h4Chapter 145: Chapter 143: Leaving/h4

    "All these years, you and your mom hid it well, didn’t you?"

    The self-service barbecue restaurant was already quite crowded, and now the people at the neighboring table had started to look over at Elliana Lyle and the others.

    Upon hearing this, a girl whispered to her friends, "Isn’t that Elliana Lyle? The one across from her must be the illegitimate daughter, right?"

    The girl with chestnut-colored curly hair in a white dress quickly took out her phone, opened the camera, and began to secretly take pictures behind the cover of her friends.

    ...

    After hearing what Emily Lyle said, Elliana Lyle was momentarily at a loss for words. She was initially shocked and angry, then tolerant, and now astonished.

    Emily Lyle didn’t seem to have done anything wrong, yet she still couldn’t ept this fact. Ever since her mother died, she always thought her family was happy and that her parents both loved her.

    But with her mother’s passing, it seemed like the family changed all of a sudden, and now a "sister" had appeared out of nowhere.

    "I’m sorry, I’ll never look for dad again. After I graduate, I’ll leave South City, and I won’te back to trouble you."

    Emily Lyle clenched the chopsticks in her hand tightly, shaking all over. She began to regret meeting Shawn Lyle today; she had been avoiding this for so long...

    Ever since she was a child, she lived with her grandmother, and when she was nine, after her grandmother passed away, she stayed with her rarely-seen mother.

    Later, she met the father she had no recollection of, but her grandmother had told her before she died that she was an illegitimate child and had to live in the shadows, not to ruin someone else’s intact family.

    But she also longed for aplete family. She had thought aboutpeting with Elliana Lyle and sighed at how unfair life was, wondering why Elliana could enjoy a secure andplete family, while she had to stay hidden!

    Yet she kept her grandmother’s words in mind, so she only dared to seek out Shawn Lyle on her birthday every year. After she started college, she persuaded her mother to remarry and embarked on a new life.

    In fact, today was also herst meeting with Shawn Lyle. She nned to leave South City after graduating and nevere back again.

    "It doesn’t matter." As she said this, she was relieved, perhaps realizing something, or perhaps she hadpletely lost all feelings for this father.

    Elliana Lyle slightly raised her head, held back the tears in her eyes, and said, "I’ll pretend I never saw you." With that, she got up and walked away without a moment of hesitation.

    "Let’s go!" Luna also stood up and followed after Elliana Lyle.

    ...

    Underground parking lot.

    Elliana Lyle fastened her seat belt and said, "Let’s go."

    "Wait! Wait!"

    There was an urgent shout, and Luna instinctively turned toward the voice to see Phoebe Lyle running, her hair in disarray.

    Emily Lyle stood in front of the car window, and Elliana Lyle lowered the window slightly, looking at the panting person as she asked, "What is it?"

    "This is for you."

    A bank card appeared in Elliana Lyle’s view, and she immediately frowned, looking up at Emily Lyle’s eyes, and asked, "What do you mean?"

    "This is the money dad has been sending me since I was a kid. I’ve saved it all. I shouldn’t keep this money; I was nning to give it to dad today, but he left in a hurry, so I want to give it to you instead..." Emily Lyle abruptly stopped talking, as if she had said something wrong, and quickly corrected herself, "Giving it to you is the same."

    Elliana Lyle looked at the bank card held in Emily’s hand and said nothing. This girl was indeed "better" than she had imagined.

    So she said, "He gave it to you, you should keep it."

    "No! There’s a lot of money in here, over two million! The password is my birthdate, the first six digits." After saying this, Emily noticed that Elliana had no intention of taking it, so she thought for a moment and pushed the card through the car window gap.

    The bank card fell into Elliana Lyle’sp, and outside the car window was the back of a girl running away, like a cat fleeing in panic.

    "Damn!" Elliana Lyle punched the car door.

    It just had to be such a proper and polite person that left her at a loss, unable to decide whether to be angry or not.

    "Does it hurt?" Luna hurriedly grabbed her hand and turned the car light brighter.

    Her knuckles were already bruised purple.

    "I’m fine, let’s go."

    Elliana Lyle pulled back her burning hand and then put the bank card away.

    The car started, and she leaned her head against the seat, staring nkly out the window.

    ...

    ―――Sunshine Garden Community.

    "Mom, I’m back."

    Knock, knock, knock!

    "Mom, open the door."

    ...

    Ten minutes passed, and Emily Lyle stood at the door, her head slightly lowered, waiting for the person inside to open the door for her.

    Click~

    A reasonably beautiful middle-aged woman opened the door for her, looking disheveled, something Emily was used to.

    "Why are you back?" The middle-aged woman looked her up and down, then walked back inside impatiently.

    She sighed and had to follow her in.

    As soon as she entered, a thick smell of smoke hit her. The ashtray on the coffee table was overflowing with cigarette butts, and there were some unsightly things in the trash can.

    However, the middle-aged woman was unbothered,zily sitting on the sofa with an angry expression: "When are you going to hand over the money? Are your uncle and I not allowed to live?"

    "If you y less mahjong, it would be fine," Emily Lyle muttered under her breath.

    "What did you say?" The middle-aged woman didn’t hear clearly and frowned.

    Emily Lyle quickly said, "I said I’d give it to you after I graduate. Today is my birthday, and I just came to see you."

    "Birthday, huh? Then aren’t you going to treat me and your uncle to a nice meal?" The middle-aged woman said, a hint of a smile on her face.

    At this moment, a man walked out of the bedroom wearing only a pair of red shorts, and when he saw Emily, he grinned, "Darling, you’re back. Have you eaten?"

    The middle-aged woman flicked her coffee-colored short hair and smiled at the man: "It’s her birthday today, she’ll treat us to a nice meal."

    "I don’t have time today!" Emily Lyle gritted her teeth and managed to say.

    These words made the middle-aged woman, who was in a good mood, somewhat displeased. She immediately said, "What do you mean? Are you being stingy?"

    It’s just a meal, what’s there to be stingy about? She’s just a bit disappointed, so she said, "I’m going back to school, it’s going to be locked up if I’mte." With that, she turned around and left.

    "Ungrateful wolf, raising you for nothing all these years!" The middle-aged woman cursed angrily.

    The manforted her: "Alright, alright, why are you angry with a little girl?"

    "She won’t hand over the money! The rent is due next month, what are we going to do?"

    "Just y less mahjong, wouldn’t that be enough?"

    Hearing these words, the middle-aged woman flung away the man’s hand. The man she remarried could only earn seven or eight thousand a month, not enough even to buy her a bag, and she immediately regretted leaving Shawn Lyle. At least with Shawn, even if she was just a mistress, she’d get several tens of thousands a month, and he’d buy her bags and luxury goods now and then.

    ...

    After stepping out of themunity gate, Emily Lyle slowed her pace, perhaps she shouldn’t havee, hoping that her mom would remember her birthday.

    At this moment, the phone rang. She took out her phone and saw that it was Shawn Lyle calling.

    Without hesitation, she quickly answered it.

    "Hello, dad."

    "Hmm, Emily, there was something at thepany just now, so I had to leave in a hurry."

    Emily Lyle smiled and said, "It’s okay, dad, work is important."

    "Hmm, good child. Aren’t you about to graduate? Come work at dad’spany after graduation, I’ll be at ease with you by my side."

    Hearing these words, she was a bit tempted, but still refused: "No, dad, I want to develop in North City."

    "Why go so far? Listen to dad, juste work with me."