Seeing the anticipation for compliments in Cyrus’ eyes, Melanie smiled and said, "I naturally have confidence in you, master. It seems we'll have to walk quite a distance!" Cyrus laughed heartily. "You’re smart!" They had just neared the first gate when several men approached from the opposite direction, bowing respectfully from a distance. "Elder Gibson! I didn’t expect you to come too..." Cyrus was surrounded by people who exchanged pleasantries with him, while Melanie stood on the outskirts, observing the surroundings. At this moment, a woman's voice came from behind Melanie. She sounded surprised and disdainful. "Isn't that Melanie? Long time no see!" Melanie turned around and unexpectedly found that it was Olivia. Not far behind Olivia, her mother carried bags of gifts and was registering with the York family’s servants at the gate. They were at the first gate. "You came empty-handed!" Olivia looked at Melanie with disdain. Noticing her empty hands, Olivia thought Me
"Well, speaking of it, Elder Gibson is really a strange person. He never got married despite being featured in all those interviews and reports! The Gibsons have such a huge business empire, and they wouldn’t have anyone to pass on to." Lavender clicked her tongue in regret."He must have been emotionally scarred," Olivia speculated confidently. "But finding a man who never marries in his life is indeed rare. Because he has no wife or children around, my dad doesn't know what gift to give him..."Lavender and her daughter walked hand in hand, asking the servants of the York family who were registering the guests. Most people attending this event had ulterior motives. The servant, unperturbed, replied, " Elder Gibson has already arrived." Lavender’s and Olivia’s eyes lit up simultaneously, and they asked in unison, "Where is he?" "He just went upstairs!" The servant pointed upward. "He must be near to the estate by now." Lavender and Olivia hurriedly looked up. There were quit
"Yes, it's her." Melanie nodded without hesitation. Lavender and Olivia instantly turned red. "Uh... you must have misunderstood us. We weren't talking about you..." Lavender quickly explained. "Is that so?" Cyrus put his arms behind his back. "Then who were you talking about? I'm curious. Is there someone else dressed more like a beggar than me?" With such self-deprecating humor, Cyrus left Lavender and Olivia almost choking on their words, not knowing how to please him. "Elder Gibson, a person with great moral stature like you should overlook mistakes of less moral stature like us. We actually came here today to see you. Since you're often not at home, we didn't have a chance to visit." Lavender quickly sought an escape. However, Cyrus didn't buy her story. He snorted and turned away. Taking advantage of the situation, Melanie pointedly said, "So, you mean you came today to give a gift to the York family, not because you want to attend the Angle family’s centennial cele
After leaving the York family’s estate, Cyrus took Melanie and his assistant to have a meal. During the meal, Cyrus met some old friends and went to catch up with them, leaving Melanie and the assistant to their own devices. Melanie unintentionally overheard them talking about the York family and even brought up Cyrus' long-standing obsession. Carefully connecting the dots, she asked Cyrus’ assistant, "Since my master is from Medonia and has such a big business here, why doesn't he go back home?" The assistant sighed, shaking his head. "Home is a place of sorrow for him." "Is it related to that... Yelena?" Melanie inquired further. Not far away, Cyrus’ old friends occasionally mentioned that name. When Cyrus and Mr. Azul were together, Mr. Azul also mentioned that Yelena was Cyrus’ obsession. The assistant's eyes flickered for a moment. "It seems you've figured it out. You're really clever." "Is it because of her that my master remained unmarried for his whole life?" Me
Cyrus instantly understood Melanie's intention and followed her without saying a word. When they returned to the door of the emergency staircase, Melanie deliberately left it wide open. She quickly took off her high heels, threw them downstairs without hesitation, and then led Cyrus back to the corridor near the restroom. This area was filled with restaurants, and the staff was loudly maintaining order. "Ladies and gentlemen, please do not panic. This is a temporary power outage, and the backup generator will start in just a few minutes. Please be patient and remain seated. Do not move around to avoid accidents..." Melanie quickly surveyed the surroundings and then took Cyrus into the restaurant with the highest customer occupancy. "Are we hiding here?" Cyrus asked. "No." Melanie shook her head. "The layout of the restaurant is well-organized. Once those people rush in to search, even if there are many people, we won't have a place to hide." Saying this, she took advantag
Outside, chaos had ensued for about half an hour. Just then, Melanie and Cyrus heard someone shouting, "The power's back!" This was followed by the noisy aftermath settling into silence. They were contemplating when to seize the opportunity to leave when suddenly, commotion erupted again. Someone shouted sternly, "Don't move!" This was followed by screams of the customers. Melanie and Cyrus both realized that the situation was getting worse. They exchanged glances, nodded at each other, and held their breath. Soon, those people found their way to the kitchen. "Did you see a woman and an old man?" a man with a hoarse voice asked. "No." Responses from the kitchen staff were intermittent. "You didn’t even check before answering me!" The man was furious. A bang followed, shattering something and startling everyone! "I really didn't see anything. It was so dark everywhere. I didn’t see any outsiders at all." Someone from the kitchen responded, but before he could finish hi
"Master, should I take you home?" Melanie asked Cyrus. Cyrus hesitated for a moment, looked at Melanie’s clear eyes, and nodded. "Okay." Turning to Nathan, Melanie said, "Nathan, given what just happened, I'll take my master back to the Gibson family’s place. We need some time to calm down." "Sure, we'll stay in touch," Nathan replied understandingly and made way for them. Melanie supported Cyrus out. Cyrus’ assistant, who was outside, was anxious. Seeing them come out, he hurriedly said, "Elder Gibson, Melanie, are you both okay?" "If you had come a bit earlier, it might have made a difference!" Cyrus scolded, displeased. The assistant felt embarrassed and awkwardly scratched his head. At that moment, Melanie noticed a tall man in the crowd—the man who claimed he would protect her, but he arrived later than Nathan... - Seeing him signaling her to check her phone, she took it out. The signal was restored now. She found out that her bodyguard had messaged her twenty mi
Melanie slept well at the Gibson residence. The servants there were also very considerate, and everything in the room, from food to clothing, was prepared for her. The next afternoon, Cyrus took Melanie to attend the Angle family’s centennial celebration. In the car, Cyrus asked, "I heard that your grandfather was a skilled traditional medicine practitioner?" "You even found out about that?" Melanie expressed surprise. "Yes, my grandfather was a renowned local traditional medicine doctor. His house had a large courtyard filled with various medicinal herbs. I used to play there as a child and even sun-dried herbs with my grandfather." "Hmm..." Cyrus nodded thoughtfully. "With your grandfather around, even if someone in your family has health issues, it's like having a precious treasure in the family." Melanie didn't fully understand, and Cyrus didn't intend to explain. "During the celebration today, stick with me the whole time. Don't wander around, understand?" "Are you afr