Chapter 101 Melissa stamped her foot in anger. Just as she was flying into a rage, she suddenly saw Matthew walking toward Veronica. Her e yes lit up, and she brightened up instantly.
Dressed in black casual clothes, Matthew was wearing a black sports headband on his forehead, which made him look appealin gly younger and more handsome while lending him the athletic air of a basketball player on the basketball court. However, Veroni ca knew that he was only wearing a sports headband to keep the sweat on his forehead from dripping into his eyes and affecting his work . After all, he couldnât free up his hand to wipe his sweat away while moving things up and down the mountain all the time.
Walking up to Veronica, Matthewâspread his hand and held out to her what he was holding. âHere, this is for you.â
9 âWhat is it?â Veronica asked, before noticing the bright red raspberries in Matthewâs palm. These were a kind of red fruit that gre w on the ridges between fields in rural areas, and they tasted great with a sweet and sour flavor, âWhere did you get them? I love these!â Delighted at the sight of raspberries, she took them from Matthew and stuffed a few into her mouth right away. âThey taste just right; theyâre sweet and sour. Thanks,â she said, thanking Matthew while tasting the raspberries.
When she looked up, she saw Melissa looking at the raspberries greedily with eager eyes. She gave her a few raspberries, sayin g, âTry them. They taste great.â
âSure! Thanks, Roni.â Melissa took a few raspberries and tasted them before nodding vigorously. âGosh! They taste so good! Tha nk you so much, Matthew.â
Veronica was rendered speechless. Damn it, Iâm the one who gave them to you, okay?
Matthew took a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it. Then, he began smoking the cigarette while standing aside.
It was now afternoon, and those who had been busy all morning were sitting at the villageâs entrance for a rest. Leaning against a tree, Matthew put one hand in his trouser pocket while holding his cigarette with another. With his right leg slightly bent, he put his foot on the tree trunk to support himself. Even when he was just standing there, his casual and laidâback posture gave the impression of a handsome and energetic young hunk that would sweep anyone off their feet.
Melissa was totally taken with Matthew. While Veronica was talking to him, she took out her cell phone and secretly photographed the scene.
âWeâve finished moving all the stuff here. What weâve got to do next is to distribute things to the people in the villages nearby and learn about their situation while weâre at it,â Mathew said. âWe still need to get busy for the next few days.â
âI heard that many of the villagers donât let their kids attend school because the school is far away and they canât afford their sch ooling. Do we need to persuade them otherwise too?â
âUhâhuh,â Matthew replied.
âSigh, life isnât easy,â Veronica lamented..
Veronica had time to rest in the afternoon after she finished moving things. However, she was constantly pestered by Melissa, w ho kept badgering her to help her ask Matthew out on a date. Just when she was at the end of her rope, Melissa used her âsuperpowersâ again, say ing, âHere, Iâm paying you another 10,000. Just ask my Prince Charming out for me. If you get it done, Iâll pay you another 10,000.â
With the âsuperpowers,â Veronicaâs eyes lit up, and her spirits rose at once. âHaha! Sure, no problem! Since youâre so generous t o me, Iâll give you the opportunity to watch the sunset with him. What do you think?â
âWhat? Really?â Overwhelmed with excitement, Melissa flung her arms around Veronica. âYou really are my bestie! I love you so much!â she said while trying to kiss Veronica on the cheek again.
Veronica shoved her away, though. âUgh, get off me! Thatâs disgusting.â
âHahaha!â Melissa was amused by Veronicaâs response.
Veronica said, âIâll be going up the mountain at the end of the village first. You tell Matthew later that Iâve gone up the mountain to look for raspberries and watch the sunset. Tell him that I couldnât find that kind of wild fruit and ask him to help me look for them.â
âOkay.â Melissa nodded vigorously.
Veronica rested for a while before going up the mountain at about five in the afternoon. She walked alone from the foot of the mo untain to the top, picking all the raspberries she could see by the side of the road. As she went up the mountain, she hummed a little tune.
Sitting on the top of the mountain, she enjoyed the breeze while looking down at Dawnpol Village. From a distance, she saw Mat thew and Melissa at the villageâs entrance as they headed her way. Matthew was dressed in black sportswear, whereas Melissa was wearing light blue casual clothes. Eve n though Veronica couldnât make out their faces from a distance, she was able to identify them based on their clothes.
Just when she was gazing at the foot of the mountain, a voice suddenly sounded nearby. âOuch...â
Veronica turned to look at where the voice had come from, only to find that it was the masked man she had seen at the rice field on the southern end of the village a few days ago. She had asked the villagers about him, and they said he was the son of Henry, one of the villagers. He had been worki ng outside the village before this, but he came back half a month ago after getting injured and disfigured in a car accident.
To her surprise, she didnât notice it when this man walked with a stick at such a close distance from her.
In an instant, something flickered across Veronicaâs mind. However, she couldnât bear to see a disabled man fall, so she ran up t o him and helped him up right away. âAre you alright? Let me help you up.â.
The masked man grabbed Veronicaâs wrist while picking himself up with great difficulty. âThanks,â he said in an unusually deep a nd hoarse voice that gave a sense of old age.
âYouâre welcome.â Veronica smiled, âWhy did you come up the mountain? Here. Would you like to try these?â She took out a hand At the sight of the raspberries in Veronicaâs hand, the masked man was stunned for a moment. He seemed to be lost in thought.
Thinking that he was shy of taking the raspberries, Veronica took his hand to shove the raspberries into his hand. However, the masked man happened to take a sidelong glance in Matthew and Melissaâs direction not f âThese are very delicious. Theyâre sweet,â Veronica said as she was about to put the raspberries in the masked manâs hand.
Just then, however, the mysterious man suddenly retracted his hand. âI donât like these,â he said. With that, he turned around and âHey, wait a minute! Iâll go down the mountain with you.â Veronica noticed that Matthew and Melissa were about to go up the moun Melissa, of course, so she decided to go down the mountain with the masked man.
The masked man didnât answer her.
Matthew and Melissa were going up the mountain from the south, whereas Veronica and the mysterious man were going down the mountain from the north, so the two parties happened to miss each other. However Seeing how the man had difficulty walking, Veronica stepped forward and took his arm right away, helping him down the mountain The masked man darted a look at Veronica, saying, âBut Iâm dirty.â
âWhat are you talking about? Iâm dirty too.â Veronica didnât mind these at all. Then, she said, âSince you have difficulty walking, yo The masked man fell silent at her words. After a long time, he said, âYouâre very kind