Even the old dog outside turned to look at them in amusement.
A few minutes later, the two finally headed out.
Given that it was early autumn, the summit was extremely beautiful. The sky was clear other than for the occasional cloud. The setting was picture-perfect.
The leaves had turned yellow while the grass was no longer as green.
In fact, the view from the summit was a colorful one. Trees were laden with fruits that Sasha couldn’t recognize while the hill was covered in flaming red foliage.
It was a sight to behold.
“Darling, where would you like to go? Why don’t we take a stroll in the vegetable garden behind the house? Old Mr. Jadeson mentioned that some of his beans are ripe. Perhaps we can check on them and harvest them for dinner later? I’m sure they taste delicious.”
Sasha stood by Sebastian’s side outside the wooden cottage.
Suddenly, she had an idea. Turning to look at him, her sparkling eyes glistened in the sun.
Her gaze took Sebastian’s breath away.
Her eyes sparkled so brightly that made him look elsewhere awkwardly.
Nevertheless, he chose not to say a word.
Just as he expected, Sasha coaxed like he was a kid and they came to the vegetable garden.
“Wow! Look, Darling! The beans are already ripe. Old Mr. Jadeson is really something to have planted all these!”
Sasha was delighted when she saw the entire swathe of beans.
Other than beans, Jonathan had also grown peanuts. Before he enlisted in the army, he grew up on a farm. Naturally, he knew a lot about farming.
Since the beans couldn’t be eaten raw, Sasha plucked some peanuts instead.
After that, she rinsed them in the stream nearby.
“Darling, try this. See if it’s any good.”
No!
Since Sebastian suffered from mysophobia, he recoiled when Sasha handed him the peanuts that were still dripping wet.
What am I doing? How could I have forgotten that he’s still sick?
Regaining her senses, Sasha retracted her hand. “I’m sorry, Darling. I forgot you have mysophobia. Let’s not eat it anymore.”
With that, she threw the peanuts onto the ground. She thought that after she sent him back to his room, she could return to harvest some more.
Unknown to her, just as both of them turned around, Sebastian stared at the peanuts on the ground with sudden regret.
After a while of strolling down the hill, the sky began to darken.
“Darling, look, the sun is setting. Let’s go back now, shall we? I’ll take you out again tomorrow,” Sasha coaxed Sebastian, worried that he wouldn’t agree.
Considering that he had managed to walk the entire afternoon after being cooped up at home for the last few days, Sebastian finally felt relieved and nodded in satisfaction.
“Mmm,” he grunted as he looked at the cityscape afar.
That city happened to be Jadeborough.
Halfway up the hill—the part they were now at—was actually the best spot to see the entire cityscape. In fact, one didn’t even need binoculars to do so.
From that spot, one could clearly see how peaceful and vibrant the city was.
After admiring the scenery for a long time, he began to feel disappointed at the fact that nothing was happening. Just like a pool of still water, there were barely any ripples at all.
Why? Did something go wrong?
Squinting his eyes, his expression darkened all of a sudden.
Sasha was already busy in the kitchen when darkness filled the sky a few hours later. She did not notice that a black figure had infiltrated their cottage and was headed for Sebastian’s room.
“Mr. Hayes!”
The figure somersaulted into the room in which only a dim light was lit and darted up to Sebastian who was sitting in his chair lost in thought.
When he heard the voice, Sebastian raised his icy gaze.
“Why didn’t anything happen today?”
“Jonathan hasn’t come out of the military base after heading back there for a second time,” the figure explained as he handed Sebastian his phone.
With a grim expression, Sebastian took the phone and watched the video on it. He realized that it was the surveillance footage from Oceanic Estate and the White House. However, he was disappointed to see that nothing happened at Oceanic Estate up until the afternoon.
“What’s the meaning of this? After helping him so much, is this how he reacts?” Sebastian finally lost his temper. Tossing the phone away, he swept all the chess pieces in front of him onto the floor.
Fortunately, Sasha was in the kitchen and didn’t hear the commotion.
However, the black figure was jolted by Sebastian’s reaction.
Nevertheless, he knew Sebastian’s temper well after having served him for so many years. Therefore, he didn’t say another word and simply waited for Sebastian to calm down.
“What has gone wrong?”
“I think it has something to do with Jonathan. He brought back a combination lock from the military base, and it was this lock that made him return once again.”
