Chapter 212 He Knows!
After thinking it over, Scarlett made a decision: she would change her performance piece.
Since this was just a performance within the residential community and not a formal event, changing the piece wasn't a big deal.
She quickly found the host. Fortunately, she knew the host well, and the host asked her to write down the piece she planned to play so that when it was her turn, the host could announce it.
Scarlett thought about it and changed to a more difficult Beethoven piece.
She had played this piece many times before and knew the score by heart, so she wouldn’t make any mistakes.
After about ten minutes, it was Scarlett's turn.
Scarlett walked on stage confidently.
However, she heard a child in the front row say, "Is she the one who missed notes in Castle in the Sky just now?"
Someone said no, and the child asked, "Then can she play as beautifully?"
Scarlett rolled her eyes internally, but then thought, why should I get upset with a child?
However, when she was about to play, images of Zoey playing kept popping into her mind.
Zoey's fingering was so light and nimble, her hands seemed born for the piano, and her musical sense was incredible—she could even arrange pieces.
Could she play as well as Zoey?
The more distracting thoughts Scarlett had, the less she could concentrate on playing.
First it was Wentworth, then Matilda, then Zoey again. She thought, these three must be laughing at her from the audience, right?
The more she thought about it, the easier it was to make mistakes.
So she played several wrong notes in a row.
A child in the audience actually noticed and shouted, "She just played the wrong notes! I've learned this piece!"
Scarlett paused again.
The piece became more and more chaotic. When she finally finished, she almost cried.
She returned to her seat.
Her aunt just had to say, "You seemed to play a few wrong notes just now. Even I could tell. Were you too nervous?"
Before Scarlett could answer, Zoey behind them heard this. Zoey kindly wanted to teach Scarlett. "There were actually over a dozen wrong notes. Those few notes really test the pinky finger..."
Scarlett turned around and snapped at Zoey. "Mind your own business!"
Zoey fell silent.
She wasn't someone who taught just anyone, was she?
Fine, if she didn't appreciate it.
Charles saw his wife getting yelled at and of course understood what was going on—the woman in front was jealous of his wife.
He quickly pulled Zoey into his arms. "Don't be afraid, honey, I'm here!"
Zoey secretly pinched him. He endured the pain without making a sound.
...
That night, Charles posted several Facebook updates with videos of Zoey playing piano, with the caption: This is my wife, please like.
He immediately got hundreds of likes from business partners, company executives, relatives and friends.
He then screenshot the Facebook post for Zoey. Zoey now realized his Facebook posts had no privacy settings.
But she noticed Janice had also liked it.
Whatever, they were just WhatsApp contacts. She wasn't petty enough to care about that.
After Charles screenshot it for Zoey, he went to knock on Zoey's bedroom door. "Zoey."
Zoey opened the door irritably. "What?"
"I don't want to sleep on the couch tonight." Charles said pitifully.
Zoey slammed the door shut with a "bang."
He wouldn't even sleep on the couch—no sincerity at all!
...
After the holiday, Sally and Nick had to go to the next family.
Matilda could tell the siblings were very reluctant to leave their little room. She also wished she could keep them by her side.
But after thinking it over, she still felt it wasn't appropriate.
After all, she had studied for so many years and worked as a doctor for so long—she should return to work. Even though Wentworth had money, it didn't feel good to keep asking others for money. She wanted to earn what she could on her own.
She had sent out many resumes, and the hospital in Cloud Town had called her for an interview.
The siblings' next stop was Fiona's house.
Fiona had a son and a daughter. Her son was a sophomore studying out of town, and her daughter was a freshman studying locally. With the kids grown up, Fiona had nothing to do and kept saying she wanted the siblings to stay for several more months.
Matilda let them take everything they had worn at her place.
As for later, she wouldn't send them things anymore.
They were all neighbors in the same compound. If she sent things to the siblings, it would make it seem like Fiona's family didn't have these things, and Fiona would be unhappy.
When Fiona came to pick up the two children, she said they looked a bit chubbier—the food must have been good.
...
Wentworth also had to prepare to return to the training ground. Before leaving, he and Matilda were reluctant to part.
"The hospital is too far away. Commuting will be exhausting for you."
"Don't I have a car?" Matilda smiled.
"What if you have night shifts?"
"Then I'll just stay in the on-call dormitory," she smiled. "Isn't that what being a doctor is like?"
Wentworth really didn't want Matilda to work. He wanted to take care of her, pamper her so she wouldn't have to lift a finger.
But Matilda didn't like that kind of life. That kind of life made her feel uneasy.
...
Not long after Wentworth left, Connor called again.
Matilda got a headache whenever she saw her father's calls. Connor had been asking all sorts of questions lately, acting like he really cared about her, but she couldn't actually feel it.
"Matty, how have you been lately?"
"Okay." Matilda's responses were always brief.
"Have you made any friends? Like really close friends?" This question sounded like something you'd ask an elementary school student.
"Same as before."
"I heard that military compounds take special care of military wives. Is there anyone specifically looking after you?"
Matilda found this strange. "No."
Connor was about to ask something else when she said, "Dad, I need to go grocery shopping. I'll talk to you later."
She wasn't actually going grocery shopping—she just didn't want to listen to Connor's call.
Walking downstairs, she saw Zoey holding a durian and was startled.
"Zoey, what are you doing?" Matilda went down and took the large durian from Zoey's hands. "Don't you know pregnant women shouldn't carry heavy things?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, she saw Zoey freeze, then Zoey's gaze moved past Matilda to look behind her.
Matilda turned around and saw Charles standing there.
He had just come out of the restroom and had already heard what Matilda just said!
Pregnant woman?
Zoey was actually pregnant?
He looked at Zoey in shock.
Zoey's lips moved first, then she smiled. "You heard wrong. I'm not pregnant."
"Did I ask if you were pregnant?" Charles asked.
Zoey fell silent. It seemed he hadn't.
Charles immediately walked over and stared at Zoey's belly.
He had always thought she had just gained weight, but it turned out...
This belly—four or five months along, right?
When did this happen?
"Zoey, you actually kept something this important from me?" Charles looked completely incredulous.