The old house?
Summer turned to look at Leonardo. His facial expression changed, turning grave. She had noticed that Leonardo did not react well to things related to the Emerson family. He seemed to dislike them a lot.
She reached out to hold his hand, but Leonardo turned around to hold her hand in his instead.
“I know,” Leonardo acknowledged with an indifferent voice.
She could see that Leonardo did not want to go there, but she knew very little about the Emerson family. All she knew was that the Emersons were a large family. As Douglas had mentioned before, he had more cousins than he could remember. Among all of them, Douglas and his elder brother were the closest to Leonardo.
The call for Leonardo to go home may have something to do with the blowing of his cover.
As they went back to their bedroom, Summer asked, “Will you go back there tomorrow?”
Leonardo raised his head. Seeing the cautious expression written all over her face, his lips curled up in a gentle, faint smile. He drew her into his arms. “Of course, I will. I have to bring my lovely wife to visit the old man.” He sounded like he was teasing her.
“Who?” She looked up at him.
“Grandpa.” Leonardo said, still smiling at her.
All the heads of the Emerson family were legendary, including Grandpa Emerson, the person who had been keeping the family together and prosperous for decades.
Summer started to have butterflies in her stomach.
…
The next day, Summer rose earlier than usual, pacing back and forth in the dressing room, unsure which dress to pick.
One minute she found a dress was too plain, the next minute she was not happy because she found that the outfit was not graceful enough. She was getting frustrated at herself.
Just then, she sensed movement behind her. When she turned back, Leonardo was there, leaning against the wall and staring at her with a smile on his face. She suddenly found him intoxicatingly charming. Not just that, but he seemed to be always wearing a smile on his face for the past few days, beaming at her for no reason as if he was bewitched.
Throwing the clothes in her hand aside and twitching her mouth, she said, “Could you select one for me?” If the Emersons tried to find fault with her appearance—her clothes, her shoes, and things like that—she could always blame it on him.
“Alright.”
He walked straight in with no hesitation and reached for a down jacket before he handed it to Summer.
She stared at him as if he was mad. Not only did she not want to take the down jacket, but she also wanted to kick him out of the dressing room. She should not have placed any hope in the guy who thought she was cold. Could he not understand that this was going to be her first time meeting the parents? She wanted to dress as beautifully as possible.
“Didn’t you learn anything about fashion from the many pretty celebs in Tip Top?”
“The pretty celebs?” As Leonardo turned around and put the down jacket back where he took it from, he casually said, “They’re not in the same league as you.”
She was a little startled. Was that a compliment?
He found another one—an extra-thick, dark-gray woolen coat. “How about this one?” He gazed at her and found her staring at him. There was a hint of excitement and elation in her beautiful cat eyes. Quirking an eyebrow, he waited for her answer.
Summer snapped out of her thoughts and nodded hastily without even looking at what was in his hand. “It’s nice.”
Leonardo looked at her, feeling her forehead with his hand. Her temperature was normal; she was not sick.
Leonardo did not say she was pretty. It was a very subtle sentence, but Summer had taken “They’re not in the same league as you” as “You are prettier”.
It sounded a little grandiose, but hey, who did not like receiving compliments? It was not until Summer took the coat and walked out that Leonardo realize what was going on in her mind. She was flattered by what he said, but did she have to feel so happy? He was just telling the truth.
…
After breakfast, Tim arrived to send them to the Emersons’ old residence.
The Emersons’ old residence had been passed down since the Qing dynasty. It was worth tens of billions of dollars according to expert evaluation. The house had been renovated a few times to make it even more habitable but still retained its original architectural style. It had become a kind of popular must-see thing among tourists even if they could only view it from afar.
“Young Master, Mrs. Emerson, here we are,” Tim was heard saying.
Summer had been anxious throughout the journey, but she miraculously managed to calm down now. Looking out of the window, she could already see bodyguards and maids lining up outside the Emersons’ old residence to welcome them. She had only seen such a thing in movies. In person, this was her first time.
She reached out to open the door, but Leonardo suddenly stopped her. She looked back at him with a puzzled face, but he said nothing. Tim got out of the car and opened the door for Leonardo. After Leonardo got out, Tim was still holding the door. Meanwhile, Leonardo bent down slightly with one hand on the upper door frame to guard her head, and the other held out in front of her, all smiles. “May I?”
His smile made him even more charming, all the more so because he was dishing out a gentle gesture to lead her out of the car. She was not a romantic person and would never fall for that trick, but seeing Leonardo’s expression, she found herself blushing as she placed her hand in his.
Seeing her expression, Leonardo had a bigger smile on his face. After he led her out of the car, he held her hand and walked toward the entrance as the maids and bodyguards bowed in respect. “Welcome home, Young Master and Mrs. Emerson!”
After they got married, the couple had been living in the hillside mansion the entire time. Leonardo was never picky; he ate whatever she cooked and went to whichever restaurant she went to. So, even though she knew she had married into a super-rich family, she never felt a thing until now. Standing in front of the Emersons’ old residence and being greeted by an army of maids and bodyguards, she began to get a feel of the super-rich.
Leonardo sensed her hand shivering. He pinched her hand and looked over at her. “Relax. Just follow me.”
She pursed her lips and nodded.
The interior layout of the Emersons’ old residence was more or less similar to a modern villa, but what made it stand out was the garden landscape.