You Are The Apple of My Eyes

Chapter 727 A Secret

On Leon's birthday, Michelle did nothing but sent him a message on WeChat.

It was just a simple "Happy birthday, Leon, my brother!"

The message was very conservative. She didn't even add the emojis she usually liked to use. The "my brother" appellation added in the back also made the message seem a little perfunctory.

All in all, it was just so unlike Michelle.

The abnormality made Leon automatically think that her WeChat account had been hacked by someone, but to be sure, he tried calling her.

His call was rejected.

Now, he was even more convinced that his assumption was correct, so he replied to the message with a threat for the culprit to return the account to Michelle.

Michelle felt rather helpless when she read his reply. Left with no other choice, she had to reply with a voice message. "Leon, it's really me. Happy birthday!"

In fact, just as she didn't want to answer his call, she was also disinclined to send him a voice message. She could talk and laugh happily in front of others, but she couldn't pretend in front of him.

A carefully designed message could hide her thoughts and feelings, but her voice couldn't. No matter how hard she tried to sound normal, she still came off more reserved than usual.

Leon was able to perceive her change and was baffled by it.

Just as he was about to call again to ask her if something was wrong, Wynn came over and said, "Mr. Shi said that the birthday gift you want has been sent to Lexingport City."

Leon grunted absentmindedly as an answer.

Wynn didn't seem to notice anything wrong with him. He asked curiously, "What is it? Is there anything that only Mr. Shi can give you? Come on, tell me."

"People," Leon answered without even looking up from his cell phone. He called Michelle again, but her number was busy. "I guess they must've arrived already."

Wynn heard Leon's answer but not his mumble. Nevertheless, the answer aroused his curiosity even more. "People? Who? What do you want them for? Are you trying to recruit people? Or is it a woman? You're getting yourself a girlfriend or something? Oh, it can't be a woman—Princess Nina is the only woman living in Mr. Shi's house. So you're trying to recruit people?" Content rights belong to NôvelDrama.Org.

Leon was wondering about Michelle's abnormality. It seemed that it didn't just start today. Now that he thought about it, something had been wrong with her since last night.

He racked his brain but still couldn't figure out what was going on, so his mood wasn't exactly peachy. Furthermore, Wynn was muttering nonstop, oblivious to the fact that he was getting no response at all. Pissed, Leon finally looked up from his phone and smiled at Wynn.

Wynn instantly closed his mouth. Leon's smile seemed gentle and harmless, but for some reason, it sent a shiver down his spine, so he wittily left the office without further ado.

Now that no one was disturbing him, Leon tried a few more times to call Michelle, but she never picked up. She just texted him back, saying she was currently accompanying her parents and couldn't talk to him.

Michelle's parents, Adams and Elaine, were back.

Their arrival was much earlier than expected.

When Michelle got a call from them telling her they were back, she was quite astounded. She was even wondering if she was dreaming in broad daylight.

Her parents' loving voices eventually snapped her back from her dazed state. After making sure that she wasn't dreaming, she happily went to the airport to pick them up.

Lydia, who was accompanying her shopping for gifts, was also dragged along.

The moment Michelle saw her parents, she threw herself into their arms and cried her eyes out like a newborn child.

Her parents' embrace felt like a harbor in which she could finally take refuge. Her tears fell even more fiercely than yesterday.

This was the first time Adam and Elaine had ever seen their daughter crying so sadly. They often traveled far away, but this was really the first time she cried like this when they came back.

Something must've happened and it must've aggrieved her deeply.

Her tears made their hearts ache. They had to appease her for a long time before she stopped crying. Elaine pinched her daughter's cheek and teased, "You look like an ugly kitten if you cry like this. Aren't you afraid that no one will like you in the future?"

She completely had no idea that her daughter's love had wilted before it had the chance to bloom, and in her obliviousness, she'd just said something that rubbed salt into her daughter's wound.

Michelle pouted. Tears once again started to well in her eyes.

But she really didn't want to cry.

She'd been crying for two consecutive days.

Besides, Leon liked neither crybabies nor ugly women.

With a sniff, Michelle forced her tears back and hugged her mother's hand like a spoiled child. "Hmph! I don't need anyone to marry me. I won't marry. I just want to stay with you forever."

"Nonsense!" Elaine poked Michelle's forehead gently.

Michelle was suddenly thrown into a daze. Leon's handsome face and gentle smile appeared in her mind. It was as if he was the one who poked her forehead just now.

He also liked to poke her forehead.

Instead of poking, it was more appropriate to be said as knocking. He liked to knock her forehead lightly with his knuckle. Sometimes when he was angry, he would also flick her forehead.

Either way, he never used much strength, so it never hurt.

Michelle was so lost in thought she didn't hear what Elaine was saying.

Adams and Lydia were walking behind them. Lydia, being a considerate girl, helped to carry one of their suitcases.

Considering how busy with her study she was, she'd been worrying about how Michelle would deal with her problems alone. Now that Michelle's parents had come back, this problem could be easily solved.

"Lydia, thank you for picking us up and helping us with our luggage," Adams said kindly. "Is it heavy? If it is, just give it to me."

"It is okay. It's not heavy at all." Carrying a suitcase wasn't a big problem for Lydia.

Adams smiled. "Lydia, you're one of Michelle's best friends, right? Do you know what's going on with her these days? If she's being bullied by others, you must tell me."

Michelle and Elaine were walking in front of them. Besides, there were so many people in the airport. The two of them naturally didn't hear what the two people behind them were saying.

"No, Michelle isn't bullied. She is just in a bad mood," Lydia said slowly. Her gaze was fixated on Michelle's back.

Adams squinted. "Could it be that she's in a relationship?"

Lydia stopped in her tracks and stared at him rather vigilantly. She was just like a friend covering up for another friend when their parents came to inquire about their puppy love.

But she quickly remembered that the high school era had passed a long time ago and that they were in their last year of college. They were already in their twenties and they'd passed the legal age to get married. It was nothing abnormal for Michelle to be in love.

"No," Lydia answered honestly.

Adams was a little surprised. "Is my daughter not popular?"

Lydia was a little taken aback. "No, that's not it. On the contrary, she has quite a lot of admirers, though she doesn't like any of them."

"Oh, so my daughter is very popular. Does she like someone out of her group of admirers then?" Adams asked with a big smile on his face.

Lydia gave the matter some thoughts before she eventually nodded.

"Is she feeling sad because of that person?" Adams still had a loving smile on his wrinkled face, but there was a kind of indescribable sadness in the gaze he fixated on his daughter's back.

"That person doesn't like her, does he?"

he added.

Lydia was shocked by Adams' perceptiveness. She finally understood why Michelle said she'd never hide anything from her parents. If she was Michelle, she wouldn't hide anything either. After all, with how insightful her father was, it'd be impossible to do so.

However, although Michelle had never hidden anything from them, she'd never told them much in detail either.

Therefore, when Michelle talked to her mother in the evening, she only said that the person she liked had a girlfriend but didn't say who he was.

That she liked Leon was a secret she wouldn't and couldn't tell anyone.

Especially people who they both knew.

They had too many common friends such as Nina, Wynn, and so on. Those friends were all very important friends for both of them.

Things would get awkward if they knew.

Maybe no one would mention Leon in front of her again. Even if she couldn't be with him, she didn't want to lose contact with him.

Or to be completely cut out of his life.

However, people's thoughts always changed. That was just her thought for now. On the morning of the following day when she accidentally saw the messages on Lydia's phone, she changed her mind.