Chapter 18 - 17: North City

End of the month. Today is the last day of July, and Norman Bennett has already arranged a trip to North City, which will last at least half a month. Upon arriving at North City Yonghe Airport, Elliana Lyle felt dizzy all over. She never gets carsick, but she does get airsick. That feeling of weightlessness made her stomach uncomfortable. Fortunately, Lana came along as well. Lana supported her into the restroom, gently patting her back, and after throwing up, handed her some mineral water to rinse her mouth. This meticulous care made Elliana really fond of Lana. Elliana remembered when she first heard Lana’s name, she thought it was Nancy. Actually, the two were quite similar, but Lana was not Nancy. "Miss Lyle, I brought your favorite sour candy. Would you like one? It might help with the taste in your mouth." Lana had a large leather bag draped over her shoulder, mostly filled with things Elliana needed. "Okay, sure." Elliana replied weakly. She decided that when she returned, she would definitely take the high-speed train and never fly again. After leaving the restroom, Elliana went to the rest area to find Norman Bennett. Seeing Elliana arrive, Norman got up from the sofa and looked at the petite girl with a slightly pale face, feeling a bit of heartache. "Feeling better?" "A little. Lana gave me some sour candy, so I don’t feel nauseous anymore." Elliana slightly opened her small cherry-like mouth, showing Norman the glossy round candy on her tongue. If not for the people around, the little girl might have lost the candy in her mouth. Norman took her hand, saying, "Once we get to the hotel, you can have a good rest." —— Vicars Hotel. This hotel belongs to The Bennetts, and although it doesn’t have much to do with Melody Harmony, Norman Bennett, as the heir to The Bennetts, naturally has an exclusive suite here. "Mr. Bennett, if there’s nothing else, I’ll excuse myself." The hotel manager, Snow Hu, said respectfully. Before Norman could respond, Elliana spoke first, smiling as she urged, "Go ahead, go ahead." Once everyone left, it finally quieted down, and Lana went into the maid’s room near the door to organize things. Elliana said, "Lana, you’re tired too, take a good rest. You don’t have to worry about me." After speaking, she crossed the living room, passed by the open kitchen and leisure bar, and rushed eagerly into the master bedroom. The feeling of lying down was like sleeping on clouds, she didn’t want to think about anything else, just wanted to have a good sleep. "Little girl, I need to go out for a bit, I’ll be back later." Norman’s voice sounded above her head, but she didn’t want to respond. She only felt a gentle kiss fall on her forehead, followed by being held up... She didn’t know how much time passed, but it was already dark outside. Elliana groggily woke up, habitually reaching for her phone by the bedside. Turning on the phone, the glaring light hit her, forcing her to squint and adjust the brightness. It was already 9 PM. She didn’t know whether Norman had returned, but she had several WeChat messages. Luna Detective: "Jiang Feng and Adrian Young both have quite a few shady dealings, but let me confirm. I’ve run out of money, could you send me some money first?" Luna Detective: "George Lyle, this person is the manager of Roland’s marketing department, though I couldn’t find anything, he seems like a clean person domestically, but there are several suspicious points." This George Lyle indeed seemed suspicious. The strange thing was how George made it out of the country through legal means in a past life. Kitty Cat: "Can you gather evidence?" Luna Detective: "There’s nothing money can’t accomplish." ... Kitty Cat: "How much?" Luna Detective: "Start by sending me twenty thousand." If that’s the case, it seems like more than twenty thousand. Elliana sighed, gritted her teeth, and transferred twenty thousand over. Luna Detective: "Wait for my news." Whew~ Elliana closed her phone and let out a deep breath, hoping Luna would pull through. These days, she’s been dealing with Shane Southwell, and tomorrow would be the first of August. Yesterday, she told Shane she had obtained his dad’s company’s check, with the financial and legal stamps, and she would go to North City to transfer the money to Shane. Yet this lie had many loopholes, but Shane didn’t seem to mind or fear being held accountable later. He firmly believed Elliana would take the blame. At the time Shane said, "Elliana, I won’t take your money for nothing. I’ll write you an IOU." This sounded nice, but with an IOU, everything would be Elliana’s fault. What a calculated move. At this moment, there were also several messages from Shane sent in the afternoon on WeChat. Roland: "Elliana, have you arrived in North City?" It seemed like Shane was feeling anxious, after all, tomorrow was the first, the loan repayment day. She just wanted to make Shane worry a bit, even though she knew Shane had the means to repay, but if he did it himself, it would cost him dearly. Elliana replied on her phone. Kitty Cat: "Just arrived. We’ll meet at Lotus Park tomorrow. I’m going to rest now." Bzz bzz~ Norman: "Are you awake?" Norman: "I’ll be at the hotel in ten minutes, come downstairs, I’ll take you out for dinner." Elliana replied with an "Okay" and quickly turned on the light, threw off the covers, and got out of bed. This must be a date~ Elliana felt inexplicably excited inside. Picking up the white gauze dress folded on the bedside table, she prepared to change into it, suddenly feeling something was off! Wait! Elliana suddenly froze. Wasn’t this the dress she wore before going to sleep! Why was she now wearing... a nightgown? And why was her upper body bare! For a moment, she panicked, wondering who had... Don’t overthink! Don’t overthink, it must have been Lana! But... Elliana clearly remembered Norman still held her when she was groggy. No way! No way! Elliana’s heart raced, a blush creeping onto her cheeks and ears. Ten minutes later. Norman’s car had arrived at the hotel entrance. Gradually, half an hour passed, yet there was no sign of Elliana. Norman finished reviewing the materials needed for tomorrow, closed his laptop, and checked his watch. "Boss, Miss Lyle is probably doing her makeup. Girls are always slow with makeup," Raymond Wood explained, knowing the boss disliked waiting. "Okay." From the tone, it was apparent Norman wasn’t really upset. Of course, as long as it was Miss Lyle, the boss wouldn’t mind waiting till the end of time without showing any displeasure. Then Norman asked, "Has the money from Roland been transferred?" "Not yet, we’re two days shy of the deadline," Raymond replied. Norman opened the car door; it seemed he had to personally fetch the little girl. Who knows what she was busy with. At this time, Elliana had exited the elevator and happened to see Norman walking over from the hotel lobby entrance. Upon seeing Norman, Elliana blushed, because she had confirmed Lana was resting. Since Lana looked very tired, she didn’t wake her up. But... this didn’t mean it was Norman who changed her clothes. It had to be Lana who changed her before resting. Yes, that must be it. —— Fragrant Dreams of Osmanthus This was a high-end Chinese restaurant, a must-visit in Northleigh Town. Each dish was exquisite like a work of art, making it hard for one to take a bite. Halfway through the meal, Elliana couldn’t help but speak up. A bit shy, she tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and said, "Norman, can I ask you something?" "Sure." Norman paused his meal, focusing his entire attention on the little girl, attentive and dedicated. The more he was like this, the more difficult Elliana found it to speak up. A long while passed, and she still couldn’t bring herself to ask, yet Norman wasn’t in a rush, still waiting for her. "I... I want to ask if my... clothes were changed by you?" Elliana asked hesitantly, staring intently at Norman, just hoping he would quickly say no. On hearing the question, Norman was initially slightly stunned, then a subtle smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, light yet carrying a hint of teasing.