―――Vicars Hotel, Room 703.
Elliana Lyle held the spare room card Hannah Collins had brought back, approaching the door, and heard a click indicating the door was unlocked.
Not wanting to disturb Auntie Nancy’s rest, she cautiously pushed the door open. The room was pitch black, making it impossible to see anything.
"Who! Who is it!" A panicked inquiry ca from the dark—it was Auntie Nancy’s voice, tinged with fear.
It seed she had indeed woken Auntie Nancy up. Elliana ruefully tapped her forehead, feeling regret for coming.
Helplessly, she pushed the door open fully and reached out to touch the switch by the door. As the light flicked on, she saw Auntie Nancy already standing alertly.
When Auntie Nancy saw Elliana, the fear and caution in her eyes quickly faded, replaced by a sowhat awkward smile.
Once inside the room, Elliana noticed the bed was very tidy, as if it had not been slept in. On the carpet, however, there was a makeshift pillow made from clothes.
"Auntie Nancy? You... you didn’t sleep on the bed?" Elliana was sowhat uncertain, but she was mostly sure.
Auntie Nancy smiled awkwardly, "Such a nice bed, I was afraid I’d dirty it."
She glanced again at the carpet, quickly explaining, "I washed my clothes at the tap, and there’s a warm breeze in this room, they’ll dry in no ti."
How could Elliana fail to understand the implication in her words? Through Auntie Nancy’s cloudy eyes, Elliana saw the fear.
Elliana was stunned for a long ti. Auntie Nancy’s cautiousness and humility made her heartache, not knowing what to say. Perhaps she also didn’t fully understand Auntie Nancy’s actions.
Auntie Nancy nervously clutched at the seams of her pants, not knowing what Elliana’s silence ant. She had never slept in such a bed, nor seen such soft blankets. She just felt it but didn’t dare lie down.
After a long while, Elliana sighed and said, "Auntie Nancy, co, sit." She said this while hopping barefoot to the bed and stubbornly pulled Auntie Nancy to sit down.
"Auntie Nancy, the bed is the place for sleeping, sleeping on the floor will make you catch a cold."
"It’s warm in here, not cold at all," Auntie Nancy waved her hand dismissively.
Seeing this, Elliana beca serious, speaking earnestly: "Auntie Nancy, listen to , you need to wait here for news about Nancy, and you must take good care of yourself. Otherwise, if you don’t care for yourself well, by the ti Nancy cos back, and you’re not holding up, won’t she be heartbroken?"
She tried her best to persuade Auntie Nancy, figuring ntioning Nancy would be the best choice.
Sure enough, Auntie Nancy froze for a mont before nodding, indicating her agreent. "Elliana, I can’t just eat and drink without contributing. How about I work as a nanny for you? I’ve heard people in the city all hire nannies."
"No need! Auntie Nancy, just stay here. Soone will bring you als on ti. If you need anything, just press the bell or call ."
...
As the two talked until five in the morning, Hannah Collins, who had been standing outside, knocked on the doorfra to remind them, "Alright, let Auntie Nancy rest. It’s still dark outside."
"Alright, Hannah..." Elliana hadn’t realized when Hannah had arrived.
Seeing the clock on the wall, Elliana only then realized how quickly ti had passed. She hurriedly pulled back the covers, ensuring Auntie Nancy got into bed before leaving.
By eight in the morning, the housekeeper brought Auntie Nancy breakfast. After she ate, she spontaneously helped the housekeeper clean the room.
At this ti, Norman Bennett returned. Hannah opened the door, and the first thing the man saw was a busy small figure.
His little girl was actually cooking!
The man glanced coldly at Hannah, who was lazily eating chips, and said, "Hannah, I told you, don’t bully her."
"Cough cough!"
Seeing the man’s slightly angry eyes, Hannah quickly explained, "No, no! She insisted on making food for you. When I went over to check, she even snapped at ."
"Norman～co sit, I’m almost done," Elliana called out without turning to look at the man. She was focused on chopping green onions, afraid of accidentally cutting her hand.
A few minutes later, Elliana carefully hopped over, carrying a plate of braised ribs. She stubbornly refused any offers of help.
"Little Sprout, looks good, huh?"
Hannah found it amusing and was about to use the chopsticks when Elliana scolded, "Is it yours? This is for Norman!"
Sure enough, there was a heart made of green onions on top, clearly indicating it wasn’t for her.
But... that green heart...
"Norman, try it," Elliana pushed the plate toward the man, eagerly watching him.
Seeing the greasy and bright red dish, Norman frowned slightly. He indeed didn’t like such food. If soone else made it, he wouldn’t touch it, but since Elliana made it, it was different.
The man picked up a piece, took a small bite, seemingly not able to chew through it.
He ended up just tasting a bit of the sauce.
"How is it? Is it good?" Elliana eagerly asked.
Norman seed to be holding sothing back. Looking at her sparkling eyes, he replied softly, "Yes, it’s good."
"Really? Let try," Hannah quickly picked up a piece of rib and shoved it into her mouth. After a few chews, she spat it out.
"Damn, it’s spicy, spicy, the at is raw. Little Sprout, can you cook? Are you trying to poison us?"
"..."
All the expression faded from Elliana’s face. Unable to help herself, she picked up a piece with her chopstick and took a small bite. Indeed, it was... both fishy and spicy, with an indescribably strange taste.
"..." The three of them looked at each other, and finally, Hannah said, "I’ll go steam it; maybe it will still be edible."
After dinner, Elliana inquired about the situation with Nancy from Norman, and also told him about Auntie Nancy.
"There’s no news on Nancy yet."
Norman said, having pushed Owen Sutton for updates just yesterday.
"Alright," Elliana felt sowhat disappointed. Where Nancy had gone was still a mystery she couldn’t even guess.
Then Norman ntioned Auntie Nancy’s reluctance to sleep on the bed: "If you want Auntie Nancy to feel at ease waiting here, you have to let her feel she has so personal worth; otherwise, she might live even more cautiously! So, you should allow her to stay here according to her own values!"
Hearing this suggestion, Elliana understood, finally grasping why Auntie Nancy had been feeling so uneasy.
The next day, Elliana personally approached the hotel manager, arranged for Auntie Nancy to be formally employed as a cleaner, and specifically asked for a lighter workload and a better employee dormitory.
When Auntie Nancy realized she had sothing to do, she agreed to stay comfortably at Elliana’s place.
That morning, Luna once again asked Elliana out, and today’s matter was quite important, so she temporarily refused Zane Bennett’s request for fifty thousand dollars.
"I’ve installed the fuse box; be back by eight tonight."
Hannah, fiddling with the wheelchair, was eager for Elliana to leave quickly. The kitchen was a ss, especially the oven where the eggs had exploded.
It wasn’t that she found cleaning up troubleso, since help was always available, but she feared that if Elliana stayed in the kitchen any longer, it might just explode.
"Then I’m off."
Elliana greeted and was about to leave in the wheelchair when Hannah stopped her.
"I’ll send you down."
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