Chapter 824

It was Eugene and Simon. Simon was still as laidback as ever while Eugene was standing beside him with a blank expression. When he saw Melanie, however, his lips were pursed.

“I came over to ask if you’d like to celebrate New Year’s Eve together tonight?”

Melanie replied coldly, “No.”

“Refusing so decisively?” Simon scoffed. “I came over to invite you out of kindness so that you wouldn’t be in trouble when the power goes out tonight. Since you don’t need it, forget it.”

“When the power goes out?” Melanie asked.

“So you haven’t read the notice. The park officially opens tomorrow, and tonight is the last wave of maintenance. There will probably be a power outage for about two hours,” Simon explained, a smirk tugging at his lips.

“Sorry about that. The only villa in the entire park that won’t be affected by the power outage during maintenance is ours.”

Melanie fell silent. For someone with night blindness like her, power outages were quite troublesome.

Simon had not been lying about the power outage as soon after, the management staff arrived at their door with a gift box and sincere apologies. There was nothing the group could do even if they were unhappy about the situation. They had to pack up and move to the adjacent villa.

When Yvonne went to take care of Merry, the little one seemed reluctant. She was looking expectantly at Melanie. After being ignored for so long, she was starting to throw a tantrum.

Yvonne could only look at Melanie and deliberately speak loudly, “Mel, come help me hold my precious baby! This child loves you!”

She deliberately said it loudly so that Eugene and Simon could hear her. Simon looked at Merry with a mocking smirk. “She’s so ugly, yet Yvonne is still calling her precious.”

Melanie happened to come out holding Merry at that moment. She glared at Simon.

The staff had made the preparations at the neighboring villa earlier on, setting up a simple barbecue and some fireworks.

Although Yvonne had been complaining about Simon, she quickly got into the spirit of things in such a setting. She started bantering and joking with Simon while grilling food on the barbecue.

Melanie was not particularly interested in such activities, so she stayed in the living room, soothing Merry to sleep. They left the doors between the living room and the courtyard open. Even though there was heating inside, it was still quite cold.

After Merry fell asleep, Melanie was worried about her catching a cold, so she draped her own coat over her. She sat where the wind blew in to block the flow. Just then, a warm coat was draped over her shoulders, shielding her from the cold outside.

Melanie was actually quite sensitive to the cold. She looked up and saw Xander standing nearby. Since he had given her his coal, he was left with only a black turtleneck sweater, which made him look somewhat youthful.

His voice was deep and warm as he said, “Don’t catch a cold.”

Melanie felt the warmth from his clothes and smelled the faint scent of lemon and mint. She coughed lightly and replied, “Uh, thank you.”

Xander noted her discomfort and was slightly amused.

Eugene saw them when he was coming downstairs. The doors of the living room were wide open, and outside, everyone was bustling about. The inside was quiet.

Melanie’s coat was draped over the sleeping child on the couch, while she was wearing another man’s coat and smiling softly.

It was a harmonious and heartwarming scene. They resembled a happy and loving family. It was also a thorn in his eye. Eugene stood on the stairs, expressionless as he watched them.