Chapter 387: Chapter 109: Returned

“Are you satisfied now?” Monica finally calmed down and glared at Adrian accusingly, her colorful face almost made him laugh.

“You should rent a different place, a villa or a manor perhaps, so no one would bother us,” Adrian shrugged his shoulders.

“If it’s too noisy, it’ll still happen–I’m not talking about that!” Monica, still fuming, was clearly unsatisfied with his change of topic.

“I see, then you should be the satisfied one,” Adrian innocently spread his hands. “If you hadn’t deliberately flung cream on my face first, how would I have retaliated? How would this situation have even occurred?”

“First, if you hadn’t provoked me while I was baking the cake, I wouldn’t have dropped any cream on your face; second, I only tossed a tiny drop, but you smeared half of my face. Thus, you’re the real culprit!” Monica immediately retorted.

Unfortunately, Adrian simply ignored her expression, reached out, and tasted a bit of cream mixed with ketchup from his nose, then frowned, “Tastes awful.”

“Adrian!” Monica raised her voice instantly, reigniting her anger.

“Looks like you’re still energetic. Shall we continue?” Adrian leaned in with a smile that wasn’t altogether pleasant.

“Never mind, don’t mess up my living room!” Monica rolled her eyes at him and walked towards the washroom, removing her apron and about to lift her top when she was suddenly scooped up horizontally.

“Ed!” Monica called out in dissatisfaction but didn’t struggle, and thus, in laughter, she was carried into the washroom.

After showering together and changing into fresh clothes, they cleaned up the messy kitchen. By then, the sun had set, and their stomachs were growling, prompting them to go out for dinner.

“Feeling much better, aren’t you?” After dinner, while walking under the streetlights and chatting about the Oscar nominations list, Adrian suddenly asked.

Monica paused for a moment, then turned to Adrian, pulling at his collar, and showing a gentle smile.

“Let’s call it even,” she said.

“Alright, since you insist, let’s call it even,” Adrian laughed heartily.

“Do you have something to tell me?” Monica asked immediately after.

This time, it was Adrian who was taken aback, but he quickly responded, “Yes, but now doesn’t seem like the right time, and maybe I won’t need your help after all.”

“Oh?” Monica’s gaze shifted, her thoughts unreadable.

“Let’s drop this subject. How about we visit Sicily tomorrow? I found a very beautiful place there,” Adrian waved his hand and said.

The place he mentioned was a tranquil small town, with a flavor of the ’40s or ’50s. Monica was curious why he suddenly thought of this place, but Adrian simply smiled and didn’t answer, just advised her to pay more attention to the town.

After lingering in Italy for three or four days, Adrian and Monica each parted ways from Italy; Monica returning to Los Angeles, while Adrian headed to Paris. Not surprisingly, he faced rejection in Paris. Although he was mentally prepared due to their previous communication issues, he couldn’t help feeling a bit disappointed.

He wasn’t in a hurry, since he knew there would always be a way, like… Monica… But Adrian only found out later that Sophie had already gone to Morocco, so naturally, no one answered the phone in Paris anymore, which was quite amusing. However, upon reflection, even if Sophie had been there, she probably wouldn’t have answered the door or phone either.

Well, let’s not talk about that. After Paris, the next stop was naturally London, and if Emma knew he had been in Europe and hadn’t visited her, she would either make a huge fuss or look at him with tear-filled eyes, not letting him off the hook unless he apologized or made a promise.

This time, it seemed difficult to pass that test too. Emma knew that Kate was pregnant, so she had been asking for photos of the little one over the phone and in letters ever since Lily was born. Thus, Adrian had brought one with him this time, taken when the little one was two months old, lying in bed with her eyes wide open, looking very adorable, which even Emma couldn’t help but admit.

“I really want to hug her,” Emma sighed while stroking the photo.

“If you come to Los Angeles when you have time, I’ll let you hug her,” Adrian stroked her head, knowing what she was thinking, “You’re quite adorable yourself, aren’t you?”

Saying this, he took his wallet out and removed another photo from it, which was of Emma when she was one year old, showing her smile for the third time after that disaster occurred. Just then, Adrian happened to have a camera in hand and snapped the moment. Although the timing of the snapshot wasn’t great and the photo was a bit blurry, Emma’s moment of happiness was still captured.

Emma received it and stared at the photo, stroking it a few times before smirking, “I don’t even remember that time.”

“Forgetting is a good thing. Just remember now, remember the happiness you have now,” Adrian kissed her head lightly.

“Have you always kept it in your wallet?” the little girl suddenly asked.

“Yes, but this isn’t the original. The wallet is only so big; I had to reduce the film size proportionally for developing. The original is kept in an album at home,” Adrian explained.

Emma’s smile brightened but then, a puzzled look crossed her face, “Then why didn’t you show it to me the last few times I visited the United States?”

“I just said earlier, we’ll keep this in memory. You can look at it when you’re older,” Adrian shook his head with a chuckle, then waved the photo, “These worn edges surely aren’t fake, are they?”

Emma became slightly embarrassed, stuttering for a while, then suddenly leaned in and kissed Adrian on the cheek.

“Is this an okay apology?” the little girl asked with batting eyes.

“I don’t think it’s quite enough,” Adrian teased her, not expecting it played right into Emma’s hands.

“Alright, then I’ll sleep with you tonight,” she said with a sly grin.

Adrian, who was about to sip from his cup, nearly spit it out. He rolled his eyes and looked at the little girl exasperatedly, “Come on, Emma, you’re already 6 years old. No child your age still needs an adult to sleep with them.”

“I’m accompanying you, not the other way around,” Emma stated innocently.

“That still won’t do,” Adrian said with a headache, “Please be good, okay? Besides, we’re at your house.”

“I can go with you to the hotel,” the little girl nonchalantly patted the arm of the sofa, looking very sure of herself, which made Adrian want to cover his head.

“Emma!” Adrian intensified his tone, trying to overwhelm her will.

“I don’t care, wherever you sleep tonight I’m coming with you. Locking the door won’t help; I know my way around here too well, and there are plenty of ways to sneak into a guest room. As for the hotel, that’s even easier. I’ll just say I came to find Daddy!” The little tyke puffed out her chest proudly, causing Adrian to cover his face and sigh deeply.

Things had already reached this point, so other than agreeing, there was no way out. She was someone who meant what she said and would do as she said. If anything unexpected happened, it would be troublesome.

“Every time I come here, I have to act as a bedside companion.” Sighing in the light of the bedside lamp, Adrian flipped through a few pages of his book as the little body next to him, seemingly hearing his complaint, turned over and draped a leg over him.

He put down the book and turned to look at Little Emma, who had changed into her Dalmatian pajamas and had already fallen back into a deep sleep, the corners of her mouth slightly curved as if she were having a beautiful dream. Adrian gently brushed her head with his hand. Was Rodlin’s child a little over one or two years old now? He couldn’t remember, but young boys tended to be more mischievous, always seeking attention through mischief. Although Rodlin never abused Little Emma, or even said anything too harsh, her focus inevitably shifted more towards her own child.

If before the balance of attention had only slightly tilted, now a part of it had already spilled out. And Emma was always sensitive, combined with her inherent intelligence, that disaster had forced her to mature early. She also disliked sharing her feelings, which inevitably caused some internal conflict. Adrian wondered what he would become if he were like that.

When will you stop those needless worries? Adrian sighed lightly, kissed her on the head again, then turned off the light, dressed for bed and cuddled Emma into his arms. He had originally planned to wait until the little girl fell asleep and then take her back to his bedroom. After all, this was Rodlin’s house, and she was already six years old, but now he was too lazy to bother with that.

Dealing with this whimsical and quirky little creature was truly exhausting. That was his last thought before falling asleep.

That being said, it all depended on who you were dealing with. In London, he had to go with the flow, but in New York, it might not be necessary.

“This, this is a gift from Egypt to the United States, Queen Hatshepsut, there aren’t many statues of her in the world,” Natalie explained the exhibits in the museum as she hopped along, her curly hair bouncing with youthful energy, her simple outfit making her seem all the more elegant.

“Hey, don’t run so fast, Nata,” Adrian called out from behind, “Your explanations are too brief.”

“If I explain in detail, you think it’s better to just read the description; if I keep it brief, you feel like I’m overlooking things. Being your tour guide is not easy, Ed.” Stopping, Natalie turned around and mockingly lamented, then made a funny face, her smiling face as lively as a little skylark.

“Being a tour guide is never an easy job,” Adrian shrugged, adding mentally that the guides in Japan were much better than you, then restrained his wandering thoughts.

“Well, I can’t do much about that; you asked me to be your guide,” shrugged Natalie.

“I was just kidding; I never thought you and your parents would actually agree,” sighed Adrian.

“Ha, so it was an invitation without any sincerity. My mom and I wasted our sincerity,” Natalie hummed lightly, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

“Alright, let’s head out,” said Adrian, changing the subject to avoid the debate.

After staying in London for about three more days with Emma, he then went to New York. This flight made him decide to buy his own private jet. Even though he flew first class, the departure and arrival both had delays, which was really upsetting. With a private jet, these issues wouldn’t occur. While he could continue renting private jets, he thought it’d be better to just get it over with and buy one outright.

Once in New York, it was customary to visit his uncle, which had become a habit. Being lectured a bit by his uncle was no loss compared to the help he received. This time, however, Adrian specifically discussed financial matters with his uncle, and although he got a good schooling, he finally caught some crucial hints. It seemed he should now talk to Claude.

Besides that, he also had to visit Long Island. Although he kept in touch with Natalie through letters, frequent visits were necessary–to water and fertilize regularly so the fruit would grow big and beautiful, right? As for an excuse, he had plenty, such as asking Natalie’s opinion on the movie “Beautiful Girls” this time.

Evan, as usual, invited him for dinner, although it was all vegetarian, the food was still quite tasty. During dinner, he jokingly mentioned he would stay a few more days in New York and asked Natalie if she would like to be his guide–God knows he was actually joking, but Natalie immediately agreed! The reason was that it was the weekend tomorrow, she didn’t have much planned, and it would be nice to go out.

Shelly didn’t object, and after pondering for a few minutes, Evan also agreed to the request, which was quite surprising. It seemed Adrian had left a very good impression on them.

“Well, actually, I just wanted to wander around alone, running from one end of New York to the other, and then back again. It’s quite pleasant, isn’t it?” Sitting on a bench in Central Park, when asked why she agreed to be a guide, Natalie chuckled while eating her snack.

“Alone? I think not, there are many places in New York a girl shouldn’t go alone,” Adrian said, holding a hot dog for lunch.

“So, that’s why I dragged you along,” Natalie said with a proud clap of her hands, then looked curious, “But what I didn’t expect was that you actually haven’t been to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. God, if people knew that the Miracle Director, who often travels between Los Angeles and New York, hasn’t even visited a famous site in Manhattan, that would be quite amusing.”

“Hey, at least I’ve been to Central Park,” Adrian corrected.

“Yeah, and you opened a cafe there too,” Natalie teased.

Adrian raised both hands in surrender.

“So, are you willing to take this tour with me?” Natalie popped a piece of chocolate cake into her mouth, her cheeks puffing as she asked.

“I don’t think this trip will be fun,” Adrian shook his head.

“Ed!” Natalie immediately frowned, dropped her bag, jumped up, walked over to him, stood with her legs apart and hands on her hips, then leaned down to fiercely stare at him, “I’ve been your guide for half the day, can’t you accompany me this one time as a payback?”

“I thought guides were free,” Adrian muttered.

“There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world,” Natalie said with a sly smile.

“Um…” Adrian hesitated, then leaned back slightly, “Okay, maybe, but not for too long. Also, I think you should step back.”

Natalie was startled and realized she and Adrian were… too close? No, not just close, but very, very close. She could feel his breath on her face and a blush quickly spread across her cheeks. She immediately straightened up, overcompensating and nearly falling backward, but Adrian quickly wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close.

Although she didn’t fall, Natalie ended up in Adrian’s arms, pressed closely against him, almost feeling his heartbeat. Memories flashed through her mind, and her heartbeat sped up considerably. Thankfully, she quickly stood up, slightly embarrassed, and hopped to the side to sit down.

“Okay, let’s get going,” Natalie said, recovering her smile after calming her heartbeat but apparently trying to cover her emotions, she chuckled, “This is my first date with a guy.”

“Um… You can joke about other things, but let’s not use the word ‘date’,” Adrian said as he adjusted his clothes.

“Why?” Natalie asked, puzzled.

“See that policeman over there?” Adrian pointed at a slightly chubby policeman patrolling nearby, “If someone tells them I’m on a date with you, they’ll handcuff me and take me to the New York City Police Department.”

“Really?” Natalie’s brown eyes sparkled.

Just as Adrian sensed her thoughts and was about to speak, Natalie stood up and bounced towards the policeman. Watching the girl talk to the officer for a moment, the officer then looked his way, and Adrian immediately grimaced, covering his forehead and closing his eyes.

“Hey, did you hear what he said, Ed? He just wished us a pleasant afternoon,” Natalie said, running back grinning, “Your judgment was wrong.”

“Come on, Nata, you’re disrupting public duties!” Adrian lightly tapped her on the head with a newspaper, then gave an apologetic smile to the policeman, who returned a friendly smile.

“Let’s go,” Adrian stood up, cleaned up the trash around, and threw it into the bin, “Where shall we start? You have a plan, right?” (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to Qidian (wuxiaworld.site) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)