There was a commotion coming from upstairs.
Hongyue went out for a while and then returned.
Then she went out again and came back after a few minutes.
She went back and forth several times, leaving Emil speechless. “Hongyue, why are you going back and forth? Exercising?”
Hongyue glanced at the door and then at Emil and Bai Lixin. She suggested, “How about we go up and take a look too? There must be some gossip going on.”
Bai Lixin agreed, “Sure, let’s go. Emil, you stay here and call us if anything happens.”
Seeing Bai Lixin leave, Emil got up from the bed and walked up to Samael. Samael was staring blankly at the ceiling, but when he suddenly saw Emil’s enlarged face, his eyes filled with confusion.
The next moment, Emil smirked and reached out his hand towards Samael.
———————-
The argument was between the eldest daughter and the actress, Elizabeth.
They were arguing because they both wanted a limited edition painting hanging on the wall. There were a few people standing nearby, seemingly trying to intervene but hesitating to get involved.
Richard seemed to have finished packing and came down from the third floor to the second floor, carrying a large suitcase behind him.
He heard footsteps behind him and instinctively turned around to take a look. When he saw who it was, a fleeting expression of guilt crossed his face. Then he approached and explained proactively, “That painting is a limited edition artwork by a top oil painting master from the last century. It’s priceless. Both of them want it and they won’t give in, so they started arguing.”
Hongyue was speechless. “Things have already reached this point and they’re still arguing?”
Richard was also puzzled. “Maybe… it’s anger?”
Hongyue asked, “Anger?”
Richard replied, “I’m not entirely sure, but it seems that Miss Nick was complaining about the actress who stayed overnight. She mentioned something about her body odor. She called her a seductive fox who seduces men and so on, basically mocking the actress. Then Elizabeth happened to hear what she said, and that made Elizabeth angry, so they started fighting.”
The eldest daughter said, “A lowly actress who climbed up by offering herself. Why does she deserve this painting? Even if you take it, you wouldn’t know if it’s genuine. It’s just a waste.”
Elizabeth shouted, her voice raising, “A fat pig from a nouveau riche family. You think you’re someone just because you wear nice clothes? Will you know if it’s genuine once you take it?”
The eldest daughter widened her small eyes, trying to stare fiercely. “I hate it when people make personal attacks!”
Elizabeth retorted, “You don’t like personal attacks but you can attack others?”
After the argument, there were no winners.
Both of them argued intensely, and their once glamorous faces were now contorted with anger.
“Enough!” A voice of anger sounded. “The situation is like this and you’re still fighting over a painting. You two are fools.”
The person speaking was Mr. Nick. He held a large suitcase in his hand and walked out of the room, glancing at the high-end watch on his wrist. “We have only ten minutes left until the gathering. Hurry up, and if you’re late, I won’t wait for you.”
The eldest daughter saw Mr. Nick coming out and instinctively hung her huge body on him. “Father, this shameless actress actually wants to take this painting. Father, tell me, should I have it?”
Elizabeth’s face twisted, revealing a suppressed anger in her eyes.
Mr. Nick pushed the eldest daughter away and greedily scanned Elizabeth. “It’s just a painting. There are plenty here. How have I taught you? Be a little tolerant to others, don’t be so petty. If Elizabeth wants it, let her have it. I’ll buy you nice bags and delicious food in the future, okay?”
“No,” the male actor, who had finished packing at this point, came down from upstairs.
His backpack was noticeably bulging compared to when he arrived. He approached Elizabeth, asserting his dominance by encircling her with his arm almost forcefully. “She is my woman. I can give her whatever she wants. You don’t need to give us your charity.”
Elizabeth’s face showed a mix of shame and embarrassment, rather than shyness.
Mr. Nick glanced at the male actor and suddenly sneered, “Just you?”
“Do you know what Elizabeth likes? Do you know what she truly wants? A beauty like her and at her age should be nurtured and protected by a man, not experiencing hardships with you. What can you offer her? The title of an underground lover, a nomadic lifestyle, and empty promises?”
The male actor blushed and started to stutter, “I’m still young, and my career is on the rise. I’ll have everything that you have now in the future.”
“Forget it,” Mr. Nick looked disdainfully at the male actor. “Do you know how many generations it took for my wealth to accumulate? How can it take you only twenty years to catch up with our family’s 200 years of hard work? To put it bluntly, in your twenty years, even if you become wealthy, you’ll still be just a wealthy laborer, not a capitalist.”
Elizabeth looked contemplative as she looked at Mr. Nick.
Mr. Nick continued, “Our family has accumulated wealth for 200 years, which is considered short. Ask Mrs. Aisli how many years their family has accumulated wealth.”
“I’ve heard from Miss Elizabeth. Although you and Elizabeth are lovers, you don’t want to publicly announce your relationship because of your career. Moreover, you often attend private parties with wealthy women. I think I understand what happens at those parties better than you do. Don’t tell me you just go there to sing a song and socialize. I’m not as naïve as Miss Elizabeth.”
“Elizabeth, think about what I’ve said.”
“As long as you are with me, you can have everything you want immediately.”
“Is it status? As you can see, my wife is already gone. Although I may be promiscuous, if I like someone, I will marry her and make her the rightful Mrs. Nick.”
“Is it money! As you can see, I earn more in a day than what you earn in a year.”
“Wealth and personal freedom? If you want, you can go wherever you want, no longer worrying about money and work.”
“Your dreams? If you really love acting, I can easily throw millions at you to play with. That’s an amount that this useless man next to you won’t earn in his entire life.”
————————–
In the live broadcast room.
[Mr. Nick may be lecherous and arrogant, but in a certain sense, his words really hit the spot. Compared to those who only make empty promises, his words are truly uplifting.]
[Don’t just say that as a woman, even I, as a man, feel moved by his words.]
[Mr. Nick, don’t be too strict about gender, otherwise, consider me, a straight man.]
[Oh, come on, guys. Those who can make Mr. Nick say that are all beauties. Look at how beautiful Nick’s wife was. And look at Elizabeth, isn’t she attractive? Although the eldest daughter is a bit overweight, her facial features are not ugly at all. She’s quite beautiful. Her mother must have been a beauty in the past.]
[I can only say that Mr. Nick is very devoted. He has only liked young beauties from beginning to end.]
[I think this Mr. Nick not only likes young beauties, but also enjoys snatching people’s partners. Mrs. Nick was snatched from someone else’s hands, and now he’s using the same strategy with Elizabeth.]
[Sigh, it seems so. Is this Mr. Nick reincarnated from the Cao family?]
[The one who likes to snatch people’s partners?]
[Keeping a pet is not as good as picking wildflowers, and picking wildflowers is not as good as snatching. I wonder if Mr. Nick developed this quirk because he was betrayed by the youngest daughter’s mother, or if he had this personality from the beginning.]
[Tsk tsk, he is quite arrogant, but so easy to provoke.]
———————
Actor: “Who said I was just talking nonsense, Elizabeth? Don’t listen to his nonsense. Look, I’ve been trying my best. This time, I brought you to this Eden Resort, didn’t I?”
“You are a good girl. If you follow that old man, you’ll end up like Mrs. Nick. I’m the one who loves you the most.”
“Don’t think I don’t know how you got the tickets,” Mr. Nick sneered again. “Some things in the capital market are not secrets. For example, the tickets to this resort. I heard about it a long time ago. There’s a wealthy lady in the neighboring city who managed to buy four tickets. I heard they were initially intended for her family, but her family happened to be going abroad, so she gave the tickets to an old lover.”
“It turns out that old lover is you.”
Elizabeth looked at the actor in disbelief.
The actor’s eyes were evasive, and he wanted to explain, but his words were weak and feeble: “Mrs. Owen gave them to me because she didn’t want the tickets to go to waste. She is not my lover.”
Elizabeth’s pupils contracted, and finally, she broke free from the actor’s arm.
Mr. Nick laughed, “Mrs. Owen? I only knew about this matter, but I didn’t expect you to even know her name. It seems you are the person involved.”
Elizabeth glared at the actor, “Didn’t you say you won the tickets in a lottery?”
The actor stammered, “I… I…”
Elizabeth said angrily, “You lied to me! You lied to me again! What can I trust you with? You despise me for sleeping with others, but what about yourself? We’ve been together for three years, three whole years, and you’ve never given me any status. What security can I get from you?”
“Mr. Nick may not be good-looking, and his words may not be as pleasing as yours. But what he says is sincere. Honestly, that night, I was really confused. He promised me that if I spent the night with him, he would invest in your new movie.”
“Didn’t you always want to make your own movie?”
“I always thought you were like a crane in the sky, noble and proud. I was really mistaken about you. I didn’t expect you to be like this.”
Elizabeth looked at the actor with hatred in her eyes and dragged her suitcase to Mr. Nick’s side. She looked at the actor with a firm yet desolate gaze, “I’ve figured it out. Let’s break up. I can’t give you the happiness you want, and you can’t give me the happiness I want.”
She wiped the corners of her eyes and turned to Mr. Nick, “Mr. Nick, I’m sorry. Let your daughter have the painting. Can you take care of me when we leave? Let me go with you.”
Mr. Nick’s eyes gleamed with a victorious look. He reached out and gently stroked Elizabeth’s arm, and his fingers mischievously slipped under her sleeve. “Of course, my dear Elizabeth.”
The actor watched with a red face, but in the end, he didn’t say anything and walked down the stairs desolately.
Bai Lixin’s gaze swept over Richard, and he saw a flicker of resentment in Richard’s eyes. But this expression only appeared for a moment, disappearing so quickly that it made one wonder if their eyes had deceived them.
With the matter settled, Mr. Nick held his spoils in his arms. His face, which had been terrified due to death, now radiated with confidence. “Alright, let’s put past grievances behind. From now on, we’re all family. Daughter, you shouldn’t be so impolite.”
The eldest daughter bit her lip, her face full of unhappiness.
Hongyue whispered to Bai Lixin’s ear, “If I were the eldest daughter, I wouldn’t be happy either. She just lost a stepmother who was only a few years older than her, and now a stepmother who is even younger than her coming. Who can bear that?”
Mr. Nick glanced at his watch again. “Five minutes left, Elizabeth, are you done packing? Do you want me to help you?”
Elizabeth blushed, “Actually, I’m all packed. I was just a bit upset earlier, deliberately causing trouble. I’m sorry, Miss Nick, I was rude just now.”
Mr. Nick patted Elizabeth’s shoulder with a smile, “You don’t need to apologize to her for such things in the future. After leaving this cursed place, she will have to call you ‘Mom.’ A mother doesn’t apologize to her daughter. Elizabeth, I’m glad you made the right choice. Trust me, you won’t regret today’s decision.”
His gaze gradually became greedy, and after glancing at his watch, his eyes quickly stuck to Elizabeth’s beautiful face.
Suddenly, he grabbed Elizabeth’s hand and pulled her back to his room.
Elizabeth froze for a moment, and then her face quickly turned red.
She had guessed what would happen next.
Mr. Nick shouted at his eldest daughter as he walked, “Wait for me. The meeting will be delayed by half an hour. If someone can’t wait, let them go first.”
After leaving these words hastily, Mr. Nick dragged the bewildered Elizabeth back to his room.
With a heavy slam of the door, all the sounds inside the room were completely sealed off.
The eldest daughter stomped her feet in anger and complained to her sister, who had just come out of the room, “Father just said others couldn’t be late, but now he’s even worse. It makes me so angry. He will be ruined by his lust sooner or later.”
“Sister, please don’t say such things recklessly. What if something really happens to Father one day?”
The eldest daughter immediately closed her mouth.
Hongyue sighed, “Impressive. I would call Mr. Nick a battle horse among stallions. Even at this time, he can still lose his senses.”
“Now the sun has already started to set outside. It should be getting dark in half an hour, right?”
So far, due to deaths and disappearances, there are not many of the original 19 people left.
Currently, only Mr. Nick, the eldest daughter, and the youngest daughter are left in the Nick family.
Richard was alone.
Mrs. Aisli was alone now.
In the group of four actors, there are the director, the male actor, and the female actor, Elizabeth.
And then there are the three of them.
In total, there are only 11 people.
As the eldest daughter and the youngest Daughter dragged their suitcases back to their own rooms, only Richard, Bai Lixin, and Hongyue were left in the corridor.
They stood at the stairwell, and from this position, they could see Mrs. Nick’s room at a glance.
The attendants must have sprayed a lot of perfume in Mrs. Nick’s room, but the strong scent couldn’t hide the stench emanating from it.
The body had already begun to decompose.
The door to Mrs. Nick’s room was not closed, and from their angle, they could only see the dim room. The body in the dining hall couldn’t be seen.
