CHAPTER 28: CHAPTER 28: HE REALLY IS CRAZY!

Blake Sinclair paused on the stairs, "The crème brûlée is sold out."

"What about the macarons?" she persisted.

"Sold out." Blake Sinclair went upstairs without looking back.

"PADA’s business is really booming, but don’t they restock every day?" Shirley Sinclair poked at the Pudding in disappointment.

Suddenly remembering something, she shouted upstairs, "Uncle! Can you send me Crowe’s WeChat contact?"

The door to the study upstairs closed with a "bang."

Shirley Sinclair: "..."

She turned to look at the sofa in the living room, "Mom, what’s up with Uncle?"

Laurel Sinclair smiled knowingly, "It’s because he’s feeling guilty, like a thief."

Shirley Sinclair: "....?"

When did Uncle become a thief?

Her little head couldn’t figure it out after thinking for a long time, so she gave up.

"Then, Mom, remember to buy PADA early tomorrow!"

"Okay, okay, I’ve already talked to your Uncle Irving about it, and he’ll take you to buy it after school tomorrow."

"Great!" Sinclair cheered, throwing all her doubts aside, she took a big bite of the Pudding, looking utterly satisfied!

Meanwhile.

On the second floor study.

Blake Sinclair stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, holding a phone in his hand.

His thumb hovered over the keyboard, hesitated for a moment, and then finally exited the screen.

The moonlight outside was like water, and he looked up.

The moonlight tonight is beautiful.

....

Glynmere.

After taking a bath, Holly Crowe was hanging clothes on the balcony.

She looked up, the bright moon hung high, making the night seem extraordinarily gentle.

She returned to the bedroom and heard a notification from WeChat.

Holly Crowe picked up her phone and saw a friend request.

[Crowe, it’s Shirley Sinclair.]

Holly Crowe clicked on the profile picture to enlarge it, showing Shirley holding a giant strawberry bear, smiling brightly.

Her mouth curled up unintentionally, and she clicked "Accept."

Almost at the same time, a voice message came through.

[Hello Crowe~ It’s Sinclair! Good evening, have you gone to bed yet?]

The voice from the speaker was soft and sweet.

Holly Crowe started typing, thought better of it, deleted everything, and pressed the voice button: [Good evening, Shirley.]

The phone quickly vibrated again, and another voice message popped out: [Crowe, do you miss me? The mulberries at home are about to bear fruit, remember to come!]

Holly Crowe clicked her tongue and chuckled.

This little girl certainly has a good memory.

She pressed the voice button, her voice unconsciously softening: [Of course, I miss you.]

After a brief pause, she added another line, [The little bowl you made in the store last time is almost ready to be picked up.]

A cheer came from the other end: [Really? Then I’ll ask the driver uncle to pick it up.]

The little girl sent several voice messages in a row, eagerly sharing what had happened in the past few days. Holly Crowe, not wanting to interrupt, placed her phone aside while folding her clothes.

"Crowe, today, I got a little red flower from Ms. Amy!"

"Mom’s new manicure is shiny, like the stars. I want it too...."

The voice messages played automatically one after another, and after a few, suddenly stopped.

Holly Crowe picked up her phone and noticed that the other party had retracted a voice message.

No wonder.

She waited a bit longer, saw no new messages coming in, and checked the time. It was almost nine; the little girl was probably getting ready for bed.

She was about to exit WeChat when a new message popped up in the chat box.

[Goodnight.]

Holly Crowe smiled and pressed the voice button: [Goodnight.]

Meanwhile.

Noralis Villa.

Sinclair Manor.

Second floor study.

"Uncle, what are you doing!"

Sinclair pouted in displeasure at her uncle, her eyes full of dissatisfaction. She hopped around several times, trying to grab the watch back from him.

"I haven’t finished talking to Crowe yet! I just told her I had PADA’s mulberry pudding today, and you retracted the message!"

Shirley Sinclair stamped her foot angrily.

She had finally pestered her uncle into getting Crowe’s WeChat, and after just exchanging a few words, the watch was snatched away.

Blake Sinclair held up the watch with one hand, easily holding his niece’s bouncing little head in place with the other.

His gaze fixed on the watch screen, his voice steady and calm: "What did you promise just now?"

Sinclair huffed, reluctantly replying, "Not to disturb Crowe’s rest."

She’s still young and can’t type pinyin, so to ensure Crowe knew it was her, she had her uncle help send the friend request, with the condition that all chats would be under his "supervision."

"I only said a few things," she muttered unwillingly, "and Crowe responded quickly too."

Blake Sinclair looked at the chat box on the watch and said calmly, "You can go to bed now."

Sinclair spread her chubby hands, "Then give me back the watch!"

Blake Sinclair finally shifted his gaze from the watch and looked down at Shirley Sinclair, "Want to keep playing with it?"

With a nimble twist of the wrist, the watch was hidden away, and he slightly leaned forward, "We’ll leave it with me today, and I’ll return it to you tomorrow morning."

"Ahhh! Uncle, you’re mean!" Little Sinclair jumped on the spot as if doing a dance.

"The day after tomorrow," Blake Sinclair remained unfazed.

Little Sinclair instantly wilted.

".....Uncle, I’m sorry!"

Blake Sinclair glanced at her nonchalantly.

Shirley Sinclair pouted indignantly, "Then I’ll go to bed, good night, Uncle."

"Mhm."

The door to the study closed softly.

Blake Sinclair took out the watch, lit up the screen again; the last message in the chat box was his recently sent [Good night], followed by her voice message in response.

His finger paused for a moment before gently tapping it.

[Good night.]

The soft and gentle voice, with an upward tail, was like a feather brushing over the heart.

Through the screen, he seemed to imagine Holly Crowe’s smiling eyes.

Blake Sinclair’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he unconsciously swiped up the screen.

He tapped to play the previous voice message.

[I miss you too.]

The same voice, the same tone, but carrying an even sweeter smile.

Light as a breeze.

Compelled by some unseen force, he played it again.

In the silent study, the same voice echoed for the third time.

"...."

Blake Sinclair looked at the watch and finally realized what he had been doing.

He abruptly flipped the watch screen face down, and shook his head with a gentle laugh.

"Truly insane...."

He murmured, raising his hand to rub his brow, yet the restlessness in his chest could not be calmed.

Blake Sinclair undid the top button of his shirt, walked to the balcony, and took a deep breath.

The night breeze was gentle but couldn’t dissipate the heat in his heart.

He raised his hand, looked at the children’s watch in his palm, and curled his lip self-mockingly.

Self-control?

So easily shattered by these two voice messages.

He ultimately did not listen to it a fourth time, merely gripping the watch tightly.

....

The weather in Beldon was variable and changeable during the rainy season.

Holly Crowe revived in full spirits after lying at home for two days.

Taking advantage of the shop being closed, she arranged a shopping and dining outing with Celia Stiles.

As soon as they finished lunch, it started pouring outside, with a puddle forming at the entrance of the mall.

Just then, Holly received a call from a sales assistant saying that the tie she had ordered a month ago had arrived.

Two months ago, she had ordered a tie for Zion Pence as a birthday gift.

It was less than a week away from his birthday now.

Yet, there was no longer any need to give it.

But the money was spent, and thirty thousand bucks weren’t just blown away by the wind.

Holly dragged Celia to the third-floor counter.

The sales associate promptly approached upon seeing her, "Miss Crowe, the tie you ordered has finally arrived today."

Holly smiled.

The associate was unusually enthusiastic, quickly bringing the tie out.

A month ago, as soon as she saw this jacquard tie on the website, she contacted the associate and paid to reserve it.

The swiftness of her payment and anticipation back then was now equally ironic.

Celia muttered quietly beside her, "A thirty-thousand-dollar tie looks like this?"

She leaned closer for a better look and then whispered in Holly’s ear, "From afar, this pattern looks like a spider web."

Holly chuckled softly, shifted her gaze, and asked the associate, "Can it be returned?"

The store assistant’s eyes widened but quickly resumed a professional smile, "I’m sorry, Miss Crowe, we have a policy that non-quality issues can’t be returned."

Thirty thousand bucks down the drain.

Celia beside her winced in pain.

The store assistant said, "Miss Crowe, you can also browse other products; if you find something you like, it can be exchanged."

Holly replied, "Alright."

She browsed around the store, not really finding anything she wanted.

Just as she was considering just buying a bottle of perfume, a brooch caught her eye through the glass counter in the accessory section.

The store assistant noticed her hesitation and quickly approached.

"Miss Crowe, you have a good eye, this brooch also arrived today."

She carefully took out the brooch and placed it in front of Holly, starting her introduction.

"This brooch is made of two parts; you can see the outer circle, all embedded with European-cut diamonds...."

However, Holly’s attention wasn’t on the diamonds she spoke of.

She merely thought the brooch, when assembled, looked like a Y.