Reborn Young Miss: Phoenix Burning Red-Chapter 74: Enamored (2)
Adrienne didn’t have any problems with her other subjects aside from Mathematics and Foreign Languages, so these were the focus of her lessons with Lennox. While Lennox was reviewing the previous problems he assigned Adrienne to solve, he asked her to read a passage from her textbook.
He didn’t even spend three minutes checking her answers and found three incorrect ones. He then lowered the red pen on the table and glanced at Adrienne’s face, whose brows were furrowed in concentration as she tried to read the words carefully.
When she was done with her task, she found him looking at her.
"What? Did I read it wrong?" She asked, placing the textbook between them.
"No, but you do need to practice your diction. You’re smart, Addie, but not everything you need to learn is in the textbook. You’ll improve faster if you use it in daily conversations. Do you want to test it with me?" Lennox suggested.
Adrienne considered her options and nodded. In her previous life, she read most books in Alistair’s private library so she became familiar with many words and phrases. However, using the foreign language in a conversation was something she never had a chance to do.
So for the next two hours, Adrienne tried to keep up with Lennox’s pace as they spoke about random things. From describing the weather, the view outside his hospital room and what he expected to see once he’s home, at Jinxiu Garden.
"Oh, by the way, some news about me will probably break out this weekend. It will surely dim the news of your grandfather’s banquet." Lennox suddenly switched back to their mother tongue.
"I do not care about my grandfather, but what about you?"
"Hmm... like Gavin said, we have to make me look very sick and far from recovery. Jake and Audrey’s wedding is also set, so the media will surely drag my name into the hype."
Adrienne easily understood his circumstances then.
"So this Audrey..."
Lennox had once mentioned his ex-fiancée to her before, but this was the first time he actually mentioned her name.
"Yes, the woman I was supposed to marry. But as soon as her father found out about the extent of my injuries, he demanded to dissolve our engagement and let her marry another bachelor from the Qin family. My cousin and I were never on good terms. I think he’s too arrogant and incompetent, while he viewed me as a piece of jerk who keeps taking everything away from him. He must be thrilled thinking he snatched my woman from me without knowing that Audrey and I barely saw and spoke to each other at all."
"I assume you’ve been engaged to her for quite some time, but you’ve only met her a couple of times?"
Lennox hummed. "We got engaged before I went abroad to study and we only met whenever I came back for a short vacation. There’s really nothing to tell about us. Our families aside, I think Audrey is a good friend though."
"A good friend wouldn’t stab you in the back like this though." Adrienne pointed out, effectively crashing the other woman’s impression on Lennox.
"But she must have her reasons..."
"No matter if she was forced or not, she should have taken the initiative to talk to you."
But Adrienne knew the probable reason Audrey had refused to contact Lennox. However, she decided to keep it to herself so she would not confuse Lennox.
"Well, I guess this would make it easier for me. Let’s just hope she won’t try to block my path in the future." Adrienne decided not to waste time on a problem that doesn’t exist.
"Alright, so by next Monday, you’ll be visiting me at Jinxiu Garden, right?" Lennox asked. There was no way he would miss the chance of spending time with her, even if he had to use their tutoring sessions as an excuse.
"I suppose that could work. I also want to see how Sam is adjusting to her new place."
"My butler said she’s too shy to speak to anyone. She’s also walking on tiptoes, as if she was afraid to disturb others. She would rather have her meals in her room too. I guess it’s still early for us to expect a drastic change in her."
Adrienne nodded. No wonder she keeps worrying about the girl. However, there’s also another matter weighing on her mind.
"Hey, Len. What did you feel when you first found out you have siblings?" She asked Lennox out of the blue.
Lennox gave her a surprised look. He had never been called like that by anyone before, but he supposed it was okay if it was Adrienne.
"I was upset, of course. From the moment I had awareness of my surroundings at a young age, I knew I’m my parents’ only child. Then suddenly, all these women keep coming forward, claiming that my Dad had fathered their children. I was hurt and disappointed at my father, but I didn’t hate or blame the children. Why are you suddenly asking something like this, Addie? Did your father have another love child with another woman?"
"No, nothing like that. Actually, Uncle Reese has just discovered that my elder brother, who was believed to have been a stillborn baby, might have been switched at birth. We’re not sure whether he survived or not."
Lennox placed his hand on top of hers.
"So what’s the problem then? Why do you look confused?" He coaxed her gently.
"I’m scared," Adrienne smiled bitterly. "I don’t want to get my hopes up but I can’t help but feel scared. I’m scared that once we found him, he might not like me too and might blame Mom for everything. Surely, he would be holding some resentment towards our parents if he found out the truth, but I don’t think I can bear to see him hating me and our mother."
"Addie, dear, you’re going ahead of yourself again. I’m sure he would understand if you explained the situation clearly. Besides, I don’t think he would hate to have you as his sister."
