“Don’t rush,” Sylvia heard his voice in her ear, and her heart warmed slightly. “Don’t overwork yourself. I might be a bit busy these next few days.”
“Do you need my help?” Franklin raised an eyebrow. “Is something wrong?”
“No, just busy with the foundation. It’s newly established, so there’s a lot to do. Don’t worry.” Sylvia chatted with Franklin for a while longer before hanging up the phone.
After hanging up, she stretched and continued to browse through the books Jaden had brought back.
Suddenly, something that looked like a diary caught her eye.
A diary? She frowned.
In this era, few people still kept diaries. With so many social platforms available to document life, a handwritten diary was quite a novelty.
She couldn’t help but pick it up and gently open it.
The handwriting in the diary was very messy and rushed, indicating that the writer was very agitated.
She read several pages in a row and found the handwriting somewhat familiar.
After searching her memory, she couldn’t find the owner of the handwriting.
But why did it seem so familiar?
How strange.
She continued reading, and suddenly, a bookmark fell out of the diary.
The bookmark was shaped like a maple leaf, emitting a strong scent of old dust.
She bent down to pick up the maple leaf and froze.
In her childhood, her mother loved using maple leaf bookmarks, and each one had her mother’s signature on the back.
Sylvia’s heart tightened as if gripped by an invisible hand. Her fingers trembled. Could it be? Could it be?
Her heart pounded violently, almost like a drumbeat she could hear herself.
She took a deep breath and quickly turned the maple leaf bookmark over.
Her hopeful gaze slowly dimmed, and after a while, she let out a heavy sigh.
Nothing. The back of the bookmark was blank.
There was nothing there.
She laughed at herself. Maple leaf bookmarks were so common and widespread; that there were countless vendors selling them.
She had been naive to think that this could be her mother’s diary based on a single bookmark.
How could her mother be connected to any research institute? In Sylvia’s memory, her mother was an elegant and talented woman who embroidered, painted, and played the piano.
Painting and playing the piano were associated with her mother, but a research institute? That seemed far-fetched.
The diary was almost finished. She turned to the last page.
“Today I received notice to evacuate from here. The purity of the Puppet Crystal I’m researching is getting higher, but I know it’s very dangerous. I’ve decided to hide the original sample in a jar and destroy it when I get the chance.”
Puppet Crystal? Sylvia stared at these words in shock. What was this?
Could it be something literal?
What was the purpose of this Puppet Crystal?
Sylvia closed the notebook but still felt very puzzled. She continued searching through the pile of books Jaden had brought back, trying to find any clues about the Puppet Crystal.
Nothing.
There was nothing.
“Why… nothing?” Sylvia sat on the floor, looking at the books scattered around her. Had she missed something?
The name Puppet Crystal alone sounded very strange.
It seemed she needed to calm down and study these books carefully.
And this diary too.
She thought for a moment and set up a time-reversal array on the diary. She wanted to see who had written it originally.
But… the array emitted a flash of light that instantly disappeared into the diary without any effect.
Sylvia felt frustrated. It seemed that the diary was too old for the array to work on it.
If it had been from recent years, it might have been easier…
Maybe she could use other arrays to gather information about the owner.
She started setting up another array and worked until four in the morning when the eastern sky began to lighten. But her array still had no effect on these books.
It seemed… she had to give up.
Exhausted, she took a shower and went to sleep.
As she fell asleep, she didn’t notice that the array emitted tiny weak lights that gradually merged into her fingertips.
The winter sunlight streamed through the window into the room. The person lying in bed turned over and continued sleeping.
It wasn’t until a servant knocked on the door that Sylvia finally opened her eyes slowly. “So sleepy.”
“Miss, it’s time for breakfast.”
Sylvia sat up with her blanket wrapped around her and responded, “Okay, I’ll be right there.”
Every morning, she would conduct a routine check on Jenna’s body to ensure there were no problems.
No matter how tired or sleepy she was, she had to do this.
So she quickly washed up and went downstairs to the dining room.
Jenna had been staying home every day recently. The outside was freezing cold, and catching a cold would be a huge setback for her current health condition.
Moreover, everyone coming back from outside had to be disinfected before approaching Jenna.
Jenna had just stepped off the scale when she saw Sylvia coming downstairs in a light purple outfit. She smiled brightly at Sylvia. “Sis, I’ve gained another pound.”
Sylvia walked over to check the scale and patted her head. “That’s great.”
After checking Jenna’s pulse, the two sisters went to the dining room together.
As soon as they entered, they heard Queena urging about the wedding plans. “You should go ahead with your wedding with Mollie. If you delay any longer, Mollie will become more uncomfortable as her pregnancy progresses. Holding a wedding will also tire her out.”
“Now that Jenna’s health has improved significantly, it’s better to hold the wedding soon to put our minds at ease,” Mr. Hipps agreed. “You should start preparing. Haven’t you been in touch with that wedding planning company?”
Clare looked at Mollie and held her small hand with his large one. “Mollie, what do you think?”
Mollie didn’t object; she smiled gracefully. “Dad and Mom are right. It’s not good to delay the wedding any longer. Let’s choose a good day and hold it.”
It was freezing cold outside now in mid-winter. Jenna couldn’t be exposed to cold weather, so Mollie suggested, “Let’s hold it in the hotel’s banquet hall instead of an outdoor lawn wedding.”
“That’s a good idea. It’s warm inside the hotel, and you can’t afford to catch a cold,” Queena agreed. “Our wedding shouldn’t be too extravagant but also not too modest. Discuss everything with the wedding planning company; our opinions are secondary.”
“Okay, Mom, we understand,” Clare said as he took out his phone and checked the weather forecast. “How about we schedule it for this Sunday? The weather is sunny and it’s the best temperature we’ve had recently.”
“Really? Let me see.” Queena also took out her phone. “Dear, check the calendar for auspicious dates. Good weather is one thing; we also need an auspicious day for marriage.”
Mr. Hipps quickly put down his utensils and checked his phone’s almanac app. “Oh, this date is perfect for marriage and starting new ventures. Let’s go with this day!”
So they decided on Sunday for the wedding.
“We haven’t consulted a fortune teller; isn’t this too hasty?” Queena wasn’t very superstitious but believed in following some traditions for peace of mind for her daughter-in-law.
She didn’t want her daughter-in-law to feel that her marriage wasn’t taken seriously.
Sylvia glanced at Sunday’s date and calculated quickly. “Grandma, this is indeed an excellent day. You can rest assured; I’ve checked it for you.”
Queena glared at her. “Don’t interfere; you’re not a fortune teller.”
“But I…” Sylvia wanted to say that she could perform arrays and calculate dates easily! She could even read faces!
But Clare didn’t give her any chance; he handed her a dumpling and stuffed it into her mouth. “Just eat your breakfast and remember to help entertain guests at the wedding with Jenna.”
I’m really a metaphysics expert, an array master…
Forget it; they’ll believe me someday and know my abilities too.
Clare then started preparing for the wedding, discussing various details with the wedding planning company. Due to Mollie’s condition, their planner came directly to their home to listen to Mollie’s ideas and preferences.
Time flew by quickly, and soon it was Sunday.
Early in the morning, all members of the Hipps family arrived at the hotel where the wedding would take place, bustling around busily.
The wedding of the Hipps family’s eldest son immediately attracted attention from almost everyone in Aettosa’s capital city.
Some guests arrived early to mingle with the Hipps family and strengthen their connections.
Others arrived slightly later.
By ten o’clock in the morning, just before the auspicious time for the wedding ceremony, most guests had already arrived.
The Hipps family members were all dressed festively with smiles on their faces.
Queena and Mr. Hipps wore dark red traditional Chinese outfits-one for women and one for men.
“Sylvia, today is such beautiful weather,” Queena said as she patted Sylvia’s hand. “Once your uncle’s wedding is done, I won’t have so much to worry about anymore. Now we just need you and Franklin to have your wedding.”
“Me?” Sylvia couldn’t help but glance at the bustling banquet hall inside. “Let’s forget about that.”
“No way! I’ve heard you two haven’t had your wedding yet; you must have one someday,” Queena insisted while holding onto her hand firmly. “A wedding gives you that special sense of ceremony.”
Just then, there was a commotion among the guests as they made way for someone approaching.
Queena frowned slightly. “What’s going on?”
Before she could finish speaking, they saw a figure in red!
A woman wearing a fitted red cheongsam that accentuated her curvaceous figure walked over confidently with high heels clicking against the floor, adorned with a ruby necklace around her neck!