Michelle left the club early in the morning, but did not contact Colby immediately. Although she couldn't wait to buy the orchid, she considered the fact that Colby had just come back from abroad and needed time to recover from jet lag. So she waited for more than two hours outside the community where he lived.
The security guard of the community decided that someone as cute as Michelle couldn't be a bad person, so he started talking to her. When he learned that she was there for Colby, his admiration changed to pity and regret.
Michelle was confused when the man sighed, but she continued to smile at him.
When the security guard couldn't bear it anymore, he tried to persuade her to go home. He told her not to waste her time waiting for someone who was not worth it.
This confused Michelle even more. She started to ask for clarification but was interrupted by her phone ringing.
She had set an alarm clock to go off at ten o'clock. Since it was already time, she called Colby and then continued to wait for him by the gate.
More than ten minutes later, it wasn't Colby who showed up but his nanny.
"Michelle He, right? Colby asked me to escort you inside."
"He wants me to come in?" Michelle looked up at the tall buildings of the quiet residential area. "I have to pick it up myself?"
"Yes. Follow me." The nanny turned and swiped her key card to open the iron gate.
The gate to the community was on a bridge. Beneath that bridge was a river with weeping willows on its banks.
Vehicles passed along the middle of the bridge but there were gated walkways on both sides. Pedestrians entered on one side and exited from the other. But before they could enter, visitors had to register their names in the security room.
Michelle followed after the nanny. Along the way, they passed by buildings and a large artificial lake which had a fountain in the middle.
They came upon many villas with gardens. Years ago, Michelle's parents wanted to buy a house in this residential area but they could only afford an apartment.
When Michelle was five or six years old, Adam and Elaine had asked her what kind of house she wanted to live in. Little Michelle said that she wanted one with a yard so she could grow flowers, play in the mud, and roll all over the lawn.
So Adam and Elaine ended up buying a bungalow in the suburbs. However, with the development of Lexingport City's economy, even the suburbs thrived when transportation became convenient.
Michelle could recall memories from when she was five or six years old. She remembered coming here before and greeting a child who lived here, but she couldn't remember who it was. She only knew that little boy was about her age and he cried until snot ran down his nose.
As a child, Michelle was also prone to crying. When she met that little boy, it was if she had connected with a kindred spirit. She didn't know why the boy was bawling, but it made her start to cry as well.
The two children sobbed and wept as if they were competing to see who could cry the hardest or the loudest. When their parents rushed over, they didn't know who was in the wrong, and ended up apologizing to each other.
Lost in her memories, Michelle had no idea that she had walked past Austin's house which was right before Colby's.
"Here we are. Go down this path and you'll find yourself at the greenhouse. Colby wants you to go there." The nanny departed.
Michelle walked along the gravel path to the back of the villa and saw the greenhouse. There were many potted plants and a variety of flowers by the door.
Michelle didn't know the names of some of the flowers, and there were others which she had never seen before. She could only admire how colorful they were. It was all so beautiful.
A marble table stood just outside the greenhouse with fruits and desserts on top. Among those items, she saw her favorite strawberries. They were white strawberries, not the red ones commonly seen in the market.
White strawberries were also known by the name Light Snow. The berry itself was milky white with pink and red seeds.
These strawberries looked good but they were also rare.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Only you in my love