Chapter 220: Running Off, Pot and All
Arabella Donovan glanced at Dennis Donovan, then at Caspian Rhodes. Her intuition told her something important she didn’t know about must have happened between them.
’What’s going on? When did you two get on the same side? Grand-uncle was so obviously disgusted with Mr. Rhodes just a moment ago.’
Dennis Donovan: ’...’ ’Nonsense. How could I possibly be on his side? I’m only doing this for you, you ungrateful little thing!’
Caspian Rhodes: ’...’ ’No need to be so blunt about it.’
Surprised as she was, what they said made sense. Arabella never thought of herself as business-minded. She had only bid on those two plots of land because she didn’t want to let Timothy Donovan and his father—or whoever was backing them—get them on the cheap and use them to aggravate the two elders.
Now that someone could help her resolve this worry, why wouldn’t she be happy?
"Since Grand-uncle has said so, I have no other objections. It’s just that, this way, I won’t be able to pay back the money I owe you right away."
As soon as Arabella said this, Dennis Donovan’s face fell. "Pay back what? In your heart, is your grand-uncle such a petty person? What’s given to you is yours. There’s no need for us to be so formal with each other."
"Grand-uncle, that’s a billion, not ten yuan."
"A billion or ten yuan, it’s all the same to your grandpa."
"..."
’Grand-uncle really is the man at the top of the family’s ’filthy rich’ pyramid. Hearing such a humblebrag from him isn’t surprising in the least. It actually suits him.’
’???’ ’What does she mean, ’the man at the top of the filthy rich pyramid’? Is she calling me a spendthrift?’
The look on Dennis Donovan’s face instantly collapsed. His hand, gripping his cane, started to itch. He had half a mind to teach this disrespectful granddaughter who couldn’t speak properly a lesson.
In contrast, Guinevere Preston was quite enjoying the show. She stepped forward and pressed down on her husband’s hand, smiling faintly. "Your grand-uncle and I aren’t young anymore. We don’t know how many more years we have together. These material possessions... you can’t bring them with you when you’re born, and you can’t take them with you when you die. It’s for the best if you can make use of them. Besides, if you keep talking about paying us back and how much, you’re intentionally trying to distance yourself from us. That will really make us angry."
Since they’d both put it that way, Arabella couldn’t insist any longer. She just mentally resolved that since her grandparents were so good to her, she would have to find some other treasures to give them in the future.
This warmed the hearts of Dennis Donovan and his wife once again. Before the group had returned, they had already heard the full story from Beatrice Donovan. Arabella had specially made a bracelet and a jade pendant from the Blessing, Fortune, Longevity, Joy Original Stone—which contained spiritual marrow capable of nourishing the wearer’s body and extending their life—as a wedding gift for them.
Their thoughts were similar to Caspian Rhodes’s. At their age and status, money was no longer the most important thing. Health and longevity were.
The gift Arabella planned to give them was more precious than any amount of gold, not to mention it was a token of filial piety from their own junior family member.
In the end, their own sweet girl was the best. Even when they weren’t familiar with each other, she had helped them without asking for anything in return. Now that they were closer, she was already finding all sorts of ways to repay them for the little they’d given her.
Unlike those so-called blood relatives who claimed to be his direct descendants. They were like black holes, never satisfied no matter how much they were given. If he stopped giving, they would even try to fight and snatch things away!
"Your Grandma Guinevere is right. We’ve spent our whole lives saving up this fortune. If you don’t help us spend some of it, are you going to let it all go to those ungrateful wretches who do nothing but make us angry?"
Arabella paused for a moment, assuming Herman must have reported what happened with Timothy Donovan’s family to the old man ahead of time. She gave a polite smile, choosing not to poke at Dennis Donovan’s sore spot.
Caspian Rhodes, who had been watching from the side, couldn’t help but smile. "You don’t need to worry about mine. Have you forgotten? I already used that five hundred million to buy two jade pendants from you."
"What jade pendants?" The attention of Dennis Donovan and his wife was instantly captured.
Caspian had bought the two jade pendants from Arabella just as they were about to leave the auction house. Beatrice Donovan hadn’t been present at the time, so she hadn’t had a chance to pass on the information. Thus, the elderly couple knew nothing about it beforehand.
Arabella rubbed her nose, saying awkwardly, "Well, I bought a stone at the auction tonight, and it turned out to have a rather beautiful piece of raw jade inside. After setting aside the part that’s useful to me, the remaining material was just enough to make two more small jade pendants..."
Dennis Donovan felt like he’d been struck by lightning. He immediately recalled Beatrice mentioning that besides a pair of bracelets and a jade pendant, the remaining material from the cut stone could indeed be used to make a pair of small pendants.
Then he remembered that this kid could also hear her thoughts, meaning he must know the effects of those two pendants. The thought made him so angry he felt dizzy.
But Arabella didn’t notice his strange reaction and reiterated, "I’ve been thinking, and for just those two small pendants, five hundred million is still..."
"Five hundred million is far too little!" Before Arabella could finish, Dennis Donovan interrupted her, his face ashen. "For something that good, you think you can buy it for a mere five hundred million? In your dreams! It should be at least a billion!"
"Grandpa?!"
"I thought so too. That’s why for my previous collaboration with Serena, my initial plan was a seventy-thirty split—seventy for her, thirty for me. But she didn’t agree."
Dennis Donovan: ’?!!’ ’Well, I’ll be. So this kid was waiting for me right here!’
’Still, a seventy-thirty split...’
Dennis Donovan’s lips twitched. Even though he found fault with this kid in every possible way and couldn’t stand the sight of him, he had to admit that this profit-sharing arrangement was far more substantial than a so-called billion.
"...Then why did it become sixty-forty?"
"Grandpa, I was the one who suggested adding a bit more. I just felt that the other split was taking too much advantage of Mr. Rhodes."
Dennis Donovan: ’...’ ’You’re still taking advantage of him. The only difference is how much.’
Caspian Rhodes glanced at the two of them and pondered for a moment. "However, what Elder Donovan said isn’t without reason. Since the split has been changed to sixty-forty, I should add a bit more for those two pendants. I’ll transfer another five hundred million to your card in a bit. Remember to check for it."
Arabella was stunned speechless. It took her a long moment to stammer, "No, that’s not what I meant. You really don’t need to pay that much! Don’t listen to my grand-uncle’s nonsense, those two pendants aren’t worth that much money. Don’t transfer it!"
The ’grand-uncle talking nonsense’ himself suffered a critical hit. Watching his precious granddaughter, whose loyalties were clearly with an outsider, single-mindedly refusing money from a certain someone, he wished he could march to the woodshed right now, find a pitchfork, and roast this pig who was trying to root up his family’s prize cabbage.
The devastated Dennis Donovan decisively sought comfort from his wife. "I have a feeling our cabbage is about to uproot herself, pot and all, and run off with someone."
Guinevere Preston patted her husband’s head soothingly. "If this pig is willing to use a gold-inlaid jade pot to coax our cabbage, it might not be so bad. But it’s too early to talk about this now. Instead of relying on others, we should rely on ourselves. Let’s work hard to live a few more years and keep a close eye on this pig. We can’t let him bully our cabbage."