“…”
“Auntie, this man is named Andrew. Although he is Mr. Marsh’s assistant, his character is quite questionable,” Ansel said, driven by jealousy. “Who knows how many girlfriends he’s had? He’s definitely not reliable. That’s why I’m here today to inform you, so you can consider this carefully.”
Hearing this, Mrs. Campbell was so furious that she lost her appetite. How could such a thing happen? Was it a case of acting first and reporting later? Would she come back pregnant soon?
This made both Mr. and Mrs. Campbell very uneasy.
At 2 PM, shortly after Ansel left.
In an independent office within the Marsh Group’s comic department, Agnes had just finished her last can of food and was watering the green plants in the corner. She was in a good mood today, having petted a cat before leaving home.
The phone rang as she walked to her desk. Before she could pick it up, she saw that it was her mother calling. Agnes answered the phone, but before she could speak, Mrs. Campbell’s stern voice came through.
“Miss Agnes, come home for dinner tonight!” And with that, her mother hung up.
“Hello? Hello!” Agnes realized the call had ended and was bewildered. What was going on? Was her mother angry?
She tried calling back, but there was no answer. Confused, she then called her sister’s phone. It connected after a few rings.
“Did Mom call you?”
“No, why?”
“Nothing much. She told me to come home for dinner and then hung up. Her tone seemed off.”
Summer, who knew their mother’s temperament well, continued flipping through her script as she responded leisurely, “Well, you should think about it carefully. Did you do something recently that might have upset her?”
“No…” Agnes couldn’t think of anything. “I go to work every day; what could I have done?”
“Then you’ll find out at dinner.”
“Come with me,” Agnes invited nervously. “Whenever you’re there, she always calms down.”
“No can do; I have plans tonight.”
“Sis…” Agnes pleaded.
“You’re a grown-up now,” Summer said. “You need to face your own issues. Bye-bye!”
With that, Summer also hung up.
Agnes sighed as she put down the phone and sat back in her chair, still puzzled. If this were during school days, such an attitude from her mother would likely mean a teacher had called to complain about her.
But she had graduated long ago; what could it be now?
Unable to figure it out and feeling a bit anxious, Agnes found herself distracted all afternoon.
At 5 PM sharp, she left work and took a cab straight to the old alley instead of taking the bus.
She spent the entire ride thinking but still couldn’t find an answer.
What had she done? She hadn’t done anything!
When she arrived at the flower shop in front of her house, Agnes paused to look at the signboard and took a deep breath before exhaling in resignation. Shaking her head slightly, she stepped inside.
As soon as she entered, the aroma of home-cooked food filled the air.
Feeling a bit apprehensive, she walked further in and saw her parents sitting at the dining table with stern expressions on their faces. They stared at her intently as if waiting for her to confess some grave mistake.