Chapter 84
Liliana said with a smile, "I don't know you, I don't know you. This is my first time meeting you."
"Really?" Indigo frowned, "Your clothes also seem a bit..."
Liliana made an excuse: "I'm going out for a bit."
Not long after Liliana left, Indigo received a phone call. Indigo looked somewhat surprised and quickly glanced at me. I asked curiously, "Grandma, what's wrong?"
Indigo waved her hand: "Nothing."
"Sophia, try this dessert. It goes really well with coffee." Indigo gave a kind smile and gently encouraged me to eat more.
Liliana came back.
Indigo waved her hand: "You should have some too."
"Okay, thank you, Grandma." Liliana breathed a sigh of relief and said with a bright smile, "Grandma, you're so nice. I wish you were my real grandmother."
Indigo laughed heartily: "You're quite a character. I like you."
Watching Liliana quickly become familiar with Indigo, my doubts grew stronger and stronger.
How could they be so familiar on their first meeting?
Something was off, way too off.
There must be some connection between them. Liliana, Smith...
Could she really be from the Smith family?
No wonder she was so close to Amelia, no wonder her last name was Smith, no wonder she hit it off with Indigo the first time they met.
If she were from the Smith family, that would explain everything.
But why was she hiding it from me?
I didn't quite understand, but if she wasn't going to say, I wouldn't ask either.
Some things are better left unsaid. As long as she meant me no harm, I wouldn't dig too deep into these matters.
The housekeeper waiting outside pushed the door open: "Mrs. Indigo Smith, it's getting late. Time to go back and take your medicine."
Indigo nodded, then held my hand and repeatedly reminded me: "Sophia, take care of yourself. Call me if anything comes up, okay?"
"I know, don't worry."
I saw Indigo off downstairs. Only after Indigo's car completely disappeared did I turn to look at Liliana: "You and Grandma are actually quite familiar, aren't you?"
She looked a bit uncomfortable, raised her hand to scratch the back of her head, pulled an awkward smile, and simply changed the subject without responding to my question.
"Sophia, it's getting late. Let me take you to see other places, or it'll be too late."
Since she didn't want to say, I didn't press further. I went along with her topic and responded lightly: "Okay."
She took me to a food market. The place was bustling with people, brightly lit, with colorful neon lights dazzling enough to make your eyes spin. Hawking sounds, laughter, and playful shouting wove together, incredibly lively.
Liliana pulled me through the crowd to a ring toss booth. Her eyes immediately lit up as she pointed at the shelves full of dolls and trinkets.
"Sophia, ring toss is my specialty. Tell me what you like, and I'll win it all for you. Consider it my apology gift."
She paid and bought a big handful of rings, raised her hand to test the feel, and threw the first ring. It landed perfectly on the biggest white rabbit doll on the shelf.
The booth owner handed over the doll with a pained expression. She immediately stuffed it into my arms, lifting her chin and looking at me as if seeking praise: "How's that? Pretty good, right?"
"Thank you." I took the doll, my fingertips touching the soft fur, and smiled slightly.
"No need to be polite with me." She waved her hand and continued tossing rings, winning several small trinkets in a row, all of which she gave to me, muttering, "These are all apology gifts. You have to accept them."
After the ring toss, she pulled me forward again. Seeing a bubble tea stand, she stopped: "Want some hot chocolate? My treat."
"Sure, I'll have it with less sugar," I said.
"Got it." She smiled in agreement and soon came back with two cups of hot chocolate, handing one to me. She held the other cup and took a big sip, sighing with satisfaction, "Delicious!"
We walked around holding our hot chocolate.
Passing a nail salon, Liliana's eyes lit up, and she dragged me inside: "Come on, let's get our nails done."
The nail salon wasn't too crowded. We found seats and sat down.
Liliana chose a bold wine-red color that made her skin look fair and added some rhinestones. Looking at her nails, she smiled with her eyes curved.
She turned to see me choosing a nude color and pouted: "Why are you choosing nude? It's too plain. You should pick a brighter color to look good."
"I don't like colors that are too flashy. This is fine." I looked at my finished nails and said lightly.
After getting our nails done, Liliana dragged me to the hair salon next door.
She had the hairstylist give me a lazy perm. I looked at myself in the mirror from different angles and felt it looked pretty good.
Coming out of the hair salon, the sky had completely darkened.
Liliana rubbed her waist, wailing with exhaustion: "We've been walking all afternoon, visited so many places. My legs are about to fall off, and my waist is really sore."
"How about we find a place for a massage to relax? Otherwise, we'll definitely be sore all over tomorrow."
After walking all afternoon, I was tired too, with an aching back and legs, so I nodded.
We found a fairly large massage parlor and got a private room.
The room was very clean, with two massage beds. However, there were no female therapists available, so they could only arrange two male therapists for us.
"Male therapists are fine. Call them over." Liliana looked expectant. "Get me two handsome ones."
Two male therapists came over. They both looked quite young. I didn't know how good their technique would be.
I lay on the massage bed. The moment the male therapist's hands touched my shoulders and neck, I instinctively flinched, my fingers gripping the sheets beneath me.
"Relax, Sophia." Liliana was lying on the bed next to me, humming comfortably. Seeing how tense I was, she reassured me in a relaxed tone, "It's just a massage. Nothing to be nervous about. They're all professionals with really good technique. It feels great."
I bit my lip and slowly relaxed, letting the therapist's hands gently knead my shoulders, neck, and back. The soreness gradually faded, replaced by waves of comfortable tingling.
Just then, the door to the room was suddenly pushed open. A sharp, cold air instantly rushed in, bringing with it an oppressive atmosphere that made it hard to breathe. The temperature in the entire room seemed to drop several degrees.
I suddenly looked up. James was standing in the doorway, his figure tall and straight, the hostility around him almost overflowing, his eyes as deep as an unfathomable cold pool.
His gaze landed precisely on the hand the male therapist had placed on my shoulder. His eyes churned with intense anger, a look so cold it could freeze someone to death.
My heart tightened for no reason, my fingers gripping the sheets. Only one thought filled my mind—run.
But he was right at the door. There was nowhere to run.
"Get out."
James's voice was as cold as ice, carrying bone-chilling coldness.
The two male therapists turned pale with fright. They didn't even dare take their massage tools and scrambled out of the room.