Chapter 166
Veronica left Bloomstead by train at eleven in the morning so that she could return 10 Cabot Town before four. She wanted to surprise her parents, so she didn‘t tell them she was coming.
Now that she was back in Cabot Town, Veronica felt overjoyed to see all these familiar sights. Even the air here smelled nice.
With her backpack on her shoulders, she began to trek to the remote village where her family home was. In the distance, Veronica could see her adoptive mother standing by the pig pen, feeding the pigs with vegetables from a basket on her arm, Veronica had not seen this familiar scene in ages. She couldn‘t stop herself from jogging over to stand behind Daniella. “Mom!” she yelled.
Daniella ended up jumping in surprise from Veronica‘s shout. The basket she had just placed by the pig pen‘s fence toppled over into the pen. It wasn‘t until she turned around that she realized that Veronica was calling her. Instantly, she was delighted. “Oh, my darling girl, is it really you? Why are you back? Why didn‘t you tell me earlier? I could have gone to town to pick you up.”
“Hahaha, it‘s only a short distance away, Mom. You don‘t have to do that.” Veronica hugged Daniella. “I missed you so much. Did you and Dad miss me?”
Daniella smiled kindly and nodded. “Of course we did. Your father kept bemoaning your absence.” Danielle let go of Veronica to take her hand and study her. “You‘ve only been away for a few months; how are you so skinny now?” She poked Veronica‘s forehead. “Silly girl, you should have told me you were coming home. I would have made a nice roast for you. We don‘t even have any food in the house now.” Then, Daniella turned to yell in the direction of the yard. “Tony? Tony? Get over here; our girl is back.”
“What? Veronica is back?” Upon hearing Daniella‘s voice, Tony immediately walked over from the yard, only to see that Veronica was truly back. A smile instantly bloomed on his weathered face. “Oh my, she really is back. I missed you dearly.”
“Dad? Are you feeling better?” Veronica walked over to Tony and hugged him, asking about his health.
Meanwhile, Daniella remembered the basket of vegetables that had fallen into the pig pen. When she turned around, she found the pigs gnawing away at the basket.
“Hey, get away from that!” Daniella yelled at the pigs after she opened the gate to the
pen. She picked up the basket and left the pig pen to walk over to Veronica. Waving the broken basket around, she chastised Veronica, “Look at what you did. I‘ll have you know that this is a new basket.” Daniella reached out and smacked Veronica‘s bottom. “Bad girl.”
“Hehehe, Mom, that hurts.” Veronica pressed her hands to her butt, pretending that she was in pain.
However, that broke Daniella‘s heart. “Did it hurt a lot? I didn‘t even smack you that hard.”
“Haha, just teasing you.” A grin split Veronica‘s face. She was in good spirits as she held her adoptive parents‘ hands and walked into the yard. As Veronica and Tony chatted in the yard, Daniella retrieved a chicken from the freezer and headed to the kitchen to cook it for Veronica.
After conversing for a while, Veronica eyed the chewed basket in the corner. “Dad, Crayson gave you guys this basket, right?”
“Yes, just two days ago.”
“Great. I haven‘t seen Crayson in a while. I‘ll take the basket to him so he can fix it. That way, I can invite him to dinner as well.”
“That works too. You should hurry; Crayson misses you a lot.”
“Okay, I‘ll go now.”
Veronica returned indoors and dug out the gift she had brought with her from her backpack. With the basket and gift in hand, she headed straight for Crayson‘s house.
Crayson was not originally from Cabot Town. It had been around thirty years since he came to live here. He made his home by the foot of the mountain not far from their home, where he lived practically in isolation. Crayson was most likely his family name, but no one knew his full name, not even Veronica.
Veronica walked on the mountain path. The sides of the path were teeming with foliage. A myriad of flowers bloomed among the grass, swaying in the breeze. With the azure sky high above her, it was a picturesque scene.
Veronica wanted to surprise Crayson when she reached the foot of the mountain, but he happened to be fishing leisurely by the river when she arrived.
“Why did you suddenly come to see me, you ungrateful girl?”
Crayson‘s long beard was flecked with while. His thick, white hair reached his neck, and it swayed in the wind. He was dressed in a loose, gray hempen shirt and a pair of inen shoes that were fully handmade. He oozed an otherworldly energy, looking like he was from a far higher realm than her. His unkempt appearance even lent an air of mystery to him.
“Hey there, Crayson. Long time no see.” Veronica walked over and flopped down to sit next to him. She turned her head to face him and grinned sinisterly before reaching out to grab his beard and gently shake it. “Wow, your beard‘s gotten so long in just those few months I was away.”
“Scoot off to the side. It took precious time for me to grow that beard, and now you‘re back. Don‘t touch my beard.” Crayson glared at Veronica as he slapped her hand away. It was only then that his beard was free from her evil clutches. “What are you here for? You came to see me empty–handed. Go, buzz away. Don‘t get in the way of my fishing.” He deliberately made himself look disgusted, but he couldn‘t hide the visible joy by his brows.
“You really want me to leave?” Veronica lifted an eyebrow. At last, she slowly withdrew the hand from behind her back. A bottle of wine could be seen in her grasp. She looked at the bottle and clucked. “Tsk tsk tsk… Such a lovely bottle of wine and no one to share it with me. Guess I‘ll just have to drink alone.”
Crayson‘s eyes flicked over to Veronica to see the bottle of wine she held. Instantly, his fishing rod seemed far less attractive. He promptly put down his fishing rod and reached out to grab the bottle.
Veronica was quicker, however. By swinging her arm behind her, she avoided Crayson‘s lunge.
Crayson looked at Veronica with a raised brow. Another smile spread across his old face. Then, he jumped in the air, somersaulting over Veronica to land behind her so that he could snatch the wine bottle away.
Veronica was nimble. With a quick twist and turn, she avoided him again.
“You damned girl, don‘t you know that I‘m a senior citizen? Didn‘t your teachers ever tell you to be mindful of elders and children?”
“You got that right; I‘m still just a little kid. Why are you bullying me?”
“Then give that wine over!”
“Nope!” Veronica held the bottle of wine far behind her. She made a face at Crayson
betore breaking out into a cheeky grin.
Crayson frowned. Instantly, he hurled a punch at her. Veronica‘s smile melted away then. She moved to the side, her right hand snapping out to punch Crayson‘s chest. He blocked her attack in time with his hands and kicked at her legs to destabilize her. ·
Veronica backflipped to avoid his kick. As she sailed through the air, her leg swiped out to kick at Crayson. Surprisingly, Crayson remained motionless as he watched her leg come closer and closer.
Just as Veronica‘s kick was about to land, he reached up to grab her ankle, easily softening the blow of the kick. He then grabbed her foot and swung her behind. Veronica couldn‘t react in time. She was flung to the front, and then she landed on the ground, her legs wide open in a split.
