child outside marriage." He laughed awkwardly. "Carlos, it's time for you to have a child with Stephanie. I'll take good care of my grandchild," he urged, like a normal father.