Silly Bride novel (Winnie and Xavier)
Chapter 177

"Can I take a look?" Sebastian's reaction was somewhat agitated. He had almost gotten his hands on it.

Winnie felt baffled, but since the request came from Sebastian, she readily agreed.

"All right. Hold on." Winnie undid the watch from her wrist and passed it to Sebastian. Out of respect toward him, she used both hands when she handed the watch over.

Unexpectedly, Sebastian, too, used both hands when he took the watch from her. He acted as if the watch was the most priceless treasure in the world.

As Sebastian carefully observed the watch, tears began to roll down uncontrollably from his eyes.

Winnie and Josiah were bewildered. They exchanged glances. Confusion was written all over their faces.

Lowering his head, Josiah whispered in Winnie's ear, "What's so special about your watch? What's going on?"

Winnie frowned and shook her head. She had no idea what was going on right now.

It was not until she saw Sebastian wiping his tears did Winnie inquire, “Old Mr. Xander, if I may ask, is there something wrong with my watch?"

"Yes! There's a huge problem!" Before Sebastian could speak, Yolanda, who had been standing nearby, grabbed the watch from him. She held the watch and asked Winnie coldly, "Why do you have this watch? Where did you get it from?"

Winnie frowned. She was not pleased with Yolanda's attitude. "Ms. Xander, are you questioning me? Before I even consider answering your question, I must ask you to return the watch to me."

"Your watch? Are you certain it's yours?" Yolanda glared at Winnie. "Then, can you tell me what the letters 'XHS' on the face of the watch means? If you can't answer that, it means the watch doesn't belong to you!"

"Yolanda! Behave yourself! How dare you speak to a guest in such a manner?" Sebastian chided his granddaughter and extended his hand. "Give the watch to me." "Grandpa!"

"Give it to me!"

Left with no choice, Yolanda could only hand over the watch to Sebastian.

Holding the watch carefully, Sebastian stepped forward and returned it to Winnie.

Upon seeing that, Yolanda furrowed her brows. "Grandpa, that belongs to Harrison!"

"Silence!" Sebastian did not spare his granddaughter a glance. With slightly reddened eyes, he asked Winnie, "Girl, can I ask you about the origin of this watch? I won't keep it a secret from you. My grandson, Harrison Xander, also owns such a watch. When he sent it for customization the watch, he specially requested to have the letters 'XHS' engraved underneath. Those are his initials. It's such a coincidence that this watch also has the same three letters engraved on it."

Immediately after hearing Sebastian's explanation, Winnie understood the situation.

"I see." Winnie saw no need to conceal what she knew. "I used to wonder what the three letters meant, but I never managed to replace the watchmaker. Hence, I have no leads. It's a really good watch. I've worn it for over two years. However, I'm not too sure about its origins. My brother gave it to me as a present. He obtained it from a merchant when he was on an inspection trip about two years ago. I don't know anything else other than that."

"Inspection?" Hope ignited in Sebastian's eyes. "Do you know where your brother went for his investigation? And the merchant who sold him the watch... what do they look like?"

Winnie pondered it for a moment. "I think it was Alendor. He went to Arcvas Desert for an inspection. I supposed he bought the watch there. As for what the merchant looks like, I'm not too sure."

"Arcvas Desert..." When Sebastian heard Winnie's reply, the light in his eyes extinguished.

He had hoped that it was somewhere else.

Sebastian had been hoping that his grandson was still alive somewhere in the world.

However, the location turned out to be the desert.

At that thought, Sebastian could not stop himself from tearing up.

"Old Mr. Xander..." Winnie was not used to seeing older folks break down in front of her. She was at a loss for what to do.

As Winnie reached out a hand to try to console Sebastian, Yolanda roughly shoved her aside.

"Take your watch and leave. Don't agitate Grandpa any further!

Josiah was displeased with Yolanda's behavior. "Ms. Xander, you don't have to be so rude. We don't know what's happening. At the very least, we should try to make sense of this situation and replace out what's going on."

Sebastian covered his face as he cried, his tone full of remorse. "Two years ago, I had a heated argument with my grandson. He then went on an expedition in Arcvas Desert, but he never came back. I was told that he's dead, but they never found his body. Oh, Harrison. I'm so sorry. This watch belongs to him. I never thought I'd get to see this watch again. We had this made together. I thought this watch had disappeared along with him."

"I see." Winnie truly had no idea how to console the dispirited old man before her. There was only one thing she could do. "If that's the case, I should return this watch to you, since it's yours." Upon saying that, Winnie handed over the watch to Sebastian.

Sebastian accepted the bequeathed watch with trembling hands. "How much did your brother pay for it? I will pay you back."

"It's all right. Please keep it. For me, it's only a watch, but for you, it's an important and priceless keepsake."

"I can't do that. I can't let you spend your money for nothing." Sebastian had already regained his composure. His voice was a lot clearer too.

After giving it some thought, Winnie said, "Well, if you insist. Then, shall we consider the watch the payment for treating my husband's illness? That way, you won't feel indebted."

"All right. I will do my best to treat him," Sebastian agreed readily. "Come, let us get off the mountain."

On the way down the mountain, Yolanda and Sebastian led the way, with the former supporting the latter. Winnie and Josiah followed behind them.

Josiah exclaimed, "Aren't you a capable one? You settled matters with Old Mr. Xander so quickly."

"Can you be more serious?" Winnie shot Josiah a look. "First of all, it's all just a coincidence. Moreover, he had to suffer the grief of losing his grandson. He must feel terrible. What do you mean by 'settle matters'? Can you not say that? I never realized you're quite the chatterbox."

Josiah adjusted his glasses and said seriously, "People who know me well are familiar with the fact. Contrary to my cool appearance, I'm actually quite a chatty person."

Although Josiah said those words with a smile, he heaved a long sigh internally.

When he was with Winnie, he felt as if he had to keep himself occupied by talking or doing something. Otherwise, his thoughts would stray!

When they came down from the mountain, Josiah left to pick up Xavier. Winnie proceeded to follow Sebastian and Yolanda to the Xander residence.

Yolanda truly was a despicable person.

Upon entering the residence, she shut the door on Winnie, refusing to let the latter in.

It was a good thing that Sebastian was not an unreasonable person. After admonishing Yolanda, he let Winnie inside.

Winnie could not help but frown when she observed the pair.

The way they interacted was somewhat peculiar. Yolanda acted as if she held a grudge against Sebastian, but at the same time, she obeyed his every word.

Sebastian, on the other hand, treated Yolanda rather strictly. Yet, he would accommodate and indulge her. He acted as if he felt guilty toward her.

Every family had their own skeleton in the closet. Hence, Winnie did not try to interfere.

Sebastian had just finished tending to the fields. Before he went to clean up and change into clean clothes, he specifically instructed Yolanda to entertain their guest properly.

However, judging from Yolanda's attitude, it wasn't hard to guess that she had no intentions of being hospitable toward Winnie.

Winnie sat down on the stone bench in the courtyard while Yolanda stared down at her as if she was looking at a thief.

Yolanda's gaze did not bother Winnie in the slightest.

Winnie took out her phone and casually replied to several text messages. Then, she made a phone call and proceeded to speak fluently in a foreign language.

"Hello, Terenz. I want to ask you about the compass watch you gave me two years ago. Yes, I remember you brought it back from your inspection in Arcvas Desert. Can you recall the person who sold it to you? Huh, it was an Alendorian man? Okay. Do you still have his contact details? I'd like to replace out more about the watch. Really? Awesome! Please ask on my behalf. Whatever the answers are, please tell me. No, no, it's not a friend, but the owner of the watch is very dear to that person. Okay, I'm sure we'll meet soon. I'm looking forward to it."

After ending her phone call with a certain member of the family, Winnie's lips curled into a smile. She was in an excellent mood. However, Yolanda's sarcastic voice suddenly rang out and interrupted Winnie's good mood.

"Quit pretending! Are you trying to curry favor with Grandpa by replaceing Harrison? Hah, you want to give Grandpa hope and lead him on. You're only trying to trick him into pouring his heart and soul to treat your man, and then you'll deliver the final blow!"

With that, Winnie's good mood evaporated. "Hmph, do you think everyone else has bad intentions just because you have them? First of all, why should I pretend in front of you? Old Mr. Xander isn't even here. Why would I even have to put in the effort? Moreover, it's a piece of cake for Terenz to get some answers from some merchant. Also, I trust Old Mr. Xander's medical ethics. He's already promised to treat my husband. There's no need for me to deceive him. Last but not least, so what if I'm trying to curry favor with Old Mr. Xander for my husband's sake? I'm doing all this honorably and with integrity."

Yolanda sneered. "In the end, you admitted it. You have a motive for doing all this!"

"Say, I've been quite curious..." Winnie put her phone away as she stood up. "People have their reasons for doing things. I'm not an exception to that. Well, what about you? What is your motive? Why are you stopping us from seeking medical help? Why wouldn't you let us meet Old Mr. Xander?"

"It's simple. I don't like you." Yolanda put on a poker face. No matter what she said, that icy expression on her face remained. "Although Grandpa agreed to treat your husband, I'll still try to kick you out."

Winnie frowned. Is that it?

At that moment, Sebastian came out.

"Yolanda, apologize to Ms. Garland!"

Winnie and Yolanda had not expected Sebastian to return so quickly.

Yolanda maintained her cold expression as she demanded, "Why should I?"

"You've misunderstood her. I was the one who asked her to conduct the investigation. I was the one who asked her to inquire about Harrison's whereabouts."

"Grandpa!" A crack finally appeared in Yolanda's demeanor upon hearing the truth. She finally showed a hint of emotion. "My brother is dead! Why do you still refuse to accept the truth? Even if he's not, it's been two years. Why wouldn't he contact us if that's the case? That's because he's just like me. He's had enough of this household! He's had enough of this house and its smell of medicinal herbs! It's been like that for years!"

Yolanda continued, "If you hadn't forced him to study traditional medicine back then, if you had allowed him pursue something he enjoyed, perhaps he would not have been unhappy. Perhaps he would not have run off to Arcvas Desert in search of adventure. He would not have gone missing. Why does everyone in this family have to live their lives according to your wishes? Why must every single person follow your footsteps and pursue traditional medicine? I don't like it! My brother is dead! Even if he isn't, he won't return! Grandpa, please give up on him. Don't search for him any longer. It doesn't matter if he's in heaven or hell. It doesn't matter if he's alive in some corner of the world. I implore you, please spare him. Please spare me too!"

Yolanda was almost hysterical. If the subject of her dead brother had not been brought up, she probably would not have exploded. After she had spoken her mind, she left. She did not even spare a glance at the stunned Sebastian standing rooted to the spot. Winnie managed to obtain a lot of information from Yolanda's outburst.

It's no wonder their relationship feels a tad off.

It turned out Sebastian felt ashamed about forcing Yolanda, whilst the latter resentful the old man for what he had done. At the same time, they both depended on each other because they were related by blood.

After a moment of silence, Sebastian approached Winnie.

Forcing a smile, he said, "Ms. Garland, please forgive Yolanda for being short-tempered. I apologize on her behalf. Please don't hold it against her. Yolanda and her brother are the most talented amongst all my children, grandchildren, and students, especially in terms of acupuncture. I'm already old and useless. Someone has to continue my legacy. Traditional medicine is an incredible medical skill that will greatly benefit mankind if it's passed down from generation to generation. I only wish for them to inherit the skills. I didn't think that I would turn them into what they have become today."

Sebastian went on, "Yolanda is very talented at acupuncture. Due to my old age, my hands tend to tremble on occasion. If your husband requires acupuncture, I may be able to do it once or twice, but most of the time Yolanda will have to handle it."

Winnie fell silent upon hearing Sebastian's words.

Judging from how much Yolanda hated Winnie herself and Josiah, if she was tasked to perform acupuncture on Xavier in the future, then Xavier's condition would only worsen at a much faster rate.

After giving it some thought, Winnie asked Sebastian seriously, "Old Mr. Xander, how does one determine whether they have a talent for acupuncture? Can you check to see if I qualify?"

Spread the love