âThatâs fine. Grandma can afford to waste it. This is the first time Grandma buys you something because of my sincerity, you canât refuse it, understand?â
âOh.â Annie seemed to understand.
âHudson, prepare the car and take me and this little lady to go shopping. Ada, youâre coming too.â
Mrs. Hoyle did things was simply swift. Soon, the driver had taken them out.
Ada sat on the passenger seat and looked at the grandma with her granddaughter at the back seat.
She secretly smiled and sneakily sent a text message to Olive, âThe queen has fallen into the invincible charm of the little witch Aniet Steele, and she has been upgraded to be the little lady of the Hoyle Family. It seems like the queen wonât let her granddaughter go home tonight. You guys can enjoy your own world.â
Reading the text message, Olive smiled.
Alan looked at her stupidly smiled, âWhat are you smiling at?â
Olive handed her phone over, âLook, your daughter succeeded in bewitching your mother. Iâm a not as good as my daughter, so jealous.â
Mrs. Hoyle led Annie to childrenâs clothing area. Her big hand pointed down, left and right. She chose a bunch and asked the salesperson to pack them.
Annie refused, âGrandma, I only need to buy one.â
âIsnât it good to buy more?â Mrs. Hoyle asked.
Annie deadpanned, âDad has bought me a lot of clothes and I even havenât wore them. And you buy more clothes for me. Before I get to wear them, Iâll grow taller already and I canât wear them anymore.
Itâs a pity, isnât it? So, itâs better to leave them to children who like them. Grandma, if you like to buy clothes for me, you can wait Annie to get older next, next year later after I grow taller.â
Ada stood by admiring the little witch. At a young age, she could plan far ahead already. Could this be said as she was doing things in the long-term plan?
âYou really donât want them?â Mrs. Hoyle was afraid that she was being a stranger with her, so that was why she didnât want them.
Annie determinedly shook her head, âI like that little red dress. Grandma, letâs buy this one?â
This child wasnât a greedy child, Mrs. Hoyle thought sincerely.
When paying, Annie saw a suspicious man trailing behind an unfamiliar grandmother. His hands were in his pantsâ pockets on this hot day, but Annie still noticed the clip he was hiding in the bag with her sharp eyes.
Big Beard once told her that it was thiefâs tool for committing crimes. There might be a blade inside that was used to cut leather bags and pockets.
She took out the mini slingshot that Kent Bai gave her from her small shoulder bag. She watched at the man closely. As long as he dared to reach out, she dared to shot at his hand.
After Mrs. Hoyle paid it and carried the bag, she turned around and saw Annieâs strange behavior. Just as she was about to step forward, Ada pulled her and whispered, âLook at how our little princess wisely fights thief.â
It turned out that she had already noticed Annieâs weird behavior. When she followed the little girlâs sight, she saw the sneaky thief.
As soon as thiefâs hand with blade cut open the old ladyâs purse, Annieâs slingshot hit his hand accurately.
The thiefâs hand shook and alarmed the old lady. When she looked bag, she saw the long slice on her bag, then looked at the blade fell from the manâs hand. The man wanted to escape after being exposed, so she immediately understood and shouted, âThief, thief! Donât let him get away.â
The thief ran fast and the old lady couldnât even catch the hem of his clothes. But he ran to the wrong direction as he ran towards Annie. Didnât this mean he was throwing himself into the net?
No one would have thought that a six-year-old child would be dangerous. The thief didnât even look at her as he basically ignored her existence. But Annie was very clever. She wasnât as big as the thief, but she had keen eyes.
The thief thought that as long as he rushed to the front exit and ran out of the mall, he should be safe.
He wanted to rush out quickly before alarming the security.
But Annie gave him the most fatal trip when he was about to pass her.
The thief knocked over and slammed onto the hard floor that his eyes saw stars.
But it was important to escape. Even if he was dizzy, he needed to get up and run. It wasnât fun to get caught.
Seeing that he wanted to get up, Annie immediately jumped on the thiefâs back and jumped twice. Her small slingshot knocked on his head and she said, âWho asked you to steal from an old woman?â
Her shout had already alarmed the nearby clerks and customers. Two male customers instantly rushed to hold him down.
The thief found himself being caught by a little kid and he said viciously, âYou brat, donât let me see you again in the future.â
This kind of threat was really an insignificant thing for Annie, âHmph, youâre a man who has hands and legs, yet you want to steal from a grandma. Itâs best not to let me see you again too. Mr. Thief, Iâll beat you once if I see you once. Iâll beat your hands until theyâre crippled.â
The onlookers were shocked by the little girlâs behavior and applauded.
âWhose child is this? So smart.â
âSheâs so cute.â
âYoung but courageous.â
When Mrs. Hoyle initially looked at the little girl sitting on the thief indifferently, she thought the girl was a bit rough. But she was pretty happy when she heard these compliments. Even the little discomfort she felt just now turned to very cute.
Then she thought of her agile posture when she jumped from the stairs guardrail that night without injury, and began to believe what Aoba told her about the incredible things.
When this child grew up, she must not be easy. How could the Hoyle lose such an excellent granddaughter? She could only be blamed for being blindfolded and confused.
The thief was taken away by the security guards who came after hearing the news and the old lady came over to thank Annie.
Annie said, âGrandmother, you have to be careful with your bag from now on. Put it in front like me and the thief wonât find a chance to act!â
The old lady stroked the little girlâs face, âOh, my. Whose little princess is this? So cute and mature.
Who taught you this?â
Annie answered, âMy mommy taught me!â
The old lady praised, âYour mommy is amazing. She taught you to be such a brave and smart little girl.â
This remark slightly moved Mrs. Hoyleâs heart. Everyone said like mother, like daughter. A child wasnât born with knowing everything. Obviously, Oliveâs education was successful.
Maybe she should try to accept that woman?
Mrs. Hoyle felt complicated. She said so confident before, leaving no leeway. Did she need to bow her head to admit her mistake? Wouldnât this extinguish her authority?
No!
But if she didnât accept that woman, her son wouldnât come back. If her son wouldnât come back, she was afraid that her granddaughter couldnât come back either.
This child still held the name Steele. Alan had been with that woman for so long, yet he didnât change the childâs surname. She really didnât know what her son was thinking.
On the way back to the Hoyleâs residence, Annie said to Mrs. Hoyle, âGrandma, I want to call Olive.â
Mrs. Hoyle frowned slightly, âDo you always call your mommy by her name?â
âYeah. Sometimes I call her mommy, sometimes I call her Olive. Iâll even call her Olie, Ivie, and mommy will let me. She wonât be angry. She said mother and daughter arenât just mother and daughter, they can also be friends or best friends. They can whisper and share little secrets. So, Iâll mostly tell mommy what little secrets I have.â
This kind of teaching by Olive was quite special, Mrs. Hoyle thought secretly.
âYouâre still so young, what little secret do you have?â
Annie asked back, âCanât children have secrets?â
âYou can.â Mrs. Hoyle stared at her big watery eyes. She was very lovable.
âGrandma, can you lend me your phone for me to make a call?â Annie turned back to the topic.
âWhy? Are you afraid that she wonât let you spend the night at grandmaâs house?â Mrs. Hoyle was a little unhappy.
âNo. Itâs my dad who didnât let me come and said he would take me to Disneyland. But Olive said, let me make my own choice. I either can go to Disney to play or go to grandmaâs house,â Annie told the truth.
âYou chose to come to grandmaâs house yourself?â Mrs. Hoyle was a little surprised by this.
She originally thought that Olive must had scheming something to allow the child to come over and she wanted to trap her with the child first.
Annie said, âYes. Grandma, have you forgotten? I said I would discuss with you the issue of how Olive take care a child, so I came.â
âYeah. I know this. She does take good care of you,â Mrs. Hoyle also had to admit this. How could a child who wasnât taken good care being this good?
âGrandma, Olive is a good woman. Really, Iâm not lying to you. Children canât lie. Once they lie, their nose will become so long and itâs ugly,â Annie said with a frown, squeezing her cheeks.
Mrs. Hoyle couldnât help but laughed, âWhen we get home later, grandma will call your mom personally.â
The little girlâs eyes lit up, âReally?â
âReally. Grandmaâs nose will grow long too if I lie,â Mrs. Hoyle smiled.
With a child by her side, time passed so fast. One day had passed in a blink of an eye. Now, she didnât need to worry about the companyâs affairs. She was completely free now. She didnât know how long her two sons could stay in Jiangcheng. Her daughter was about to fly alone too. In a huge old mansion, she was left alone and grew lonelier.
When Olive received Mrs. Hoyleâs call, Kent was pulling Alan and her to sing in the KTV with his group of men.
She laughed at him because he had excess energy and nowhere to vent.
Kent looked at them both with a smirk, âOf course, Iâm not like your man. A gentle companion every night, intoxicated and never awakened from dreams. I finally found a woman, yet you have to keep her work at that hotel. I havenât settled that with you. Donât try to run away from drinks tonight. I wonât be Bai if I donât get you two drunk.â
Olive smiled, âSure. You can have any surname you want. Iâll go outside to pick up a phone call first.â
The number was unfamiliar. It was Jiangchengâs landline number.
Mrs. Hoyleâs cold voice came from the other end, âIs this Olive Steele?â
Olive smiled a little, âYes. Hello, Mrs. Hoyle!â
âAnnie will stay the night at my place, so she wonât go back to your home.â
This wasnât a discussion at all, but Olive wasnât angry. It took a while for someone who hated you to suddenly talk to you in a gentle and mild way.
âAs long as Annie is willing, I have no objection.â