Chapter 156 Happy New Year
Embarrassment rooted her to the spot.
She wanted to explain to Dolores.
But Dolores stopped her and roared, "What second-hand phone?What exactly do you want to do? Who allowed you to use Lloyd's phone to tweet? Do you want to tell everyone that you are celebrating the New Year together?"
Ebony felt like Dolores really got angry, because she had been talking nonsense.
She was afraid that Dolores would take that 2000 dollars back, so she quickly admitted her mistake. She said, "Dolores, it was my bad. I will top up membership now to turn off the Twitter Source feature, Okay?"
"It's too late! People have known it!"
Dolores was trembling with anger. She had been taking great care of Ebony's public image, yet it was ruined so easily by a simple tweet.
She calmed down and asked in a deep voice, "Is Lloyd around?"
Ebony looked at Lloyd, who was still having soup, and said, "Stop eating! Something happened."
Lloyd raised his eyes looking at her.
Ebony put the phone on speaker, and then said timidly, "Dolores, go ahead. He can hear you now."
Dolores took a deep breath. She explained the situation to Lloyd, and then said, "Mr. Vasquez, I know this matter itself has nothing to do with you, and it's mainly about Ebony's problem, but the fact that you eat with her on New Year Eve has made people gossip."
Lloyd put down the bowl and chopsticks and asked in a low voice, "How do you want me to cooperate?"
Dolores breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Actually, you don't need to do anything. We will control the public opinion, and it would be great if you could agree not to make a statement for it."
What she meant was to tell him not to do anything in the way of hindering them from controlling the public opinion.
Lloyd glanced at Ebony.
Ebony was also looking at him eagerly.
Lloyd said, "Okay."
After hearing that Lloyd agreed, Dolores didn't say anything more. She hung up the phone after giving Ebony an earful again.
It was supposed to be a beautiful New Year's Eve, but Ebony lost the appetite after such a bad thing happened.
In the end, she only ate three bowls of rice.
And then she put down her chopsticks and unhappily got up to wash the dishes.
When she turned on the faucet, Lloyd walked over, stood beside her, rolled up his sleeves and said, "I'll do it."
Ebony glanced at him and moved away.
Lloyd was a bit clumsy, but he washed them cleanly. After he was done, Ebony wiped them with a dry cloth and then put the dishes back in the cabinet.
When they finished everything, Ebony checked out Twitter again, and saw that Dolores had already controlled gossip from spreading.
Water army said Ebony and Lloyd were just working together, and they had a work meal or something. As for using Lloyd's phone to tweet, it was just because Ebony's phone was out of power.
Whether the phone was out of power or not, it was very unconvincing that water army said it was a work meal.
-- [What kind of star would eat those kind of dishes on the New Year Eve? There was barely meat in the dishes. Is that how they ring in the new year?]
Ebony was speechless.
Ebony snorted, looked up and asked Lloyd, "Weren't my dishes good?"
Lloyd was peeling apples for her, and he said softly, "Good."
Ebony said, "Yeah, you ate them all!"
Lloyd didn't say anything.
In fact, he didn't eat much, and that was because she ate the most of the food.
After cutting the apple, he handed a piece to her and comforted, "Stop reading the comments."
Ebony wanted to talk back to the water army, but considering they were hired by Dolores, she dared not do it.
Seeing her staring at the phone with full attention, Lloyd handed the apple to her lips.
Ebony opened her mouth and took it.
Lloyd smiled.
Ebony chewed it a few times and swallowed it. Then another slice of apple was handed over, and she ate it again.
When Ebony put down her phone, she had eaten the whole apple.
Lloyd cleaned up the peel on the table, then took the fruit knife and went to the kitchen to wash.
When he came out again, he saw Ebony looking at him.
He walked over, sitting down, and asked, "What's up?"
Ebony wanted to ask him to leave. She said, "When are you leaving?"
Lloyd wiped his hands with a tissue, and said casually, "It's still early."
Ebony glanced at the owl clock by her, and said, "It's getting late. It's past nine o'clock."
Lloyd picked up the remote control, turned on the TV and said, "I'd like to watch TV for some time."
Ebony said with an expressionless face, "I didn't pay the cable bill, so there is no channel."
Lloyd didn't know what to say.
Ebony stood up from the sofa, put on her coat, and said, "I'll walk you down."
Lloyd didn't do or say anything.
Ebony picked up Lloyd's coat and handed it to him.
Lloyd glanced at her. He took the coat, putting it on the other side. Then he took Ebony's hand, letting her sit down.
Ebony sat beside him inexplicably.
Then Lloyd took out his phone and used it for a moment. In a short while, Ebony's phone rang.
She picked the phone up and saw that it was a message on WhatsApp sent from Lloyd. He transferred her 200 dollars.
That was a New Year "present" given by Lloyd.
"Wow!"
Ebony rolled her eyes, not urging Lloyd to leave anymore, but started typing.
Ebony almost forgot people nowadays would send presents in the form of money on WhatsApp on New Year.
Two minutes later, Ebony posted a moment visible to all of her friends on Facebook.
Ebony wrote, "Happy New Year! Thank you in advance for your New Year's presents - "$". Although you haven't sent them yet, maybe it's because you're too busy with work. I'd still like to thank you beforehand in hope you will send them to me soon!"
After a while, Ebony's cell phone started to rang.
Dolores commented below, "You are so bold!"
Ebony replied, "..."
Director Knapp commented, "Well, we don't send gifts to you."
Ebony replied, "..."
A private message from Jacob, "[Transferred]$10. Well, Happy New Year, my wife!"
A private message from Rita, "[Transferred]$150. Love you, Ebony."
A private message from Teri, "[Transferred]$150. Wish you a good year ahead."
All of them send "presents" and well-wishes to her.
Ebony was very moved, and she also sent a lot of blessings to them.
At this time, the phone rang again.
It was from Stella.
Stella transferred her 10 thousand dollars to her and sent her a blessing message, "Miss Gibson, Happy New Year."
Ebony was lost for words, and she was stunned.
10 thousand dollars??
Was this so called "silver-spoon kid"? How amazing!
But Ebony didn't accept the money, she reluctantly typed a line of words - "Don't send such large amount of money as a present! You are a minor and that's your parents' money!"
After finishing speaking, she clutched her chest and said to Lloyd, "Aww, Stella is such a good girl. I like her so much!"
Lloyd was silent for a while, then picked up the phone again.
After a while.
She received private message from Lloyd, "[Transferred]$1000."
Ebony was shocked.
After she received his money, she pondered for a moment, and tentatively said to Lloyd again, "Teri is so nice... I like her so much!"
Lloyd glanced at her.
Ebony added, "Rita is so good, and I like her so much..."
Lloyd was lost for words.
He sighed, got up, picked up his jacket, and said coolly, "It's indeed time to leave."
Now it was Ebony's turn to be lost for words.
Ebony saw that Lloyd couldn't be deceived easily, so she could only get up and take him downstairs.
At the entrance of the community grocery store, Ebony thought about something and said to Lloyd, "Give me a minute."
She ran into the grocery store, bought a box of gift-wrapped candy written "Happy New Year", and then came out and gave it to Lloyd.
Looking at the box, Lloyd was stunned, "I am surprised you didn't grudge spending money on this."
Ebony said generously, "It's no big deal. I just think it's too tacky to send money as a gift. A thoughtful gift would be more appropriate for the New Year. I hope you like it. And Lloyd, Happy New Year!"
Under the street lamps, Lloyd looked the girl's bright and clear eyes, and a gentle smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
At this time, Ebony pulled her bulging coat pockets up.
She looked away, coughed, and said with a guilty tone, "If you open the box and find out that there are some of the biggest chocolates and the most expensive doughnuts missing, don't be too surprised, because it is just the way it is."
Lloyd was speechless.