Chapter 555: Seeing Through Everything
"Howard, this isn’t just a one-sided crush, is it?" Patrick asked out of the blue. The others all nodded, feeling it was a strong possibility.
Howard was both exasperated and helpless. "Fine, how about this? I’ll bring Kelley Xavier home for dinner tomorrow. You can ask her to her face and see if I’m lying."
"Alright. Tomorrow, have that young woman come over for dinner," Byron Thorne agreed.
An engagement was a serious matter, not to be taken lightly. He had to ask Kelley Xavier himself. If they could really arrange a match with such a wonderful young woman for his eldest grandson, the Thorne family’s ancestors must truly be smiling down on them.
Tang Xiaonan, however, couldn’t help but feel that something was off. ’He could have gotten engaged at any time. Why suddenly bring it up now, at this critical moment? It feels like Howard’s romance with Kelley Xavier blossomed far too abruptly.’
After dinner, the brothers Jim and Patrick took a wooden bucket to the pond to catch river snails. Howard went along with them, and Tang Xiaonan and Amanda Chapman tagged along for fun. The pond was full of snails; it was easy to gather half a bucket with just a little effort.
The people of Vessaria loved eating river snails. As soon as summer arrived, a bowl of snails would appear on nearly every family’s dinner table. In the countryside, preparing them was simple. You’d let the snails sit in water for a few days to purge any grit, then snip off the ends and wash them clean. They were seasoned with slivered ginger, garlic, a few chili peppers, cooking wine, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, and a dollop of lard. When cooking rice, you could set a steamer rack over the pot to cook several dishes at once. Once steamed, a sprinkle of chopped green onions and a quick stir was all it took to create a delicious dish of steamed river snails, which were even more flavorful than the stir-fried version.
"There are a lot of big ones over here."
Jim pulled out several large river snails, each the size of a baby’s fist, growing more delighted with each one he found. Howard, with something on his mind, was only going through the motions. Patrick shot him a look and said abruptly, "You’re just putting on an act with Kelley Xavier, aren’t you?"
Howard was taken aback, staring at his brother in astonishment. Patrick’s perceptive gaze made him panic. He quickly turned away and said defensively, "What are you talking about?"
"You might fool Mom and Dad, but you can’t fool me. If you were really dating Kelley Xavier, why haven’t you asked me for money? Couples go on dates, go shopping, buy things. There’s no way you have enough cash for that on your own. You haven’t asked me for money even once, which proves you and Kelley haven’t actually gone out anywhere. What kind of relationship is that?"
Howard, flustered and annoyed, snapped back, "We’re studying every day. We don’t have time to go out."
"You enjoy studying?" Patrick smirked, his gaze sharper than an X-ray. ’It’s true that Kelley loves to study, but my brother? Give me a break. He’s a total slacker who gets sleepy just looking at a book.’
Jim chimed in, "Yeah, Howard, you can’t sit still for five minutes! I really don’t get what Kelley sees in you. You’re bad at school, and you’re not even as handsome as me. That girl must have terrible taste."
"Just go catch your snails!"
Lashing out in embarrassment and anger, Howard kicked him. Jim tumbled headfirst into the water, getting soaked to the bone.
Since he was already wet, Jim simply swam out to the middle of the pond and started playing in the water. Tang Xiaonan grew worried and urged him to swim back. The pond was quite large, and the water in the center was several meters deep—no place to be fooling around.
"Don’t worry, I’m like a fish in water!"
One moment Jim was doing the backstroke, the next he was doggy-paddling, and then he’d dive underwater, having the time of his life. He could swim a pond like this with his eyes closed. Tang Xiaonan watched with her heart in her throat. When Jim finally swam back to the bank, she could at last breathe a sigh of relief.