Chapter 31: Lantern
Chapter 31: Lantern
The next day, the bright summer sun shone down on the small courtyard, making the lush trees
appear even greener. Underneath the eaves, Grandpa''s pet, parrot, was squawking nonstop.
"My granddaughter is sozy!"
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"The sun is already shining on your butt!"
"Wake up! Wake up!"
The chirping bird woke Cheyenne from her slumber and she rubbed her disheveled hair. She red
coldly at the little creature.
"I suddenly feel like fried parrot would be pretty tasty."
The parrot clutched onto its iron perch with its tiny ws and rolled its eyes.
Fluttering its wings, it flew for a moment beforending back on the iron cage.
"Terrifying! Terrifying!"
"Protecting animals is a human virtue!"
Layne was practicing Tai Chi in the yard, wearing a loose white robe and moving gently as if he was
about to fall asleep.
Hearing some noise behind him, he stopped his movements and turned around.
"Cheyenne, why are you bullying Lantern?"
This green parrot with a red beak had feathers that were green with hints of blue and blue with hints
of green, quite shy indeed. Hence, it was named "Lantern".
True to its name, this bird had an entric personality. For example, all those insults directed at
Cheyenne earlier were actuallying from Lantern itself.
"Grandpa, tell me the truth! Did you teach that animal to say those things?"
As she spoke, Cheyenne quickly braided her long hair into a twisted braid that hung down behind
her head. She gave Layne an intimidating look.
Thetter shook his head helplessly and said, "How could I have taught it? It learned on its own!"
Lantern thought its owner was praising it for being clever and repeated after him. "Learned on its
own!"
"Cheyenne is so stupid..."
Cheyenne''s forehead throbbed as she shook the birdcage. "Shut up, you stinky bird!"
"Don''t shake it, it''s going to get dizzy!" Lantern inside the cage swayed back and forth.
Finally, with a flutter, it fell to the ground.
Fortunately, this eave was not high from the ground, only a little over two meters in height.
She stepped over Lantern expressionlessly. "Hmph! Let''s see if you dare talk back to me again!"
Lantern: I''m so dizzy... Cheyenne is really mean.
Layne picked up Lantern with heartache and put it back in its cage before closing the door.
He looked at his granddaughter and smiled. "You''re all grown up now but still just as childish as
when you were young."
Cheyenne was pouring tea and first served her grandfather before herself.
"I''m just teasing it."
They ate breakfast together and then heard a roar of car engines outside.
A ck Rolls-Royce Phantom pulled up at the entrance of his shabby courtyard. That car was worth
no less than ten million dors.
After the Edwards family fell from grace, few people came to visit. The only visitors were Layne''s old
friends who always walked or rode bicycles when they came to Layne''s ce. The courtyard was
so precious that even a single brick on the ground could be an antique, and breaking it would be
heartbreaking.
"I''ll go see who it is," Layne put down her teacup and headed towards the door.
"I''ll go change my clothes," she said as she was wearing a pink pajama set that would be
inappropriate for receiving guests.
The gate opened, but as soon as Layne saw who it was, his face darkened. He quickly prepared to
close the door.
"Layne, wait!" A hand suddenly pressed against the door panel and a man in a ck coat squeezed
in.
He stood before him.
It''d been over twenty years, and he had aged a lot with silver hair covering his head.
"Adrian, you didn''t die overseas. What are you doing in my rundown courtyard?" Grandfather, who
was always gentle and kind to people, surprisingly showed such hatred towards the visitor and even
said such words.
Cheyenne was buttoning up her jacket when she heard themotion outside. Her room was on
the left side of the courtyard.
Through the door, she could hear everything clearly. Was Grandfather really angry? She had to go
out and see for herself.
She quickly finished getting dressed, tying her long hair back with a pearl clip from her desk.
Despite Layne''s sarcastic remarks, Adrian remained calm with a smile that entuated his wrinkled
face as he replied softly, "After all these years, you still have a short temper."
"What brings you here?" Adrian brushed off some dust from his clothes before stepping into the
courtyard with his polished shoes. Looking at this unchanged little yard made him feel emotional as
he said, "I never thought that after more than twenty years have passed, it would still be exactly like
this."
"Layne, we grew up here when we were young," Adrian said.
"I remember when you wanted to eat apples and climbed onto the roof to pick them. You
identally fell down, and Uncle cut down the apple tree," he continued.
"Actually, the fruit from that tree was really sweet."
His words brought Layne back to his childhood memories in an instant.
Now he was already seventy years old.
Adrian was only five years younger than him and should be sixty-five this year.
"Okay, I don''t want to hear your nonsense. I believe even the ancestors of the Edwards family
wouldn''t wee you. So just leave," Layne replied sharply.
Cheyenne came out just in time to hear her grandfather''s words.
What did he mean?
Did Grandunclemit a big mistake before?
Why does Grandpa hate him so much and say that even the ancestors of the Edwards family
wouldn''t wee him?
Adrian hade with a purpose, so he couldn''t be easily dismissed with just a few words from
Layne.
He stood at the door stubbornly and looked at Layne intently.
"Layne, I''ve reallye around these past few years while living abroad. I was wrong; my youthful
arrogance hurt you all!" Adrian said apologetically, "What do you want me to do for you to forgive
me?"
Cheyenne walked over and carefully tugged on her grandfather''s sleeve. She whispered, "Grandpa,
it''s him. The one who gave me the Rejuvenated Herb for free at the auctionst time."
Layne also knew about this incident. He had prepared twenty million dors for Cheyenne to go and
get the herb, but then Adrian gave it to her for free.
Adrian smiled at his bright and beautiful grandniece in front of him. "Cheyenne, can you speak up
for me? Your grandfather really misunderstood me."
"Granduncle, I don''t know what happened between you two. Why don''t you tell me what''s going
on?" Cheyenne was very skilled at ying along.
Adrian was speechless at her question.