Win My Husband Over to Find My Child
Chapter 57: A Considerate CEO Xu

Chapter 57: A Considerate CEO Xu

"It’s... it’s not my fault! I didn’t mean it!"

Humiliated to the core, a crying Gladys hurriedly ran away from the place. Her pitiful sobs echoed faintly in the empty hallway. Soon, her figure vanished at an intersection.

Exhaling a sigh, Leslie shook her head. She could feel the secondhand embarrassment that was haunting Gladys now.

"What a stupid and delusional woman," murmured Leslie, her brows furrowing.

Creak...

Calix opened a slight gap in the door, peeking into the hallway. Once he made sure the troublesome Gladys was out of his sight, he widened the door opening.

"Leslie, what are you doing there? Come inside."

Calix softened his voice. There was no lingering mockery in his tone, unlike how he sounded when ridiculing Glayds just now. His eyes were locked on Leslie’s face.

"...yes."

Without saying much, Leslie returned inside the bedroom. Calix closed the door once again before locking it. He didn’t want to risk that crazy woman barging into the room when he was sleeping.

A stifling silence enveloped them. The previous merriment was ruined by Gladys’ uninvited appearance.

Calix quietly looked at Leslie who was sitting on the bed now. Her gaze lost its focus as if she was drowned in her pool of thoughts. Her complexion also lost some of its colors.

Frowning, Calix took off the body camera from his pajamas. He quickly connected it to his phone.

Calix stopped recording the moment he slammed the door. He didn’t want to accidentally record him talking to Leslie – to the air.

While tapping on the screen, Calix sat next to Leslie, briefly glancing at her.

"I want to make someone sleepless tonight," said Calix.

"...huh?" Leslie blinked, pulling herself back to reality. Turning to her left, she looked at Calix’s side profile, "What did you say? Making someone sleepless?"

Calix nodded. Once the video was transferred to his phone, he checked its quality. His and Gladys’ voices echoed from the speaker. The screen displayed her following the body camera’s angle.

"That video looks so clear," remarked Leslie. A faint smile hung on her lips, "Do you wanna send it to someone? To her?"

"Not her. Someone else. Let Edward handle it."

Calix grinned with a subtle hint of a smirk. He attached the video to a message before sending it to Edward.

In a few minutes, Calix’s private phone rang. The screen showed Edward’s Caller ID.

"Boss Xu, are you serious? You want me to send it to him?"

Edward sounded so perplexed. He seemed surprised to receive such a video from his boss.

"Do it now," Calix didn’t explain much. He knew Edward understood his intention, "You’re just playing with your dog anyway. Do what your boss tells you."

"...urgh, I know," Edward sighed out loud, expressing his dissatisfaction, "I’ll only do this one thing. Don’t disturb me until tomorrow’s work hour."

"Yeah, yeah, bye."

Calix immediately hung up, unwilling to hear Edward nagging at him. Leslie was stunned before faint laughter escaped her lips.

"It’s midnight. He hasn’t slept yet?"

Edward was always busy at work due to his position. Leslie couldn’t help but feel bad for the overworked salaryman.

Being a chief personal assistant to a CEO was not easy ah.

"Usually he brings his dog to a walk right now," Calix tossed the phone to the bed. The slim metal body bounced on the mattress, "That lunatic. I’m not surprised if one day he got mugged at midnight."

"..."

Both CEO Xu and his chief assistant seemed to have loose screws. They were indeed a perfect pair of working partners.

Laughing at herself, Leslie quietly brought up something she had been thinking now.

"Why don’t you ask me anything? You heard what she said about me just now."

Calix paused. With a slight turn of his chin, his eyes collided with Leslie’s. Under her smiling facade lay pain.

Leslie tried not to show it but, Calix roughly guessed she was affected by Gladys’ wild accusations.

"Are you worried that I’ll blindly trust her words?"

Calix threw a question to Leslie instead of answering hers. He noticed how she flinched before she quickly assumed her nonchalant attitude.

"W-well... yes, you can say so."

Leslie tore her gaze away from Calix. She didn’t dare to continue looking at him after saying something like that.

Even though it was not her intention, her words sounded as if she was doubting his conduct.

Calix refrained from sighing. He was not mad at Leslie for implying that. Instead, his sympathy for her was roused.

"She looks so untrustworthy," Calix huffed. He was still irritated by Gladys’ unruly behavior, "It’s clear she’s trying to badmouth you. Tsk, she’s as annoying as my relatives."

Leslie blinked. She didn’t want to smile but, her lips curled up on her own.

"Actually, there were some stories in my past," Leslie looked at the marble floor, she began looking through the memories, "About... what Gladys said just now."

Calix shook his head, "You don’t need to tell me. Don’t force yourself."

"No, I want to," Leslie peeled her eyes away from the floor. Once again, she locked her gaze onto Calix’s, "I want to tell you myself."

Calix pursed his lips, sensing Leslie’s determination. He didn’t have the heart to discourage her when she took the first step.

"...okay. But, stop anytime you can’t go on, en?"

Leslie smiled, "CEO Xu, you’re so considerate."

"Of course, I am."

They shared some laughter, easing the remains of their tension. Not long after, Leslie began her story. Calix paid full attention to her.

"When I was in high school, Gladys spread rumors of me... sleeping with old men."

Devastation flooded Leslie’s heart as she recalled Charlene’s agonizing memories like her own. Even though one decade had passed since high school, the pain still remained.

"I was outcast and... some boys asked me to sleep with them. When I rejected... they said I only went for old men."

No matter how hard it was, Charlene endured the bullying led by Gladys. She tried telling the Li family but, nothing changed.

Old Madam Li scolded Charlene for accusing her favorite granddaughter of committing such an act.

Geoffrey and Deena insisted that Gladys didn’t mean that. It was just a harmless prank between cousins.

Rowan and Bianca were distressed yet, they told Charlene to be patient. All this would end once she graduated from high school.

Indeed. The bullying ceased.

However, it happened only because Gladys continued her studies abroad while Charlene enrolled in one of the national universities.

"...I never did that. Not even once. But... no one cared about what I felt. They... they trusted her. It’s her words... against mine. They... huh?"

Leslie was bewildered when she felt her cheeks damp. She randomly touched her face, only to find tears wetting her fingers.

Why did she cry?

Was this... her feelings?

No... this was Charlene’s.

"L-Leslie? Are you alright?"

"Sorry... sorry, I don’t mean to cry..."

Perplexed by what was happening, Calix raised one arm before he awkwardly patted Leslie’s back.

"It’s none of your fault," Calix tried to sound as firm as he could, "Never. They ruined your reputation. You don’t have to forgive them."

"...en."

Leslie pursed her lips. She rubbed her eyes but, more tears rolled down her face.

Her heart hurt so much but, the warmth on her back dispelled some of the pain.