Win My Husband Over to Find My Child
Chapter 110: Shadows Lurked Beneath the Beaming Optimism

Chapter 110: Shadows Lurked Beneath the Beaming Optimism

Calix returned to the car slightly before ten. His face flushed red, beading with sweat from the physical labor he did just now. But, he appeared as energetic as ever.

CEO Xu was a man with high stamina. Surely climbing the stairs of the small hill and cleaning the tombstones were not energy-consuming tasks for him.

"Your parents haven’t come down, don’t they??" asked Leslie once Calix closed the car door. Her eyes shifted from his side profile to the cemetery, "Are we leaving now?"

"Yes," Calix grinned. Pulling the seatbelt, he properly buckled it, "They’ll come down soon. My parents are talking to some of our relatives."

Leslie hummed, had nothing to say about it. Still looking in the direction of the cemetery, she saw only a few people making their way down from the small hill.

"Oh! Hahaha! Do you know?"

Calix’s laughter attracted Leslie’s attention. Slightly confused, she stared at the young man’s cheery countenance.

"Hehe, I saw Gerard on my way down. I heard people asking about his forehead. Did you hit him too hard last night?"

Even from afar, Calix saw the red patch in the middle of Gerard’s forehead. Once the latter spotted him, he quickly turned his face to the other way. Gerard didn’t bark like usual.

"Really?" Leslie was amused. Throwing her head back, she joined Calix laughing, "Hahaha! I remember hitting him on the forehead. But, I didn’t think I used too much force."

Leslie was too mad at Gerard to care how much power she used when throwing rocks at him. The trashy man deserved it. He should learn better not to talk badly about someone even when he was alone.

Else, a ghostly soul would scare him out of his wits.

"Sigh... I should just go there," lamented Leslie once her laughter faded, "I could see him with my own eyes. Or, maybe I could play other tricks on him?"

Calix cackled in amusement. Glancing at Leslie, he remarked, "Mrs. Xu, you sound evil but I like it."

"Hahaha!"

Calix slowly drove the car to leave the cemetery before speeding down the major roads. As planned, their destination was Mapleview Hills.

Edward had notified Calix of him taking Aunt Wendy and Uncle Raymond out. Mrs. An the private nurse also informed him that she was on her way home now.

Graceville Manor was empty of any human aside from the comatose body that originally belonged to Charlene.

Once they were out of the expressway, Leslie saw people flocking to the parks or just leisurely strolling on the pedestrian walkways. Most of them were not in a rush as they were enjoying the beauty of spring.

Calliope loved spring the most. She adored watching the vibrantly blooming flowers dancing in the air, following the gentle breeze.

What her little one was doing now?

Perhaps, her daughter was playing with her friends at the orphanage she was still looking for.

Curling up her lips, Leslie’s heart was not plagued by endless worries. Mimo convinced her that Calliope was not suffering at the orphanage. She put her whole trust in the crochet fox toy’s words to ease her longing and concern.

’We’ll be reunited soon. Once we do, I’ll shower her with lots of hugs and kisses.’

But, only if Calliope was comfortable with that.

Despite feeling downhearted because Calliope didn’t remember her previous life, Leslie had to admit this memory loss worked in her favor. She would rather her child forget about her than have Calliope miss her so much because of her absence in this unfamiliar world.

Leslie recalled something Mimo informed her before regarding her relationship with Calliope.

|Once you’re reunited with Poppy, you’ll have the chance to make her previous life’s memories return. Even without those, Poppy will have an affinity with you. You can make your choice on that day, Leslie.|

That day hadn’t come but, Leslie had made her decision.

Instead of making Calliope confused about what was happening around her and where she was right now, Leslie planned to create new memories with her daughter. She would make full use of the affinity Calliope had toward her.

Calliope was only five years old. She wouldn’t understand that this world was inside a novel her mother read.

’It’s fine. Even if Calliope thinks of me as her adopted mother, it’s enough for me. I’ll give her a better life this time around.’

Coming to that conclusion, Leslie set her eyes on the future.

There was no use in wallowing over her hardship in the past. But, she also understood that some of her previous nightmares might resurface sooner or later.

The best thing Leslie could do was to let nature take its course. After all, she was still a human, brimming with optimism but having shadows lurking in the dark.

Soon, Leslie and Calix arrived at Mapleview Hills.

The guards were diligently doing their job in protecting the wealthy neighborhood area. Some of its residents were out to their respective ancestral homes as well.

"Oh~ Freedom!"

Calix watched in helplessness at the sight of Leslie rolling on the large couch while hugging a throw pillow. If anyone else was here, all they could see was a moving pillow in the air.

"What do you want for lunch?" Calix threw himself on the couch opposite Leslie’s, "Aunt Wendy always keeps the kitchen with fresh stocks."

"Hurm..." Leslie stopped rolling. Her long hair fell over her shoulders, touching the carpet under the couch, "Chicken noodle salad, potato pancakes and steamed egg custard, how about that? Oh, do we have readymade dumpling skin?"

Leslie felt like having some dumplings but, she was lazy to make the skin from scratch. Pan-fried chicken dumplings eaten with chili oil, how yummy would that be?

Calix grimaced. He stared at Leslie as if she was asking something impossible.

"What’s with that?" Leslie narrowed her eyes, "Don’t you like dumplings?"

"...I like them," replied Calix quietly.

"Then? You look as if the dumplings are your enemies."

Leslie’s statement shut Calix’s mouth. He withdrew his gaze from her, suddenly appearing a bit guilty. The way he looked now reminded Leslie of something.

’Don’t tell me...’

Leslie narrowed her eyes. She used to throw those remarks to someone before. And, the reason was...

"CEO Xu, you can’t wrap the dumplings nicely, don’t you?"

"..."

Calix stiffly turned his head around, unwilling to show how his expression changed. But, his action made him look guilty as charged.

’What the...’

"Hahaha! You boast to me all this time yet, you can’t fold dumplings well ah!"

Leslie’s merry laughter bounced off the walls, irritating Calix.

"...don’t laugh at me. What? It’s not that I’m omnipotent."

Leslie’s shoulders shook. She pressed her tummy, thinking how funny Calix’s attempt to avoid making dumplings was.

Just like someone she knew.

"Hehe, don’t worry ah. I’ll do it," Leslie gasped for air, almost breathless after laughing too much, "You prepare the rest."

"Yes..." Calix agreed reluctantly.

Leslie stopped laughing. She shooed Calix to his room, telling him to have a short nap before making food. Even though he was not too exhausted, it was still best to recharge his energy.

"I’ll come down at twelve," said Calix after setting his alarm to noon. The clock was showing a quarter to eleven, "Don’t go disappear somewhere ah. I won’t take a long nap."

"Don’t nag at me," Leslie waved one hand at Calix, laughing, "I’ll be waiting for your homecooked meal, Chef Xu."

"Yeah, yeah," Calix shrugged. While heading to the staircase, he said, "Treat that food as my offering to you. Aren’t you like a ghost now? You should... ouch!"

The throw pillow flew through the air, landing on Calix’s back.