"Not entirely accurate but, better than I imagined."
Whispering under his breath, Calix looked at two portrait sketches in both of his hands. One of them had the face of that man while the woman was drawn on the other paper.
"Not knowing their nas is a bother but... where they live is another problem."
Calix exhaled a sigh, thinking how much of a wild goose chase he was doing now.
No matter how much Calix wanted to look for the mysterious couple, he didn’t have many clues aside from rembering their faces. He also didn’t know in which province or city they lived.
’I didn’t find anything from the news either.’
Based on the dream where he died, Calix looked up for news regarding hikers’ deaths in the past three autumn seasons. He believed the man was already deceased.
So far, nothing even remotely close ca up from his search.
Shaking his head, Calix put the sketches on his office work desk. They were drawn by Mr. Enoch yesterday.
The talented artist ca to Xu International on Thursday morning as arranged by Edward. He brought along his utensils to do the face sketches including the facial recognition reference book.
Calix freed up so ti in the morning to pay attention to what Mr. Enoch required. While going through his mories of those dreams, he checked the reference book at the sa ti.
As Mr. Enoch worked on the sketches in the beginning stage, Calix resud working. He had several etings in between, including a few conference calls.
Mr. Enoch showed his sketches from ti to ti, asking Calix if so parts needed adjustnts. After hours of hard work, the latter finally received two portrait sketches he was satisfied with.
’I can only try.’
Calix glanced at his wristwatch. The needles pointed to a quarter past four, forty-five minutes before the clocking-out ti but...
"Let’s go ho."
Pushing the swivel chair backward, Calix rose to his feet. He gathered a few items including the sketches before putting everything inside the briefcase.
Tomorrow was the weekend. Calix wished to spend so quality ti with Leslie and Calliope. They planned to have a lunch picnic by the lake tomorrow, together with Evelyn.
’Oh, I haven’t told Eve about that.’
Edward passed Calix a compilation of Chase’s hidden misdeeds yesterday. He had just read the papers today, being too occupied with work on the previous day.
Chase’s betrayal still saddened Evelyn but, her condition was definitely better than Calix had imagined. He believed his younger sister would regain much of her previous vigor once she received the file.
"Bye-bye, Boss Xu. See you in two weeks."
A smug Edward waved at the passing Calix, knowing his boss was already on his way ho. The forr’s whole face was beaming, expressing his overflowing inner joy.
Calix halted in his tracks. Staring impassively at Edward, he couldn’t help but think how annoying his close aide looked right now.
"Tsk, just you wait. I’ll go on vacation once you’re back."
Edward shrugged, pretending Calix’s words ant nothing.
"Don’t be jealous, Boss. I’ll bring back a keychain or two for you."
"...I don’t need those."
Edward would officially start his two-week sumr vacation this coming Monday. After a few changes, he finally decided to go on a long road trip.
From Silvercrest City, Edward planned to drive his van to Laguna Isles, a beach town in another province. He might take around one day of driving to reach the sumr hotspot. Of course, he wouldn’t forget to bring his beloved dog along.
Edward wanted to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival at Laguna Isles. Thousands of visitors would gather there to watch the colorful parade and vigorous race.
Then, Edward planned to drive up north, intending to make a couple of random stops before returning to Silvercrest City.
Shaking his head, Calix resud walking. Once again Edward’s voice echoed nearby.
"Boss~ Bye-bye! Don’t miss !"
"..."
Ignoring Edward, Calix replied nothing to the younger man. He disappeared inside the private elevator in no ti.
Calix’s drive back to Graceville Manor was smooth, arriving around half an hour before five. The sun was still high up in the sky.
Calix simply parked his car near the front porch instead of doing it inside the enclosed garage. Without wasting ti, he rushed into the manor with the briefcase.
"Welco ho, Mr. Calix," Aunt Wendy smilingly greeted Calix as they t in the hallway, "You’re early today, sir."
"Nothing much to do at work," Calix grinned. Loosening the necktie, he glanced around the area, "Where’s everyone?"
Aunt Wendy looked up to the ceiling for a second, "Mrs. Leslie, Miss Poppy and Miss Eve are at the pool. I’ve just gone there to send so snacks and drinks."
Calix raised his brows, thinking how the three ladies were having fun together. It seed like they were enjoying sumr.
"I’ll change my clothes before I go there."
Half-running to the staircase, Calix jumped a few stairs to get to the second floor faster. He quickly undressed, changing into a white baggy shirt while wearing a pair of quarter-length swim trunks.
CEO Xu hadn’t forgotten his idea to seduce Leslie through his charming beauty. He simply had no ti for that because of his hectic schedule.
A nervous Calix headed to the third floor. Walking in the direction where the rooftop pool area was, he caught echoes of playful laughter coming from there.
"Oh? Aha, they’re having so much fun ah."
Calix saw Evelyn and Calliope playing in the pool while Leslie sat on the lounge chair. None of them noticed him.
An idea crossed Calix’s mind. Mischief glinted in his eyes, followed by a smirk hanging on his lips.
"AAA!"
Screaming out loud, Calix made a mad dash to the pool area. His yell brought three pairs of eyes to him.
Frozen, Leslie, Evelyn and Calliope stared at Calix’s suspended figure in the air before he jumped into the pool in the next second.
SPLASH!
Calix’s jump sent a high torrent of waves to the sky, dazzled by the sumr sun. Propelling himself upward, he broke through the surface with a gasp of breath.
"Hahaha! Surprised?"
Calix’s laughter snapped Leslie, Evelyn and Calliope out of their stupor.
When did he return?!
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