Michael looked at Sophia in doubt. âWhatâs wrong? I saw you kneeling earlier today. Donât people from the village kneel down when they pay respects to the dead?â
Sophia didnât speak again; people in the village had to kneel, but the Fletchers didnât seem to have the habit of doing that!
With that, Michael didnât say another word as he kowtowed in front of the graves. Nathan immediately imitated him and did the same.
The son-in-law had already kneeled, so how could the daughter be exempted? Hence, Sophia proceeded to kneel down and kowtow.
After they were done paying their respects, they put out the fire and went down the mountain. They got into the car and went back to the city.
As the car moved slowly, Sophia learned against the door and looked out of the window, staring at the mountain and the cleared graves that were getting further and further away. She felt empty inside.
Suddenly, Sophia felt a huge palm resting on her shoulder as Michael whispered to her, âStop looking. I will come back with you every year in the future, okay?â
Looking at Michael, Sophia suddenly realized that he was even more handsome than before.
Sophia nodded. âThatâs very nice of you, hubby.â
Sophia buried her face in Michaelâs shirt, and she could smell the grass from the mountain and the damped spring breeze.
Youâre the best. How great would it be to call you mine forever!
Two drops of tears rolled down, quietly seeping into Michaelâs shirt that was already dampened by the rain.
Sophia knew that Michael wouldnât fall in love with her; he was nice to her because he was nice to everyone!
Sophia also knew that the way she showed up determined the way she would be loved. Back then, she was sent to Michael by Daniel as if she was a pet. Michael had spent ten million to purchase her as a pet, so it had determined the way he would love herâlike the love an owner had for a pet.
She would be loved like a cat or a dog, but not a human.
Clearly, Sophia knew about it all. She didnât dare to ask for his true love, but why? Why was he always so nice to herâ¦
If Sophia really fell deeply in love with him one day but he no longer spoiled her, what was she going to do?
Sophia had been bullied and betrayed before, so she wouldnât allow herself to fall for it the second time.
Michael didnât seem to understand her true pain. He thought that Sophia simply missed her deceased family as he hugged and coaxed her. âAlright, nowâno more crying.â
He knew his little woman had been betrayed; to Sophia, a romantic relationship was like a poisonous cake, tempting yet lethal. Therefore, she cautiously stayed away and kept a distance from him.
Michael didnât want to force her. Instead, he would walk into her heart bit by bit.
Sophia was a person, not a cat or a dog. When Michael bought her, he was ready to take full responsibility!
It was already dark by the time they returned home. As soon as they got back, Michael went straight into his study and busied himself with his work. Nathan was extremely tired after walking around all day, so he rolled into bed directly and fell asleep.
As for Sophia, she laid on the bed after taking a shower. A heavy day finally passed.
Nothing could be heavier than visiting the cemetery.
Sophia opened Messenger and noticed there were a lot of new messages. As Stanley had replaced his profile picture with a photo of his husky, it stood out among the others.
Stanley had sent a message to her which read, âHowâs my Uncle? Is he alright?â
Knowing what Stanley was asking about, Sophia thought that Michael had definitely felt uncomfortable when he saw his brother with his first love. âHe hasnât come out from the study since we got home.â
On the other hand, Stanley was playing his video games while sending Sophia an audio message. âMy Uncle seemed unhappy today. Donât disturb himâlet him chill for a bit, and heâll be fine.â
Stanley then added, âSince he used you as an excuse today, donât think too much about it.â
Sophia did not respond.
Meanwhile, Stanley sent over another audio message. âHey, Sophia? Say something. Do you want to get into our family or not?â
Sophia replied, âThatâs none of your business.â
Stanley responded, âI know you have a crush on my uncle, but thereâs someone in his heart alreadyâ
donât think about my uncle anymore. On the bright side, you have me!â
âUgh, I pass,â Sophia replied coldly.
âCome on, get on the game with me! Itâs been such a long day tomb sweeping. I feel gloomy. Letâs play a game and relax a little!â
Sophia did not reply, but her new character appeared in the game moments later, killing monsters vigorously.
Harry was stirring up trouble in the game, but Stanley appeared with a beautiful young warrior.
At first glance, Harry could tell it was Sophia because Stanley had once asked him to pretend to be the bad guy and seduce her.
In reality, Stanley had wanted to introduce the true identity of Beast and Scary Phoenix, but she seemed to have gotten hooked in the game already. If she knew Michael was such a powerful character in the game as well, she would definitely get addicted.
Moreover, Stanley had asked Beast to pretend to be the bad guy and seduce her, so he couldnât speak to him up until now.
Sophia kept trailing off and falling into a daze. After two rounds, she started to wander away. Staring blankly at the game, she couldnât stop herself from going onto the Internet and searching for Ireneâs information.
Irene was a legendary military queen, and she had a rank of a major specializing in military entertainment. She could be best described as a true artist since she had great singing and acting skills.
Furthermore, her plays were all period dramas and thematic movies. Similar to Michael, she was a national treasured artist. She was often invited as guest performer and a dignitary to meet with international guests.
Moreover, Irene was incredibly beautiful. With a pair of eyes that could speak, she had a free and easy personality like the women in the military and an outstanding temperament.
Michael and Irene were literally a perfect match!
Compared to Irene, Sophia realized she was only an ugly duckling. She didnât have anything that was better than herâ¦.
Sophia was looking at Ireneâs picture in a daze, and she didnât realize that someone was ambushing her in the game. Suddenly, a swordsman slashed her from behind and a painful scream was heard from the game, which then shifted Sophiaâs attention back to the interface.
How dare you attack me under broad daylight?!
Sophia was about to return the attack with her sword!
However, someone else was faster than her. A swordsman rushed out suddenly and killed the attacker.
The attacker screamed and died.
Sophia looked at the ID of the person who saved her. It wrote, âNo. 1 Beast of the Server.â
Why did this person appear suddenly?
Sophia messaged the person in private, âThanks.â
Beast replied, âI came to apologize for what happened two days ago.â
After listening to Stanleyâs spew of nonsense two days ago, Beast went to trouble Sophia; when he found out about her identity, he felt guilty and wanted to apologize immediately so that she wouldnât hate him.
Sophia replied, âItâs alright. Iâve forgotten about it already.â
After a short conversation, the two didnât have anything else to say and remained silent. Sophia controlled her character as it wandered around; Stanley requested her to join him for a fight, but she was uninterested. Then, Sophia walked around aimlessly.
Across the colorful world in the game, Sophia walked through the snow mountain grassland and through the lakes and villages.
The world in the âSwordsman Gameâ was beautifully designed; any background frame from it could be used as a wallpaper. Sophia stood by the lake and gazed upon the blue waters silently.
There were very few people nearby, but when Sophia turned around, she noticed that Beast was standing behind her; she had walked such a long way and he had actually followed.