“This is?” Although Alexander could recognize some plants after spending so much time with Lily, he could not tell what this one was.Lily could barely hide her joy as she said excitedly, “This is Agarwood!”“Agarwood?” Alexander raised his brow and subconsciously repeated the name. He could not remember all the plant names, but he could tell his wife loved it.“You bought it?” He brushed Lily’s hair behind her ear, leaned in, and kissed her cheek.Lily did not move away since she had grown accustomed to his intimate gestures, so she leaned close to him. “No, it’s a gift from someone.”Her eyes sparkled with joy as she stared at the plant, and Alexander could tell she truly loved it.“A gift?” Alexander narrowed his eyes.‘Who dares to send her such a gift? Who’s so thoughtful to have sent my beloved wife such a wonderful gift?’Lily was someone who only cared a little about material possessions. She kept the jewelry Alexander had bought her in their boxes and simply wanted her
“What are you doing?” Lily could not help but blame Alexander for making her pluck off the leaf. She could not bear to throw it away.“Isn’t it just a pot of Agar…wood? How could you like it so much until I no longer exist?” Alexander shoved his face into hers as if he worried she could not see him.Lily was surprised and burst out laughing despite herself. ‘What’s the matter with this man? He has gotten jealous of other men, women, and even our son. Now he’s getting jealous of a plant?! He has to be the King of Jealousy throughout the entire universe!’“What are you saying? Didn’t I ask you to come over when you reached home just now?” She said laughingly and teasingly as she held the leaf to his nose. “Take a sniff. Doesn’t it smell nice?”He did so and nodded. “Now that I exist, can you tell what’s different about me today?”Hearing this, Lily pulled herself slightly away and looked him up and down. She knitted her brow and thought seriously. She did not find anything different
Alexander initially did not catch on to what Edward was talking about and realized later on that Olivia got jealous and threw a tantrum. Although Edward looked like a cat had scratched his face, he seemed to have enjoyed it.Alexander told him that he deserved it for having no self-respect, but at the same time, he could not help but think that Lily had never gotten jealous of him, not even once.When Edward touched his scratched face with a smug grin, he told Alexander, “She did this because she cares about me!”That made Alexander wonder if Lily did not care about him according to Edward’s logic.‘That’s impossible! We’ve been through much together, and if anyone claimed that Lily doesn’t care about me, I wouldn’t believe it. However, something seems amiss, doesn’t it?’Like now, a mosquito had left a bite on his neck, exactly where a woman might get suspicious, but Lily was sure the culprit was a mosquito.‘Lily has spent almost every day with Olivia, so why is her way of thin
“What? Yes, uh, no, no, he’s not! Why are you asking about him?”They fell into an awkward silence. Lily would be a fool if she could not figure out what was happening. She chuckled and hurriedly said, “So sorry for interrupting you guys! Carry on with whatever you’re doing, and I’ll get out of your way. Goodbye!”She quickly disconnected her phone and let out a sigh of relief. Although she did not see anything and only heard a grunt, she could feel herself blushing. As she palmed her warm face, she realized the water had lost its heat. She quickly got to her feet, showered, and got out wearing a towel. Lily gasped when she saw Alexander lying on the bed, surprised that he had returned to the bedroom. “Is it so surprising to see me in the bedroom?” Seeing her reaction, Alexander lowered what he was holding. “Yes, I thought you were playing with Galen. You couldn’t take it, huh?” She said it half-jokingly as she took a towel to dry her hair. Alexander tossed aside what
“How come the mosquito bump grew so big?” She pressed it.“How do you know it’s a mosquito bump, not a...” He paused and let out a hiss despite himself. “Not what?” Removing her hand, Lily looked at him and asked.“Don’t you think it looks like something else? Or rather, doesn’t it make you suspect anything?”Lily thought he was acting weird. ‘He used to speak his mind. Why does he sound like he’s holding back?’“What exactly are you talking about?”Seeing her get impatient, Alexander decided to get straight to the point. “Don’t you think it looks like a... love bite?”“A what?” Blinking, Lily did not think much and said instinctively, “You think something else bit you?”Alexander was speechless. She saw his look and finally caught on to what he was saying. “Oh, you’re talking about a hickey!”“Yes, I suppose so…” He suddenly felt like an idiot.‘Why am I trying to make her suspect me when she wouldn’t do so in the first place? Would I feel better if she scratched my face
Suppressing her laughter, Lily wiped tears off the corners of her eyes. “You see, due to the nature of our work, Olivia and I have been exposed to all kinds of plants, and we’re no strangers to bugs. How could we not tell a mosquito bump from a hickey?”“Then why did she…” He frowned. “She did it on purpose!”Nodding, Lily said, “I remember Olivia complaining to me last month about some girl who kept tagging after Edward. I’m not sure if she was being sensitive or what, but Olivia was upset. I guess she’s just trying to use the mosquito bump as an excuse to vent her anger.”Alexander finally realized what it was all about. He and Edward thought wrongly that a mosquito bite could make a woman jealous. “But…” Even so, he had a question. He watched as she applied the facial mask to the dresser with her back facing him. “How come you’ve never gotten jealous?”“Why should I?” Lily posed a follow-up questionwhile lifting her face to make the facial mask sit well. Alexander thought ab
Thompson also spoke bluntly, “You’re not a professional, so you might not understand. The experiment may not sound complicated, but it requires excellent skills. Besides, even an ordinary product requires multiple experiences to succeed. Of course, an opportunistic businessman like you would not understand how hard it is.”The one who spoke to Thompson before this was Mike Corden. Mike was wearing his business suit as he lounged on the sofa with a cigar.After listening to Thompson, he narrowed his eyes, held up his cigar, and tapped off its ash. “If I remember correctly, Professor Thompson, you told us that La Beauté Group has withdrawn their funding.“Without opportunistic businessmen like me, you won’t be able to continue your experiment, no matter how great it is!”He was undiplomatic, knowing that without La Beauté Group, the project would not have the money to continue unless they could find a new funding source. Moreover, they did not want the experiment to stop.“You—” Fac
Thompson pursed his lips, looking embarrassed.“From what I know, Lily didn’t learn about herbal medicine, but she is a brilliant woman. Coupled with her plant exposure, I won’t be surprised if she has learned about it during that time.“You don’t understand. Herbal medicine is a broad and profound subject. Even though I’ve studied it for decades, I’ve only scratched the surface—”“Enough! You’re still rather proud of it, aren’t you? If you guys hadn’t been so useless, there wouldn’t be a need to get outside help.”“Sir, I’ve shortlisted other candidates who are the country's top perfumers. Apart from them, I’ve also selected a few candidates from overseas as backups. Why don’t we…”Upon knowing that Lily had decided to back out, Thompson immediately prepared a backup plan by selecting several well-known perfumers. ‘If she does back out, we could replace her. However…’“Replace her? For what?” His employer scolded him. “You think there aren’t enough people who know about what we’