Although Olive had known Norton for a long time, it was the first time for her to visit the Geveâs residence.
She used to meet the old man at either in the office or in the hospital. This place was strange and special to her.
The house stood on the east side of the city surrounded by Osmanthus trees with branches and lush leaves. This road was called Osmanthus Road. Every year in August, the fragrance of the Osmanthus flowers stretched for several miles. It was long-lasting and often attracted tourists to linger.
Although the street lights at night werenât bright, she could still see that the house had been a few years and it felt out of place with the surrounding new buildings.
Olive tried to keep herself calm and walked into house that was both near and far away.
The Geve was shocked when they saw their daughter swayed in her walk and leaned against the door.
âWhatâs wrong?â
Alan handed Susan who leaned heavily against him to the servant. He got rid of her, but he still calmly said, âItâs nothing. Some of us gathered around and she drank more because sheâs happy.â
Had it not been for fear this womanâs weight would crush his wifeâs small body, he wouldnât bother to help this woman. With his temperament, it would be considered polite of him if he just threw her directly to the street.
Although Dave coaxed this woman to drink a few more glasses, seeing her drunk and messed up, he couldnât dispel his doubts. In his intuition, this woman might have some drunker reaction, but she shouldnât be so drunk that she couldnât wake up.
She pretended to be someone else, so she naturally could pretend to be drunk. As for the purpose, maybe she took precautions so that she wouldnât speak out and she would inquire something from it.
It wasnât impossible.
It was said that you might not have bad thoughts of hurting others, but you had to be on guard and be wary of others. Not to mention, this woman wasnât honest. Even if his girl didnât want the position, he couldnât let other woman be impudent.
As he wouldnât expose for the time being, he would let it be to have a bigger catch later. Besides, her wife had the meaning to catch her too, as a husband, there was no reason not to cooperate.
As far as Alan could think, Olive naturally was also on guard, but to avoid alerting Susan, she pretended to be stupid. She said to the two elders of the Geve, âDonâ worry. I guarantee you sheâll skip and jump about tomorrow. Sheâs fine.â
When Lory heard this, the strain in her heart fell down and her tight expression loosened up. Because of their debt, both parents naturally treasured the daughter who finally returned home.
âMrs. Wu, take Susan back to her room. Olive, Alan, come in. Iâll make you tea.â
Alan said, âItâs okay. Itâs late now, you guys should rest earlier. Weâll leave first.â
Olive didnât plan to stay longer, so she had no comment.
Norton said in a little displeased, âI thought to let you guys stay for the night, but you slip faster than loach. Alan, even if time is precious, you donât need to be this anxious.â
Olive was speechless. What were they talking about? What an annoying old man.
Alanâs expression didnât change. He smiled and even teased himself, âItâs not like youâve never been young, old man. Since you know that Iâm anxious, be kind and donât bother us.â
Olive punched him.
Norton laughed happily, âOh? Olive can get shy too, huh? Your face is all red. This is rare.â
Olive sighed innocently, âMy face isnât red. I was shot. I can even get injured by a stray bullet while just standing aside.â
Norton pursed his lips like a child, âEnough. Donât stray too far from the topic. Just one word, stay or not? If you stay, accompany this old man for breakfast tomorrow morning.â
Alan laughed, âOld man, you have people accompanying you for breakfast, so we wonât spoil the fun.â
Nortonâs face suddenly fell, âWhat do you mean spoil the fun? The way I see it, youâre afraid of us disturbing your fun. Hmph. Donât think I donât understand you youngsters, full of cunning.â
Alan pulled Olive into his arms, provoking Norton with a glance, then looked at Olive affectionately, âAm I, honey?â
âIf you dare to, Iâm going to cut you.â Olive made a snip gesture.
At this moment, Norton was amused and beamed with joy, âGirl, you have to be cruel with this kid Alan.
If you canât beat him, donât worry, Iâll help you press him and you can skin him. No matter what, weâre also half your family. If not you, who else?â
Alan glanced at him. âIs there a family who wishes for both husband and wife not in harmony? I think itâs you who have bad intentions. Come on. Itâs very late and Iâm sleepy. Patient like you should be in bed already. Do you want to lie back on the hospital bed on your anniversary?â
Norton didnât like listening to these words and immediately scolded, âYou have such a nasty mouth.
Fine. If you donât want to stay, get out.â
It wasnât that he was afraid of death, but there were still a lot of things for him to be worried about. He still wouldnât leave his wife and so was his daughter who had just returned.
But Alan had been waiting for these words. He pulled his wife and waved at him, âThen bye bye, good night.â
After Lory sent them out from The Geveâs door, Norton just realized that he had fallen into Alanâs hole again. He grumbled, âHe ran faster than a rabbit.â
Lory looked at her increasingly childish husband and chuckled, âYouâve troubled them enough and you have to say a lot things every time you meet. Is there anyone like you? If itâs me, I would have ignored you already.â
âYouâre my wife. How can you ignore me?â
In the house, the old man continued with his chatter and was full of energy, while after the car outside came out from the Osmanthus Road, Olive took out a folded tissue from her bag and handed it to Alan.
Alan asked, âWhat is this?â
âSusanâs hair.â
At the bar, she skillfully stole a few strands of hair from Susanâs head, then found an excuse to wrap it up in the bathroom.
Blood ties were something that couldnât be changed. If you deceived it, the truth would reveal one day.
Only Olive didnât expect that the Geveâs wedding anniversary would be so grand. Not only had they invited several famous figures in Luo City, but also several media companies.
Actually, it wasnât difficult to understand. The old man just wanted to take this opportunity to announce to the outside world the news of the return of Nortonâ Geveâ daughter, so that Susan would have the right to inherit the Geveâs properties.
âOlive, girl, youâre here.â Norton looked very energetic tonight, as if his sickness was thousands of miles away. She could hear her laugh from miles away. Seeing his wrinkles of smile lines, others were easily infected.
Olive handed him a present and Norton accepted it beamingly with joy, but he snorted towards Alan as a sign of greeting.
The older he got, the more childish he was. The old man remembered Alanâs trick that night.
Alan ignored him, smiled and congratulated him. At the end, he didnât forget to add, âOld man, spirit up during this happy event. Your complexion looks good today, stay that way.â
Norton patted his chest and said, âOf course. Even if I canât live until a hundred, Iâll live until ninety-
nine.â
Alan raised his eyebrows and smiled, âWhy are you suddenly so confident?â
âOf course. Itâs a beautiful day. If I die too early, Iâm too kind. Iâm telling you, be prepared to be harassed by me for a long time,â Norton said with a sullen tone, but his face kept smiling.
âWelcome.â This was also his future father-in-law. Alan wouldnât dare to neglect him.
A man who truly loved a woman would naturally love everything about her.
Alan could see that his wife was very concerned about this old man, but she was still conflicting between acknowledging him or not. He wouldnât interfere with her decision, but he believed that she would think through one day.
âThere are a lot of guests today, so enjoy yourselves. Iâll entertain other guests first.â Several groups of people came in and Norton waved at them.
Alan was also soon surrounded by people. Wherever he went, he was hotly chased. No matter how low-profile he kept, he couldnât hide his brilliance.
Olive noticed that there was no shadow of Susan in the hall. She thought that Auntie Lory had to be at upstairs with her preparing for a grand and stunning appearance, because the arrangement of the spiral staircase was like a garden corridor. She just didnât know that a vixenâs tail had come out and its face painted with smile.
Ellison Geve was like a reborn. He became much more humble when talking with people.
He saw her, came over with a wine and handed her one. âThank you for that matter.â
Olive faintly smiled, âYouâre welcome. The old man may not donât know that Iâve given you a hundred thousand. The reason why I closed an eye is because youâre the son he raises. You arenât blood related but still a family, otherwise he wonât insist on paying you the treatment fee. I hope you remember your promise that day and donât disappoint the old two people again.â
What Ellison referred to was that a few days before Olive went to Jiangcheng, she accidentally met him on the street. Without the protection of the Geve, it was difficult to get a job. No company dared to hire an addict. Even though he had been clearly stated that he had successfully given up drug addiction, no one would believe him.
Having lost the capital to spend freely, those friends who once crossed their hearts and said that brothers and sisters would help each other when they were in trouble hid as far as possible.
Losing the value to use him, he was kicked out of the circle. When he was penniless, he asked them to lend money. It was amiable enough not to scoff at him, but one by one said his assets were frozen and said he still owed a lot of people.
They turned their faces faster than turning pages. It was clear that they flattered those with power, but ignored when the power was lost.