After looking at the picture for a while, Franklin finally put it away. A sharp glint flashed in his dark eyes as he let out a soft sigh.
He couldn’t help but take out his phone and send Sylvia a WeChat message, “Are you asleep?”
The deep night felt particularly lonely, making him miss her even more.
Sylvia quickly replied and even initiated a video call.
Franklin smiled as he answered, and her familiar, delicate face appeared on the screen.
“Have you finished your bath, honey?” he asked, noticing her damp hair.
Sylvia nodded, “Just finished. What’s up? Missing me?”
He responded naturally, “Of course. I miss you so much I can’t sleep.”
Sylvia was wearing a dark red silk nightgown that made her skin look even more alluring.
Franklin glanced down between his legs and sighed again.
It wasn’t just his heart that missed her; his body did too.
It was unbearable.
Sylvia smiled at him while drying her hair, “If you can’t sleep, count sheep. You’ll fall asleep after a few.”
Counting sheep wouldn’t help.
Franklin’s eyes held a faint fire, mixed with restrained desire and a strong sense of possessiveness.
“Honey, give me a kiss.”
“Oh come on, how can I kiss you through the screen?” Sylvia tossed her towel aside, “Aren’t you being childish?”
“I become childish when I’m with you. I just want you to kiss me,” Franklin’s eyes were full of longing, “Just one kiss.”
Sylvia had no choice but to kiss the screen directly.
Her lips were as red as petals, making Franklin’s heart race even more.
“Was today’s show not smooth? I saw the news,” Franklin looked at Sylvia with concern, “If you need my help…”
“I can handle it myself,” Sylvia interrupted him warmly. “It’s just a small issue; you don’t need to worry. What about you? What have you been up to these past few days?”
Hearing her cheerful voice, Franklin knew she had resolved the issue perfectly.
He smiled, “Don’t worry, I’ll speed things up so we can be together.”
His voice was husky and so sexy it could make ears tingle.
Sylvia was taken aback, “What are you planning to do?”
Or rather, what was he preparing to do?
What was he about to do?
“Don’t worry about it; I’ll be fine. Trust me,” Franklin smiled, “It’s late. Get some rest.”
“Don’t hide anything from me; otherwise, I’ll worry,” Sylvia looked seriously at his handsome face, “We’ve come a long way to get here… As long as you’re safe, nothing else matters.”
“I know,” Franklin said before kissing her through the screen and then hanging up the call, “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
After hanging up, Sylvia lay on her bed, feeling uneasy.
What was this man planning?
The next morning, the sky was overcast with thick, low-hanging gray-yellow clouds.
The oppressive weather felt like a heavy stone pressing down on one’s chest.
The President’s assistant, dressed in a gray suit, arrived at Franklin’s door and knocked lightly, “Young Master, it’s time to leave.”
“Got it,” came the deep voice from inside the room.
Soon, the door opened, and a tall figure appeared before the assistant. The man was dressed in a black suit with a white shirt and a matching tie.
He exuded an imposing and stern aura.
With his tall stature, he carried an air of dominance.
The assistant was momentarily stunned before snapping back to reality, “This way, Young Master.”
Franklin glanced at him and strode out with his long legs.
Jasper quickly followed.
The three of them got into the car, which slowly drove out of the Presidential Palace towards the meeting venue.
“This meeting isn’t at the Presidential Palace?” Franklin frowned slightly.
“No, it’s being held at the convention center. Many bigwigs will be attending; the Presidential Palace’s meeting room is too small,” the assistant explained quickly, “Rest assured, Young Master, we’ll ensure your safety.”
This should be an ordinary discussion on livelihood or other financial matters.
Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many attendees.
The President’s claim of an important meeting was clearly a lie.
Such trivial meetings only required attendance and listening to various reports from industry leaders for a morning.
Franklin had already guessed the meeting’s content.
Sure enough, upon arrival, he saw many formally dressed bigwigs with work badges heading into the venue.
Franklin and Jasper also put on their work badges and followed the crowd into the hall.
Fortunately, his seat was at the front.
Once everyone was seated, the meeting officially began.
The entire meeting was so dull it could put one to sleep.
As Franklin’s well-defined fingers held a pen and took notes, a loud voice suddenly questioned, “Mr. President! What are we going to do about the ZZ organization? They keep harassing our borders. If we don’t address this soon, the consequences will be dire.”
ZZ organization? The mention of these four words piqued Franklin’s interest. He looked up to see a tall man with an upright demeanor glaring angrily at the President-his father-who sat at the head of the table.
The President clearly didn’t want to discuss this issue or bring it up in such a setting.
He coldly replied, “Minister Griffiths, please be quiet. Let’s move on to the next topic: why young people today are unwilling to farm.”
“Mr. President, why won’t you address this very important issue?” Minister Griffiths roared in anger.
“Minister Griffiths, please consider the setting! If you want to discuss this matter further, come to my office for a private talk!” The President glared at Minister Griffiths before continuing to discuss trivial matters with everyone else.
Minister Griffiths’ face turned red with anger but he had no choice but to sit down in frustration.
Franklin’s gaze fell on Minister Griffiths’ nameplate: Minister of Security Ewan Griffiths.
He whispered, “This man seems quite straightforward.”
Jasper craned his neck to look at Ewan as well, “The Security Department oversees national security… He must have discovered something. Young Master, should we…”
“Yes,” Franklin nodded.
Jasper immediately understood, “Got it.”
The two fell silent again and continued listening to the President and others discuss trivial issues.
At Hipps Manor, Sylvia looked at the gloomy sky outside and raised an eyebrow, “The weather is terrible today.”
Queena took a sip of porridge, “Indeed. Don’t go out in this weather. I heard on the weather forecast that it’s going to rain.”
“I understand, Grandma,” Sylvia smiled and continued eating breakfast. Tomorrow she would attend the Cultural Heritage Fair with Isaac.
She still needed to prepare some items for the fair.
After breakfast, she was about to contact Isaac when he called her instead.
“Sylvia, have you prepared the exhibition items?”
Sylvia was searching her bookshelf, “I remember having a rare calligraphy piece. I’m looking for it… Why can’t I find it?”
“If you can’t find it, I can prepare something for you. I have plenty of calligraphy and paintings here, even some antique porcelain,” Isaac’s voice was warm. “A rare calligraphy piece must be from over a thousand years ago. If someone takes a liking to it and steals it, what then? It’s not just about fearing theft but also coveting eyes.”
Sylvia chuckled at his words, “Brother, you’ve helped me so much already. How can I let you provide items for the Cultural Heritage Fair too? The Hipps Family has plenty of other things suitable for the fair. I’ll just find something from our storeroom.”
Isaac sensed her refusal in her tone and felt a bit disappointed. “Why be so polite with your brother?”
“Oh come on, you have your own family now,” Sylvia said before hanging up. “I need to go check the storeroom.”
Isaac looked at his phone with a cold expression.
Children and wife again-how could that wretch Jianxin be fit to be his wife?
As for the child… just an illegitimate one.
When Sylvia first came to the Hipps Family, Grandma had given her many treasures which she stored in the family’s storeroom.
The storeroom contained not only her belongings but also those of others.
Many valuable items were kept there.
From her collection of treasures, she found a painting by an artist from the Industrial Revolution period.
It was appropriate and wouldn’t embarrass her family.
After all, she was Old Mr. Thompson’s apprentice; she had to present something decent.
Moreover, she heard there would be calligraphy and poetry competitions at tomorrow’s Cultural Heritage Fair…
Headache-inducing.
As she left the storeroom, it started raining heavily outside. The large raindrops pelted down harder and harder until she was drenched from head to toe.
She protected the painting in her arms from getting ruined by the rainwater.
Rushing back inside, she ran into Mollie coming downstairs. “Sylvia, where did you go?”
Mollie wore a light purple loungewear set with her hair cascading down her back in a lazy manner.
“Oh, I went to get a painting from the storeroom,” Sylvia glanced at the painting in her arms and placed it on the table. “I need to take a shower and change clothes; I’m soaked.”
Mollie looked at the painting Sylvia put on the table and picked it up for a closer look. “Eighteenth century?”
“What is Sylvia doing with this painting?” Clare also walked over. “This painting is quite valuable.”