Chapter 109 Puzzle

Christopher's smile froze at the corners of his mouth, and a barely perceptible trace of disgust flashed in his eyes. After a second, he replied very politely, "Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Greer, but I'm not in a hurry to find a girlfriend."

It was clearly a polite refusal and Royce felt quite regretful.

He said, "What kind do you like? I can keep an eye out for you."

Christopher looked down at the cup in his hand and said in a calm tone, "Feelings are like taking on an apprentice; it all depends on the feeling."

"That's true. The first time I saw Amelia, I knew she should be my apprentice." Royce raised his hand and patted Amelia's shoulder, laughing.

Christopher picked up his cup without a change in expression, took a slow sip, and thought to himself, ' Me too.'

I liked her the first time I saw her.

He put down the cup and lowered his eyelashes, the thick lashes hiding the thoughts in his eyes. Seeing his cup was empty, Amelia intended to refill it with coffee.

Christopher said, "I'll do it myself."

Christopher reached out to take the coffee pot but accidentally touched her hand. He wanted to pull back out of reason, but his hand uncontrollably held on.

Amelia was startled by their skin touch. She quickly pulled her hand back as if she had been shocked.

The coffee pot fell onto the table and started to roll off. Just as it was about to hit the ground, Christopher quickly bent down and grabbed the handle, placing it back on the table steadily.

That coffee pot was a 100-year-old antique, very valuable, and it was also Royce's favorite.

Amelia, having had a scare, wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. She thought Christopher surely didn't mean to hold her hand; he just wanted to take the coffee pot and she was just pouring coffee.

But she still stood up and said to Royce, "Mr. Greer, I'll go upstairs to help you draw that Solnhofen Glass Vase."

Royce took a sip of coffee and smiled, "Go ahead."

Amelia politely said to Christopher, "Mr. Martin, take your time with your coffee."

"Okay." Christopher nodded slightly.

Amelia took some paper and drawing tools and went upstairs, mixed the paints, and started drawing the Solnhofen Glass Vase.

In the evening, Ryan came to the shop to pick her up. After they got in the car, the driver started the engine. Ryan was sitting in the back seat and taking Amelia's hand in his palm. Suddenly, he sniffed and said in an ambiguous tone, "You have the scent of a strange man on you."

Amelia paused and thought it unbelievable. She had only been accidentally touched on the back of her hand by Christopher and he could even smell that?

Amelia explained truthfully, "Christopher came to Mr. Greer to get a repaired cup. Mr. Greer entertained him with coffee. When I was helping to pour coffee, he accidentally touched my hand. I felt it was inappropriate, so I found an excuse to go upstairs. That's all that happened."

Ryan's eyes suddenly turned cold, and a trace of mockery flashed in his eyes. He opened a box of disinfectant wipes in the car, took Amelia's hand, and carefully wiped it with the wipes. He didn't stop until he had used up the entire pack.

Amelia felt that his behavior at that moment seemed particularly insecure.

Leaning on his shoulder, Amelia softly asked, "What's been going on with you lately?"

"Not sure." Ryan hid his emotions and replied in a very calm voice.

Amelia was silent for a moment, then asked, "Were you like this with Sophia before?"

"Never." Ryan quickly replied, then after a pause, he added, "I'll try to control it in the future."

Amelia thought carefully and joked, "Luckily, I'm in the restoration industry now, mostly dealing with old men."

Ryan reflected on this and realized it was true.

First Joshua, then Christopher, just two men had made him like this. If she were in another industry, dealing with many young men, wouldn't he go crazy?

If he didn't go crazy, he would drive her crazy.

Ryan said, "Maybe I got used to you being around me all the time. Now that you're working and interacting with other men, I'm not used to it."

Amelia didn't say anything. This wasn't just about not being used to it; his control and possessiveness were beyond normal! She even thought about suggesting he see a psychologist.

But on second thought, if she were in his shoes, she probably wouldn't be able to remain calm and indifferent either.

So she didn't dwell on it.

Ten days later, Sophia excitedly brought a completed puzzle to Antique Charm.

She placed the puzzle heavily on the counter and happily shouted, "I finished it, Grandpa, take a look!"

Royce opened the outer packaging, spread out the puzzle, and saw that it was indeed quite complete. He asked Sophia, "Did you do this yourself?"

Sophia raised her voice, "Of course I did!"

Afraid he wouldn't believe her, she counted on her fingers, "I worked on it day and night, staying up late every night. I even skipped work recently, and my dad kept scolding me for being irresponsible."

Royce, seeing her counting on her fingers, already suspected something.

He picked up a corner of the puzzle, casually broke off a large piece, and mixed it up, saying, "Put it back together in front of me."

Sophia frowned, "Grandpa, why are you making things difficult for me?"

Royce was very serious, "Do it."

Sophia looked at the messed-up puzzle, feeling desperate. She hadn't done it herself; she had paid a puzzle expert online to do it for her.

Honestly, she was good at makeup, flirting, and seducing men, but puzzles? She had no talent or interest in them.

Royce, seeing her at a loss, understood. He turned and instructed the nearby clerk, "Go upstairs and call Amelia down."

The clerk responded and went upstairs.

Soon, Amelia came down, wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. Seeing Sophia there, Amelia straightened her back and slightly raised her chin, asking Royce, "Mr. Greer, did you need me?"

Royce pointed to the pile of messed-up puzzle pieces on the counter and said, "Put this puzzle together."

Amelia replied, "Okay, Mr. Greer."

Amelia walked over, glanced at the pieces, and immediately recognized it as "Luncheon of the Boating Party." Of course, the puzzle was a modern craft and a smaller version.

What happened next stunned everyone!

Amelia's slender and graceful hands flew over the chaotic puzzle pieces with incredible speed. No one could see how she was doing it, but in just a few minutes, she had neatly and completely assembled the puzzle.

Royce glanced at his pocket watch and said with a smile, "Exactly five minutes."

He turned to Sophia, "Sophia, do you have anything to say?"

Sophia, was unwilling to admit she was inferior to Amelia. She frowned and said, "This isn't fair! Amelia has been drawing since she was a child; this is her specialty. Comparing her strength to my weakness is unfair!"

Royce smiled, "You studied jewelry design abroad in college, which is also in the field of art. If you don't work hard, is it someone else's fault?"