The taxi driver’s excitement was contagious. “Have you heard of Malus Halliana? The Malus Halliana tree in Hadale is in full bloom right now. Its pinkish-white flowers look like a giant pinkish-white cloud. When the wind blows, the petals fall like snowflakes in the sky. It’s a breathtaking sight!”
Cristofer was taken aback. “What’s the name of that tree?” he asked eagerly.
“It’s called Malus Halliana. Typically, you’d find these trees in the northern regions, which weren’t common in Hadale until recently. A few days ago, I stumbled upon a massive Malus Halliana tree. At first, I thought it was a cherry blossom tree. But when I examined the petals more closely, I noticed they differed from cherry blossoms. I picked some and searched online. That’s when I learned they were called Malus Halliana flowers.”
Suddenly, Cristofer recalled that Estelle had designed a brooch in the shape of Malus Halliana and had mentioned that Malus Halliana held special memories between her and Mr. Mysterious.
“Where is this Malus Halliana tree?” he asked urgently.
“Oh, it’s at the back of Mount Cloud. Few people go there,” the driver answered.
“Drive me there right now, please,” Cristofer said quickly.
The driver blinked his eyes in confusion, not knowing why Cristofer suddenly became so anxious. Then he asked, “Aren’t you going to the coastal villa?”
“I need to see that tree before anything else. Please take me to the backside of Mount Cloud!” Cristofer said, passing a thick stack of cash from his wallet to the driver. “Please hurry up!”
The driver’s eyes widened as he saw the money, estimating it to be at least ten thousand dollars. He took the cash and immediately stepped on the gas. “You got it, Sir. We’ll get there right away. Those flowers are really beautiful!”
Cristofer had never heard of Malus Halliana before today, let alone seen it.
Just now, the driver said the flowers are pinky-white. ‘Could the huge tree with pinky-white flowers in my dream be a Malus halliana tree? He couldn’t help thinking.’
****
When the car finally stopped, Cristofer saw the Malus Halliana tree and was stunned for a long time.
The taxi driver said complacently, “It is as beautiful as I described, right? Your wife will love it! If you bring her here, she will be very happy! You’d better bring your wife here when few people know about this tree. If more people know about it in the future, this place will definitely become an internet-famous site, and it won’t be fun to watch the flowers here.”
With mixed feelings, Cristofer fixed his eyes on the Malus Halliana tree, saying nothing.
Seeing that Cristofer was silent, the driver turned his head and said, “Sir, are you still going to the coastal villa? It is far away from here. If you still want to go there, we’d better set off now.”
Wrenching his mind back to the present, Cristofer looked away from the tree reluctantly and asked, “Could you draw a map for me?”
“What map?” The driver was puzzled.
“The map of how I can get to this place from the city,” Cristofer said.
“Well, I can draw you a map, but…” The driver didn’t finish his words and smiled at Cristofer meaningfully.
Nodding knowingly, Cristofer took out another stack of money from his wallet and said, “These are all I have now. You may take them first. Tell me your bank account later, and I’ll transfer as much money as you want if you draw a map for me. But I have one requirement. You must not tell anyone else that there is a Malus Halliana tree here.”
The taxi driver would meet a lot of people every day and could tell what kind of person one was at a glance. Seeing that Cristofer was well-dressed with a remarkable temperament and was so generous, he could tell that Cristofer was a rich man.
Rubbing his hands, he smiled and said, “Sir, the information that there is a rare Malus Halliana tree is rather valuable. If I sell the information to a travel agency, I can also get a lot of money…”
“Just tell me how much money you want,” Cristofer interrupted him.
After hesitating for a moment, the driver stretched out his five fingers, showing that he wanted five thousand dollars. He asked, “Is it okay?”
Without hesitation, Cristofer said, “Okay. I’ll transfer five hundred thousand dollars to your account tomorrow. And I hope you can keep your word and won’t tell others about the tree.”
The next moment, the driver was open-mouthed. He thought, ‘Five hundred thousand dollars?! Oh, my God. I only want fifty thousand dollars earlier, but you promise to give me a hundred times the money!’
He was so pleasantly surprised that he thanked Cristofer with an excited expression, “Thank you. Thank you very much, Sir. I’ll keep it a secret for you! From now on, the beautiful tree will be exclusive to you and your wife!”
Looking at him, Cristofer nodded slightly and said, “Okay. Now, please take me to the coastal villa.”
“Okay!”
****
Nelson was in a good mood today. At this moment, he was listening to his favorite music with his eyes closed in pleasure, and Geoffrey was standing behind him and massaging his shoulders.
“Geoffrey.” Nelson suddenly called Geoffrey’s name.
Geoffrey replied, “Uncle Nelson, I’m here. What can I do for you?”
“Go to the kitchen and ask the cook if the sashimi is ready. Cristofer should be here soon,” Nelson ordered.
Hearing this, Geoffrey frowned slightly and said, “Uncle Nelson, you have asked me to ask the cook about it seven times.”
“So what? Aren’t you willing to do that for me?” Nelson asked.
“I’m willing to do that,” Geoffrey said.
With a snort, Nelson said, “I know you have always been hostile to Cristofer.”
Hearing that, Geoffrey couldn’t help tightening his grip on his stick, and a nervous expression suddenly showed on his face.
Nelson then continued, “You’ve been working for me for many years. I understand you and your thoughts very well. While I did mention leaving everything to you, it’s clear that Cristofer is more capable than you, and he is the rightful heir in my eyes. My wealth represents decades of hard work, and I want to pass it on to the most deserving heir.”
With his head lowered, Geoffrey smiled bitterly and then said with a hint of anger in his tone, “Uncle Nelson, you can give your properties to whoever you want. I don’t have any problem with it.”
Sensing the dissatisfaction in his tone, Nelson sighed and said, “I know what you are thinking about. Cristofer is a business genius with outstanding ability, but he is irrational and trapped by his relationship with Estelle. Back then, he not only refused to be my heir but also wanted to give up everything for her. You think you are more qualified to be my heir because you can dissociate emotion from reason and will never give up your career for a woman, right? I know Cristofer can’t compare with you in terms of rationality. I always know that.”