âAfter my eyes are completely healed, in two or three months, I would always come here to live for a few days. I was missing you little deceiver who deceived my feelings and left irresponsibly. You didnât even leave a name and address, making me couldnât find you. I hated you so, so much. I wanted to catch you back and tie you then throw you into the pond.â
âTo the pond?â Olive rolled her eyes and knocked his forehead with her chopsticks, âItâs a good thing you can figure it out, dregs of feudalism.â
Alan peeled a shrimp and put it in her bowl, âAfter I calmed down, I thought again that you wouldnât be that kind of person. I canât imagine a young woman would stay with a disabled person for a year, taking care of him, encouraging him. What was her purpose? In the end, she didnât take anything with her and had even lost her innocence. If she was a liar, it didnât make sense. So, I thought she had to be threatened or blocked.â
âIt was fortunate that the car accident didnât mess up your head. It even left you a little wisdom.â Olive also peeled a shrimp and put it in his bowl as a reward. âBut, I have to correct something.â
âWhat is it?â
âActually, I left you a signal when I left, but I was afraid itâd be seen by a malicious person. So I hid it better. Itâs just a pity that you donât find it after so many years.â
âThere is.â Alan looked confused.
When she left that time, she took everything about her, except for the bottle filled with lucky stars that she folded for him every day and left it on top of the bed. He almost turned the whole place upside down, but he couldnât find her sign.
âI just looked around the room just now and something is missing. Did you take it?â Olive reminded him.
Alan was taken aback for a moment, âCould it be that bottle of lucky stars?â
The only thing he took from this house was that thing. But he never thought that there would be a mystery in it.
âYeah, the secret is in there. You didnât throw it away, did you? Then my hard work was really in vain.â
Olive felt regret for herself for that little idea. âEven if you still keep it, you still donât find the secret inside. It seems I was busy doing it for nothing.â
When they returned to the villa on the mountain, Kent and the others had a good hunt all morning. For example, hare, pheasant, snake and so on. They hunted a lot, but they didnât see any boar.
They did see a few sheep, but unfortunately, they were raised by people down the mountain. They had also bought one back. When they were on the way back, they found a badger hidden in the jungle by the roadside. They successfully captured it after several round of chasing.
As soon as they came back, they packed them up and put them in the fridge. They also discussed going to the lake on the other side of the mountain to fish in the afternoon, planning to have a taste of the mountain lake at night.
Although Finn Meyer was arrested and there were still some mopping-up matters to be dealt with, compared to the previous crucial work and tight nerves, they were much more relaxed now.
It had been a long time since they relaxed like this.
Seeing Alan and Olive had returned, Kent happily greeted, âHoyle, weâre going fishing. Letâs go together this time, or you donât get to eat tonight.â
Alan ignored him and ran upstairs.
âWhatâs wrong with him? You guys didnât fight, did you?!â Kent asked Olive. This was a rare sight, but it didnât look like it from their appearances.
Olive laughed without answering.
Kent squinted at the disappearing back figure from the corner of the stairs. âSo mysterious. Are you guys coming or not?â
Annie came over and pulled Oliveâs hand, âMommy, ask dad to come with. These old men are rude to the youngsters. They kept bullying me when you guys were away.â
âKid, youâre pretty good at complaining, huh? Are we that old?â Kent hit her little head with melon seed.
âAt least youâre not younger than me.â The little thing really knew how to be an annoying troublemaker, digging a gap in adultâs words.
Alan ran upstairs with a clear goal. It was the bottle of lucky stars with a hidden secret in it which he hadnât discovered in time.
This bottle once was placed in his study in the Hoyleâs residence. It was ever scattered all over the floor by Ophelia. Whether it was intentional or unintentional, he didnât like others to touch his precious things. Then, he brought it to this private villa and locked it in a drawer in the bedroom.
He was opening the lid and pouring all the contents to the bed. Three hundred and sixty-five stars. It happened to be the number of they were together for a year. He never lost one of them.
Sometimes when he lied on this bed and was unable to sleep, he would look at them in daze, wondering where she could be and whether she was well. But he never thought that there were secret hidden in it.
His little wifeâs hands were very talented. Each star was very delicate. If she didnât tell him, he really thought that they were nothing unusual. These looked no difference.
He couldnât help but grumbled. Could the girl be playing pranks on him?
He held the empty transparent bottle and looked at it left and right. He even took a look at the bottom and there was nothing engraved on it. It had always been this bottle and he had never changed it.
He took a look at the lid again. And he did find something. Inside the lid, there was a thin layer of light yellow foam paper attached to the top of the lid. He opened it with his fingers.
When he turned it over, it wasnât surprising that there were a few handwritings written on it. Because of the time, the color was oxidized, but he could still recognize it.
âLuo City, Olive Steele, girl, waiting for you.â
It turned out that she really gave him a hint, but he didnât find it and missed so much time. He was too stupid to not notice it earlier.
The men downstairs were teasing Annie when they saw Alan rushing down hurriedly and hugged Olive tightly.
âBaby, Iâm sorry!â He was sorry that he didnât find it earlier. He was sorry to have caused her suffering for so many years. He was sorry that he didnât get to her side earlier. He was sorry to let others hurt herâ¦
Olive hugged her back and chuckled, âItâs okay. Itâs the past already.â
This sudden scene made the others confused and staring at each other.
Only Kent Bai who had thick-skin dared to break the couple. âWhich play are you guys acting now?
Hoyle, are you sorry because youâve done something wrong to Olive and is caught red handed? Olive, if heâs really sorry, you canât forgive me so easily. You have to torture him severely.â
Alan slowly let go of Olive and his eyes flashed. He gave him a kick. âGet out. I canât expect good words from a scoundrel like you. You just love to make trouble.â
How could Kent let him easily kick him? After he dodged, he avoided him and wasnât even angry. âDonât scold me. But this truly makes people curious. How about you tell us?â
âSo you men quite like to gossip, huh?â Olive laughed.
âI donât have much interest in other peopleâs gossip, but gossip about Young master Hoyle will not be missed, âKent smiled evilly.
âThen Iâm really sorry because this is our little secret. Outsiders may not know.â Alan bent over and carried his daughter, walking out with his wife.
Kent shouted at him, âHey, where are you going?â
Alan turned his head and raised his eyebrows, âDidnât you say youâre going fishing? Letâs go!â
On the other side of the mountain, Olive had never been there. When the road was blocked before, she had to take a detour that she was afraid it would be impossible to reach it after a day and night. Now that the road was repaired, it was only an hour and a half car ride.
This was a natural lake formed by a volcanic eruptions millions of years ago. There were many kinds of fish in the lake. After the development of tourism, there were a lot of tourists and various stalls, the boat business was booming.
The men were in high spirits. They were wearing beach pants, propping up umbrellas in a favorable spot. Each carried a large barrel with a fishing road. They opened their arms wide to prepare for a big catch.
Kent said, âThe one who fishes the most today, Iâll give him a one-week vacation. For the one who fished the least, sorry, but you have to work overtime for seven days.â
âBoss Bai, your rewards and punishments are interesting. You have to keep your word.â Damon was eager to try.
Kent said, âIâm not bullshitting.â
Luke said, âThen Boss Bai, the judging method is to win by quantity or by weight?â
Kent looked at Alan, âWhat do you think?â
Alan just bought temporary sun hats and sunglasses for his wife and daughter from a vendor. He put them on for them before he said, âSmall shrimps and small fish arenât enough to fill the mouth. Of course it depends on the weight. The bigger the better and has less bones.â
James laughed and said, âHey, boss, what if you two lose? Even if you work overtime, thereâs still a group of people doing this and that for you. So, you have to change the punishment for you.â
Alan easily said, âIf I lose, Iâll give a villa anywhere in the city to the winner.â
James rubbed his nose, âI prefer Paganiâs latest sports car.â
Kent slapped the back of his head, âYou brat, you actually already have something in mind. But itâs not a sure thing whether you can obtain the car key.â
Alan didnât matter, âVilla, sports car, anything is fine. As long as you guys can win against me in the end.â
Kent also said, âYes. If I lose, Iâll grant each of your small wish. Material things, donât come to me if itâs a mental things. For example, finding a girlfriendâI can do nothing about that.â
At this moment, Alan didnât forget to jab him. âYou usually are arrogant, but this time is the real harsh truth.â
Everybody understood and burst into laughter.
âIâm way too lazy with you lots,â Kent glared and turned his back to them.
Olive had no experience in fishing and Annie didnât seem to be interested, so she wanted to go on a boat.
There were a lot of boats on the lakes. Occasionally, speedboats would pass by, dragging long white waves.
After they bought the tickets, they boarded the boat with a group of tourists. Annie put on a variety of cute looks and asked Olive to take pictures of her, then asked a tourist on the same boat to take pictures of them.
They picked the best two pictures and sent them to her grandparents in Luo City.
The little girl typed a text message very quickly. A line below was written: The bad guy is arrested by the police. Mommy and I are circling the lake, while dad and uncles are fishing. Weâll go to Disney tomorrow.
A young couple on the boat recognized Olive Steele and Annie, and carefully asked, âYouâre Mrs.
Hoyle, right?â