Chapter 192: Chapter 190: Lotus Blossoms Reflecting the Sun
At seven in the morning, it had already started drizzling outside, which naturally cancelled the plan of going hiking.
However, watching a movie in the screening room wasn’t bad at all. After watching two films back-to-back, it was directly noon by then.
While preparing to eat, Tiana Harris suddenly handed her phone over with a flustered expression.
[Elliana Lyle revealed as a ’Scandalous Person’]
Seeing this headline left her a bit dazed. Why was there someone again fabricating lies to attack her?
However, seeing is believing, and the pictures were quite shocking!
Tiana Harris said angrily, "These pictures are all Photoshopped. These people are too much, throwing all kinds of dirt on you!"
"No." She shook her head.
Hearing her response, Tiana Harris was surprised but still asked, "What?"
This photo wasn’t Photoshopped, but was a picture of her with a little girl from the groom’s family at Phoebe Lyle’s engagement party.
And this photo was posted by the little girl on her social media with the caption: [My newly recognized sister, who would have thought she turned out to be a star, my sister will watch over me in the future.]
This kind of thing didn’t really matter!
She was like a man-eating flower of the motherland!
"This photo was taken with this person. I didn’t expect she would post it like that on social media, which is so hateful."
Tiana Harris quickly comforted her, "This kind of thing only lasts for a few days, and it will be over. After all, there’s a disparity in status, and not many people will believe it except for some trend-followers."
Her mood instantly turned gloomy, not because she was attacked online, but because she saw the heinous crimes committed by the little girl in this news.
She couldn’t even imagine such a thing would happen. She had never experienced it, so she was utterly puzzled.
...
PM in the afternoon.
The man arrived on time to pick her up. Although she didn’t know where they were going, she held back her curiosity and didn’t ask.
At the moment, she just wanted to quietly nestle in the man’s arms, not wanting to say a word. Just smelling the fragrance of lotus flowers made her feel at ease.
However, none of her emotions could be hidden from the man, and he noticed it anyway.
"What happened?"
A straightforward question, yet it carried all of Norman Bennett’s focused care, his eyes constantly on her face.
She told him about what she saw at noon in a sullen manner, and Norman Bennett’s response surprised her a bit.
He said, "There are always some darknesses that are hidden. Now that they’re exposed, it’s actually a good thing. What’s gone is gone, and there’s no way to recover it. There’s no use in lamenting endlessly."
She pondered and agreed, thinking that at least this event had an impact. Presumably, there would be fewer such incidents in the future.
At this point, her mood slightly improved, and she asked the man, "Norman Bennett, where are we going?"
However, she still didn’t get any information, only waiting in anticipation out of curiosity.
Two hours later, they arrived at their destination. As soon as she got out of the car, she understood.
Because the moment the car door opened, she smelled an even clearer lotus fragrance, although she couldn’t see them yet.
They were currently outdoors, with a gravel path under their feet. This place was relatively remote.
"Norman Bennett, did you plant lotuses?" she directly asked.
At this time, she remembered that she had said in her childhood that she wanted a lotus lake of her own.
The man took her hand and led her forward. Over a small hill, her view suddenly widened.
Rows of lotuses extended endlessly all the way to the "horizon," and a gentle breeze blew, dispelling the summer heat.
It was as if the voices from her childhood were still lingering in her ears.
"Brother Bennett ~ I want a huge lotus lake, to watch the lotuses bloom and eat lotus seeds, and when they’re not blooming, eat lotus roots."
"Norman Bennett, you really made me a lotus lake?" She didn’t know what to say at that moment, as she originally just mentioned it in passing.
Over the years, she had long forgotten about these matters but it seemed like everything she wanted as a child, Norman Bennett was making come true one by one.
She had mentioned wanting to become a star as a child, and she really did become one now.
She wanted to marry a man filled with the fragrance of lotuses, and now Norman Bennett always carried that natural and unique scent, a fragrance from the market that was exclusively hers.
This lotus lake today left her at a loss. She knew land couldn’t just be bought casually.
The expenditure of money on it couldn’t have been small.
"When you can’t finish eating the lotus seeds, sell them, and if you can’t finish the lotus roots, sell those too. By then, Elliana can make lots of money." The man embraced her, whispering the words she had said as a child into her ear.
Although his tone was different, it was word for word.
"Norman Bennett." She turned around and threw herself into the man’s arms, just to hide her tears of emotion.
The man gently patted her head and asked, "Do you want to take a boat to the center of the lake and pick lotus seeds?"
"I do!" She immediately lifted her head from the man’s embrace, looked toward the shore, and saw a small boat there.
In an instant, her interest was piqued, and she excitedly said, "Norman Bennett, I’ll row the boat and take you."
"Okay." The man did not refuse her enthusiastic offer.
Once on the small boat, Elliana Lyle earnestly took up the somewhat heavy oar and sat opposite to Norman Bennett.
She looked at the man with a grin and asked, "Are you seated properly? I’m about to set sail."
"Mm."
As she spoke, she struggled to row a few times, but the boat kept spinning in circles on the water, like a headless fly.
Gradually, she began to feel dizzy.
"Let me do it."
The man reached out to her, but she waved him off, saying, "I can do it."
She thought it was because she was rowing too slowly, which caused the boat to spin in place, thinking that it would be fine as long as she rowed faster.
So, she rolled up her sleeveless arms and, in a determined manner, accelerated the stroke of the oar.
However, in reality, the boat spun even faster, and she almost got dizzy from it.
Seeing the little girl so interested in rowing, Norman Bennett didn’t directly say he would do it. Instead, he said, "That’s not how you row a boat. Let me teach you."
Upon hearing this, Elliana Lyle paused, feeling a bit embarrassed, thinking she knew how to row a boat.
Under Norman Bennett’s patient guidance, she gradually learned the right way to row. Fortunately, she wasn’t that dull and was able to understand.
As they rowed, she began to get the hang of the direction and was able to navigate normally.
"Norman Bennett, how is it?"
"Mm, very good."
The small boat wove through the lotus patches.
Gradually, they reached the depths of the lotus flowers, and looking at the fist-sized lotus pods around her, Elliana Lyle was so tempted she swallowed her saliva.
Loosening her grip on the oar, she reached out to pluck a lotus pod, giving it a gentle tug.
However, the lotus pod didn’t respond, so perhaps in her eagerness, she pulled harder!
The lotus pod snapped off in response, and she finally had a fresh, delicious lotus pod in hand. But before she could revel in her joy, she lost her balance!
The commotion earlier caused the small boat to start rocking precariously, and had Norman Bennett not steadied the boat, they might have both ended up in the water like drenched chickens!
"Don’t move." The man admonished her somewhat helplessly.
Although it was a reprimand, there was a hint of indulgence. Knowing she enjoyed eating them, he personally picked a big lotus pod for her.
It was obviously better than the one she held.
Receiving the lotus pod from Norman Bennett’s hand, she couldn’t wait to dig out a lotus seed, popping it into her mouth without even removing the lotus heart!
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