Chapter 125 Still So Damn Heartless
At least she had moved into Gabriel's apartment.
Jessica lay on the unbelievably soft large bed, glancing at the time.
It was almost midnight. Jessica wasn't sure if messaging him now would disturb him, but she remembered the goodnight text he had sent over an hour ago.
From the evening meeting at Joyful Oasis Hotel to dealing with neighborhood drunkards and the lengthy packing, she was undoubtedly weary. Yet, she couldn't dismiss the unease these incidents had stirred. But these two words, inexplicably, provided her with a sense of immense comfort.
It made her whole being calm down inexplicably.
She opened the WhatsApp chat box and replied.
Jessica: [Goodnight.]
Adding “a small moon” emoji, she was about to put down her phone in satisfaction.
But suddenly, she hesitated, taking another look.
Gabriel's initial WhatsApp profile picture was still the same, with a white background and a gray faceless half-body figure. His WhatsApp doesn't seem newly registered; could it be that he has never utilized it before?
Could it be that he didn't even bother to change his profile picture?
Comparing it to the pink princess avatar that Danielle had set for her, Gabriel's indifferent and almost heartless profile picture now strangely gave off a different kind of cuteness.
Jessica raised an eyebrow, thinking that since he hadn't let her sleep on the streets, she should show him some mercy.
Meanwhile, in the study, Gabriel was in a video call with Jimmy Cox, a criminal investigation professor at the Lindwood City FBI in Country M, discussing the recent impact of the riot-like protests caused by the mishandling of the police here and the global financial situation.
The phone on the table lit up, displaying Jessica's name on the screen.
He raised his hand, signaling Jimmy to pause the video call, and picked up the phone to check.
First, he saw Jessica's rare goodnight message, and then she sent several screenshots in a row. Opening them, he found tutorials on how to change WhatsApp profile pictures that she had carefully cut into several parts and sent over one by one.
Jessica was still sending screenshots, and finally, she sent him tutorials on how to find suitable avatars online.
In the end, she sent a message.
Jessica: [Alright, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me.]
Seeing the so-called avatar-changing tutorials she had carefully cut out, Gabriel chuckled lightly.
On the video call, Jimmy took a sip of his coffee, glancing at Gabriel on the screen.
Seeing this usually stoic and cold-blooded man showing a hint of softness towards the phone screen was unexpected.
Jimmy raised an eyebrow at Gabriel's subtle change, casually teasing, "What's so interesting on your phone? Is it worth sitting alone in the study laughing in the middle of the night?"
Gabriel put down his phone, his voice flat as he retorted, "Starting to drink clear coffee? Quit smoking?"
Jimmy too set his coffee cup on the table, his gaze on the screen-held Gabriel softened by a glimmer of humanity.However, Gabriel's momentary softness was just that—a moment. When it came to being heartless, he was still as heartless as ever, his words piercing like a sharp arrow.
Why suddenly quit smoking? For whom did he suddenly quit smoking?
Why suddenly had time for international calls, even leisurely enough to drink clear coffee at home?
Jimmy didn't dwell on Gabriel's sarcastic remark. They weren't here for small talk; after a few words, they quickly returned to their previous topic.
Early the next morning, Jessica turned over. Her bed at home was comfortable, but this bed was even softer, unbelievably soft. She had slept soundly until dawn, so comfortable that she didn't dream all night.
If she didn't have to rush to the set today, she would have loved to lie in this bed for another whole day, or even until the end of time.
Reluctantly getting up to freshen up, she suddenly remembered that Danielle was still staying at the kindergarten. If she had moved from her previous place, the kindergarten would have had to change, too.
On the way to the set, Jessica kept searching for kindergartens near Blue Bay Apartments in the car.
Kindergartens in downtown were expensive, with public ones being more affordable but not allowing children to stay overnight. There were only two private kindergartens nearby, with prices exorbitant, almost equivalent to aristocratic kindergartens.
If Jessica hadn't been so busy lately, Danielle wouldn't have had to stay at the kindergarten so often. But now, with her frequent night shoots and Caroline still not back from her hometown.
Jessica called Caroline, asking how long it would take for her to return to Xyleria. Caroline felt a bit embarrassed, knowing she had taken too long of leave, and said she would be back within half a month.
During this half month, she couldn't let Danielle continue at the old kindergarten, especially since Cynthia had warned about suspicious individuals frequenting the area.
The main reason for leaving her previous residence was to protect Danielle's life from the influence of these messy media.
Just as she arrived at the set, Mackenzie, with dark circles under her eyes, cornered her in the nanny car.
"The endorsement we agreed on is gone just like that, my hard work! My money!" Mackenzie sat in the car, reaching out to grab Jessica's neck and shook her forcefully. "Do you know what happened before I left the Joyful Oasis Hotel last night? Mr. Morris received quite a blow from somewhere; he went back to the private room and had been drinking and crying, looking desperate. I slipped out when they weren't paying attention, but the endorsement from this place is definitely gone!"
Jessica quickly grabbed Mackenzie's hand, making Mackenzie release it. She rubbed her pinched sore throat and said, "What hit him out of the blue?"
Mackenzie, with a mournful face, said, "I don't know, but he looked really hopeless. But can his despair compare to mine? Your first endorsement! It slipped away from us just like that!"
The current endorsement fee for Jessica wasn't high, but what Mackenzie valued was the title of the endorser. Although it was just a line of endorsement for a facial mask, it was indeed a good start for Jessica's current business resources. But it was canceled before it even began.
Mackenzie was just crying when she saw her in the morning.
In the afternoon, she suddenly burst into tears in the nanny car while holding her phone.
"The people of KC are really outrageous!" Mackenzie cursed, "They called me in the morning to cancel the collaboration, and in the afternoon, they announced that Deborah would endorse their new facial mask and cream! The posters are already out clearly the materials were prepared long ago! Why did they bother us a few days ago? Are they deliberately mocking us?"
Jessica raised her eyelids, glancing at the poster Mackenzie mentioned.
In the poster, Deborah's slightly tilted face clearly indicated that the facial mask advertisement had been prepared in advance, meaning KC had initially intended for her to be the endorser..
"This is excessive." Mackenzie exploded. "They are simply going too far!"
