The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 499 Andy Tracked Autumn

Anthony wanted to argue. "But..." he started to say. Then he stopped. More than anything, he wanted to help Autumn. She was still frail and would replace it difficult to care for a child alone. He was uncertain if Leila was telling the truth or not. It was partly guilt that kept pushing him to persuade Autumn to go back.

"Stop convincing me to return to them," Autumn said impatiently. She knew that if Anthony kept bringing up the subject, she would get extremely anxious and irritated.

Autumn laid down her chopsticks and announced, "I'm full now. Thank you for preparing dinner. I want to rest now."

It was wrong to be rude to Anthony. Autumn knew he did not deserve such treatment. But she couldn't control her temper.

The doorbell ringing broke the uneasy silence. They jumped at the sound. Anthony peeked to see who was ringing the bell and saw Andy. He hid his agitation but dragged Autumn to the room while telling her,"It's Andy. You have to hide. Hurry!"

Autumn was dumbfounded. They shouldn't replace her there. She never expected Andy to come to Anthony's house so soon. Autumn quickly collected her things and hid them in the room.

Fortunately, Shirley was still sound asleep. If she cried, Autumn knew it would be all over.

Anthony answered the door as Autumn went inside the room. He looked at Andy in confusion and asked, "Mr. Xu, what brings you here?"

"Oh, I wanted to ask you something," Andy replied pleasantly. All the while, he kept peering inside Anthony's apartment to check if anyone else was there.

"What is it that you need from me?" Anthony asked again. He stood at the door but did not open it fully and kept holding the edge to keep Andy out.

"Aren't you going to ask me in?" Andy said. He sensed that the doctor was displaying rather unusual behavior.

Andy's people had orders to monitor Anthony once he left the hospital. His routine was to buy food at the supermarket. Andy began to suspect Anthony was hiding Autumn because the amount of food he bought wasn't just for one person. That's when he finally decided to visit the doctor at home.

"Of course. Please come in," Anthony said politely. He still held the door and hesitated before opening it wide to let Andy in.

Andy looked around the house. He noted it was clean and everything was in order. "Mr. Xiao, your house is so tidy and clean. I'm impressed."

"I am very particular about cleanliness," Anthony explained. "So, I clean my house whenever I have free time." His temper was simmering, but he held it back. After several moments of silence, he asked again,"Mr. Xu, what is it that you want from me? Why not be frank with me?"

Andy ignored him and proceeded to the dining area. He inquired, "You haven't finished eating yet?" He saw two meal settings on the table. Andy chuckled to himself and felt his suspicions were close to being proven.

Anthony heard him and realized he had not cleared the table. He groaned inwardly but forced himself to calm down.

"I was eating when you arrived and had no time to clear up. I'm sorry for the mess," the doctor said as he tried to figure out what Andy wanted.

"But the table is set for two," Andy pointed out. He was beginning to feel smug that Anthony appeared to be lying.

But the doctor quickly covered this up. "Yes, a friend was here earlier but had to leave suddenly because of an emergency. He didn't finish eating. And like I said, I hadn't cleared up and washed the dishes," he explained, a bit embarrassed. Anthony paused before asking,"Mr. Xu, are you here to inquire about my life?" He was getting a little impatient.

All of a sudden, Andy claimed, "I'm a little hungry. Can I have some food?" He appeared to be pleading Anthony to feed him.

The doctor knew it would be rude to say no, and realized he should have invited Andy to eat. He handed him a bowl of rice and new chopsticks. Andy began eating with relish and quickly finished his meal. Anthony was astonished but made no comment. Instead, he asked, "So, what did you want to ask me?"

Andy rubbed his belly and smiled in gratitude. Then he replied, "To tell you the truth, it's been so long since I've eaten so much."

He kept staring at Anthony and grinning. "Charles almost hit me because of Autumn's disappearance. But I don't blame him for wanting to do that because I know how upset he is since his wife is still missing. After that, I've been in the hospital to take care of Abby. And I haven't had a decent night's sleep since that time nor have I eaten a good meal." Andy lowered his tone, as if telling the story of his life. "Okay, I get it. But what is it that you're trying to tell me?" Anthony was getting both confused and impatient with Andy's rambling.

"Mr. Xiao, my father-in-law, is a good friend of your grandfather, so I'm not going to beat around the bush. I want to be frank with you. What I want to know is whether Autumn is here." He finally said it. He looked straight at Anthony to see his reaction.

The doctor was stunned. He never expected the man to be so straightforward so he quickly turned away to avoid looking at Andy. "Are you kidding me?" He continued with the pretense. "How is that possible?" "Look, Anthony. Perhaps you can lie about this to other people, but not with me," Andy said deliberately. He spoke louder now and repeatedly said, "We're alone here. Just the two of us." Andy wasn't about to give up. "I want to know what happened to Autumn. I'm with Autumn on this one. Otherwise, you'd be facing Charles right now, not me."

Andy's words infuriated Anthony. But it only showed in his pressed lips. "Mr. Xu, I have no idea what you're talking about. Since you've finished eating, can I ask you to leave now?" He emphasized each word. Andy persisted. "It doesn't matter whether or not you understand what I'm saying as long as the person hiding in the room understands me." He smiled while looking at the closed door where Autumn and Shirley were hiding. "I know you're here, Autumn," he said loudly. "I didn't come here to harm you. But I want to know what happened. Can you please come out and explain everything to me?" Andy said. Anthony snapped, "Mr. Xu, I already told you Autumn was not here. So I am asking you again to leave and stop harassing me!" The doctor's brows furrowed. He wanted Andy to leave for fear Shirley would wake up. As he was about to escort Andy out of his apartment, the bedroom door suddenly opened.

Andy heaved a sigh of relief at the sight of his niece. She stood there with no injuries.

"Autumn!" he cried. "I am so glad to see you without a scratch." Andy decided he had to set everything straight with his niece.

Anthony stared at Autumn, looking helpless. He tried his best to get Andy to leave. But here was Autumn, surprising him by making her appearance.

"Don't worry, Anthony. I'm fine," she assured her friend. She shook her head to indicate she was okay and he was not at fault. "Let me talk to him," Autumn said.

She asked Andy to follow her inside the room. As soon as he entered, Andy saw the baby asleep on the bed. He peered at her closely and found that she looked a little like Cindy, which stunned him. Then he looked around, and found himself asking, "Where is the other baby?" He remembered Autumn was pregnant with twins. "Didn't you have twins?" he inquired.

"There's only Shirley," she said quietly. Autumn asked her uncle directly, "How did you know I was here?"

"Only Shirley?" Andy almost whispered. It was a shock to hear Autumn confirm there was only one baby. "What do you mean? What happened to the other baby? Tell me what happened, please. Now that you're safe and sound, why haven't you gone back home? Everyone is worried about you, especially Charles," he talked non-stop. "Do you know that your disappearance almost drove your husband crazy? He's combed every square inch of Y City to search for you!" he claimed.

"That's none of my business," Autumn said coldly. She looked Andy in the eye and said clearly, "Never mention Charles in my presence. It's over between us. I will leave this house only when he stops searching for me. I'll go to a place where no one knows me. I want nothing to do with him anymore. Do you understand?"

Andy was flabbergasted. "Autumn, what are you saying?" He couldn't believe it was Autumn talking. "Charles is your husband, your baby's father. How can you say he's none of your business?" Andy massaged his forehead in confusion. He couldn't understand why Autumn wanted nothing to do with her husband now. Why was she so mad at Charles?