At this very moment, Heather could do nothing but resign herself to her fate; she could only be as good as gold in front of Robert. Upon recalling the deliberate car accident that morning, she had to admit that she was too impulsive at the time. Even though she had calculated in her mind that nothing serious would happen, she failed to take any possible mishaps into consideration. If she were to do it again, she wouldn’t have been so impulsive. After all, more problems were bound to follow when she decided to bump her car into Matthias’ vehicle.
Since she didn’t want to be taken to the hospital, Heather cooperated with the doctor as he examined her under Robert’s hard stare. However, her own gaze made the doctor feel nervous during the examination. The look in her eyes gave him quite a lot of stress, and the doctor probably didn’t expect to run into such a patient.
Just then, Robert quietly appeared in front of Heather and gave her a fierce glare, for her habit of scaring timid people was a bad one; only when the doctor repeatedly confirmed she was all right did Robert let her off. Heather was already hungry, yet she still had to face Robert’s stern gaze.
Heather silently cursed Blake in her mind. “You see, Grandpa—even the doctor says that I’m fine.” She felt very aggrieved. Why would she be reproved after she got involved in a car accident?
“You never pay attention to your health,” rebuked Robert.
“Of course I’m clear about my own condition, Grandpa. If I had been feeling unwell, I would’ve gone to the hospital,” Heather replied affectionately like a spoiled child. She had to take her time talking to the old man, or else she might anger Robert again.
However, the longer Robert looked at Heather, the more displeased he was. “Just look at how you look right now. You keep burying yourself in your work.” He saw with his own eyes how Heather wore herself out these days. He wanted to express his care for her, but he wound up lambasting her instead.
Heather knew how drawn she looked these days, but what Robert said made her feel quite awful. Since she didn’t have to act so tough in front of Robert, she stared at him with aggrievement showing in her eyes. “I don’t want to bring you shame, Grandpa.” She held back her grievances since there were many things that she couldn’t tell Robert. Everyone believed that Robert was partial to her, so he would only be vilified behind his back however many grievances she poured out to him.
“I just want you to be fine. I regret having trained you so well.” Robert felt guilty about Heather since the latter shouldn’t have borne so much burden.
“Please don’t take all the blame on yourself, Grandpa. I chose this path myself, and I enjoy the full life I’m living right now.” Heather had zero complaints since she decided long ago what her future would be. She knew very well what kind of a person she was; only by constantly scaling the heights of power could she find meaning in her life.
However, Robert fixed Heather with a pair of eyes that showed great insight into human lives. He then asked, “Are you unhappy while working at the Langston Group?” Heather had been full of vigor and vitality back when she just returned to the country, but now she looked so haggard and drawn that it made his heart ache.
Heather didn’t want to talk to Robert about this, though. “I’m so hungry, Grandpa. Let’s have lunch, shall we?” The more she talked about this, the more unhappy she would become.
Robert knew that Heather was filial to him; he was aware that his granddaughter didn’t want him to concern himself about this, but he didn’t want her to compromise herself for his sake either. “Okay.” He didn’t want to cause her any trouble again. Had he known earlier, he wouldn’t have let her work at the Langston Group despite knowing that she had her own ideas. As he thought about this, he felt even more guilty.
Heather couldn’t sit still at home and wanted to go back to the company after lunch, but Robert—who had already seen through everything—asked her to go to his study, so she could only do as he told her to. “Why don’t you draw with me, Heather?” he said to Heather and handed her a piece of charcoal.
Heather waved her hand at once. “I’m bad at this, Grandpa.” Her heart wasn’t in this at all; her mind was so preoccupied with work that she really didn’t have the leisure and mood for such enjoyment.
“Don’t be so uptight, young lady.” Robert was still holding the charcoal out to Heather. Seeing that she couldn’t make him change his mind, she could only take the charcoal. Finally, he gave her a smile of satisfaction. “Let’s spend the afternoon drawing and calming our minds.”
Heather forced a smile. “Yeah, you’re right, Grandpa.” She looked at the charcoal in her hand, feeling depressed. Not only was she not keen on painting, she couldn’t even remember how to hold the charcoal.
Seeing how stumped she was, Robert taught her how to hold the charcoal. He said with disapproval, “You liked to draw and write on my canvas when you were little, and now you’ve forgotten how to hold a charcoal.”
“That was a long time ago, Grandpa,” grumbled Heather; even her memory was hazy.
“You don’t look cute at all now,” Robert remarked with distaste.
“You dislike me, Grandpa,” Heather protested while pretending to feel wronged.
“Yeah, I do. You were so adorable as a child. Look at you now—you’re not at all likable with the stony face you wear every day.” It wasn’t like Robert never saw how Heather behaved toward other people; she seemed incapable of smiling in front of anyone else, and her temperament was by no means pleasant.
“Why should I be pleasant to other people? You’re the only person I want to be pleasant to, Grandpa.” Seizing the opportunity, Heather rested her head on Robert’s shoulder without applying much strength like the way she nestled up against him as a child.
“Are you really going to remain single all your life?” Robert asked with feigned distaste. Heather has reached the age where it’s time to find her a husband, he thought to himself.
“Why are you bringing this up again, Grandpa? I’ll go steady with someone naturally when I meet the right person.” Heather couldn’t help but reflect over if she was really getting on, for everyone was concerned about when she would find a partner.
“You’re so picky that I’m afraid you can’t get married,” Robert teased half-jokingly.
“That’s right. I have such a bad personality that I reckon few men would have the courage to marry me,” Heather responded in agreement with Robert’s words. Staying unmarried wasn’t a big deal. Besides, she didn’t feel much of a longing to be in a relationship now.
She had wanted to give it a try when Lucas appeared, but such feelings were completely spoiled thanks to Matthias. Whenever she thought of Matthias and the threats he made against her, she actually felt the desire to date somebody just to spite him. She had a rebellious feeling toward Matthias; not only did he blame her for his painful loss of the woman he loved, but he also forbade her to seek true love. The thought of this filled her with anger, but it was also thanks to this that she had an idea. “Will you let me go out on a date this afternoon, Grandpa?” She recalled Lucas’ invitation; she would have completely forgotten about it if she hadn’t suddenly thought of him.
“Who will you be going on a date with?” Robert looked at Heather suspiciously. He learned from indirect sources recently that Heather had been spending quite a lot of time with a man who was said to be born of mixed heritage.
“Aren’t you worried that I can’t get married? In that case, shouldn’t I go on more dates and meet more fine men? I might even take a fancy to one of them,” Heather argued earnestly and with perfect assurance as though her words would certainly come true.
“You didn’t come home to sleep the night before yesterday. Did you spend the night at that person’s place?” Nonetheless, Robert hoped that Heather could take notice of the impression she would create. Besides, he didn’t want Heather’s relationship with the man to progress too quickly.
“What are you thinking about, Grandpa? I was engaged in my work the day before yesterday. Don’t you believe me?” Heather felt somewhat guilty as she spoke, though. Well, that’s true if boozing with Leon is considered part of my work.
Robert looked Heather up and down, for he couldn’t help thinking that what she said wasn’t quite believable. After thinking for a moment, he replied, “Are you deceiving me to sneak back to work?”
Heather shook her head at once. “That’s not the case at all. I really have a date.” She wasn’t lying this time.
However, Robert wouldn’t believe Heather unless she really had someone come over to let him take a look. “In that case, tell the person to come over and pick you up. I’d like to see the man who actually managed to ask my Heather out.”
“How embarrassing would that be!” Heather couldn’t imagine herself asking Lucas to come to the Langston Residence to be vetted by Robert. Doing so would certainly make Lucas overthink things!
“In that case, draw with me.”
Robert was so obstinate that Heather was at a complete loss for what to do with him. “Grandpa, I really have something important to discuss with him. Please just let me go.” Since she felt helpless by this, she could only draw out her vowels to make Robert give her an out by acting more and more like a spoiled child.
However, Robert kept a straight face and wasn’t swayed. “Tell him to come over and pick you up.”
In the end, Heather could only dance to Robert’s tune since she failed to talk him around. Therefore, she reluctantly sent Lucas a text message.
Lucas was rather surprised when he saw Heather’s text message. He didn’t expect that she would ask him to pick her up at the Langston Family himself, though this seemed to be a good thing. As he toyed with his cell phone, he couldn’t stop himself from bursting with joy deep down inside; he even let his mind wander at random with a smile on his face. After pondering on it, he decided to tell Tony about this. He wanted to ask Tony if this was a good thing and whether he should bring something with him on his first visit to the Langston Residence.
When Tony learned of the news, even Myra—who was next to him—was surprised. She knew that Heather rarely invited someone to the Langston Residence, for she seemed to be the only person Heather had taken there. After she and Tony looked at each other in bewilderment for a long time, she asked carefully, “Do you think Lucas has really found favor with Heather?” They both knew that Heather had refused to go out with Lucas several times.
“That’s possible. They seem likely to get together.” On the other hand, Tony wanted to see Lucas and Heather paired up. After all, Lucas—a single young man past the usual marriageable age—had never shown interest in any woman until he finally considered Heather special.
“Just text Lucas back and tell him to bring some healthcare products with him as a present for Old Master Langston. Heather doesn’t like receiving gifts from others, so tell him not to bring her a gift precipitously.” Myra understood Heather quite well. She liked giving presents but disliked receiving gifts, and such people were indeed rare.
“What about the other members of the Langston Family?” Tony asked casually.
“It’s not necessary. Heather only cares about Old Master Langston; she doesn’t give a damn about the others.” Myra’s heart ached at the thought of Heather’s extremely awkward relationship with her parents. At the very least, Myra used to receive motherly love, but Heather never once felt parental love from her parents apart from her grandfather’s love for her.
Meanwhile, Lucas looked around nervously after reading Tony’s message. He mumbled to himself, “Healthcare products, healthcare products, healthcare products—where should I buy them?” He had never been so agitated before. After a moment, the answer dawned on him. “I’ll go to the shopping mall.”
His behavior made him look as though he had a loose screw in the eyes of the passersby, and they cast disdainful looks at him. This guy is tall, sturdy, and handsome, yet he’s sick in the head.
