Chapter 129: Chapter 129: Let Them Misunderstand
Thea didn’t intend to cry, but somehow she suddenly felt emotional.
She simply couldn’t control it.
However, she really wanted to properly thank her aunt.
"I..." As soon as she spoke, her voice started to tremble.
Her aunt patted her shoulder and hugged her, "Aunt knows. Thea doesn’t need to say anything."
"Actually, I didn’t feel it’s been hard these years at all. Instead, I always felt indebted to you."
"Since your parents left, your uncle and I had to take good care of you and Aaron."
When mentioning Aaron, her aunt’s eyes also reddened. "You’ve been abroad for so many years, I felt uneasy, always worried you might find it difficult to adapt."
"Every time I wanted to visit you, you said it wasn’t necessary. I know it’s for our sake, but I genuinely missed you."
Due to their status, going abroad was indeed troublesome for them.
Besides the long journey, Thea didn’t want them to go through the hassle, so she stopped them from proposing to visit her.
"Fortunately, it seems you’ve managed well these years, with your uncle taking care of you. When you first returned, seeing you in person was such a relief compared to just seeing you on video."
"Moreover, you’ve improved so much. Your uncle and I are really happy for you."
"Alright, no more crying. Good girl."
Her aunt was already getting choked up.
Hearing the noise from the living room, her uncle came in from the balcony, surprised to see the two women hugging with red eyes.
"What’s going on here? What’s with all the crying?"
Her uncle was at a loss, a tough man standing by anxiously like an ant on a hot pan, not knowing who to comfort first.
——
Ian and the others arrived half an hour later.
By then, Thea was still upstairs getting ready; her eyes were a bit red from crying, and it was quite obvious even after looking in the mirror for a long time.
Hearing the elders had arrived, she couldn’t sit still and had to go downstairs.
Thankfully, from a distance, it wasn’t very noticeable.
Besides, the elders’ eyesight wasn’t great now, so Thea didn’t think much of it.
"Oh, the birthday girl is coming down," Grandpa Bell immediately spotted her and called out cheerfully.
Thea went over to serve tea to the elders.
"Thea, did you come back to Westmere this afternoon? Why didn’t you bring your grandparents over?"
"They had some things to do this afternoon, so they couldn’t come. I’ll bring them to the estate next festival."
"Yes, yes, it’s lively with more people here. So they won’t be alone at home."
"Hmm." Thea nodded with a smile.
"Ah, right, gifts! Grandpa Bell beckoned to Sean nearby, "Hurry, bring the gifts for Thea."
Sean brought the items over, one in each hand, "This is from Grandpa. This is mine."
Thea took them and said to Grandpa Bell, "Thank you, Grandpa."
Then she thanked Sean.
"Quickly open them, see if you like them." Grandpa Bell squinted with a smile as he held his tea cup.
Thea opened one, and it was a jade bracelet.
"This jade nourishes people. It’s just right for a girl your age to wear now."
"Come on, Sean, help Thea put it on."
Before Thea could respond, Sean took out the bracelet from the box. "Give me your hand."
"..." Thea extended her right hand, "Put it on this hand."
"Hey, this hand is inconvenient. Put it on the left, left hand is better," Grandpa Bell instructed.
Sean said, "What are you doing? Extend your hand."
Thea hesitated for a moment and then extended her hand.
Sean suddenly smiled at her with a hint of meaning while putting on the bracelet. Thea wanted to retract her hand but was grabbed by him.
The loose sleeve that covered her wrist was pulled up by him, revealing a string of camphor beads on her wrist.
"..."
Thea knew it.
"Eh?" Grandpa Bell, being close, saw it right away, "Thea is wearing a wrist bead too?"
When returning in the summer, Thea would take off the wrist bead and hide it in her pocket, only putting it back on after leaving the estate to prevent the elders, particularly Grandpa Preston and Grandpa Bell, from seeing it.
These two were especially familiar with that wrist bead.
"It looks quite similar to your third brother’s bead, hahaha." Grandpa Bell casually remarked without looking closely.
Who knew, what might be said accidentally could be thought-provoking.
Thea felt a jolt in her heart, and the next second, Sean pulled her hand towards Grandpa Preston: "I think it looks similar too, Grandpa Preston, do you think it’s similar?"
"..."
Without waiting for Grandpa Preston to look closely, Ian grabbed Thea’s wrist, his warm hand just covering the bead.
Out of the elders’ sight, Ian’s dark eyes narrowed dangerously, giving Sean a warning look.
Feeling bored, Sean silently let go.
Thea took the opportunity to withdraw her hand and pulled down her sleeve.
Grandpa Preston observed this scene with amusement, smiles growing in his eyes. Naturally, Grandpa Bell wasn’t to be underestimated. This had happened several times before, so to some extent, he had a rough idea of the situation.
Grandpa Bell: "Ian, what about your bead? Take it off and let me have a look."
Sean’s attitude towards enjoying the commotion was probably inherited from Grandpa Bell.
Grandfather and grandson resembled each other remarkably.
"Didn’t see Ian’s bead lately. You’ve lost such a valuable item? Careless kid, what have you been doing all day?" Grandpa Bell continued, "You aren’t someone who misplaces things. What happened?"
"I told you, aside from bathing and sleeping, you shouldn’t take it off at other times."
Grandpa Bell said as he secretly observed Thea’s reaction.
Ian timely responded, "I didn’t lose it. That string broke a while ago, it’s currently being repaired."
"Is that so?" Grandpa Bell chuckled, not wanting to expose the two of them.
Knowing Thea was a shy girl, he didn’t point it out.
Thea: "I’ll go make tea..."
She found an excuse and hurriedly left with the teapot.
Seeing this, Grandpa Bell looked at Ian teasingly, "Good lad, doing big things quietly? Not joining her?"
Ian glanced in the direction Thea left, waiting a couple of seconds before replying to his grandfather: "I’ll go too."
As he stepped to leave, Grandpa Bell jokingly scolded, "Well done!"
Once the two left, Grandpa Bell excitedly patted Grandpa Preston’s hand, "Did they make it?"
Grandpa Preston was much calmer, unmoved. "Who knows, let them be."
"Tsk." Grandpa Bell gave him a disdainful look, "Ian is good in every way, but he inherited your one flaw—acting poised, pretending, it’s annoying!"
Grandpa Preston: "..."
