Nora raised her brows.
This identity of hers had actually come very out of the blue.
Cherry had stumbled upon a botany website when they were living abroad. There, she had pointed at a pot of orchid covered in spots and asked her to treat its illness. That was why she had registered an account there.
At that time, Cherry was only three years old, so she thought that the spots on the flower were there because it was sick, just like when a person developed spots on their skin.
When she glanced at the flower, she found that it was indeed sick, and needed some traditional medicine remedies for it to recover.
Bored and itching to test her skills, she left a message on the forum post. She gave the owner a formula for a traditional medicine remedy and told her to spray the flowers with the remedy once a day, and said that the plant would get better after a week.
Responding to forum posts required account registration, so she had casually registered with the alias Orchidiance. After all, she was making orchids glow with youth and radiance once more!
She didn’t pay any more attention to the matter after she sent the message.
Unexpectedly, the original poster reappeared a week later and said that Orchidiance really was a master at plant cultivation because she had solved the problem!
Afterward, the group of orchid lovers started to ask her for help.
She would help them out once in a while if she noticed their requests for help when she was in a good mood.
And indeed, her remedies were effective every time. Gradually, she became famous in the circle of orchid enthusiasts.
However, this was the first time someone had so blatantly asked to buy her prescription.
She opened up the private message on the website and looked at the pot of flowers that the other party had sent. The pot of orchid had become infested with tiny worms. However, this particular orchid species was very delicate, and even just a bit of careless touching could result in damage. Thus, insecticide was definitely a no-go as it would cause the flower to die together with the worms.
Nora raised her eyebrows.
That pot of flower probably wasn’t even worth $500,000. Besides, it wasn’t as if its cosmetic condition was particularly rare and hard to find. Yet that person was offering her $500,000 to buy the treatment prescription for it? They must be out of their mind because they might as well just buy a new pot of flowers instead.
She closed the private message, went to bed, and lay down to rest instead.
—
In the villa in the suburbs.
Justin looked at the beautiful middle-aged woman in front of him, only to see her smile immediately disappear after Tina left. She looked at him coldly. “Did she offend you?”
Justin didn’t say anything but only made a calm sound of acknowledgment.
The glamorous woman immediately said, “Hmph, I knew it. Otherwise, why would you come to my place for no rhyme or reason? After all, I’m an abandoned lady of the wealthy. Who would even think of me?”
Justin cast his eyes down. “Don’t say that.”
The glamorous woman had a very weird temperament. She replied, “It remains a fact, no matter whether I say it or not.”
She looked at the flora and fauna at the side after she spoke. In stark contrast to her icy-cold attitude toward Justin, she treated the plants with tenderness and great care. She said, “You can go if there’s nothing important. I’m already so old and I don’t have much money, either. What can she possibly gain from me? I just like caring for these flowers, that’s all. Are you saying that I can’t even associate with an outsider because of you?”
Justin looked at her from the back and let out a soft sigh. “That’s not what I meant.”
However, the beautiful woman ignored him and started to hum a melody instead.
She was wearing a long-sleeved dress. Looking at her from the back as she busied herself in the greenhouse, there was some retro charm to her. Justin watched her for a very long time before he finally sighed and said, “I came because I wanted to tell you that Ch… I mean, Pete has started doing game live-streams. You can have a look if you’re free.”
The glamorous woman curled her lip disdainfully. “Why would I want to look at him? I hate children the most!”
“…”
Justin fell silent for a moment. Seeing that she wasn’t intending to turn back at all, he said, “Then I’m leaving. If you need anything, you can let me… let Sean know.”
The woman had never taken the initiative to approach him before. Busying herself in the greenhouse, she ignored him, acting as if she didn’t hear him at all.
Justin could only get up and leave the greenhouse.
It was only after he left that the beautiful woman slowly stood up straight at last. She took a deep breath and put down the pot of orchid in her hands.
Mrs. Landis came over and helped her. “Ma’am, why are you even doing this?”
The woman didn’t say anything.
Mrs. Landis, however, picked up her cell phone and said, “Did Mr. Hunt say that the little mister has started live-streaming? Oh my, I’m going to have to check it out! Mr. Hunt even told me which live-streaming platform he’s on. Huh? He only starts his live-stream at five or six in the evening. I’ll watch the old streams first.”
The glamorous woman continued to ignore her. Instead, she got up and went into the room.
Mrs. Landis also went into the room with her cell phone. Cherry’s voice rang out as the videos played: “Do you have something against the wild monsters? Have you decided to take up permanent residence in the wild?”
The beautiful woman got angry. “Your phone is so noisy, Mrs. Landis!”
However, Mrs. Landis acted as if she didn’t hear anything. She suddenly stood up and said, “Oh my, look at me and my memory! I’m making stew in the kitchen. I’ll go and make some small bruschetta for you, Ma’am. They will definitely taste great with the stew later!”
She tossed the phone on the coffee table and went to the kitchen.
The sound of vegetables being chopped came from the kitchen. Only then did the beautiful woman open her eyes and peek at the phone.
She turned and looked at the kitchen, upon which Mrs. Landis said, “I’ll need some time to prepare the dishes, Ma’am, so let’s have dinner a little later!”
The beautiful woman’s eyes lit up, though she said disdainfully, “I’m going to starve to death if it’s too late! Why am I so unlucky? Even my caregiver can’t make me dinner on time every day! To think she’s even planning to patronize me with just some bread and soup!”
1
Mrs. Landis couldn’t help but laugh. “What am I to do when we’re the only ones here? Would you be able to finish it if I cook a feast? Well, neither can I! That would be a waste of food!”
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The sound of vegetables being diced continued. The glamorous woman shifted over to where Mrs. Landis’ phone was, craned her neck, and looked over.
There actually wasn’t a profile photo on the live-stream page! Here, have a negative review!
But… When had Pete actually become this witty and sharp-tongued?
Even his voice as he dissed people sounded so pleasant to the ears!
Before she knew it, Mrs. Landis suddenly came out of the kitchen with a bowl of stew. The glamorous woman got such a huge shock that she immediately retracted her head and pretended to look like she was looking for something. She asked, “Where did I put my ring, Mrs. Landis? Huh? You’re done with the stew so soon?”
“… It’s been an hour, Ma’am,” replied Mrs. Landis.
The glamorous woman froze.
How did time suddenly pass so quickly while she was listening to Pete dissing others?
—
Early next morning, after the glamorous woman got out of bed and had breakfast, she suddenly stood up and instructed Mrs. Landis, “Take that pot of A Glimpse of Blood with you, Mrs. Landis. Let’s go out and have a stroll.”
Mrs. Landis nodded. “Okay!”
The two left the house and walked about in the quiet residential area. The place was next to mountains and lakes, and the temperature and humidity levels there were just right. It was a very suitable place for one to stay at in their old age.
The two of them walked to a pond in the garden. The glamorous woman suddenly said, “Toss that pot of A Glimpse of Blood into the water.”
Mrs. Landis was taken aback. However, the next moment, she exclaimed in shock, “But Ma’am! This is your favorite pot of flowers!”
The glamorous woman stared ahead of her. “Throw it away.”
Mrs. Landis bit her lip. “Ma’am, I know you’re soft-hearted despite the things you say, so you don’t want to associate with Ms. York anymore, for fear that she would bring trouble to Mr. Justin.. But we can still try and think of other solutions. There’s no need to give up!”