Chapter 306 Very good to me
Alana said a lot, and finally, she took Stephan’s hand. “Grandpa, look, this is my boyfriend, Stephan Hudson. Isn’t he handsome? Not only is he handsome, but he’s also very good to me.”
“He’s truly wonderful, the kindest man I’ve ever met in my life. I really like him. And I want to... marry him. Grandpa, you’ll give me your blessing, won’t you?”
Stephan paused for a moment, then knelt down beside Alana and solemnly made a promise.
“Grandpa, please rest assured. Alana is the only love of my life. I will take good care of her.”
A gentle breeze blew by at just the right moment, brushing against their cheeks, warm and gentle, as if offering them the best possible answer.
After saying goodbye to Grandpa, the two set off down the mountain together.
By the time they returned to their neighborhood, both Alana and Stephan were feeling a bit hungry.
Alana didn’t want to go home on an empty stomach. Seeing that there were still some sweet potatoes and taro at home, she boiled a few of each, intending to take them along for the journey.
But since Grandma didn’t like using gas, the family still cooked over a wood fire.
Alana washed the sweet potatoes and taro, placed them in a pot with a little water, and then began building a fire with firewood.
Stephan was of almost no help during this process.
He watched Alana bustling about the kitchen, her skill so impressive it was almost heartbreaking.
He never would have imagined that such immense strength could be contained within her petite frame.
It made him look at her with new respect.
********
They were almost done cooking.
Alana poked the sweet potato with her chopsticks to make sure it was cooked through, then picked it up and set it on a plate to cool.
She wrapped a sweet potato in a paper towel and handed it to Stephan. “Try it. See if it’s good.”
Stephan said nothing, but he pulled out a paper towel, walked over to her, and carefully wiped the smudges off her face.
She had accidentally gotten her face dirty while lighting the fire, making her look like a little tabby cat.
Watching the man wipe her face so earnestly, Alana couldn’t help but blush slightly. She realized her face was dirty, too.
“It’s been so long since I’ve started a fire, so I’m... a little rusty.” She hadn’t even noticed she’d gotten her face dirty.
Looking at the man’s focused gaze, she bit her lip and asked, “Do I look ugly?”
Stephan eyes were deep and intense, his movements gentle. “It’s okay, it’ll come off with a quick wipe.”
As he spoke, he couldn’t help but lean down and kiss her soft cheek.
There was only tenderness, not a trace of disgust.
Alana gazed at the man’s handsome face, now so close, and couldn’t suppress the flutter in her heart.
How to put it? When faced with the man she truly loved, no matter the time or place, she still couldn’t help but feel her heart flutter.
Stephan took the sweet potato from Alana’s hand. It was as big as his fist and looked impossible to take a bite out of.
“How do you eat this?”
“Peel it.”
Peel it?
Stephan tentatively moved his fingers and ended up snapping the sweet potato in half.
Then, looking completely bewildered, he turned to Alana with a puzzled expression. As if asking, “Is this the right way to peel it?”
It was the first time Alana had ever seen Stephan look so adorably clueless and flustered.
He was so adorable she couldn’t resist the urge to pick him up and give him a kiss.
She smiled and said, “I never would have guessed you didn’t even know how to peel a sweet potato.”
She had always thought he could do anything.
Stephan had a thick skin; even being teased by her didn’t bother him. “I’ve never eaten this kind of thing before.”
Alana lowered her eyes. That made sense.
As the son of a wealthy family, how could he have ever come into contact with something like sweet potatoes?
In the countryside, sweet potatoes are a household staple; in times of poverty, they’re even eaten as a staple food. But he was different from her.
Different social classes and circles meant they had different experiences.
After spending so much time together, she had even forgotten just how vast the gap between them really was.
But when she thought of how he had set aside his privileged upbringing for her today, hoeing the soil, helping her wash sweet potatoes and taro, and even learning to build a fire with her...
Alana smiled, her heart warming. “Come on, I’ll show you.”
She picked up the half-eaten sweet potato from Stephan hand and showed him how to peel it.
Before long, Stephan, a quick learner, had successfully mastered the art of peeling sweet potatoes.
Under Alana’s expectant gaze, Stephan took a small bite.
It was soft and sticky, with a faint sweetness, quite delicious.
Plus, since he was already hungry, most of the sweet potatoes and taro ended up in his stomach.
With their hunger satisfied, it was getting late.
The two of them quickly packed up a few things, walked back to the station, and took the bus back to the hospital.
The ride was still bumpy all the way.
By the time they returned to the hospital, it was already evening.
Alana learned from the caregiver that her grandmother had fallen asleep, so she and Stephan headed back to the hotel to rest.
After all, they’d been on the go all day, and both looked exhausted. Back at the hotel, they had a quick meal, took a shower, and went to bed early.
******
Late at night.
The hospital corridor was quiet, with almost no one passing by. Taking advantage of the quiet, Agnes slipped back into the ward. “Ma, I’ve come to see you again. I’m sorry for everything. I’m so sorry that this is the only way I can see you. I feel so guilty toward you; I can’t dare to see you openly.”
“I haven’t come back to see you for all these years. You must be very angry with me, right? I’ve been so selfish. It’s only natural that you’d resent me.”
“Oh, I saw Lana. She’s just the same as ever. I feel guilty toward her, too, and I can’t dare to see her too. She must feel the same way you do, she probably holds a grudge against me. After all... I left her without a second thought and never went back to see her.”
“I’ve heard that Lana is doing very well, and much of the credit for that goes to you. Thank you. You’ve taken such good care of her all these years...”
Agnes muttered to herself, saying a lot. She thought the woman was asleep, so she murmured these things under her breath, assuming she wouldn’t hear.
So she let her emotions run free.
Little did she know that her old lady, lying in bed, had already silently shed many tears...
************
Dawn was breaking.
Everything returned to calm.
The hospital room remained quiet, as if no one had ever been there.
Alana and Stephan came to visit Grandma in the morning. Seeing that she was still asleep, they didn’t disturb her.
However, Stephan noticed something had fallen on the floor.
He walked over, bent down, and picked it up...
It turned out to be a photograph.
In the photo, a woman stood beneath a locust tree, holding a little girl in her arms, her smile gentle and warm.
He recognized her at a glance: the girl in the woman’s arms was Alana.
Yesterday, he had looked at several photos of Alana from her childhood; he had even slipped one of them into his pocket.
However, the Alana in this woman’s arms was clearly much younger than the one he’d seen yesterday, even more innocent and adorable.
The girl’s hair looked soft and fluffy, her face pale and plump, her lips pink, and her eyes...like grapes...large and round.
Alana had no idea what Stephan had found; she walked over curiously. “What’s this?”
When she saw the woman in the photo, her expression changed instantly.
Stephan turned around and saw her face suddenly go pale; he already had a hunch about what was going on.
Alana’s lips trembled slightly. “Did you just pick that up off the ground?”