Chapter 95 - Janessa

The servant dried Emily’s feet. She sat on the sofa and surrounded by paintings from Van Gogh, Da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, David, Angel, Rubens and some other masters.

She sat there quietly and watched. The bright light was scattered and shone on her hair and shoulders. Her fair fingertips caressed the paper as if she was part of the painting. The scene was so peaceful that no one had the heart to disturb.

Without disturbance to her, Maury and Eliot left her alone. They would turn around every step they took. Maury sighed with emotion, "Emily has grown up into a beautiful woman."

'She is always very beautiful.' Eliot thought in his heart.

When Emily was taken into this family at seven, she was timid and terrified like an abandoned kitten. She didn't even know how to call for help. She would just curl up while hiding under the quilt on her bed. She was afraid of meeting people, and she wouldn't eat or talk.

It was Eliot who led her out of the darkness step by step and it was also him who fed her. The first word she spoke was not 'dad', but 'brother'.

He witnessed her grow up from a skinny little kid to a beauty, but there was always fear and uneasiness in his heart. Emily was about to leave him. Such an emotion came so fast and strong that his heart lurched. He covered his chest and panted. When he looked up again, he saw a man standing beside Emily.

Rex bowed and said, "Miss Emily, it's time for class."

Only then did Emily realize that Eliot and Maury had left, so she followed Rex upstairs. Rolando stayed downstairs and waved his hand kindly at her, "Tell the chef if you want to eat anything."

Emily replied, "I will, thank you, Grandpa."

In the study room. Two buttons on Vincent's collar were loosened. He was reviewing the new proposal submitted by the Advertising Department with a lowered head. He was fiddling with a pen with one hand and would occasionally write down comments on the documents. Hearing the sound of the door opening, he just turned his head and looked at Emily. Before Emily could even tell the expression in his eyes, he had turned around and returned to his previous posture. The outline of his jaw was perfect.

Rex reminded, "Miss Emily, you don't need to be in the study today. This way, please."

Emily followed him in confusion. They entered the room at the end of the corridor. When the door opened, Emily saw that the room was filled with unfinished paintings and sketch books as well as two drawing boards. On the long table were all kinds of painting tools and even brushes. There were three grey-haired old men in the room and they were either sitting or standing. When they saw Emily, the seated ones all stood up. Then, they sized Emily up and said, "How old are you?"

Then they looked at Rex and asked, "What can we do for you?"

Before Rex spoke, they closed the door with a bang. "Leave us alone if you have no problems. Hurry, who want to be the first?"

Rex was speechless.

He walked back into the study room, upset. Vincent had finished reviewing the proposal and was making adjustments on the computer. He called the manager of the Design Department and asked him to improve the proposal. Then, he threw the proposal aside and pinched between the eyebrows.

Rex looked at him hesitantly.

Vincent had turned on the computer and was about to settle the meeting of the marketing department ahead of time.

"Get to the point." His voice was cold.

Rex said, "Aren't you afraid that those old men ... will harass Miss Emily?"

"No. Those old men have been looking forward to this day for so many years."

Rex nodded, and then quietly stood beside Vincent.

Rolando was happily having tea downstairs, and he did not notice that his old friends were lecturing his granddaughter-in-law in his house.

The laughter of those old men sounded in the room.

Rolando, who was drinking tea in the living room on the first floor, suddenly got up. His thick eyebrows furrowed and he looked upstairs. The butler stepped forward and asked, "What's wrong, Mr. Rolando?"

Rolando said seriously, "I think I heard the laughter of those old men up there."

"How can that be? It may be your hallucination." The butler smiled. "Besides, when have they been upstairs?"

"Makes sense." Rolando was relieved and leisurely hummed a song. However, he was curious about what the three old men were busy with. Why neither of them replied to him?

...

"Jaquan, do you know somewhere suitable for a walk, I mean, somewhere ordinary and quiet?"

Early in the morning, Jaquan had just woken up when he received a call. The scene of the Tea Manor immediately surfaced in his mind and he said, "The Lotus Tea Manor."

Not long after he hung up, Armando called again. "Man, do you know where it is? I can't find the way."

Jaquan's sleepiness was all gone. He pressed his temples and viciously said, "Just you wait!"

"Janessa wants to take a look." Armando said pitifully, "Please help me."

Jaquan gave up. He brushed his teeth, washed his face, changed his clothes, picked a watch and put on a tie. He made a sexy hairstyle in front of the mirror, then wore perfume and left.

The night before yesterday, Arabella hugged him and said, "I really hope that we will be the best friends forever."

Jaquan felt as if his heart that was about to jump out of the chest, had been shattered by a gun. It finally got down into his belly with only fragments and bitterness left.

He tried to fall asleep with the bitterness, but he felt no sleepiness. The firm had lost hope on him and did not want him to go back to work. He did not hear a call from his family for a few days as if everyone had abandoned him. In his world, only Arabella, who had also left, remained.

As soon as he opened the door, the cold air crazily hit his nose and went into his lungs. He took a deep breath and shivered. If he had known that it was so cold, he should not have worn such a thin trench coat to show off.

He put the sunglasses on, took the car keys and went into the garage. He drove the car and went straight to where Armando mentioned.

Before he arrived, he saw Armando and a young woman standing at the intersection. There was a car parked beside them. They were talking. Armando just smiled and listened to the young woman the whole time.

Jaquan looked at him quietly for a while and realized that they hadn't noticed him, so he honked the horn.

Armando waved his hand at him. Then, he took the luggage and bags off his car. He then opened the back door and let the young woman in. Next, he opened the trunk of Jaquan's car and put those things inside.

Jaquan glanced at the back seat and met the young woman's scrutinizing eyes, so he held the sentence 'you just have to follow me in your car' back.

The young woman was pretty good-looking. She had an oval face and protruding hair on forehead. She was like an aloof princess. She looked cold on the surface, but she seemed to be approachable. However, it would depend on her mood.. If she was in a good mood, she would be close to you, but if she wasn't, she wouldn't even bother to talk even if it was her father, who was long gone.