Alan shot Everly a quick sideways glance before finally opening his mouth.
“You know, I was kind of shocked you didn’t bring him up days ago.
I mean, it’s not every day you find out you’ve got a fiancé you never knew about…”
“I forgot, tee-hee~”
Everly chirped, trying to sound cute.
Alan couldn’t help but chuckle.
Every time Everly put on that act, it was like watching a fish try to climb a tree.
It just didn’t fit her at all.
If Sylas were here, he’d probably be retching, but for Alan, it was more amusing than anything.
But then, Everly’s expression turned serious again.
“Alan, I just want to know because I actually want to cancel this engagement!
The person who likes Sylvia must be a complete idiot and blind as a bat!
I don’t want to be stuck with someone like that!”
Alan’s mouth twitched.
Everly’s words was as sharp as a razor, and it was clear she wasn’t just taking a dig at Mateo.
She was also taking a swipe at their entire family.
Well, he had been one of those who had once doted on Sylvia and fretted over her supposed “weak” body.
But now, after witnessing her manipulative and cunning ways, he had seen the light.
However, he couldn’t help but worry about the rest of the family.
They still trusted Sylvia blindly, completely oblivious to the fact that they were being played like a fiddle.
Alan pushed those thoughts aside and focused on answering Everly.
“When I brought up your engagement to Mateo a few days ago, it was just to get Mom to drop the idea of telling everyone you were adopted.
To be honest, if I had a say in it, I wouldn’t want you to go through with this engagement.”
“Why?”
Everly asked, genuinely surprised.
She had assumed that Alan was all for the engagement.
“A person who already has feelings for someone else, if they’re forced into a relationship with someone they don’t like, they’re bound to resent the person they’re being paired with.
It’s going to be a really difficult relationship to make work, and it’s probably going to end badly.”
Their car screeched to a halt as the traffic light turned red, and Alan swiveled in his seat to face Everly.
“Now, don’t get me wrong.
Mateo’s not all bad.
He’s the golden child of the Chang family.
Good-looking, brainy, talented, and he’s also the heir to the Chang empire, so his future’s looking pretty bright.
His personality…
well, it’s not terrible…
a bit of an arrogant know-it-all, but he seems completely smitten when he’s with Sylvia, like he’d do anything for her.”
Even though Everly had already had a pretty good idea of what Mateo was like, she still couldn’t help but be taken aback.
She never expected that Sylvia and Mateo would be such carbon copies of the typical cliché characters from those cheesy novels.
It was like they had stepped right out of the pages of a story about a fake daughter and the real daughter’s fiancé!
Everly could already picture exactly what would happen when she finally met Mateo for the first time.
She wrinkled her nose in disgust, folding her arms across her chest like a petulant child.
“Don’t you think he’s being incredibly disrespectful?
I mean, here I am, his supposed fiancée, and he hasn’t even bothered to show his face.
And to make matters worse, he’s been inviting Sylvia out on dates!
Just a little while ago, I happened to glance at Sylvia’s phone, and there was a message from him asking her to meet up.
Tsk, tsk.”
Alan couldn’t help but ruffle Everly’s hair affectionately, and then he stepped on the gas as the light turned green.
“Don’t worry about it, Everly.
You don’t want to be engaged to him anyway.
Although…
it might not be as easy as you think to get out of it.
Unless you can convince our grandmother and his grandpa to call it off.”
Everly tapped her chin thoughtfully.
“What if I threaten them with something…?
Do you think that would make them cancel the engagement…?”
Alan’s head whipped around in shock at Everly’s words, his eyes leaving the road for a split second.
The car veered dangerously towards a power pole, and for a heart-stopping moment, it seemed like a collision was inevitable.
But at the last possible second, Alan swerved, narrowly avoiding a potentially disastrous collision.
Everly’s head slammed into the window with a loud thud, and she let out a yelp of pain.
“Ouch!”
Alan’s face immediately contorted into an expression of guilt, but he quickly masked it with a stern look.
Our grandmother and Grandpa Chang may be old, but they still hold a great deal of power and influence within the families.
And Grandpa Chang, in particular, is a very shrewd and cunning man.
You have to be extremely careful what you say to him.”
Alan knew that Everly had the ability to see people’s secrets, but he also knew that using that power to threaten someone as powerful as Grandpa Chang could put her in serious danger.
“I was…
just kidding…”
Everly mumbled, taken aback by Alan’s intense reaction.
She had momentarily forgotten about the throbbing pain in her head.
Although she had been only half-joking, it was clear that she needed to keep her true intentions to herself.
Alan let out a sigh of relief.
“Good.
Just remember, old people like them can be even more dangerous than young, strong ones.
Especially when they have power on their side.”
Everly nodded in agreement.
“I won’t do it.
I’ll find another way to cancel the engagement.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll help you,” Alan said, giving her a reassuring smile.
Then, as if remembering something, he changed the subject.
“By the way, when our family was investigating the theft at our mansion, they managed to catch someone.”
Everly’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.
She was certain that this person must have been framed or bribed by Sylvia.
“Who?” she asked eagerly.
“Some servant who worked in the kitchen.
She confessed, claiming it was all for the money.”
Everly couldn’t help but roll her eyes so hard they nearly got stuck in the back of her head.
“Oh, really?
You actually believe that?
Would you buy it if I told you someone else was pulling the strings?”
Alan just gave a little smile.
“Let me guess.
You’re thinking it was Sylvia, aren’t you?”
Everly’s eyes went wide, but she nodded.
She couldn’t help but wonder if Alan would actually believe her.
After all, Sylvia had been his sister for 18 years.
“I do believe you.
There’s no way that servant could have pulled this off so smoothly for so long, especially since she was just a kitchen worker.
Someone must have given her the keys or something to make it easier for her to carry out her little heists.
It’s just that the evidence is stacked against her, and she’s already confessed.
I just never expected Sylvia to be involved in something like this…”
Everly suddenly had an epiphany.
Sylvia had been manipulating the servant from the very beginning, using her to steal her brothers’ belongings and then selling them to Sophie.
And in private, Sylvia had probably told Sophie that the servant was working for her, so she could be trusted.
That’s why it was so difficult to prove Sylvia’s involvement – all the transactions, whether through chats or otherwise, were only between Sophie and the servant.
It was likely that some of the money from the sales had also been given to the servant as a bribe.
Everly could only shake her head and smile at Alan.
“Alan, the things Sylvia does are all part of her grand plan to manipulate everyone around her.
I just hope you don’t fall for her tricks.”
“Do you really think I’m as dumb as Sylas, Everly?” Alan asked, raising an eyebrow.
Everly burst out laughing.
After that, the rest of the car ride was filled with jokes and lighthearted banter, a welcome change from the serious conversation they had just had.
*
*
An hour later, Alan’s car finally pulled through the grand gates of the Zhou family manor.
A servant rushed to greet them, promptly ushered them inside.
As soon as Everly stepped into the family room, it felt like a thick cloud of awkwardness descended upon her.
Uncle Zack was the first to notice them, his face lighting up with a smile so wide it could have split his head in two.
The woman sitting next to him, who looked like she had a permanent stick up her nose, must be his wife.
Near Sylas was a girl who was the spitting image of the haughty woman, only younger.
And next to Anna, who now had a face like a thundercloud, was a couple who looked like they were about to have a showdown.
The husband, who was quite handsome, was too busy playing with his phone to notice anything, while his beautiful wife looked like she was about to burst into tears.
Everly’s inner drama queen was already salivating at the thought of all the juicy gossip she was about to uncover.
And then there was the old man sitting in the corner, sipping his tea like he didn’t have a care in the world.
That must be their grandfather! You are reading on g.com, the official source.
Alan nudged Everly forward.
“Grandpa, we’re sorry we’re late.”
Their grandfather’s eyes finally landed on them.
Everly could tell right away that this old man was the type who would rather die than admit he was wrong.
He gave Everly a look so sharp it could have cut through steel, but Everly wasn’t intimidated.
She waved her hand cheerfully, as if she was greeting an old friend.
“Hello, grandpa!
I’m your granddaughter who went missing for 18 years because I was kidnapped, but now I’m back!
Ta-da!”
Everly’s introduction had the same effect as dropping a bomb in the middle of the room.
The silence was deafening, and everyone’s eyes were fixed on her in horror.
Zack, sensing the tension thicker than a bowl of congee, leaped at the chance to introduce everyone and smooth things over.
“Everly, you’re looking even more radiant and full of life than the other day…” He beamed at her, then pointed to the woman beside him.
“Now, this lovely lady here is my wife, Helen, your aunt.
And the young lady beside Sylas is my daughter, Wanda.
As for that couple, the gentleman is my son, Calvin, and the lady is his wife, Freya.
They’re all your family.”
Helen let out a derisive snort.
“A child who grew up in an orphanage for so long.
Are you certain she’s worthy of being called a member of the Zhou family?
Her little outburst earlier clearly shows her lowly upbringing.”
“Dear!
That’s going too far!”
Zack protested, looking thoroughly disheartened by his wife’s callous remarks.
But Everly, far from being fazed, responded with a smile so dazzling it could have powered a small city.
“Oh my goodness!
Are you suggesting that people who live in orphanages or are orphans aren’t fit to be part of the Zhou family?”
She then turned her gaze to Grandpa Zhou, putting on a look of exaggerated pity.
“Grandpa, this aunt of mine is saying you don’t deserve to be in the Zhou family because you’re a lowly upbringing orphan!!!”
Given that Grandpa Zhou was ancient, he surely didn’t have parents anymore, right?
Everly silently prayed that she didn’t have a 180-year-old great-great-grandma lurking around.
Everyone in the room gasped at Everly’s words, and even Alan buried his face in his hand, surrendering to the chaos.
Helen shot to her feet, her face red with rage.
“You little troublemaker!
I didn’t say that!
Father, don’t listen to her!”
Grandpa Zhou completely brushed off Helen, instead fixing Anna with a look so disdainful it could have curdled milk.
“Your little biological daughter really takes after you.
But at least she’s an improvement over your younger self.”
Anna’s face turned as red as a tomato, but she bit her tongue and stayed quiet.
Sylas fidgeted in his seat like he had ants in his pants, too scared to meet his grandfather’s gaze, though he shot Everly a murderous glare.
Everly nodded approvingly at Grandpa Zhou.
“Grandpa, you’ve got an eye for things.”
Zack nearly choked on his own saliva at Everly’s words, and even Grandpa Zhou looked like he’d been hit over the head with a brick.
Anna herself was at a complete loss for words.
Was Everly actually suggesting that she was superior than her own mother?!
Grandpa Zhou stared at Everly for what felt like an eternity, but there was no anger or annoyance in his eyes.
Instead, he beckoned her over with a wave of his hand.
“Come here, let me get a better look at you.”
When Everly finally stood in front of Grandpa Zhou, she never in a million years expected what happened next.
He reached out as if he wanted to hold her hand.
Everly tried to make a break for it, and Alan even sprinted over, desperate to yank her away, but it was too late.
Grandpa Zhou had already grabbed her hand.
In an instant, everyone heard a strange buzzing sound in their ears.
Anna and Sylas turned as white as ghosts.
They knew exactly what this meant – they were all about to hear Everly’s thoughts!
Everly resigned herself to her fate as the screen materialized above Grandpa Zhou’s head.
[Name: Zhou Jing Wei
Age: 74
Relationship: Grandfather]
And when the screen shifted to the opening and finally displayed the text filled with gossip, Everly felt like the room was spinning.
Could this really be considered a secret?