Chapter 196: Grandma Is Discharged

Chapter 196: Chapter 196: Grandma Is Discharged

Two days later.

On the day of the Drake family banquet, Grandma Faulkner was finally cleared to be discharged again.

Vivian Lowell couldn’t help but sigh when she thought about the word "again." Grandma Faulkner was such a wonderful person. Back when she was with Grandpa Faulkner, they had taken the world by storm in the first half of their lives. It was truly aggravating that in her old age, she had to deal with such an awful son and granddaughter.

"What are you thinking about?"

Behind her, Julian Faulkner was already fully dressed. Seeing Vivian sitting in a daze by the window, he walked over to her.

Vivian turned around to see Julian adjusting his bowtie. She stepped up to him and took the tie into her own hands. "Let me help you."

Her movements were incredibly gentle. Once she finished fixing the bowtie, she looked at him. Dressed in a formal suit, he looked sharp and serious. She smiled. "You look just like you did on the day we had our blind date."

Julian froze, wondering if she meant the day of their blind date. He remembered being dragged out of bed bright and early by Grandma Faulkner that day. She made him put on a custom-tailored suit, insisting he dress sharply to meet his future wife.

Julian had initially been quite reluctant, so much so that he hadn’t even tied his bowtie properly. As someone who usually paid great attention to his appearance, he couldn’t outright refuse his grandmother’s demands. Therefore, he could only express his tiny sliver of inner rebellion through a messy tie.

He hadn’t expected Vivian to remember that.

"Ahem." Julian coughed lightly to cover up his embarrassment, then took a moment to look at Vivian.

The early morning sun cast a slanting glow over her. The May sunlight was just as warm and gentle as she was, making him desperately want to lean in and kiss her. Julian closed his eyes, feeling an inexplicable flutter in his heart that he tried his best to suppress. Now wasn’t the right time.

"What’s wrong?" Vivian found his behavior a bit strange, wondering why he suddenly closed his eyes while looking at her, and whether she was truly that hard to look at.

"It’s nothing, Vivian. I was just thinking..." Julian wanted to change the subject and talk about picking up his grandmother today.

However, Vivian gave him a radiant smile. She stood on her tiptoes and pressed a light peck against his cheek. Then, in a slightly alluring tone, she whispered, "I noticed it, you know.

"You wanted to kiss me. Julian, if you want to kiss me, just say so instead of claiming it’s nothing. I won’t be this proactive next time."

Julian nearly stiffened into a statue. He stared at her blankly for a moment before shooting his arms out, pulling the teasing woman right into his embrace.

"Yes, I did," Julian admitted openly as he held her tight.

The scent of Vivian’s shampoo was intoxicating, enhanced by the fragrant essential oils she used. Julian found himself completely immersed in her scent, entirely unable to pull himself away.

They held each other for quite a while before Julian’s phone suddenly rang.

Hearing the ringtone, Vivian instinctively pushed him away. The romantic atmosphere that had just bubbled up between them vanished into thin air.

Julian’s face darkened. He practically clenched his fists before turning around to grab his phone. "Hello? Speak."

Those two crisp, sharp words instantly made Vance Wyatt freeze on the other end of the line. Vance was already in the lobby of Concordia Hospital handling Grandma Faulkner’s discharge procedures. Everything was going smoothly, and he would be done soon. He just wanted to ask when Julian would be arriving.

There was also the morning meeting to consider; the car was already arranged, and the documents needed to be handed over to Julian. But the moment Vance heard his boss’s voice, he wondered if President Faulkner was sexually frustrated from the previous night, considering he sounded as irritable as a powder keg waiting to be ignited.

"Um, President Faulkner." Vance gulped, finally snapping out of his daze. He reported everything as fast as he could and immediately hung up.

That scared him to death. President Faulkner seemed to be in a terrible mood today; it was best not to provoke him.

Meanwhile, Vivian found it incredibly amusing to watch Julian listening to the phone with such a dark expression. She mused over how a grown man could still have the temper of a child, figuring his fierce tone just now must have terrified Vance.

"Alright, let’s go. It’s getting late. We’ll head over and have breakfast with Grandma. Afterward, you can head straight to the office, and I’ll take Grandma home." Vivian proactively took his hand.

When their fingers intertwined, a faint electric spark seemed to pass between them. Julian quickly turned his palm to grasp her hand firmly in return, and the two of them headed to the hospital together.

After breakfast, the group prepared to leave.

Vance had finished all the paperwork and was slowly hauling out the nutritional supplements Eleanor Rhodes had brought for Grandma Faulkner a few days ago. They had only opened one box and eaten a tiny portion. Now, Vance had to pack up all the remaining bags and boxes and load them into the car.

Looking at the heavy gift bags, Vance felt that today was going to be an exhausting day.

Meanwhile, Grandma Faulkner held Vivian’s hand as they walked out onto the balcony. The older woman picked up a watering can and watered the potted daisy off to the side. "Vivian, let’s take Rosie back with us."

Grandma Faulkner adored this little potted daisy. Vivian had bought it for her. Back when her grandmother was first admitted to the hospital and feeling down, Vivian had passed by a flower shop and seen the daisy basking in the sunlight, radiating vibrant life. She felt as though the little flower symbolized hope, so she bought it and placed it right in front of the hospital window. That way, whenever Grandma Faulkner looked outside, she would see this lively, blooming daisy.

Sure enough, the older woman loved it. Now that she was going home, she was still making sure not to leave the daisy behind.

"Okay, Grandma. Let me find a bag to put it in. We’ll have to be careful not to drop and break the pot on the way back," Vivian said gently, asking Ms. Shaw to grab a bag.

Once they finished packing, Vance came over to let them know they could head downstairs. Julian also stepped in to help. He smoothly took the rather light potted daisy from Vivian’s hands, looking as though he was terrified she might exhaust herself.

Grandma Faulkner took all of this in, the smile crinkling the corners of her eyes growing deeper as she held Vivian’s hand and led her out the door.

At the hospital entrance.

As the group walked out, Vivian spotted Sylvia and Finn Drake. The two siblings were carrying gifts and holding flowers. It looked like they had also come to pick up Grandma Faulkner, their faces plastered with polite, courteous smiles.

However, Vivian instinctively frowned at the sight of them. She knew the only reason Felix and Rachel Faulkner had dared to cause such a scene at the Faulkner family estate last time was entirely because of the two people standing before her.

Recently, Sylvia and Finn had likely been busy managing the Drake family’s domestic business affairs, which was why they hadn’t bothered the Faulkners. But today, on the day of Grandma Faulkner’s discharge, they had shown up again as expected. They truly lingered like a haunting ghost.

"Miss Drake, Mr. Drake, what a coincidence. Are you here to see a doctor? We were just leaving, so we won’t get in your way." Vivian had no desire to entertain them. She thought to herself that she, Vivian Lowell, certainly wasn’t afraid of the Drake family.

Sylvia was displeased by Vivian’s remark, thinking to herself that they were perfectly healthy and certainly not at the hospital to see a doctor. Sylvia was fuming, but she managed to keep her composure. She maintained her smile and said, "We came to visit Grandma Faulkner. We’re very sorry about what happened before.

"It’s just that my parents have some ongoing collaborations with Felix. Because of that, I was obligated to provide him with a bit of assistance. I honestly didn’t want to do it either.

"Grandma Faulkner, Julian... I hope you can understand."

Julian remained silent, merely glancing at his grandmother. Her stance was his stance; he deferred to her in all things.

Grandma Faulkner, however, looked at Vivian. She nearly rolled her eyes at the Drake siblings as she declared, "Vivian, you speak for me! You’re my representative now!"

The elderly woman sounded incredibly domineering. Perhaps she had also noticed that Vivian wasn’t intimidated by the Drake family. That was perfect—Vivian was eloquent and perfectly capable of putting these two shameless siblings in their place.

"Miss Drake," Vivian called out. She suddenly raised her hand, looking as though she was about to slap Sylvia right across the face.

Sylvia froze. Just as she was about to scream, Vivian stopped her hand mid-air.

A cunning smile touched Vivian’s lips as she looked at the flustered woman. "You see, if I had just ’accidentally’ slapped you and claimed I was obligated to do so...

"And then asked for your forgiveness right after, would you forgive me? Put yourself in our shoes. The Drake family might be powerful overseas, but now that you’re back in Veridia, you need to learn your place and keep your heads down.

"Our Faulkner family isn’t easily bullied either. We haven’t forgotten what happened last time. Miss Drake, I suggest you stop asking for trouble.

"Grandma is in a decent mood today and is willing to spare your dignity. I’m playing along out of respect for her. But next time, if she isn’t around and I happen to be in a bad mood, things might not end so peacefully.

"Your status may be noble, Miss Drake, but the Drake family is massive. Would they really completely sever ties with the Faulkner family just for you? Please weigh your own importance before you act.

"We are utterly unworthy of accepting the gifts you brought. It’s getting late, so kindly stop blocking our path. Otherwise...

"There is a Veridian proverb about how good dogs don’t block the road, but I’m afraid you might be rather upset if I said it out loud."

Sylvia stood there, dumbstruck. The flowers in her hands slipped and fell to the floor. Sylvia fumed inwardly, enraged that a bitch like Vivian dared to speak to her like that. As one of the most capable individuals among the younger generation of the Drake family, she couldn’t believe Vivian had the audacity to look down on her.

The Faulkners walked away.

Seething with rage, Sylvia smashed the rest of her gifts onto the floor. Hearing the commotion, a nearby nurse hurried over. She frowned at Sylvia and said, "Excuse me, Miss.

"You will have to pay full compensation for damaging hospital property."

Sylvia’s eyes widened in disbelief. She glared fiercely at the nurse, then shot a deadly look at Finn. "You deal with this!" she snapped.

A half-smile played on Finn’s lips as he casually set his own gifts down on the floor. He then looked at the nurse with an amused expression and asked, "How much is it? Can I pay by card?"

It seemed Finn wasn’t the least bit upset by everything that had just transpired.

Downstairs at Concordia Hospital.

Looking every bit like a queen, Vivian led Julian and Grandma Faulkner out of the building.

"Grandma, Vivian, you two head home first. I have a meeting to attend." Julian was a little reluctant to part with them. Still worried that the Drakes might come knocking to stir up more trouble, he turned to the two hired bodyguards and instructed, "You two will stay stationed at the Faulkner estate for the time being.

"If anyone suspicious approaches, don’t bother asking questions. Apprehend them first and figure it out later."

"Yes, sir!"

The two bodyguards responded in unison, which put Julian’s mind at ease. He got into another car with Vance and headed off to handle his work.

Meanwhile, Vivian drove Grandma Faulkner home.

On the way back, Grandma Faulkner turned on the car’s sound system to listen to Veridian opera. The corners of her lips were turned up, and she occasionally hummed along, clearly in a wonderful mood.

Seeing the older woman so happy, Vivian couldn’t help but smile as well. "You know how to sing Veridian opera, Grandma? Even though I don’t understand it, your vocal technique sounds amazing!"

Of course, Vivian wasn’t a professional. To her amateur ears, Grandma Faulkner’s vocal delivery simply sounded powerful and resonant, just like those incredible professionals who sang traditional folk music.

"Oh, stop it!" Grandma Faulkner waved her hand shyly. "Back in my day, there wasn’t much in terms of entertainment, so I just loved Veridian opera. Believe it or not, there’s quite a lot of it overseas, too.

"I know a line or two. Back then, I used to sing it with Julian’s grandfather."

Grandma Faulkner fell into reminiscing about the old days. Though those times had been turbulent, they had also been filled with happiness.

Vivian blinked, suddenly recalling something. "Grandma, you mentioned before that you wanted me to prepare a cheongsam for you. I’ve already gotten it all ready!

"Do you want to take the photos in an old theater, or maybe we could go to The Sunstone Palace? We could even hire someone to set up a custom backdrop right at home based on your preferences. Whatever you’d like!"

Grandma Faulkner’s eyes lit up the moment she heard that. "Any of those sound wonderful."

She studied Vivian for a moment before adding, "Vivian, actually, you would look quite beautiful in a cheongsam as well!

"Why don’t you get two more custom-made for you and Julian? How wonderful would it be for all of us to take photos together! Otherwise, I’ll be all alone in the photos, right?"

Vivian felt a sudden jolt at the thought of taking photos with Julian. She actually loved traditional clothing. When she was little and went on trips with the Lowell family, there had always been places to rent traditional outfits for photos in the ancient towns they visited. However, the craftsmanship of the costumes in those small shops was completely average, and Sharon Galahad had never allowed her to wear them.

Later, during college, Vivian and Eleanor had gone to a professional studio to shoot an album together. They had worn both traditional Veridian garments and kimonos, and the photos had turned out fantastic.

As for taking photos with Julian...

Vivian suddenly thought of the exquisite cheongsams worn at traditional Veridian weddings. They were incredibly gorgeous, carrying a deep, lingering historical charm that she had always adored.

"I suppose I could..." A faint blush crept across Vivian’s cheeks. "I just don’t know if Julian will have the time. Hmm... I’ll ask him tonight!"

"Why wait until tonight!"

Grandma Faulkner pouted slightly and, with absolute swiftness, pulled out her phone to dial Julian’s number on the spot. "I’ll ask him right now!

"Let’s see if he dares to say no!"