“In the end, Cupid had to come down to Earth to clean up his apprentice’s mess and bring together the man and woman who were fated to be a couple. The show felt so magical when I first watched it. I was young and didn’t understand love, but the idea of bringing two people together by shooting them with arrows seemed really interesting.”Zachary asked, “Was there a TV show like that? I don’t remember seeing it. I rarely have time to watch TV.”He was the successor of the company and had to learn more than his peers since his childhood. He received all kinds of training and education, so of course he did not have time to watch TV.“When my parents were still alive, I often watched TV shows with them. TVs back then were still in black and white.“After my parents passed away, my sister and I were on our own. We had to focus on studying and didn’t have time to watch TV for several years. We only watched a few shows occasionally after we started working and had time.”Zachary held her
Serenity watched her brothers-in-law bickering and felt envious. The brothers and uncles of the York family were harmonious, unlike the Hunt family where everyone was trying to plot against another.“Elisa, what did you say you wanted to invest in?”Serenity remembered about the investment and asked Elisa about it while eating the barbecue seafood platter her man specially prepared for her.Jasmine also pricked her ears to listen.She also felt some pressure now because of Josh. When she saw how her best friend was trying so hard to improve herself in order to shorten the gap between Zachary and her, Jasmine did not want to stand idly by anymore.“All the industries are saturated now, so it’s hard for us to compete with others. When I accompanied you back to your hometown yesterday, I saw the fields in your village were basically deserted.”Serenity nodded. “Many of them are abandoned. The young people leave the village to work, so only the elderly and children are left at home.
Liberty thought about it and said, “You’re right. Elisa, your way of thinking is much better than ours. You should learn more from Elisa, Seren.”The Hunt sisters were motivated and ambitious, but they might not be as good as Elisa when it came to investing and making money. After all, Elisa came from a family who ran their own business, so she at least had some experience.Elisa blushed and laughed, “I only thought of renting the fields to plant fruits and vegetables after I saw so many fields deserted on the way back to your hometown.“I talked to Clive, and he said that it’s feasible. He said that no matter what project we invest in, any project that makes us money is a good project. He suggested we give it a try.”Elisa added confidently, “Let’s just give it a go. It’ll be good if we can profit, but if we fail, it’ll be a learning experience. In any case, I’m not short of money.“Seren, mention it to Zachary later at night. If he thinks it’s worth a try, then we’ll go for it.
“I gave Dunc all the food I haven’t touched,” the little boy explained.Thus, the others did not find it strange.“Let’s take a break. We’ll have some free time to ourselves.”Zachary spoke to the group.He wanted to bring his beloved wife on a stroll around their home alone.The group smiled in understanding.After a short rest, Zachary took Serenity away from the barbecue site.“I’ll take you to the garden to see the flowers. The flowers are in bloom now.”Serenity did not refuse. She was not familiar with the place and did not know where the scenery was good, so she followed wherever he brought her to.The spring breeze caressed her face, and Serenity could not help but close her eyes and enjoy the wind.“The air here is better than in the city.”Zachary smiled. “Of course it is. It’s very quiet here too. It’s too bad Liberty’s store is opening tomorrow, or we could stay here for a few more days so you can get more familiar with your new home.”“I’ll be living in my home
“What’s wrong?”Zachary saw Serenity staring at the flower pots and said warmly, “If you like them, let’s take a few pots back and keep them on the balcony.”“Zachary.”Serenity turned to him and asked, “Back then, I asked you to buy flowers from the florist. Did you buy them at the flower shop or have they been sent over from here?”There was no need to hide the truth anymore, so Zachary admitted honestly, “I called Sam and asked him to arrange for someone to send some potted flowers over. I know you like large flowers with complicated petals, so I specifically asked them to pick those flowers and send them over.”“No wonder I always felt that the flowers you bought were more beautiful than the ones I bought. It’s because they’re a variety carefully cultivated by your gardener.”The flowers here were much better than the ones found in flower shops.“Are you angry, honey?”“What’s there to be angry about? The time to be angry has already passed.”Zachary stood in front of the
His mother wanted him to come home so he and Lily had a chance to cultivate a relationship.Duncan did not have a bad impression of Lily, but he did not like her either.“What’s inconvenient about that? You drive to work anyway, and no one will say anything even if you’re late since you’re the boss. There’s a guest at home now, so you have to stay home for a few days.”“Mom, I’m tired after being out and about today. I’m driving now so it’s not convenient for me to talk to you. I’ll hang up now.”Duncan did not directly reject his mother’s request and found an excuse to hang up the phone.After the call ended, Mrs. Lewis said helplessly to her husband, “I’m afraid your youngest son will be single for the rest of his life. Lily is a great girl who doesn’t mind his scarred face, but he’s not even willing to spend some time with her.”Mr. Lewis said faintly, “You’re too hasty and obvious in your motive. You’ve arranged several blind dates for Duncan, and he has developed an aversion
Liberty laughed. “Since you’re my first customer, your meal will be on the house. What would you like to eat, Mr. Lewis?”Duncan said, “No, I’ll pay. It’s your opening day, so you have to earn money. You need to collect money no matter who comes to eat.”Zachary echoed, “Paying for breakfast is pocket change for Duncan. Don’t even think of giving him a discount and only charge him the price as per your menu.”“In that case, thank you for your support.”In his heart, Zachary thought, ‘What’s there to thank? In the future, Duncan might sink his teeth into you and never let you go.’Soon after Duncan entered, there was a stream of customers coming into the store for breakfast.Liberty started getting busy.A new store opening was most likely to attract people to come in and try their food.Liberty’s store had been remodeling for a period of time. The people working in nearby buildings passing by every day were already long aware of All You Can Eat.They felt that the name of the
“Why are there so many flower stands? Who sent them?”Hank was a little jealous.Liberty was just a woman he threw away, and she opened a small breakfast diner with the money she took from him. However, there were long rows of flower stands on the opening day.“There’s no space for my flowers? Then I’ll get a re—”Hank was just about to say that he would get a refund from the flower shop, but Olivia immediately interrupted him. She took the flower stand from his hand and glared at him fiercely, then said to Liberty with a smile, “There’ll be space if you squeeze it in.”She took the flower stand outside and placed it at the spot of the stand that Duncan sent. If not for the fact that Serenity and Zachary, two people who she could not afford to mess with, were present, she would have smashed the flower stands sent by Duncan and thrown them away.Liberty did not want to have a fight with Hank and Olivia on the first day of business, so she turned a blind eye as long as they did not
Dylan suspected that Imogen was Fox. If they were indeed the same person, then it was true that he had only ever pursued Imogen.“Was he okay after standing outside for more than half an hour?” Winston asked.Leticia chimed in, “Jen had Wendy make him a bowl of hot soup. Knowing that the boy doesn’t like spicy food, I made sure she added plenty of spice. It was definitely spicy. Wendy said Jen made sure he finished it before leaving.”Imogen had made Dylan drink such spicy soup, but he was still willing to drink it for her. He was clearly doing this out of consideration for Imogen, not wanting to make things too awkward between their families.“Lucky for him,” Winston muttered.Imogen was speechless.“Why did he come looking for you, Jen?” Winston asked in concern. “Was he here to ask to reconcile? If that’s the case, you mustn’t agree too easily. He has to pursue you again, and for at least two years, before you even think about agreeing to be with him. He needs to know how to
After deciding to go home and plead with his grandmother, Dylan did not stay much longer at the Doyle household. However, he still pinched his nose and finished the bowl of soup after Imogen persuaded him to.She personally saw him off at the gate.“Mr. York, remember to see a doctor when you get back. Take some medicine for a few days, don’t be careless,” Imogen said, following him out mainly to remind him to get treated once he got home, so he would not end up with a serious illness.People who were usually very healthy tended to get very sick when they did fall ill.“My health is my responsibility. If I don’t feel well, I’ll definitely go see a doctor. Don’t worry about me, Ms. Doyle. Even if I fall sick because of what happened today, it’s my fault. I won’t blame you or your family,” Dylan said, thinking Imogen was concerned he might blame her father.He could not bring himself to hope for anything beyond that.Imogen smiled. “Please send my regards to Grandma May and Serenit
“Mr. York, are you really not going to give up? Are you going to keep chasing after her? What is it about her that I lack?”Imogen really wanted to know why Dylan could not fall for her when she interacted with him as her true self but instead, he fell head over heels in love with her when she wore a different identity.“Ms. Doyle, you’re a great person, really—you’re wonderful. It’s just that I’m not worthy of you,” Dylan replied sincerely. “There’s nothing about you that’s inferior to Fox. I don’t even know why I fell for her. Maybe it’s because I kept having the same dream of her over and over.“Before I approached you, I had already dreamt of Fox many times, and then I actually met her in real life. I guess, if you had to ask why I fell for Fox and not for you, I can only say it was because I had already fallen for her in my dream. When the dream became a reality, it felt natural.”Imogen was silent.“Actually, I only met the real Fox after I started getting closer to you. I k
Dylan said, “Go ahead.”He was a bit hungry too and wanted to eat.Imogen called for Wendy and instructed her to make a fresh pot of tea and serve some of the snacks she usually ate.Once Wendy finished preparing the tea, Imogen poured a cup for Dylan and said, “You can start your story now.”“Ms. Doyle, I’m not making up a story, I’m—Ms. Doyle, you are Fox, aren’t you?” Dylan asked again.“Mr. York, I’ve told you, I don’t know who Fox is. I only know a fox is an animal, like in the zoo. If you ask me again if I’m Fox, I’ll think you’re calling me a vixen.”“‘Fox’ is just a nickname, meaning she’s very cunning and deceptive. I call her Chameleon Fox for her ability to shape-shift into many different identities. She changes so much that people mistake her for many different people, but in reality, she’s only one person.”Imogen looked quite interested and said, “Oh, so you think I’m Chameleon Fox, who likes to deceive people? Do you have any evidence for this?”“No, I don’t.”“
Couples always talked about eternal love, but how many could truly last forever?Dylan stammered, unable to say anything. Could he say that he suspected she was Fox? It was just a guess, with no evidence.Under Imogen’s gaze, Dylan steeled himself and spoke honestly, “I came to apologize to you.”Imogen raised an eyebrow. “Apologize? You already apologized to me the last time we spoke. There’s no need to apologize again. I’m not angry at you. When it comes to matters of the heart, it’s all about reciprocation. You can’t force it.“Feelings can’t be pressured into existence, so I won’t pressure you to accept me.“Plus, it’s been so long, and I have no feelings for you anymore. For that, I should thank you for clearing things up for me early on. At that time, I had just started to like you and could give up so quickly because of that.”Dylan, embarrassed, said, “Ms. Doyle, it’s not about that. Recently, I… secretly followed you.”“You followed me? Why?” Imogen pretended to be clue
“Drink it while it’s hot. Only when it’s steaming will it have the best effect to ward off the cold.”Dylan nodded, wiping his nose with a tissue. He threw the tissue into the trash bin, but when he saw that the bin was full of tissues, he felt even more embarrassed.He picked the steaming hot soup up carefully and took a big sip.It was so spicy!The spice almost made him spit it out. Remembering that Imogen was right next to him, he forced himself to swallow it. After just one sip, Dylan put the bowl down.“Ms. Doyle, the soup is too hot. I’ll drink it later,” he said.It was too spicy. He did not want to take a second sip.“I’ll take the medicine first,” he added.Compared to drinking the soup, Dylan would rather take the medicine. The medicine might be bitter, but he could handle it.Imogen immediately called him out. “You’re afraid of the spice and you don’t want to drink the soup, do you?”Dylan sneezed again and then poured himself some water to take the medicine.Hav
All he could do was hold it in. However, he soon sneezed again.Imogen commented, “My dad told you to stand in the cold without your coat, and you really did it, like an idiot. It’s not like you feel anything for me or you’re trying to win my affection, so there’s really no need for you to listen to my dad.”Luckily, she came out quickly enough. Otherwise, he would have turned into an icicle.“It was my fault before. I hurt you, so it's only natural that Mr. and Mrs. Doyle are angry with me. They didn’t hit me or scold me, and they just made me stand out in the cold for a while; they’re already being very lenient,” said Dylan, sneezing again.He was usually in good health, but this time, he was afraid he might really catch a cold.Imogen glanced at him without saying anything. She led Dylan into the house and asked their housekeeper if the soup was ready.Wendy replied, “Almost.”Imogen nodded and asked Dylan to sit down. Then, she poured him a cup of tea and asked, “Have you ea
Dylan finally put his coat on after Imogen said that. He had only been standing there for half an hour but even in that short time, he had become so cold.Once he put his jacket on, Imogen turned around and began walking inside. “Come with me.”“Okay,” Dylan quickly bent down to grab the gifts before quickening his steps to catch up with Imogen. “Thank you, Ms. Doyle.”Imogen glanced at him for a moment before turning away. “I was just afraid you might freeze to death at my doorstep, and then your family would come after mine. Plus, since your sisters-in-law are my good friends, I couldn't just let you die at my gate.”After leaving Wiltspoon, Imogen had not gone back there under her real name, but she had stayed in touch with Serenity and the others and was still on very good terms with them.Dylan smiled and said, “Serenity will give birth in a few months, and Josh’s wife is also pregnant, but she's a month ahead of Serenity. Liberty and Duncan have already registered their marr
Her daughter’s excellence was all thanks to Silver’s influence.“What I wanted to tell you was that Dylan is standing at our doorstep. He said he wanted to see you. Your dad and I refused and told him to leave, but he’s not budging.”Imogen was not surprised by this, but she still pretended to be surprised, so as not to raise her mother’s suspicion.“Why’s he here?” Imogen asked, feigning ignorance.“Who knows? He didn’t say. He only said he wanted to see you. The way he treated you, playing with your feelings—your dad and I have been holding in a lot of anger for a long time. “But you didn’t want us to confront him, so we couldn’t vent it. Now he’s come knocking, wanting to see you? It won’t be that easy.”Imogen was not planning to meet Dylan either.“Your dad told him to stand outside for two hours with his coat off and that if he doesn’t freeze to death, he’ll let him see you.”Imogen was speechless for a moment. “Mom, it’s freezing outside. Even wearing a thick coat, it’s