Jonas should have been used to his grandfather defending Melinda.
Thousands of family households had most of their lights switched off by then. When Jonas walked out
of his office, he saw William dozing off with one hand resting on top of the desk. The sound of the
heavy wooden door opening startled him and he almost fell to the floor.
Placing both hands on the desk and barely supporting his weight on the chair, William couldn’t resist
yawning. There were dark circles under his eyes, silently complaining about the immense amount of
work that day.
"Mr. Gu, are you off duty?"
William asked in a drowsy voice. He felt that he could sleep standing up.
"You can take a day off tomorrow."
Jonas’s voice trailed away as he made his way out of the office. Rubbing his ears, William felt that he
had misheard him. Then his smile grew bigger and wider like a fool.
At long last, he could relax for one whole day.
When Jonas returned home, he threw his suit jacket over the back of the sofa and slumped down. He
was no ironman and he felt exhausted. He had been hectic these days that a gray stubble covered his
cheeks and chin.
It just so happened that Melinda went downstairs to get some water to drink. After adapting to the new
surroundings, she seemed comfortable walking under the dim lights as she made her way to the
kitchen. Despite the blurry vision, she could make out Jonas’s figure. Seeing him so tired made her
frown unconsciously.
She gripped the glass in her hand tightly and sighed. She poured another cup of water and flipped on
the kitchen light.
The painfully bright light made Jonas feel uncomfortable. He frowned and blocked the glare with his
hands. Melinda handed him the water. She just stood there in silence.
"Go back to your room and get some rest. You’ll catch a cold if you sleep on the sofa."
While Melinda spoke, she could hear a grumbling sound from his stomach. She peered at Jonas and
saw his reluctantly expressionless face.
For a moment, she found Jonas very adorable.
Ten minutes later, a bowl of steaming rib noodles appeared in front of Jonas. Melinda yawned and her
eyelids grew heavy.
"I’m going back to bed. Good night."
She didn’t care whether Jonas ate the food and fumbled back to her bedroom. Showing some concern
for him had become a habit, and this practice was undoubtedly scary.
In the past, the late night snacks she prepared all ended up in the dumpster. She smiled with self-
mockery and stopped thinking about it too much.
Jonas tasted the broth. The flavor was bland but his hard heart softened a little.
The next day, Melinda got up early to do Tai Chi with Nelson, which made him praise her a lot. Gavin
was beside them, smiling.
Recently, Melinda had lots of free time, and had also developed a habit of sleeping late. Nelson spoiled
her with too many things and spoke nothing of it. Today’s abnormality compelled him to ask,
"Sweetheart, do you have something to tell me?"
Melinda smiled shyly, blushing a little. She indeed got up early on purpose today.
"Grandpa, I know what happened between Jonas and Emily."
Hearing this, Nelson's face darkened and his enthusiasm faded fast.
"Don’t worry. I won’t let anybody hurt you repeatedly,"
Nelson blurted. He misinterpreted what she meant and worried that she might take off feeling upset
again. His support deeply touched Melinda.
"Grandpa, please don’t get me wrong. That’s not the reason I came to you today,"
Melinda said with a smile which seemed to have a magical effect to heal people. Nelson looked at her
with uncertainty. She held his chair as he took a seat and then sat beside him.
"Grandpa, you don’t have to increase his workload. If he truly cares for Emily, he could have brought
her somewhere else entirely, even if he was flying in the air."
Melinda’s brows furrowed slightly at the thought of Jonas’s weariness last night.
"Don’t you feel upset?"
Nelson didn’t expect that Melinda would plead for Jonas, making him feel awful. Why couldn’t his
insensitive grandson see what a wonderful wife he had?
"Grandpa, I don’t enjoy forcing someone to do something. Also, Jason has always been dominant, and
it seems there’s nothing he cannot do. He thinks he’s a mirror image of superman, but he isn't,"
Melinda added. If Jonas failed, Nelson would be the first one to feel pity for him. She didn’t want to see
either side of this matter.
However, when Nelson heard how Melinda described Jonas, the old man burst out laughing. All the
time, Jonas appeared aggressive and powerful as if he knew everything. Everyone thought so, except
Melinda.
And this certainly convinced Nelson that Melinda was the ideal woman for Jonas.
The appeal worked. The last few days, Jonas had been working like a dog. It was a great relief that his
work volume lessened.
It was only until Nelson spoke in a weird tone over the phone that Jonas realized what he meant. He
requested him to thank Melinda. If it were not for her, Nelson wouldn’t have let him go easily.
"You can unwind and take Melinda with you on a holiday. Jonas, sometimes you have to put your heart
and soul into knowing her genuine character."
With these words, Nelson arranged both of their schedules decisively. All of a sudden, the obligations
Jonas were responsible for in the company were handed over to the other executives.
When he arrived home, Melinda had already packed up her things for the trip and sat in the living room
watching a movie.
There was an empty luggage in his bedroom.
If it was in the past, Melinda would have gathered his belongings together and put them in a suitcase.
Jonas could not avoid comparing her with the old Melinda. He ended up packing the things himself.
Hearing Melinda was leaving, Yulia was so overjoyed that she couldn’t help smiling after depression
had tormented her.
But she still looked miserable whenever Nelson was nearby.
Yulia finally got what she always yearned for in the Gu family. And she feared that everything was
nothing but an illusion, a lucid dream.
She thought she would wake up fully healed, and everything would go back from the start.
This feeling of insecurity had accompanied her since childhood.
The psychologist came to give Yulia counseling once in a while. This time, he sensed that Yulia was in
a cheerful mood. He wondered what incredible thing had happened to her during the last few days and
asked Gavin about it.
Gavin looked confused. Lately, Yulia behaved as usual and there was nothing special going on.
"Where is Mrs. Gu?"
the psychologist suddenly asked. He had a delightful impression of her, being a gentle and patient
person.
"Mr. Jonas took her on a vacation," Gavin said with a warm smile.
Gavin’s words made the psychologist’s face a little tensed. Then he peered at Yulia and a theory
flashed through his mind. Although it was absurd, he felt that was the case.
He wondered whether the cause of Yulia’s illness was Melinda, which should not be the instance.
Everyone could feel that Melinda took excellent care of Yulia in good faith, so it was beyond belief to
the psychologist if she was the source of the disorder.
Nelson showed not much concern unlike before when he learned that Yulia was doing better now. And
since Jonas was away, he had to take care of the company’s business and financial dealings in person.
Yulia became anxious after being ignored once again. Something was wrong with her one night.
Nelson followed the servant to Yulia’s bedroom. The room was an absolute mess, with Yulia curled up
in the corner and stared at everyone with caution, just like a crippled animal.
With his sole granddaughter acting like this, Nelson had mixed feelings.
"Yulia, come here."
It was rare for Nelson to call her in such a gentle way. The gracious manner made her feel loved.
Yulia inched closer slowly. Nelson felt sorry for her and consoled her for a long time until she drifted off.
The psychologist speculated about the sudden severity of Yulia’s condition, but he assumed that
something might have prompted her. So Nelson informed everyone in the Gu's mansion to obey Yulia’s
orders and make sure that Gavin would provide all her needs.
Jonas and Melinda were traveling to an island in the south, which was a very famous tourist attraction.
Many people would visit the scenic spot in the warm weather, and there were some Gu family's
businesses set up here.
After the plane landed, Jonas and Melinda went to take their baggage together. The driver waited at the
airport gate. The Gu family had a villa here, close to the seaside. At night, they could view the starry
sky and observe the lively night scene in the distance.
The beach gave off a cool vibe after dark.
Both Melinda and Jonas remained aloof to each other. The driver took off after dropping them to the
villa. Everything in the house was ready, but there was no servant around. Obviously, it was Nelson
who arranged it on purpose.
Upon arrival, Melinda didn’t unload her luggage and instead laid down on the bed to have a rest. She
was not in good shape, so the flying made her feel exhausted.
Emily, who stayed in A City and whom Jonas avoided for a long time, was unwilling to give up and
came back to the company again. But the receptionist intercepted her and declared with a smile that
the boss wasn’t in his office for now and was on vacation.
Jonas was a typical workaholic, so Emily didn’t buy his sudden leave of absence. At last, after asking
around, she got to find out that Jonas was traveling with Melinda.
Emily clenched her teeth and wished she could fly there and grab all of Jonas’s attention in front of
Melinda. But she had a show to attend in two days, so she could only send people to spy on them in
secret.
The night fell. There were many people camping on the beach side. In Melinda’s school days, she
enjoyed backpacking and going on excursions the most. Looking at the festive crowd far away, she felt
envious.
"You like that?"
The sudden voice made her heart skip a beat. Even though there was a hint of a smile in the corner of
her mouth, the atmosphere was weird.
"I’m hungry."
She abruptly changed the topic, and Jonas could not snap back. He was also starving at the moment.
After they helplessly discovered that there was no food in the villa, they walked outside together. Jonas
wanted to drive to a restaurant for dinner, but Melinda insisted on joining the barbecue party down by
the beach. Left without a choice, Jonas obliged.
He couldn’t find a car here, anyway.
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