Chapter 54 - Happy Birthday Grandma

A week had passed in the blink of an eye and it was time for Alice to take a gift for her grandmother. In the past, she would not have hesitated over choosing a cute or whacky gift for her grandmother but this time she found herself at a loss. Finally, she had delegated the task to Ximin but even then she had failed to come up with any ideas. At a loss, she had asked Adam for suggestions and then he was the one who had sent the two boxes that were now sitting next to her on the passenger seat.

As she stood in front of the palatial estate lined with plum blossoms, days of her carefree childhood seemed to be rolling around in her memory. Sitting under the tree, reading novels for hours on end, having tea parties with her grandfather so many things that would never happen again. Most of her childhood had been spent being shuffled from one set of grandparent's home to the other and yet she had been the happiest with them. Even as she had observed her parent's shamble of a marriage, she had seen her grandparents strong marriage and believed that she would have a similar one when she grew up. But the reality had broken her. The love that her grandparents thought was their strength proved to be the biggest weakness a person could have. Love brought about the downfall of her mother and the relationship between her and Grandma Ye was also the result of love that the woman held for her son. 

Alighting the car, Alice took out the gift baskets and looked up to see Butler Han standing at the door. The older man bowed ninety degrees and even though his face did not show much expression, his eyes showed that he was pleased to see the young mistress come home after so long. Directing a small smile his way as he walked forward to take the boxes, Alice walked forward as she asked, "How are you doing, Uncle Han?"

The older man was pleased with just that simple greeting seeing as his miss was as polite as ever. He had heard some weird rumors from the young master... "I am very well, miss. And even more glad that you have been able to visit us this time. Madam was looking forward to seeing you. She has missed you." A hint of reproach crept into the old man's tone and since he had no right to rebuke the miss, he decided to keep quiet. Madam had asked him repeatedly to be understanding to the miss.

As Butler Han led Alice from the big hallway to a small patio on the other side, Alice was shocked to see that her grandmother had grown really older. The once straight backed woman was now a little stooped and her face a little more gaunt. She had even lost some weight. Gulping at the unexpected frailty from a woman who she always thought was invincible, Alice looked away, taking a moment to compose her emotions before she called out," Grandma."

Lady Faye Ye looked up to see her granddaughter with pleasure in her eyes. She had not dared to hope that her stubborn granddaughter would succumb to her threats. Like an eager little girl, she tried to hold her cane to get up but Alice hurried over and leaned down to hug her grandmother as she said," Please don't trouble yourself, grandmother."

Planting a small peck on her feathery cheeks, Alice wished her a "Happy birthday." before swiftly moving back to sit on the opposite chair. Grandmother Ye pouted like a little child as she looked around before whining," I told you to bring your boyfriend also! Where did you leave him? And you did not even bring any gifts for my birthday!"

Actually Grandma Ye was just trying to make Alice comfortable. The fact that the girl had actually decided to visit her instead of sending over some flowers like she had done the last few times, was a gift in itself to her.

Taking cue from her grandmother, Alice ignored the main topic that had brought her here. Anyways, she knew the old woman would oly answer her when she was ready. Thus she gave the excuse," Grandma, he is not here in the country. I will bring him to meet you when he returns. Alright. And I dared not come to a birthday without a present. That would be an insult to everything that you have taught me in the past. Uncle Han?"

Uncle Han walked forward and placed the two boxes in front of the madam. "You brought me two gifts?"

"One is from me and the other is from Adam to thank you for inviting him and wishing you a happy birthday."

This made the old lady beam with pleasure as she eagerly took the gift saying," Do you see Butler Han! My grandson in law is already filial! He has even sent me a present! Let me see what it is!"

Like a little girl, she opened the present and then let out an awed sigh. The reaction made Alice curious about the contents of the box and she leaned forward to take a look. Her eyebrows raised in surprise when she saw the expensive 1948 purple Yixing Xisha Teapot! Adam was really generous! And she had not even asked him to prepare a gift or extended an invitation to him. Just mentioned her own predicament. However, he had prepared not one but two gifts. Maybe she should have checked the contents to see of they were suitable. What if the other box contained something even more expensive? She wondered if she could withdraw the gift. She knew that she was being petty but she did not want to be indebted to Adam.. She would have to pay him back. How could he be such a spend so much! This teapot alone was more than two million dollars!