Shortly after that, Sabrina was greeted by the sight of a dazzling necklace. With a stoic expression on her face, she asked, “Please be honest, isn’t this really expensive? It’s so exquisite! Besides, where did you get the money?”
After all, she was a realistic person who tended to assess the value of an item based on its price. It was Sabrina’s instinct.
Tyrion mustered his courage and announced with a little excitement, “Exactly five hundred thousand.”
After hearing the price, Sabrina’s facial muscles stiffened. She stared at the old man opposite her in disbelief. Her lips twisted, and she seemed to have something to say. Yet, in the end, she remained silent.
After she thought about it, she questioned, “Tyrion, tell me the truth. Is this made of plastic? Are you trying to cheat me with this? Did you rob a bank for five hundred thousand yuan?”
At that moment, Brucille volunteered to explain, “Mom, just listen to what you’re saying. All the money he used was earned in an honest manner. When we were at the flower market this afternoon, he made a lot of money. The first thing he thought of was to buy you a gift to make up for his failings during the initial days of your marriage.”
Monique’s circumstances were pretty fine since she was young. However, when she saw that her father bought such an exquisite gift for her mother, she was a little envious.
“Mom, it looks like dad still got it. He actually did what youngsters are incapable of! Isn’t that right, dad?” Monique commented.
“Your mom has been through a lot of hard times with me. What’s wrong with buying this gift for her? By the way, you and Brucille can’t keep on like this forever. Otherwise, when will we ever be able to have our grandchildren?”
Brucille felt that that was a great opportunity for him. He moved closer to Monique and whispered in her ear, “Honey, if you need one, I can buy you an expensive gift too. Should I?”
When Monique turned her face to him, their lips almost met. Therefore, she instinctively backpedalled before spitting, “Stop dreaming. I’m going to bed.”
Tyrion helped Sabrina up the stairs. When he was at the foot of the stairs, he turned around and shot Brucille a sympathetic look. Nevertheless, Brucille was still alone in his hardship.
His father-in-law had spent five hundred thousand to take care of his mother-in-law. He might not be able to please the cold Monique, even if he spent five million yuan.
The small bed was the only place where he could vent all his emotions.
The next day, Sabrina left early for work. As she opened the front door, a handful of neighbors rushed forward, which startled her.
“Sabrina, is Tyrion home?”
“Yes, Sabrina, where is Tyrion? He usually goes out for exercise at this hour. Why is he not out yet?”
Flushed, Sabrina answered, “He’s in the house. I’m going to work now.”
She didn’t want to chat with the old men.
The group of old men had one thing in common; each of them was holding a pot or two of orchids. After they entered, they shouted, “Tyrion, Tyrion, come over quickly!”
As soon as Tyrion came out of the bathroom, he heard a few old men shouting in the yard. Arriving at the yard, he was surprised to see the yard full of orchids.
Moved, he sighed as he told them, “I guess you found out I didn’t manage to get an orchid for myself yesterday. You are here to make me feel better, aren’t you?”
“Knock it off, Tyrion. Don’t think too much of yourself. We heard that you found a Supreme Lotus Orchid yesterday. I didn’t expect you to be so talented.”
“Come and take a look at our orchids. Do we have any excellent quality orchids among these lots?”
Tyrion was speechless. It turned out that the old men were not there to send him any flowers, but rather they just wanted him to appraise their orchid plants.
He didn’t want to do it. After all, he wasn’t the one who had found the Supreme Lotus Orchid, it was Brucille. Hence, he said, “Let me get Brucille to take a look. He’s the real professional here.”
Even if Brucille didn’t want to take a look, he had no choice. With the house full of old men, he respectfully examined each orchid. It took him more than two hours, and he had to be tactful when he spoke as he did not want to break the old man’s heart.
Finally, after a long time, they managed to send Mr. Liu and the other men away.
He felt that it was much more tiring when dealing with elderly men as compared to children. After the session, he headed to the living room and sat on the couch.
When Tyrion saw Brucille’s tired and sore form, he chuckled. “Brucille, what do you think? Does any of them have any good orchid species?”
“Dad, you must be kidding me if you think there’s a single good breed amongst the orchids they have. Let me tell you, Mr. Liu’s orchid only costs ten yuan. He must have bought it from the roadside and planted himself. Yet, he persistently chatted with me for more than half an hour, till my eyes almost teared.”
Just then, Monique walked down the stairs. Hearing that, she could not help but laugh out loud.
“You deserve it. Serves you right for pretending to be someone when you’re really not,” ridiculed Monique.
“You are wrong!” Brucille refuted. “I found a Supreme Lotus Orchid yesterday. If you don’t believe me, you can ask your dad.”
Tyrion was very pleased with Brucille. On the contrary, he felt that his daughter was acting a little aloof and cold to him. He queried, “Monique, why are you not working today? Did Donald do something again?”
“It’s nothing. I had two surgeries yesterday, so I needed to have a good rest in the morning. I wanted to sleep, but I got a headache from the noises in the yard.”
“Ah, that’s great. You haven’t had a meal with Brucille for a long time. The both of you should spend some time together. You two aren’t together during the day and neither at night. What’s wrong with you?”
His words almost made Brucille cry with gratitude. Someone was finally speaking up for him.
Perhaps because it was her father who was talking to her, Monique relented, “Alright, I am about to head out to purchase a bag. If you want, you can come along with me.”
Although she didn’t look at Brucille, he was smart enough to know who she was talking about. He blurted out, “Yes, I do. I can definitely spare some time for you even if I am busy.”
Monique rolled her eyes before returning to her room to get changed.
Tyrion reminded Brucille in a soft voice, “Brucille, this is a good opportunity for you. Monique has always ignored you, but it seems like things have changed in the past few days. Please try your best. I hope to see my grandchildren by next year!”
Pulling a long face, Brucille replied, “Dad, if a man can give birth to a child one day, I will give you one personally.”
Tyrion, who was a doctor, felt irritated to hear those ridiculous remarks.
“Watch your words. Leave the childbirth to my beautiful daughter! I don’t want you to give birth to a child. Do you hear me?”
Monique, who was descending from the second floor, happened to hear their conversation. Instantly, she blushed. She had not had any intimate contact with anyone. Yet, the two men were discussing childbirth openly in the living room.