Chapter 396 Misunderstanding
Rachel had to back down when she saw Jolly’s temper flaring yet again. “Fine. I’ll go, alright, Your Highness?” “You’re not being forced to.”
“No, I’m not.” Rachel immediately got up. “Let’s go now.” Jolly took advantage of the situation but played naive about it. Before leaving, she even said to Justin, “President Burton, you’re free anyway, so remember to wash the bowls cleanly.”
Justin’s expression was blank as he cleaned up the bowls and cutleries on the table before bringing them into the kitchen.
Rachel held Jolly back for a moment. “What are you doing?”
“I was just reminding him. What’s the matter?”
“Are you ordering a servant around?”
“Why? Do you feel bad for him?”
“Are you done? If you continue being like this, I won’t leave with you. I’ll go back and wash the dishes instead.”
Only then did Jolly behave.
It was already dark as the group of people walked through the alleys of the old town, colorful lights hanging above their heads, which made the two children ecstatic.
Victor bought lamps for the two children to carry.
“Mommy, my lamp is a rabbit!”
“Mine is a tiger!”
“The rabbit is super cute!”
“Tigers are powerful!”
“The rabbit is better. It looks nicer.”
“The tiger is better. Tigers are fierce.”
Charlotte and Samuel argued about which animal lamp was better while the adults watched in amusement.
“Children’s happiness seems to be that simple.” Gloria and Rachel walked side by side, watching the two children jumping in front of them with a smile. “Miss Rachel, do you think you were happier as a child?”
“It was okay. They’re all different experiences.”
“Then, when do you think was your happiest time after all these years?”
“My happiest time?” Rachel thought for a while, then answered, “It should be when I haven’t gone to Riverdale yet.”
That was when she was still living with her mother and grandmother in Somerset Mountain.
“I don’t think I’ve told you before. Before I came to Riverdale, I lived in the mountains with my grandmother. There were very few people in that village, only a dozen families in total, and we were all far apart. When I was a kid, I didn’t even have a friend. I remember that I was happiest when I met a boy.”
When Gloria heard this, her heart skipped a beat. “A boy?”
“Yes. He’s older than me. He stayed with us for a while because of some problems. I think he’s my first friend.”
“What happened after that?”
“After what?” Before Rachel could finish reminiscing, Jolly squeezed up from behind and interrupted the two of them. “It’s been so long ago. We have to move forward.”
Gloria shot her a dissatisfied look. “Can you walk carefully? You almost stepped on me!”
“Then, you have to be careful. It hurts when I step on someone!”
“How ill-mannered.”
“Manners have to be used with people who have manners too.”
Rachel quickly separated the two of them when she sensed that they were about to get into a fight. “All right. Let’s look at the lights. Let’s properly admire them, right?”
“No!”
Gloria and Jolly yelled in unison.
Rachel silently stepped aside helplessly, “Okay, You guys carry on.”
Both of them were grown adults, yet they were still like children, fighting whenever they met.
Rachel stepped aside, not noticing that several youngsters ran past behind her. Her arm was suddenly knocked into, causing her to stumble.
“Careful.” Julian reacted fast and quickly grabbed her arm, bringing her into the corner to protect her. “Are you okay?”
When Rachel saw that it was Julian, she breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. “I’m okay.”
After the two of them regained their balance, they found that the few people in front of them had disappeared.
“Where’s everyone?”
Rachel looked around curiously. The few of them were probably submerged in the crowd because there were too many people, and the alley was winding and twisting.
Julian reassured her. “It’s okay. Don’t worry. Victor will take good care of Charlotte and Samuel.”
“I’m not worried about that. I’m afraid that Jolly’s temper would flare, and she would get into a fight with Gloria.”
“That won’t happen. Although Jolly has a bad temper, she’s all bark but no bite. Besides, Leroy should be here soon. So she won’t be able to walk around for long.”
Rachel nodded and said helplessly, “I guess there’s always one thing to subdue another.”
Jolly, who wasn’t afraid of anything, and whose parents couldn’t control her, was extremely obedient in front of Leroy. If it weren’t for Rachel seeing it with her own eyes, no one would believe it.
Julian suggested, “Then, let’s go for a walk?”
“Sure.”
Many people had come to the Lights Festival, so Julian asked Rachel to walk inside so as not to be hit by others again.
Rachel asked, “How’s Burton Group doing? Did you bump into any problems?”
“It’s all right.”
“I heard that many executives have left their jobs. With such a high turnover rate, is there no impact, especially since they’re all executives?”
“Even if there was an impact, we can’t help it. The people who left don’t think I can manage Burton Group well, so they have opinions about my decisions. It won’t do if we don’t get along all the time.”
“Are you saying that they don’t listen to you?”
“Well, there’ll always be a comparison since a golden pearl led before me.”
“Did Justin do anything?” Rachel frowned.
“I don’t know.” An indescribably cold gleam flashed across Julian’s eyes. “But, I heard that the executives who left the company have all gone to him, seemingly intending to start their own business.”
“Start their own business?”
“With Justin’s contacts and resources, it won’t be hard for him to do so. But I don’t understand why he took Burton Group’s employees away. After all, Burton Group is also his.”
“Did he really do that?”
Her brows were knitted when she asked, “Why did he do that?”
“Justin has always been an arrogant person, unwilling to be inferior to anyone else.”
There was a hidden meaning behind Julian’s words.
She suddenly lost interest in looking at the lights.
At this moment, her phone suddenly rang. It was a call from the office.
“Hello? Okay, I’ll take a look later.”
After she hung up the phone, Julian asked, “What’s the matter?”
“There’s a problem with a contract. I have to go back and deal with it. Help me inform them. I’ll head back first.”
“Okay, you go deal with that. I’ll let them know.”
“I’ll leave now, then.”
“Be careful on the road.”
As Julian watched Rachel depart in a hurry, the warm expression on his face gradually subsided. As the colorful lights shone amidst the night, a trace of frostiness could be seen in his eyes.
Rachel did actually have to deal with the company’s affairs.
However, she also wanted to rush back and ask Justin what was going on with the executives of Burton Group and whether it had anything to do with him.
If he had actually plotted against Julian, that would be too scummy.
As soon as she entered the yard, she heard Justin talking, seemingly on the phone.
“It’s not an easy task to compete head-on with Burton Group for biddings, but with Burton Group’s current internal strife, the bidders who are waiting and watching will be skeptical of Burton Group. However, you guys left Burton Group, and you brought a team with you, so there will indeed be a certain opportunity.”
When Rachel heard this, her fingers clenched, and her heart sank.
