Sue felt very uneasy listening to her mother and everyone talking with such enthusiasm as if they already thought that she was the perfect match for Alex. She felt that if she didn't confess now, it would get more and more complicated until the situation became uncontrollable.
"What?" Sue's words shocked Sara and everyone in the room, demolishing the joy they had been feeling up to that moment.
Sara smiled awkwardly and said, "Sue, you're talking nonsense. Please don't joke with me."
"Sue is making fun of us," Sheldon said.
"Sue, you have to listen to Mr. Ambrose from now on," Jade piped in.
Sue could feel her heart thumping. She stole a glance at Alex and saw that his face was calm. After meeting her gaze, he was a little dazed before he moved away.
She did not want to admit it because it would shatter the sliver of hope in her fantasy. But her heart also gradually calmed down. "Mr. Ambrose and I are not a couple," she repeated as she looked at her mother, Jade, and Sheldon. She was neither happy nor sad, only a little disappointed.
"You're really not a couple?" Sara and the rest finally realized that she was not joking. They panicked. "Sue, how can it be that you and Mr. Ambrose are not dating? You were so protective of him."
"Mom, like I said, we're not a couple. I asked Alex to pretend to be my boyfriend because I didn't want you to introduce me to another guy. We only met yesterday. I have nothing to do with him, so you don't need to go around in circles about it," Sue said with a frown.
Her words made Sara and her family speechless. They looked at Alex. Sue also glanced at him. He was sitting on the sofa and seemed a little anxious with everyone staring at him.
Sue's heart sank, and her family's hearts turned cold. Only Rose, who was sitting at the side, secretly looked at Alex with a glimmer in her eyes.
"Since this is Mr. Ambrose's villa, we can't stay here any longer. Let's go," Sue said as she accepted the reality.
"No, you guys will stay and eat, right?" Since the air had finally been cleared, Alex no longer disliked Sara.
"No, thank you, Mr. Ambrose. Let's go." Sara was no longer in the mood to stay. She nodded to Alex and led the others to the door.
They also saw that Alex was trying his best to remain calm.
**
Alex shook his head and walked back into the villa after watching Sue and her family disappear into the horizon.
He lifted the broken vase, swept up the shreds of Garry's clothes, and tossed the live chicken into the kitchen. He collected the blades from the floor and threw them away.
After cleaning up the mess, he sat down on the sofa. The bracelet that Rose had found was still lying on the table.
The door to the villa opened, and grandma walked in.
She sauntered into the living room and threw something at Alex. He caught it with his hand and saw that it was a wrapped chicken sandwich. He couldn't recall if he had given her money.
"What are you staring at me for? Eat!" Grandma looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"Okay." Alex nodded. He did feel hungry, so he put the bracelet down on the table and started to eat the chicken sandwich.
"Huh? What are you doing with that bracelet?" Grandma looked at the woven band and became interested in it. She walked up to the table, picked it up, and started to play with it.
"Oh." Alex paused as he took big bites out of the sandwich. He was really hungry. "I went to the night market the other day, and a seller gave me two bracelets. She said that as long as two lovers wore them, they could always feel the presence of the other, no matter how far apart they were. Now that I think about it, I'm so stupid. How can there be such a thing?"
He smiled as he chewed.
Hearing Alex's words, grandma laughed softly and said, "She was just a normal person. How else would she know how to deceive you guys?"
Alex carefully mulled over her words. His nibbling slowed down until he finally asked, "Grandma, do you know what this love bracelet thing is all about?"
"Hmph." The grandma snorted lightly but disdainfully answered his question. She spread out her right hand and let the bracelet lie on her palm. She closed her eyes as she held it, and the corner of her mouth moved slightly as if she was mumbling something.
"Stinky brat, come over here," grandma said to him as she opened her eyes. He came up to her with the sandwich in his hand. Seeing his confused look, she muttered, "You only know how to eat, don't you?"
"Oh." He was speechless, holding the sandwich.
"Which wrist would you wear a bracelet on?" she asked.
"The left one," Alex answered casually, and then hesitantly asked, "Grandma, will you explain this to me?"
"Don't speak nonsense," she cursed. She grabbed his left hand and roughly slid the bracelet over his wrist.
"Ouch!" He cried out in pain. When she let go of him, he looked at his arm and saw the bracelet on his wrist.
"Grandma, is the bracelet working?" he asked curiously.
"Do you need to ask so many questions?" said the old grandma with dissatisfaction.
Alex was embarrassed, but he dared to ask, "What is it about the bracelet? Will you teach me how to use it? Hey, Grandma, what are you doing?"
Alex saw that she had untied an end of the woven bracelet and wrapped a thread around her left thumb. The seller had said that this was for lovers, so how could they wear it together?
"If you say any more nonsense, I'll shoot you," she muttered. Alex closed his mouth. He watched grandma wrap the thread a little more around her fingers. She looked at the thread, adjusted it, and said to Alex, "You all have cell phones. I don't have these things, so I can't contact you."
Alex was speechless and confused.
Are you buying a phone? he thought.
Grandma adjusted the thread on her fingers, and Alex stretched out his hand. She moved her thumb and index finger, and Alex moved his left index finger as well as if there was a connection between their fingers.
"Hey, our fingers are moving at the same time!" He excitedly moved his fingers a few times, and her fingers also moved. He felt that it was magical.
"If you move again, I'll chop off your hand." After she said this, Alex kept still.
She continued, "From now on, I can only call you. You can't call me. Do you understand?"
"I understand." Alex was a bit dissatisfied that he couldn't initiate this magical power.
Aren't you being too unfair? he thought.
However, thinking about the situation more, he didn't have anything to call her about anyway, so he felt a bit better.
She looked at the thread in her hand, but she didn't seem very satisfied.
She took something out of her pocket and slowly put it on the thumb of her right hand. When she put her hand down, Alex saw that she had put on a ring that was clear and green with a trace of light flowing through it.
He wanted to take a closer look, but grandma pulled her hand away.
"I'm done," she said.
"Yes, it's about time," he agreed.
"Come with me." After saying this, she walked into the kitchen. Alex followed her. Her eyes were already fixated on the live chicken. Alex thought that she may be ready to suck blood again, so he said something and got ready to leave.
"Halt!" she shouted.
"What's the matter, Grandma?" he asked in confusion.
"From now on, I need you to do something for me. It's best if you don't get beaten to death by others. You don't have to tell me how rich you are, but it's hard to predict the future, so you must rely on yourself for everything. Do you understand?" She stared at Alex.
"I think I understand." He didn't know what to say now, but her words made some sense.
"Because you saved my life, I'll just teach you a few moves," she said.
"Granny, you want to teach me a few moves?" Although he didn't have a competitive spirit, he was very willing to learn a few moves to protect himself. He had already witnessed her powers. Even if he could learn a just couple of moves, it would help him not feel so useless
"Watch carefully," she snorted and stopped looking at Alex. Her gaze was fixed on the chicken on the ground. He watched her attentively.
She raised her hand, and a light flashed with a windy sound. The chicken let out a blood-curdling screech, and it fell flat on the ground. Its wings and claws had been tied up.
"You try it." She handed him a blade.
"Grandma, should we kill it first before trying this?" he asked. He could not bear it, so he picked up a kitchen knife and moved to put the chicken out of its misery.
The old woman did not allow it. "Right… you'll throw badly, won't you? Practice throwing the blade at the wood chopping board first until you can kill the chicken swiftly."
"Ah, yes." He knew her personality, so he didn't dare say anything more. He just wanted to finish the training as soon as possible.
She taught him how to hold the blade and all the key points that he should pay attention to. He diligently practised, but, when he fired the blades at the chopping board, he could not achieve the same effect as her.
He threw dozens of blades at the wood chopping board.
"Hmph, I won't teach you any more moves. You're not good." She scolded him in a flustered manner.
"Grandma, I'll do it again. I'm getting some feeling for it now," he said. He recited the words she had taught him and raised his hand steadily. The blade flew and stabbed the chopping board solidly in its centre.