Before he could finish, Dave interrupted him. "I don't believe it. You liars, you must have conspired in
advance to deceive me, didn't you?"
How could his father, whom he respected most, be a murderer?
All of sudden, he let out a cry, knocked them apart, and ran wildly out of the room.
Xenia hurried after him. "Dave."
"Dave." Ivy tried to catch up with Dave, but Alan held him back.
"Let him calm down."
Ivy said, looking out at the disappearing figure. "Aren't you being cruel to him by telling him that
secret?"
"It's better than knowing the truth after he's been used to hurt his friends and brother. You have given
up the old generation's feuds, so it may not be a bad thing to tell him the secret at this moment."
"I hope he'll figure it out." Ivy asked after a pause. "Someone is trying to target you? Who is it?"
"I don't know, but I believe this person will appear soon." Alan had a cold gleam in his eyes.
Ivy laughed. "So you've made a lot of enemies."
Alan was anything but modest. "There's really nothing I can do because a person of high position is
liable to be attacked."
"Do you need any help?"
"I don't need your help just yet, and I'm not shy about asking you for help when I need you. All you
have to do now is bring Dave back, the stubborn bull." Alan patted him on the shoulder, strode over to
his wife, reached out, and touched his wife's head. "What are you thinking about?"
Olive has spoken out about her doubts. "I wonder if the person who is deliberately driving a wedge
between Dave and you is the same person who is hiding behind Susan."
Alan said to her with a smile. "Do you know what having mutual affinity is? We just have mutual affinity
because we're thinking the same thing."
At that moment, Xenia suddenly ran towards them in a panic. "It's bad, Mr. Hoyle, Sister Olive, Dave,
he, he..."
Xenia ran so fast that she was a little out of breath. Olive patted her on the back to soothe her. "Don't
worry, you talk slowly."
"Dave, Dave, he took Annie away in a very rude way. He's driving, so I can't catch him, and I'm afraid
he might hurt Annie, so do something to stop him." Xenia looked worried, as she was genuinely afraid
that Dave might do something wrong out of impulse.
Acting on impulse was like the devil because acting on impulse could easily destroy a person.
"What's Dave up to?" The feeling of uneasiness in Olive's heart finally came true at this moment, and
as they were close to each other as mother and daughter, Olive was very worried about Annie.
"Don't worry, I'll find them." Ivy said as he ran out like the wind.
"I want to go, too."
Olive said these words as she tried to run, but she's held back by Alan. "Olive, don't worry, as Dave's
not going to hurt Annie. Xenia is frightened and she doesn't look very well, so I don't think she can stay
alone. You should stay with her, so why don't you leave the rest to me? I'll ask my driver, Lao Peng, to
pick you up."
Olive didn't want her parents to worry, so on the way home, she told Xenia not to tell them this.
But this afternoon, it happened that Mrs. Hoyle went to the Martial Club to pick up Annie, but she didn't
see Annie, and it was she who heard about Annie's disappearance. The more Mrs. Hoyle spent time
with Annie, the more Mrs. Hoyle liked Annie, who was quick-witted, so when Mrs. Hoyle heard what
had happened to Annie, she was very upset.
When Mrs. Hoyle came home, she blamed Olive. "Are there any mothers like you? Your child is
missing, but you can still sit at home."
Olive's mother, who was in the kitchen preparing dinner, heard Mrs. Hoyle's words and came out of the
kitchen. "What's the matter?"
Mrs. Hoyle's face was cold. "You ask your dear daughter."
When Xenia saw that the incident could not be concealed, Xenia felt very sorry, so she told the whole
story truthfully, and then she apologized to everyone in the room.
"Olive, look at that great Master you've got for your kid, and he's so unreliable. What kind of friends
have you made? If anything happens to my granddaughter, I'll never forgive you." Mrs. Hoyle scolded
Olive, pointing to Olive's nose.
By this time, Chloe had just arrived home, and when she saw Mrs. Hoyle pointing at Olive and scolding
her, Chloe got so angry that she slapped Mrs. Hoyle's hand away, and then Chloe smiled grimly. "Oh,
old witch, you like Annie now, so you accept your granddaughter now, but why didn't you accept Annie
before? You're trying to act like a grandma now, aren't you? I'll tell you, anyone here can blame Olive,
but you can't, because you're not qualified."
Mrs. Hoyle was tired of Chloe's face, and what Chloe had said to her was like adding fuel to the fire, so
Mrs. Hoyle tried to slap Chloe.
But it was Chloe who was young, and every time Chloe confronted Mrs. Hoyle, Chloe was on her guard
against Mrs. Hoyle, so Chloe could not easily be slapped by Mrs. Hoyle, while Chloe intercepted Mrs.
Hoyle's hand in mid-air.
"If you want to slap me, I tell you there is no way. Don't forget, old witch, this is the Steele family, not
your Hoyle family, so you can't rule here."
"That's enough, Chloe. Please shut up." Olive spoke out to stop their fight from spreading, turned
around, picked up the landline from her desk, and tried to dial Alan.
The bell rang at the door.
"Alan, you're back. How's it going? Did you find Annie?"
Alan reassured as he looked at the anxious faces of all the people in the room. "Don't worry, I've found
Annie, and Dave won't hurt Annie."
Alan was worried that Dave, the raging bull, would hurt himself, but Alan didn't say it in front of Xenia.
"Then why didn't you bring Annie back?" Mrs. Hoyle looked behind him, but she didn't see Annie's cute
little figure.
"Annie wants to accompany Big Beard, and Ivy is watching them, so it's going to be fine. Xenia, you'll
have to come with me because Dave is not feeling very well, so I think he needs your help." Alan was
very succinct about what he was coming back for.
Olive said. "I'll go with you."
"OK!" Alan took his wife's hand, as he knew that if she were at home, she would be on pins and
needles. Now that he has found Annie, why won't he take her with him to make her feel more at ease?
"Me too." Mrs. Hoyle followed.
"Mom, you just wait at home, and if you have nothing to do, I don't mind you helping my mother-in-law
with the cooking, because we're having guests over for dinner tonight."
Alan's words were like a tranquilizer, making Olive's parents feel reassured. Of course, they knew who
the guests meant.
In the cemetery at dusk, one could hear the rustle of the mountain wind through the leaves, while
insects in the grass began to sing.
Dave leaned against his father's tombstone, looking up at the stars. Annie moved restlessly nearby,
and although it was a gloomy place, she wasn't scared.
"Annie, are you afraid the ghost has got you?"
Annie pursed her lips. "Bah! There are no ghosts in this world. You are angry with my father, but don't
try to scare me with such childish thoughts."
Dave poured wine into his mouth. "Childish thoughts? You're really Alan's daughter because you're so
young, but you've got a lot of guts."
"Big Beard, I'm your apprentice, so how can I be a coward?" Annie duly flattered him.
"Ha ha ha." Dave's sudden laughter made the birds flutter in the forest, and then he said. "You never
really called me Master, so I didn't get an apprentice."
"I think Big Beard is closer than Master? Don't you think so?" Annie tilted her head, pretending to be
cute.
Dave didn't answer her but changed the subject. "Do you know why I brought you here?
"Are you going to do this to me here?" Annie put her hand on her neck and made a chopping gesture
with her hand, but there was no fear on her face, and she even smiled sweetly.
Dave slapped her on the head. "What's going on in your head?"
"Then, why did you look so fierce when you grabbed me into the car? You really look like you want to
kill me, so people who don't know the truth think I'm kidnapped by you, but right now I'm sure you just
want someone to talk to. You should have told me earlier, so Aunt Xenia didn't have to worry about us."
"I really want to kidnap you to make life harder for Alan." Despite what Dave said, he really regretted
that he had acted on impulse after he calmed down. He just couldn't accept for a moment that what
Alan had said was true.
If he could wake the man, his father, who was buried in the ground, he would like to ask his father: who
was lying? He trusted his father so much, so how could his father be a murderer?
Annie was a bright child, so she hugged Dave. "Big Beard, if you're upset about something, you can
say it now because it will make you feel better. As dead people are lying here, they won't give away
your secret, and I won't laugh at you."
Dave picked her up by the collar, stood up, and lifted her into the air with his hands. "Annie, I could just
crush you with my hands."
If he told a child something sad, he was sure to be laughed at by her later.
As the pregnant women who were rushing over just saw this scene, they were frightened out of their
wits because they thought Dave was going to throw Annie off, and Xenia exclaimed in shock. "No,
Dave, don't do anything stupid. You put Annie down."
"You're done." "Annie said to Dave sympathetically.
Alan was suddenly in a panic because if anything bad happened to his daughter in front of his eyes, he
didn't deserve to be her father.
"Dave, before you do anything, please think about the wife you just married and the baby that your wife
is carrying. You're going to be a father, so why are you still acting on impulse?"
"Alan, when did you get so chatty? Did I say I was going to kill my own apprentice? Get out of here
because I don't want to see you, and Ivy, who hides behind the tombstone, don't think I don't know
you're there. Get out of here, all of you, because I want to beat you when I see you." Dave looked
fierce.
Ivy stepped out of the shadows. "Do you believe us now?"
Dave treated him badly. "I wouldn't fucking trust you two liars. Go away."
However, Dave spoke to them in a much better tone. What he really hated was that he had been so
easily deluded since he had been manipulated as if he had been drugged. He was so close to being
used, and he also hated Ivy as he thought Ivy was hypocritical, pretending to be a good person, so
don't expect him to appreciate Ivy's generosity.
Xenia looked cautious, walked over, and tugged at the hem of his coat. "What about me? Do you want
me to go away, too? You've just married me, so do you want to abandon me and our baby? You are a
heartless man."
Women were really troublesome creatures, and Dave threw Annie into Alan's arms.
After Alan successfully caught his daughter with his hands, Alan heard Dave say these words. "Oh,
stop crying. Do you want my son to be a crybaby?"
Ivy's mouth twitched as Dave turned back into the Dave he knew, so he winked at Alan and slipped
away.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda