Betty, after knowing the Palr Family’s address, swept all the cash off Alia and Snow, and took off in a hurry.
Snow was still chuckling and suddenly patted Alia, "I think Young Master Palr and this silly sweetheart oddly make a cute pair! Perhaps the two of them might spark sothing."
Alia gave her a side glance, "Stop matchmaking randomly!"
"Anything is possible~"
Alia felt a bit uneasy.
After all, it’s New Year’s; would Betty’s visit cause trouble for their family?
She thought for a mont, and decided to give Benny Palr a heads-up on WhatsApp.
Unexpectedly, Young Master Palr called imdiately: "Alia Garcia, on New Year’s of all tis, you’re paying kindness with betrayal—intentionally, right? How could you give my ho address to strangers without my permission?"
Alia initially ant well by reminding him and was a bit worried, but hearing Benny’s words made her confidently retort, "Stranger? Wasn’t that girl the one you brought back from Europe initially? Didn’t you two always stay in touch? And didn’t you also give her my phone number without my permission? Not to ntion, you cheated her out of ten million right in front of —now you call her a stranger?"
"You... twisting logic! I was forced by your man, otherwise I’d never have gotten involved in this ss! I helped you, and now you guys throw the problem onto !"
"What’s the problem or not a problem? If you dread trouble, just give the money back to her, wouldn’t that resolve it? It was ill-gotten gains anyway, she’s in a tough spot now, don’t you have any sense of decency?"
"You have decency, you and Christopher Hart are the most decent!"
With a huff, Young Master Palr hung up the phone, and Alia felt wronged after the inexplicable scolding.
Snow continued to gloat, "See, being the nice guy has its price!"
"You keep talking; you started this, and I’m the one taking the bla."
"Hehe, taking the bla for a friend is worth it~" Snow joked like a rogue, draping an arm over her shoulder. "Co on, give a smile, it’s New Year’s, don’t get upset, or you’ll have bad luck the whole year."
"Don’t curse ."
"I wouldn’t dare."
The three little ones, sweaty from playing, ran over to their mom for water.
Alia had just wiped the sweat from their heads when her phone rang again.
Seeing the caller ID, she knew what it was about without answering.
"Hello..."
Christopher’s deep voice ca through, with so curiosity, "Are you guys still out playing?"
"Yes, they’re having so much fun, I bet they won’t want to leave soon."
They had spoken at lunchti, and Alia ntioned she would take the kids out in the afternoon, so Christopher knew they were outside.
Alia asked, "Did Benny Palr contact you to complain?"
The man chuckled on the other end, "Yes, he sent a few voice ssages on WhatsApp, filled with righteous indignation, saying the two of us are birds of a feather, stink alike, colluding together like it was fate—I’m not even sure if that’s a complint or an insult."
Just hearing those idioms made Alia laugh, "He was the one being dishonest to begin with, tricking her like that, and now that she’s down and needs the money urgently, it’s only reasonable for her to ask for it back."
"But the deal is set, once the move is made there’s no going back—Betty willingly bought it at a high price back then, rescinding now is indeed her issue."
The woman coquettishly scolded, "Hey, whose side are you on?"
The man imdiately gave in, "Your side, your side."
"If you’re helping , then persuade Benny Palr to act decently and give the money back to her."
"But weren’t you always hoping for Betty to return ho before? Now here’s the chance, if Benny truly gives her back the ten million, she’ll be able to stay, aren’t you worried she’ll co to your company as a ’persistent presence’?"
With Christopher’s question, Alia hesitated again.
It’s a real dilemma, torn between positions.
"Then what do you suggest?" the woman asked grudgingly after a mont of silence.
"Let them sort it out on their own," Mr. Hart said nonchalantly, "if Betty has the ans to get the money back, she’ll stay, if not... she’ll naturally return ho when unable to hold on."
"Alright..."
After the serious talk, Christopher suddenly sighed, saying longingly, "I wish I could co join you and the kids."
"Then co..." She was in good spirits, speaking freely, and she did miss him, though she didn’t say it out loud.
Christopher sighed again, "I wish, but I have to attend the ancestral rites this afternoon."
Oh, Alia rembered, in River City’s New Year’s Eve tradition, no, many places across the country have this tradition—the New Year’s Eve afternoon requires offering to ancestors, called ’farewell to the year’.
As the eldest son and grandson of the Hart Family, Christopher’s status was prominent, and his absence was out of the question.
"Then you go get busy, I’ll watch the kids."
"Okay, we can video chat tonight when I’m free."
"Alright."
After hanging up, Alia couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh.
Snow looked at her, concerned, "What’s up with you two? Your relationship is sweet as honey, why the sigh?"
Alia replied softly, "There’s nothing with us, but these days... I just wish for nothing more, but over there... it’s just never-ending, and who knows when it will end."
"Tsk tsk, I shouldn’t have asked, talking about relationship woes best left unsaid." Snow teased, "Who was it back then who was adamant about never looking back, and now has their heart completely set on soone?"
Alia pretended to hit her, "Making fun of ? Who was it then playing as soone’s flunky, persuading to change my mind, and now teasing like this."
"Hehe, just joking... Seeing you two getting along well makes happy, too. Look, aren’t the three kids happy? I can tell they’ve beco much more cheerful and open."
That’s true indeed.
So Alia doesn’t regret getting back together with Christopher.
She has always believed in standing by her decisions; the good and the bad are all part of life’s experiences that can’t be changed. By always looking ahead, one constantly discovers new scenery.
And as it turns out, her choice was the right one.
Snow could tell she genuinely worried about Christopher and comforted her, saying, "Don’t worry. The Hart Family, with generations of legacy, is just like the Jia family in ’Dream of the Red Chamber’—like centipedes that don’t die easily—he’ll surely get through these challenges."
"Let’s hope so!"
In the evening, Snow originally wanted to have dinner with them, but she had guests at ho and had to go back.
On New Year’s Eve, the scene of the whole family making dumplings together is always heartwarming.
Alia thought it was a rare opportunity and called the kids ho to make handmade dumplings together!
She wasn’t skilled in preparing dough, but Aunt Harper was an expert. The two of them rolled out dough, selected vegetables, chopped fillings, and cut dumpling skins. Soon, the preparations were done, and they called the three little ones to help wrap the dumplings.
When Christopher called, Alia’s hands were covered with flour, so she asked the eldest to wash his hands and help answer the call.
"Dad, we’re making dumplings! It’s as fun as playing with clay!"
"Is that so?" On Christopher’s end, it was bustling with noise. Hearing that they were making dumplings at ho, he suddenly longed to join them.
But given tonight’s occasion, it wasn’t convenient for him to leave.
"Dad, do you wish you could join us too?"
"Yes, I do. Too bad I can’t co now."
"Hmph, that’s no fun!"
Noah, usually the most mature and down-to-earth, now spoke almost like Ethan, sotis being playful and acting cute.
Alia was worried he might have called for sothing important, so she washed her hands and ca over.
Noah, eager to return to the dumpling competition with his siblings, called out "You talk to mom" to the phone when he saw her coming, then handed the phone to her before running off.
"Hasn’t dinner started at your place yet? Why are you calling again?" Alia took the phone, her voice tinged with amusent.
Christopher was sitting in a side room and glanced at the lively living room behind him.
It was bustling; elders and peers gathered around, all trying hard to make his mother happy.
But precisely because of this, he felt a chill inside.
"Dinner’s about to start, but I don’t like all that rich food..." Mr. Hart mumbled, sounding like a sulking child.
Alia couldn’t help but laugh, "So what do you want to eat? Are you going vegetarian?"
"Dumplings..."
The woman instantly grasped what he ant, turning to look at the dining room, her smile becoming even more tender and loving.
With Aunt Harper’s help, the three little ones learned how to wrap dumplings and were in the middle of a competition.
Their chubby little hands were busy, and their big, bright eyes kept glancing at their teammates’ work, relentlessly critiquing them.
"Yours is too big! Its belly’s about to burst~"
"Yours isn’t sealed properly; its mouth is open, and the filling’s spilling out."
"Hmph! You didn’t even put filling in, just the skin—who’s going to eat that? Even Little Dunham would refuse it!"
She withdrew her gaze with a smile, "Can you guess what they’re doing?"
The man replied, "Noah said you’re making dumplings. That’s why I said I want to eat dumplings."
"Yes, the three of them are competing, hands busy, mouths no less idle."
Christopher faintly heard the children’s "arguing" and longed even more. "If I had known, I’d have gone to see you this afternoon. It’s really boring here."
Though Alia couldn’t see him, judging by his aggrieved tone, she was sure he must look like a ’big wronged boy’ now.
She felt a mix of amusent and frustration, "It’s the New Year. What’s up with you? I hear your place is lively too! You paid respects to your ancestors this afternoon, and tonight your place should be filled with guests. How can it be boring?"
"Yeah... one table can’t seat them all. It’s been years since it was this lively."
"Then why the long face?"
"Ha—" Christopher chuckled, though the laugh carried a hint of sarcasm, "I’ve just said it’s been years since it was so lively. Didn’t you pick up on the subtext?"
The woman blinked lightly, "What subtext?"
"You were the daughter-in-law of the Hart Family for three years. Have you forgotten the scenes of past New Year’s? Ever since Grandpa passed away, besides the first New Year when all the clan mbers returned to the old house for reunion, the number of people decreased year by year. In recent years, they didn’t even bother to pretend harmony."
The smile on Alia’s face subtly paused as she slowly understood the aning behind his words.
"Are you saying... they now need sothing from you, so they all ca back to reunite, intentionally trying to please you?"
"Yes."
He knew it was easy talking with a smart woman.
Speaking of this, Alia also felt a heaviness, "So the company’s situation is really bad? These days are the holiday, the stock market is closed, it’s a chance to catch a break. Haven’t you thought of any solutions yet?"
Reviews
All reviews (0)