Chapter 152: Miss Faulkner’s Story
Over twenty minutes later.
Vivian Lowell helped Julian Faulkner clean up the kitchen, and they prepared to head to the hospital.
In the courtyard, Rachel Faulkner was brushing Grandma Faulkner’s golden retriever.
"Julian, Vivian, have a safe trip," Rachel said. "Since I can’t go to the hospital to visit Grandma Faulkner, I’ll stay home and look after the fur baby. It’ll be nice to take it for a walk later.
"With Grandma absent, it gets quite lonely at home."
Rachel held the large golden retriever on its leash, watching Vivian and Julian.
Vivian felt that the current situation was a bit strange. It was as if Rachel had been abandoned by her and Julian.
"Mhm, get to the office early," Julian replied. His composure was better than ever; even though Rachel looked pitiful right now, he showed absolutely no reaction.
With that, Julian led Vivian to the car, and they set off.
After getting in and buckling her seatbelt, Vivian couldn’t help but glance at the rearview mirror, checking on Rachel, who was standing not far behind them.
Rachel was still standing there, holding the dog and watching them. Even as she shrank into the distance and disappeared from Vivian’s line of sight, her posture remained exactly the same as when they had left.
"Julian." Feeling a genuine sense of unease, Vivian asked, "Is it okay to leave Rachel alone at home? Will she head to the company by herself later?"
Vivian highly doubted it.
Hearing this, Julian didn’t seem to care much. "As long as she doesn’t go to the hospital and bother Grandma, it’s fine. She’s an adult now; she needs to learn to take responsibility for her own actions."
Vivian thought about it and agreed. No matter what Rachel wanted to do, as long as she had thought through the potential consequences, it wasn’t their place to say anything more. It was Rachel’s own choice, after all. As long as she didn’t regret it, everything was fine.
Because they had spent a little extra time cleaning the kitchen today, it was nearly eight o’clock by the time Julian and Vivian arrived at the hospital.
When Vivian entered the ward, she found Grandma Faulkner sitting by the window. She was looking at the flower basket Vivian had bought earlier, gently watering the blooms.
"Grandma," Vivian called out. She walked right up to her and said, "Good morning! Have you had breakfast yet? I’m back to keep you company!"
Hearing Vivian’s voice, the old woman beamed with joy. She handed the watering can to Ms. Shaw, turned around, and said, "Not yet, not yet. I was waiting for you.
"Vivian, your press conference last night was absolutely wonderful! I was so happy watching it. Haha, to think you are Miss Nox! Say, Vivian, when are you going to design something for me?"
"I’d love to." Vivian agreed without a second thought and asked, "What kind of design do you have in mind, Grandma? I actually know how to do quite a lot.
"And even if it’s something I don’t know yet, that’s okay. As long as it’s something you like, I’m willing to learn!"
Hearing this, Grandma Faulkner chuckled happily. "It’s nothing too complicated. I just want you to design a cheongsam-style wedding dress.
"To be honest, our fiftieth wedding anniversary is coming up in just over a month. Even though my old man is no longer around, I still want to fulfill a wish he had in the past."
Grandpa Faulkner had been an incredibly formidable man. He came from a humble background, originally just a lowly porter working at the cargo docks. At that time, Grandma Faulkner was the precious daughter of a wealthy, prominent family.
In terms of social status, they were a complete mismatch.
Their meeting was straight out of a storybook: a rich young lady was being bullied, and a poor dockworker stepped up, beat up the bad guys, and thus they crossed paths.
If the story had ended there, it wouldn’t have been anything special.
But later, the young dockworker fell in love with her. He resolved to make something of himself. While carrying cargo, he keenly observed the merchants traveling north and south, studying exactly how they made their money.
He was highly talented and soon found his footing, gradually building his fortune from the ground up.
At that time, the domestic situation in Veridia was turbulent. Although Grandma Faulkner’s family had wealth, it was slowly declining, and her family hoped to maintain their status through an arranged marriage.
But she had refused.
Amidst the turmoil, she saw a new path.
It wasn’t an easy path to walk, but she chose it anyway—choosing to be with that young porter. Though her family objected at first, she was their only daughter, and they eventually compromised.
When Grandma and Grandpa Faulkner got married, the ceremony was modest. A single gold ring and a gold bracelet were the only things Grandpa Faulkner could afford with all his savings at the time.
It wasn’t that he was dirt poor, but running a business required a lot of capital for cash flow. To pay for the wedding, those trinkets were the most he could offer.
Grandma Faulkner hadn’t minded at all.
Back then, Grandpa Faulkner had promised that once their circumstances improved, he would do everything in his power to give her a better celebration on every single wedding anniversary.
Unfortunately...
Because of the arduous path they had chosen, Grandpa Faulkner had endured immense hardship and suffered many injuries. As he grew older, his health severely deteriorated. He had passed away more than ten years ago.
Despite her grief, Grandma Faulkner didn’t let it destroy her. She knew her late husband would have wanted her to stay strong and live on.
Besides, she still had her adorable eldest grandson, Julian.
She had always felt that Julian’s temperament was very similar to his grandfather’s.
This time...
The request Grandma Faulkner just made had been on her mind for quite a while.
Fifty years.
If her old man were still around, he would surely be just like her—hair completely white, face covered in wrinkles. And that would have been fine. They would have grown old together, supporting each other.
"Of course, Grandma." Vivian knew a bit about their history and understood how incredibly difficult their relationship had been during that era. Deeply moved, Vivian could only agree to the request.
"Good, good." Grandma Faulkner chuckled and patted Vivian’s shoulder. Then, she turned and asked, "Was breakfast just delivered? Is it in the warmer?
"Bring it out. Vivian and Julian must be hungry too. I’ll eat breakfast with them!"
"Right away," Ms. Shaw replied, going to fetch the food.
The breakfast was quickly laid out, and it was a very hearty spread.
There were steamed eggs, side dishes, meat congee, and various steamed buns. Vivian had always loved having congee with side dishes or soy milk with fried dough sticks for breakfast, so this meal was right up her alley.
Just as they picked up their chopsticks, Vivian served a soup dumpling onto Grandma Faulkner’s plate.
Right at that moment.
Not far away, near the doorway, the landline phone began to ring.
The sudden ringing caught everyone in the room off guard.
In an era where almost everyone used smartphones, landlines had gradually faded from relevance. Vivian had practically forgotten there was even a phone sitting near the door. To some extent, it was nothing more than a decoration.
Hearing the noise, Ms. Shaw—who had been sitting on a small stool eating noodles—was the first to stand up. She walked over and picked up the receiver.
"Hello?" Ms. Shaw said.
Then, whatever was happening on the other end of the line made her expression completely change. Her polite smile melted into a look of surprise, followed quickly by displeasure.
Vivian wondered what was going on. She found it strange, thinking that if it were merely a random spam call, Ms. Shaw could have simply hung up. She wondered why Ms. Shaw was still listening to the caller even after her expression had soured.