After being misunderstood by Eudora, Eddison felt a little embarrassed.
He had no idea how to face Rachel. Although he had someone he liked in the past, he had always put Sierra on a pedestal.
He had never thought that they would be in such close contact with each other one day.
He suddenly realized that and felt a little shy. His heartbeat was gradually quickening so Eddison decided to open the balcony window and take a deep breath.
He lit a cigarette and started to smoke slowly.
By the time he came to his senses again, more than an hour had already passed.
Rachelâs voice was long gone from the room, as if he was the only one left in the place. Eddison pushed open the door and saw Rachel lying on the sofa in the room. She had fallen asleep.
Her cheeks were slightly red because of the alcohol. Her mouth was slightly ajar, and her nose twitched gently with her breathing. She looked inexplicably cute, like a little rabbit.
Eddison could not help but touch Rachelâs nose with his finger.
âOh⦠itâs your turn!â
Her soft and fair fingers clutched his fingers tightly. When she woke up, there was still a layer of mist in her eyes. She held his hands and laughed like a child.
âWere you waiting for me?â
He thought that she had simply fallen asleep.
âYeah, didnât you say that you were going to look for me?â
âWhat if I didnât?â
âThen, Iâll just keep waiting for you! I often waited for Dad when I was a child, and Iâve gotten used to it!â
Eddisonâs heart skipped a beat. For some reason, his heart ached for her.
âWhen you were a child, did he not look for you very often?â
âThatâs right!â
Rachel, who was drunk, was particularly well-behaved and answered all the questions that were being asked.
âDad was a really busy man. When he finally had some spare time to play with me, he would have to leave for some business matters after a while every time. I would wait for him at the same hiding spot every time, and I would often do so till evening. Mom would then come to find me, and take me backâ¦â
After saying that, Rachel yawned.
âYouâre the first person Iâve successfully waited for! Why not play another round?â
âYouâre sleepy, though!â
Her eyes were red.
âIâm not sleepy!â she shook her head desperately and grabbed his arm.
Somehow, Eddison seemed to visualize a little girl squatting in the corner of the garden, waiting for someone to find her.
His heart ached, and he nodded.
âAlright! Iâll be sure to find you soon this time!â
âThatâs great!â
After saying that, Rachel turned around and went to look for a place to hide. She stood still in the same place as before. Eddison found her actions to be funny and said, âI havenât left yet!â
âThen, youâd better leave quickly!â
âIf you hide here, Iâll find you right away!â
Rachel looked at that place, and then looked at Eddison.
âIf I donât hide here, what will you do if you canât find me?â
He thought that she was just a young lady who grew up in a rich family. He never thought that she would have such an experience.
Eddison touched her head and said, âIf a man wants to find you, he will search the whole world even if he has too! If he doesnât want to find you, he wonât be able to see you even if you are right in front of him!â
Rachel looked at him in a daze. How could he forget that she was drunk? How could she understand what he was saying?
âItâs okay! Iâll be able to find you!â
After that, Eddison went out and closed the door.
After a while, Rachel said in a muffled voice, âIâm hidden!â
As soon as Eddison opened the door, he saw Rachel, who was still behind the sofa. In the end, she still chose the same hiding spot.
Eddison smiled, walked over, and took her hand.
âFound you!â
Rachel raised her head and her eyes were glistening.
âYou really found me! You didnât lie to me!â
âThatâs right! Letâs take a rest now!â
âNo, no, I still want to play!â Rachel was addicted to the game.
Eddison had no choice but to accompany her to several rounds, and each time she would hide at the same place. The last time Eddison went to look for her, she finally fell asleep.
Eddison carried her back to her room and tucked her in before he left.
â¦
After the donation incident to the charity home, Naomi had never seen Culver again.
Matters were piling up in the company and there was something good happening around the corner.
The annual landscaping design competition of Greene City was about to begin. After discussing with each other, Naomi and Emma decided to join the competition in hopes of increasing their publicity.
It was a good opportunity for companies like theirs who had just started out in the industry.
Therefore, they signed up for it without any hesitation!
Of course, when Eudora learned about the competition, she had asked Naomi several times if they needed her help. She would always remind Naomi about the times in her youth when she used to take part in competitions like those too.
However, she was stopped by Naomi.
Naomi had initially wanted to start her own business, and she could not always ask for Eudoraâs help. Besides, Amos had put in much effort to nurse Eudoraâs health. She would not put his efforts to waste.
However, stopping Eudora was just one part of the plan.
Naomi could not breeze through the competition too as she had no background in design. Therefore, she could only prod the fellow designers in her company for a perfect design.
After a few days of hard work, the designers all handed in their drawings.
However, Naomi was not satisfied with any of the designs at all!
Emma sighed anxiously, âItâs all my fault. Weâve always been in a tight spot with our finances and the designers I hired are all fairly new too! If not, we would not have ended up like thisâ¦â
âYou are not to be blamed!â Naomi shook her head. âThe company doesnât belong to you alone. I carry more responsibility here! Letâs find another way!â
Emma nodded, âYou havenât eaten for a day. Letâs go and have a meal first!â
âOkay!â Although Naomi did not have an appetite, she knew Emmaâs character well. Emma was not feeling good and if Naomi were to starve herself, Emma would feel even worse!
On their way home, they found a small restaurant and were about to enjoy a meal together.
Halfway through the meal, a commotion broke out from behind all of a sudden.
Emma stretched her head out and looked around, âIt seems that somebody doesnât have enough money to pay for their meal.â
When Naomi heard that, she looked in the direction of Emmaâs gaze. She saw a young girl with a bag in her hand and in front of her was a table full of leftovers.
She must have just finished her meal.
The manager of the store was shouting in exasperation.
âAre you trying to scam me? Even if you are young, itâs still wrong to do so! If you donât pay for your meal, weâll call the police!â
The girl was frightened as she pleaded, âPlease donât call the police. I really didnât mean to do this!â
âIf you didnât do it on purpose, then pay the bill!â
âI-I donât have money!â
âHow dare you eat when you donât have money? Things have already escalated till this point, yet you refuse to call yourself a liar? Iâm calling the police!â
âPlease donât do that! Iâm not a liar! Someone called me here. I didnât know that he left in advance. If you let me go, I promise Iâll come back and pay you in a few days!â
âDo you think Iâm stupid? Why donât you leave your bag with me? I can see that youâve been holding onto it. Is there any treasure in there?â
âThe things in this bag are useless to you!â
âWeâll know whether they are useful or not after I see it.â
As the two of them pulled the bag, a stack of drawings fell out from the bag. One of them landed right beside Naomiâs feet!