Silly Bride novel (Winnie and Xavier)
Chapter 277

Elisha's eyes were fixated on Wilhelm when she asked that question. She wanted to invite Wilhelm as well to strengthen the friendship between their two families.

Nonetheless, Wilhelm didn't answer her instantly. Instead, he glanced at Winnie to seek her opinion. After all, attending the dinner didn't matter to him, so it mainly hinged on his sister's wishes. Seeing that he didn't seem averse to accepting the invitation, Winnie agreed with a faint smile.

Since the two families had been having quite a lot of interaction in recent years, it wouldn't be appropriate for her to show Elisha such disrespect publicly, as she was a member of the Speiser family. "Thank you for the invitation, My Lady. It'd be our pleasure."

"I'm glad to hear that. I'll make the arrangements. I look forward to our next meeting," Elisha replied gracefully.

"Sure. At that time, I'll definitely bring your favorite red wine along," Wilhelm promised.

"Okay. I'll undoubtedly be over the moon then." After saying that, Elisha turned her gaze to Winnie. "We'll be leaving first, then. Wishing you a speedy recovery."

Winnie wore a cordial smile on her face. "Thank you for your concern, My Lady."

Having bade each other goodbye, Elisha twisted sideways and took the arm of her son, Nathaniel, as she made to leave.

Before Nathaniel left, he couldn't help glancing over his shoulder at Winnie once more.

Their gazes met in mid-air. Nathaniel was all smiles. "We'll be meeting again very soon, my beloved Winnie."

Winnie flashed him a smile. "Yeah. See you."

Even when Nathaniel had walked a distance away, Wilhelm was still staring at his back.

Glimpsing his deeply creased brows, Winnie lifted her hand and waved it in front of him. "Wilhelm? What are you looking at? Is there a problem with them?"

Wilhelm wrapped an arm around her lightly. "There's something off about the look in the eyes of that Nathaniel fellow when he gazes at you. Have you both known each other for a long time?" "Yeah. He has always been my business partner. When I ran into a tricky problem back then, he was the one who helped me resolve it. As for the look in his eyes when he gazes at me..." Winnie chuckled softly. "It's somewhat similar to you, Wilhelm. But he's probably even more obsessed with Aplothian girls than the lot of you. Even if we weren't acquainted, my face would have likely been enough to attract his attention. Anyway, he's a shrewd financier and businessman. He knows what he wants and will also precisely calculate the possible gain and loss in every single matter. Besides, he has long since known that I love someone else. He won't do anything reckless."

Still, Wilhelm's brows remained scrunched together. Dipping his head, he pinned his eyes on Winnie.

"Are you sure you've decided on that man? The Huxley family has quite a lot of young and talented men available. On top of that, there are other families. Have you really made up your mind?" Winnie knew that the man he spoke of referred to Xavier.

Without an ounce of hesitation, she bobbed her head. "Yes, I've already made up my mind."

Clocking her firm attitude and the resolute look in her eyes, Wilhelm nodded. “All right. Although I won't try changing your decision, nor do I have any way of doing so, Winnie, you've got to bear in mind that Xavier fellow has only passed your test for the time being. He hasn't obtained my acknowledgment or that of the family."

Winnie didn't want to talk about that matter then, so she changed the subject. "Let's speak of this another time. I came back this time for business. Back then, many things couldn't be explained over the phone, so I can only make a trip back personally."

"I know." Lifting his hand, Wilhelm stroked her head indulgently. “Let's go home. Mushroom soup is beckoning at you."

While they conversed, they had already walked out of the airport. As Winnie gazed up at the setting sun in the sky, she couldn't help exclaiming, "Ah, how beautiful!"

I previously miscalculated and thought it'd be noon by the time I arrived back, but I unexpectedly made it in time for dusk. It feels like I haven't seen the sunset here for an eternity.

Wilhelm looked down at her with a helpless smile playing on his lips. "You were the one who was determined to go back to Chanaea. Otherwise, you could've stayed by our sides for the rest of your days and watched every sunset here."

Smiling, Winnie tilted her head back and looked at the sky. "The sunset in Chanaea is also exceedingly beautiful and spectacular!"

As she spoke, she couldn't help tarrying a few seconds under the setting sun.

I wonder if there's such lovely scenery outside Xavier's window. And I wonder where Christopher's body is right now.

In that brief time she spaced out, a dark shadow abruptly loomed before her.

Her nerves instinctively stretched taut even as her instincts screamed that someone had placed something on her head. She reflexively thought that danger was imminent.

It wasn't until she jerked her head up that she realized it was actually Wilhelm, placing a hat on her head.

Surprise flooded her. "What are you doing? The sun has already set, so it isn't meant to shield me from the sunlight, right?"

"Of course not." Wilhelm chuckled. "I just feel that your skin is overly fair, which makes you look like a porcelain doll that would shatter at the slightest touch. If there's a chance, I hope you can get more sun and have a healthy complexion. That would make you look even more appealing."

At his comment, Winnie quirked a brow. "No, thanks. I don't like tanned skin. So, what's the use of this hat?"

"It's not just the hat." While saying that, Wilhelm took out a pair of sunglasses from his pocket and slipped them on her. "You've shaken the entire world now. Your trip home this time was sudden, so I don't wan your whereabouts to leak out."

I've shaken the entire world? Winnie frowned deeply. "What does that mean?"

"Let's talk in the car. It isn't quite appropriate to be discussed in the open." Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, Wilhelm strode forward.

Grunting in acquiescence, Winnie quickened her pace alongside the man.

Shortly after, the two of them got into the car.

There was a divider between the backseat and the driver's seat, providing excellent privacy.

As soon as she got into the car, Winnie took off her sunglasses and pressed Wilhelm for details.

Wilhelm explained, "The matter of you blowing up two drug dens in Southeast Aploth has already spread throughout the related circle across the globe. They have also been pretty rampant in Yartran recently. Otherwise, I wouldn't have needed to entrust you with the mission of destroying Big Black Bear. I really couldn't spare any manpower over here. Unfortunately, it's exceedingly difficult to uproot them once and for all. You've already snagged some people's attention, so no one knows what they would do to you. I don't want your presence here to come to light before I've made all the arrangements."

After Winnie listened to everything he said, her brows knitted together deeply. "I see. In that case, have my looks and identity leaked out?"

"I'm not sure about that, but I hope not. Before you went to Chanaea, we've been keeping your identity under wraps. In fact, you didn't even leave a single photo in all the years you've been in Yartran. But since you went to Chanaea, not only has identity been exposed, but there are also a lot of pictures of you on the internet. And I reckon you probably didn't create a new identity on purpose when you went over to Jipsdale to execute the mission, yes?" Wilhelm analyzed with a solemn expression.

The crease of Winnie's brows deepened. "No, I didn't. The situation was urgent at that time, and many plans were made on the spur of the moment. Besides, the internet there isn't that developed, so they might not necessarily be able to track me."

"That's also what I think. But Chanaea is one of the countries with the most developed internet in the world, so your identity will be easily known to all. I'm worried that someone who saw you in Jipsdale might recognize you by a stroke of chance. After all, they can enter the borders of Chanaea anytime," Wilhelm uttered.

"That's true." Winnie paused for a moment. I made the trending list several times in Avenport back then. Fortunately, netizens have a short memory. But still, there are many pictures of me on the internet. She continued, "It looks like we've got to figure out a way to delete all my pictures on the Chanaean internet. Only then will there be no loose ends."

"Yes, but you don't need to worry about this. Your priority right now is to recuperate well. Leave the rest to me," Wilhelm said.

He was someone whom Winnie trusted wholeheartedly, so she had no qualms entrusting things to him. "I'll nap for a while, then. Wake me up when we've arrived."

"All right." As Wilhelm said that, he helped her adjust her seat to the most comfortable position.

Winnie lay down. Half-awake, she heard him consulting someone about deleting photos from the whole internet.

Turning over slightly, she mumbled groggily, "By the way, Wilhelm, I almost forgot to tell you something."

Upon hearing her speaking to him, Wilhelm immediately put his phone away. "What is it?"

With her eyes closed, Winnie muttered, "My black badge has gone missing. Help me report the loss, please. I don't know where it is or whether it has fallen into someone else's hands. It's best to have everyone informed about it so that anyone who sees that black badge of mine henceforth will not do anything for the holder."

"Okay."

"I'm going to sleep, then."

No sooner had Winnie's words fallen than Wilhelm received another phone call.

However, he didn't answer the call, for he didn't want to wake his sister, who had just fallen asleep.

As her brother, he felt immensely guilty that she had injured her arm because of the mission he had entrusted her with.

In the end, Winnie still missed having mushroom soup.

She slept so soundly that she didn't realize it even when Wilhelm carried her from the car all the way to the room.

In order for her to have an uninterrupted rest, Wilhelm had even set her phone into airplane mode.

And so, Winnie slept until dawn the next day.

On the contrary, Xavier, who was far away in Avenport, didn't sleep in that twenty-plus hours.

Panic brewed within him as he stared at the phone that remained still and motionless on the table.

When Josiah entered the room in a wheelchair, he was greeted by the sight of the man clutching his chest with agony etched across his features.

The venom Yulissa injected into him on the rooftop the previous time was markedly toxic and even affected his heart.

Josiah promptly hastened his speed and went over to Xavier.

"How are you feeling? Is your heart hurting badly? I'll summon the doctor for you."

Xavier weakly tugged at his arm. "No, it's okay. Give me a call.”

Josiah frowned. "What for? Aren't you right in front of me? Why do I still need to call you?"

"No, I'd like to know whether my phone has malfunctioned and can't receive any calls." Xavier glanced at his phone bitterly.

The instant he said that, realization dawned upon Josiah.

Frowning, he admitted, "I've tried calling Winnie, but no one answered. Her phone is probably on airplane mode. Perhaps she didn't bother looking at it after getting off the plane. She has a huge family in Yartran, so she undoubtedly has plenty to handle when she hasn't been back in such a long time."

"That's also what I tell myself, but it's been thirty hours now. Say... is she no longer willing to face me? How much longer should I wait for her?" Xavier couldn't help asking.

"Stop overthinking things, Xavier. Such emotions won't do your treatment any good."

Due to the prolonged lack of sleep, Xavier's eyes were bloodshot.

Staring at Josiah, he snarled, "I want to get well soon too! I want to be a normal person without having bursts of insanity again! My desire to get well is stronger than anyone else! But if she isn't by my side, what's the point of all this?"

"Why would it be pointless? Stop allowing your mind to wander, okay? Wouldn't it be perfect if you happen to be fully recovered when she returns?"

While speaking, Josiah phoned Winnie.

He had thought the call would go straight to voicemail, but to his surprise, it was answered after a few rings.

And in no time, Winnie's voice drifted out.

At once, he placed the call on speaker and said to Xavier, "The call went through, and she answered."

The moment Winnie heard that, understanding dawned upon her. "Are you with Xavier right now, Josiah?"

Right away, Xavier interjected, "Yes! Are you okay? Why couldn't I reach you in the past dozens of hours?"

"I was too tired, so I slept for a long time and only woke up now. I forgot all about informing you both when I arrived safely. How are you and Josiah doing?" Xavier had wanted to say that he wasn't doing good because he had been waiting for her to the point that he couldn't eat or sleep. He missed her like crazy. But then, he didn't want to burden her further, so he changed his tune. "We're good. We're both fine. How about you? Is your arm okay?"

"It's fine. I—" Before Winnie could finish speaking, it became noisy on her side. It was as though a crowd of people had suddenly barged into her private space. "Xavier, my grandparents came over out of the blue. I'll talk to you next time. I'll call you when I'm free."

Xavier still wanted to give her a few more words of advice, but she had already hung up the phone.

Utter disappointment swamped him when he looked at the words "call ended" on the screen.

Meanwhile, in Yartran, Winnie placed her phone down.

Surprise and delight showed on her face.

"Grandpa, Grandma, what are you doing here? If I'd known that you'd be coming over, I wouldn't have slept in."

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