Chapter 149: Returning Home
It was past nine o’clock.
After following Julian Faulkner into the car, Vivian Lowell prepared to head straight back to the Faulkner villa. She was exhausted.
The media swarming outside the Grand West Aethelburg Hotel had been incredibly difficult to deal with. After seeing the post by the president of the International Designers Association online, they had uncovered Vivian’s true identity. They had relentlessly bombarded her with questions about it, leaving Vivian feeling rather annoyed.
Fortunately, she had already planned to reveal her true identity anyway. After she patiently forced herself to answer a few questions, Julian and Vance Wyatt had forged a path through the crowd and escorted her out.
"Tired?"
Julian was still driving. Catching a glimpse of the exhaustion on Vivian’s face through the rearview mirror, he asked the question while dimming the interior lights of the car.
"Mhm." Vivian nodded gently. Shifting in her seat to turn toward him, she looked at his side profile and said softly, "I didn’t expect holding a press conference to be this exhausting.
"Whenever I saw you holding press conferences online in the past, you always seemed to navigate them so effortlessly. I thought it might actually be pretty easy. It turns out, that’s not the case at all."
Julian was the CEO of the Faulkner Group. He frequently attended press conferences and evening galas. Under the spotlight, he always maintained an aura of proud, commanding grace. It made Vivian feel as though everything in the world somehow became vastly simpler as long as it was placed in front of him. It was as if with him around, success was guaranteed.
"Well..." Julian seemed to give the matter some serious thought before answering with complete sincerity, "It is pretty easy."
"..."
Vivian suddenly felt the stark disparity between human beings. It was just like taking exams back in school. She wasn’t a top student; she was just relatively hardworking. But the actual top students in her class were the types who barely studied yet still managed to ace every test.
After an exam, Vivian might feel the paper was a bit difficult. When comparing answers with a top student—even if she had gotten most of them right—their casual response would still deal a massive blow to her self-esteem.
"Was it hard? I didn’t think so. I literally fell asleep after finishing it last night. Ah, I’m so sleepy. I’ll just catch up on my sleep during the next class."
Her current situation was practically identical.
I’m literally speechless! Vivian was reminded of that popular internet slang. Looking at Julian again, she suddenly found him just a little bit obnoxious.
"I’m sleepy." Too lazy to bother with him anymore, Vivian turned her head away.
Just then, Julian’s soft chuckle drifted into her ears. Perhaps she was being biased and looking at him through colored lenses. Now, hearing his laugh, she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was mocking her!
Hmph. Vivian pouted.
The car came to a temporary stop at a red light ahead. Vivian closed her eyes, planning to take advantage of the drive back to get some proper rest. Once she returned, she still had to deal with some leftover company business.
Today was Monday. Potential partners must have reached out over the weekend. Leo had just told her at the hotel that he had already done a preliminary screening of the messages, leaving it to her to review which ones were worth collaborating with.
While she was at it, Vivian also needed to check her email. She had previously posted recruitment notices on the company’s official website. It had been nearly a week since she last opened her inbox, and she wondered if it was currently overflowing with all sorts of messages.
Thinking about all these pending tasks, Vivian sighed softly. It seemed like there was no way she’d be able to go to bed early tonight!
As she was thinking this, Vivian felt something move behind her. Then, a small blanket was draped over her.
It was her little travel blanket. Vivian glanced down and saw the blue sky and white clouds patterned on the fabric.
Hmm? Vivian shifted her head and turned to look at Julian.
He wasn’t looking at her. The traffic light ahead had turned green, and he had resumed driving toward the villa. However, even though he wasn’t looking directly at her, he definitely caught her movement in his peripheral vision.
Julian said, "It’s better to cover up with a blanket when you’re sleeping."
"..."
His tone was remarkably gentle. For some reason, the slight resentment Vivian had been harboring toward him completely vanished into thin air. Well, seeing as he was actually quite considerate, she supposed she wouldn’t stay mad.
Vivian let out another small yawn, and this time, she truly fell asleep.
By the time they arrived home, it was already ten o’clock. After heading upstairs, Vivian received a message from Ms. Shaw.
"Old Madam saw the news. She was very surprised, but also delighted. She said you are truly outstanding, Young Madam, and entirely worthy of being the granddaughter-in-law she personally chose.
"Young Madam, if you’re free tomorrow, why don’t you come over and practice Tai Chi with Old Madam? She had the kitchen prepare your favorite dishes. She mentioned that you’ve been eating too plainly these past few days and that your appetite hasn’t been as good."
Vivian was deeply moved as she read the WhatsApp messages. Ms. Shaw had sent them just past nine. Calculating the time, Vivian figured she must have been asleep in Julian’s car right around then.
To think Grandma Faulkner had actually seen the trending topics and found out that she was the one and only designer from Veridia to join the International Designers Association! And Grandma Faulkner was even proud of her!
Vivian felt incredibly happy. It was the pure joy of being acknowledged by an elder she deeply respected and trusted!
"Mhm, okay! I’ll head over early tomorrow to practice Tai Chi with Grandma. It’s late, so make sure you get some rest soon too, Ms. Shaw~ Please thank Grandma for her thoughtfulness for me."
Vivian quickly typed out her reply. Ms. Shaw, who was also still awake, replied with an "Alright, good night." Only then did Vivian put her phone away.
Uh. Except, just as she was putting her phone away, Julian happened to be standing right in front of her, staring at her. To be precise, he wasn’t just staring at her; he was also staring at the phone in her hand.
With a deep frown, he asked, "What’s making you so happy?"
Vivian was baffled for a second before she finally realized what was going on. She figured he must have seen the smile on her face while she was texting and decided to ask. Did he not know she was texting Ms. Shaw? Had Ms. Shaw not sent a message to him as well?
Vivian felt like she had just stumbled upon a massive secret! Ms. Shaw had told her all about Grandma Faulkner’s reaction but hadn’t mentioned a word of it to Julian. And he was supposed to be the eldest grandson! Talk about falling out of favor!
"Julian." Vivian suddenly feigned a serious expression. Looking earnestly at him, she asked, "Do you know who I was just texting?"
Julian shook his head.
Vivian grew even more delighted. Practically humming a little tune, she said, "It was Ms. Shaw, of course!"
She relayed the contents of the messages to him and couldn’t help but tease, "I can’t believe Ms. Shaw didn’t tell you! Sigh! Could it be that Grandma missed me, but didn’t miss you at all?"
"..."
Julian fell silent. He took out his own phone, which also had a message from Ms. Shaw.
"Old Madam is doing very well, Young Master. You don’t need to worry."
Those simple dozen or so words stood in stark contrast to the messages she had sent to Vivian.