The photographer was a young and handsome French man named Ferdinand. He was a half Chinese
expert. He gave Olive a warm hug and kiss as soon as they met, then he said with some French
accent, “I’ve heard about you for a long time. Now I’ve met you and you’re really a stunner.”
Ferdinand looked at her. For him, she was a pure appreciation of beauty, but for Alan, it wasn’t the
same thing.
“Enough, Ferdinand. I asked you to take pictures, not to entice and flirt with my woman,” as he said, he
pulled Olive back to him.
Men had a common problem, which was they couldn’t tolerate other men’s predatory eyes on the
woman they liked. Alan’s words made the corners of Olive’s mouth twitch. Didn’t he invite the person
himself? Was he not know him well?
Ferdinand indifferently pursed his lips, “Do you think your woman is so easily taken away by other
men? Seriously, you don’t need to be that jealous. Be careful or your woman will run away from your
over-jealousy. You Chinese have an old saying—you shouldn’t desire your friend’s wife. Don’t worry.
Although I’m chivalrous, I’m not a jerk. I still have the qualities I should have. Otherwise, you won’t
become my friend too, right?”
Alan had friends in all kinds of industries and from all trades, no matter their social status.
The shooting went well and they were happy. Every action and every expression when they laugh were
so natural.
Nowadays, wedding photos were popular in foreign scenic spots. It was both romantic touristic. Alan
provided a lot of famous romantic touristic places outside for Olive to choose. There were still time. He
could let her enjoy the process slowly.
But Olive thought that it didn’t matter where they took the photos and what they would wear. The
important thing was with who she took the most important photos in life with.
So, in the end, she didn’t choose any and just in Luo City.
In her eyes, Luo City was also a beautiful city and there were also many locations suitable for wedding
photographs. She felt that was no need for such fanfare. Happiness didn’t lie in how grand the form
was, but how close the heart was.
In the past, whenever she saw a new couple taking wedding photos in the open, she would stop and
stay for a while, feeling a little envious. She would always feel melancholy for a long time.
At that time, she would never have thought that one day in the future, she could also become a
beautiful scenery in the eyes of others and became the object of their admiration and amazement.
Alan still took her to the lotus pond in Jiangcheng for a group shot and Olive had no objection.
This was a special place. There were too many memories in common between the two people. They
got to know each other and loved each other here, which deserved to be the most important and
precious commemoration.
On that day, Olive wore a pink wedding dress, slim and graceful standing in the center of the lotus
pond. There were lotuses in her background, layering on top of each other. The scent were in the air
through the breeze. She was like a lotus flower.
Alan was rowing the boat and Ferdinand asked them to play as usual, chat and laugh. He didn’t mind
their intimate behavior. This man was good at capturing moving shots in an instant without the need for
those deliberate poses.
There were many lotus flowers blooming in the lotus pond. There were the white one, pink, and red.
They were graceful and some with small heads.
Olive bent down and plucked a flower. She held it in her hand and carefully smelled it.
This reminded Ferdinand of an ancient Chinese poem, “Pick the lotus in the south pond in autumn, the
lotus is above the head; bow your head and get the lotus seeds, they’re as clear as water.”
This was the only shooting location where Annie didn’t participate. Alan asked her why she didn’t want
to go. She said like an adult that it was their secret garden and it wasn’t convenient for a third person to
participate. She had to give them both some space.
This was one of them. The half of the reason she didn’t say it as she hid it in her heart. Alan could more
or less guess that it was probably related to her mother.
Child had sensitive heart. He was very guilty of the shadow he had brought to the child, so he didn’t
force it when Annie didn’t want to go. In her heart, even if the old lady accepted her, he was worried
that she would only be the closest with her grandparents in Luo City.
After taking photos, Olive said to Alan, “Let’s go see your mother.”
“Aren’t you afraid my mother will ignore you again?” Alan had a headache as soon as he thought of his
mother’s attitude.
“Avoiding isn’t the way. We have to face it after all. Don’t you think?” Olive had always felt that life
required a positive attitude and this was the reason why she had been able to stand strong for so many
years.
Alan said nothing and just kissed her on the forehead, then he held her hand firmly.
At dusk, the old lady saw them getting off the car in front of the garden. She was taken aback, “You
guys…”
Olive smiled a little, “We come to see you. Are we not welcomed?”
The old lady unhappily said, “You guys are here already. Do you want me to kick you all out?”
Olive happened to see a servant cleaning. She walked over and said, “Lend me.”
Although the servant was puzzled, she still handed the mop to her. She passed it back to the old lady
and said with a smile, “I don’t mind if you use this to kick me out.”
The old lady’s eyes rounded in anger. This woman was simply provoking her, “Do you think I don’t dare
to do so?”
Olive blinked, “Of course, you dare to. But I’m still a guest of your house and I believe Mrs. Hoyle
wouldn’t be so shallow.”
Her words made Mrs. Hoyle speechless in a second. In the end, she snorted coldly and waved off. She
was neither inviting them to stay nor chasing them out, showing them her back.
Ada stood upstairs and happened to see the scene and couldn’t help but smiled. She knew that her
mother’s heard had actually softened, but her mouth was still holding on.
The old lady was actually a lively person. These days, Aoba purposely used the office as his home.
She was also busy with the company. The Hoyle’s residence suddenly seemed to be empty from a
lively family. So many times she watched her picking up the phone, pressing a number, then putting it
down and she sighed.
Sometimes, she wanted to say something. If she had known about today, she wouldn’t be afraid of
irritating the old lady.
She just didn’t expect that her eldest brother and Olive would come to the Hoyle’s residence before
their wedding.
Ada flew downstairs to meet them.
“Brother, sis-in-law, why are you here?”
Olive laughed, “Surprised?”
“To be honest, a little,” Ada answered honestly.
“We come to see you guys.”
When the old lady heard this, she ambiguously snorted, “Come to see whether this old lady has died or
not, huh?”
“Mother, who talks like you?” Ada scolded her, then turned to comfort Olive. “Don’t let it get into your
heart.”
Olive smiled nonchalantly. If she had let it in, she would have been mad since earlier.
“Mrs. Hudson, Mrs. Hudson…” the old lady called out.
Mrs. Hudson rushed out of the kitchen in a hurry while wiping the water on her hands with her apron.
“I’m here, madam. What’s the matter?”
“Add a few dishes for dinner, lest anyone say that the Hoyle doesn’t serve their guests,” the old lady
ordered stiffly.
“Okay.” So this was why. Mrs. Hudson had thought something serious happened as she called her so
hurriedly. In fact, even if she hadn’t ordered her, she knew that young master and Ms. Olive had come
and the kitchen would make several more dishes.
The corners of Olive’s mouth twitched and quietly curled.
The old lady shut herself in her room upstairs, as if she didn’t want to see her.
She sat on the bed in dazed, holding the portrait of her deceased husband. She muttered, “Alan is
about to get married. Tell me, am I really wrong?”
She didn’t go downstairs until it was dinner time and Aoba had also returned.
When the old lady saw him, she couldn’t help but got angry. “You still know how to come home.”
“I was busy with work,” Aoba answered with a laugh.
“Busy, busy, busy. You really think I’m confused. It’s just your excuse for not wanting to come home.”
Actually, Mrs. Hoyle understood that her youngest son refused to come home mostly because she
talked too much. But sometimes, she found herself couldn’t control her mouth, especially when she
heard him on the phone with that woman, Chloe Malam, and it made her couldn’t help but say a few
words.
In contrast, after getting along with Olive Steele, she felt that she could slowly accept to change her
mindset. But the kind of woman like Chloe Malam, she hadn’t found the possibility to accept her.
The thought of that woman made her unbearably angry and even called her old witch. She truly didn’t
like that woman’s arrogance.
Olive still could act a little courteous towards elders. Yet that woman was simply a shrew, wild and
untamable.
What was more she had such a family background. She felt sick when she thought of the greed of that
family. She didn’t want her son to find a time bomb by his side.
“Is your work going smoothly?” Alan tried to break the deadlock.
“The job you gave me isn’t easy but it still has to be done smoothly, or I would embarrassed you and I’ll
be doomed.” Who asked him to make a deal with his older brother? It was for him to be able marrying
Chloe smoothly that he was willing to come out now. He wasn’t interested in business and it was for a
beautiful woman.
A piece of steamed mandarin fish was served on the table. It was the usual scent, but didn’t know why
Olive found it smelled fishy. Her stomach suddenly didn’t feel good. It came so fast that she had no
time to get up. She could only cover it and gagged twice.
Alan watched her turn pale, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Olive waved off. This uncomfortable feeling came and gone fast.
“Are you pregnant?” The old lady observed as she was an experienced person, but she still asked very
carefully.
Unexpectedly, her son was the first to respond and denied it completely, “No way.”
Alan thought he had always been very careful and pregnancy was impossible. The only thing he could
think of was that his girl was tired from taking wedding photos and work these days.
“I’ll accompany you to the hospital tomorrow for a check-up.” The old lady wasn’t discouraged by her
son’s words.
But for the sudden change in her attitude towards Olive stunned the Hoyle’s three siblings. They looked
at each other and thought, ‘Is she concerned?’
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