Ice and Fire novel Chapter 337

In the afternoon, after Jackson left the house and Andrew went upstairs to have a nap, Cherry decided to go on the balcony and water the flowers.

When the Butler saw that Cherry was alone in the balcony, he went to her, and with a smile on his face, asked, "Cherry, are you watering the flowers?"

After she turned around and saw the Butler, she also smiled back at him, and replied, "Yes, I'm feeling a little bored."

The Butler stood beside her, and as he looked at her, continued to ask, "Why don't you go to the JS Group? Did you quit your job?"

When Cherry heard his question, she immediately was at a loss of words. After all, only Jackson and herself knew the true reason as to why she had to stay at home and what was actually happening in the Family. She thought that Andrew might also know something about what was actually going on, but as for the Butler, he seemed to know nothing about the truth.

"Well, Jackson doesn't want me to exhaust myself, and besides, we were both too busy to stay with Grandpa in the past. Jackson and I talked about it, and I eventually decided that the best option for me is to stay at home and look after Grandpa, " replied Cherry. She thought, 'Although the Butler has been in the Chu Family for so many years already, I'm still somewhat unfamiliar with him; I don't know him too well, so I'd better not tell him anything about what's actually going on.'

"Oh, I understand now, " said the Butler, with the same smile shining on his face. He thought, 'Although I can almost figure out what the real reason for her staying at home is, I can't nail her lie because she deliberately conceals her true reasons from me. She's smarter than I thought she was, and it seems that she's able to deal with things quite well. She's more prudent than Sally, and she has her own judgement on what she should say and do. In this regard, she behaves much better than Sally ever did.'

He then went on to say, "It's not a bad thing if you stay at home, because you can look after Mr. Andrew now. Although he always says that he doesn't need to be taken care of, and that he's still healthy, he actually starts to get pretty old in recent years, and in his heart yearns to be close with his family members. I think it'll be better for him if you can manage to stay at home and look after him; besides, when he goes out for his afternoon walk, it'll be much better if you'll be at his side instead of me."

"You're right, that's what I also thought, " replied Cherry. She then quickly explained, "I didn't mean to imply that you don't do your job well, but I just want to do my duty as a member of the Chu Family."

When the Butler saw Cherry earnestly explaining herself to him, he felt somewhat happy in his heart. He then shook his hand, and replied to her, "Cherry, you don't have to explain anything to me. I'm already satisfied that I was able to stay at Mr. Andrew's side for so many years. When I was homeless and helpless in the past, the Chu Family took me in, and Mr. Andrew gave me a brand new start in life. I've stayed here for several decades now, and I consider this house as my home, so you don't have to regard me as an outsider."

Cherry understood that the Butler didn't mind her words and that she had unnecessarily worried about it, so she nodded her head and didn't say anything more to him.

When the Butler saw that she had fallen silent, he couldn't figure out what she was thinking about, because he didn't usually talk with her and didn't know her character well. He thought, 'Although she seems easy-going, I can feel that it'll take me some time to properly deal with her. She's not as foolish as most women are, and she's even capable to judge for herself, so I have to be careful about what I say or do in front of her.'

He then said, "Well, I have to go and buy some medicine for Mr. Andrew now. He'll soon run out of his hypotensive drugs, and I have to go and prepare some more for him at the drug store."

"Okay, just go on with what you have to do. As you said some moments ago, we belong to a same Family, so you don't have to stand on ceremony in front of me, " replied Cherry.

The Butler then praised her, and wearing the same smile on his face, said, "Alright! Cherry, I can now understand why Mr. Andrew is so fond of you. You're really a considerate and delightful woman!"

Cherry also smiled back at him in reply.

The Butler then turned around and left, and the moment that he turned his back to her, his smile on his face gradually disappeared; he was already scheming something in his mind.

Inside Mond's mansion, while Mond and Stephen were casually sitting on the sofa and discussing about the ZM Group's current affairs, the doorbell suddenly rang.

Mond and Stephen looked at each other, and then Stephen got up from his seat and stepped towards the door.

When he opened the door, he saw that the Chu Family's Butler was standing outside of it. He was a little stunned by his sudden appearance, and asked, "Why did you come here now?"

The Butler looked at him, and said, "I have something urgent to talk with Mr. Mond."

Stephen nodded and didn't say anything else. He then moved aside and let him step inside the house.

After the Butler went inside, he saw that Mond was sitting on the sofa. He politely greeted him, "Good afternoon, Mr. Mond."

"Shouldn't you be with Andrew Chu at this time?" asked Mond.

A smile then suddenly crept on the Butler's face, and as he looked at him, he said, "Mr. Mond, you should know that better than me."

He thought, 'If I'm not guessing wrong, then the reason why Cherry didn't go to work at the JS Group has to be related to him.'

Stephen, who had just returned to his seat, heard the Butler's words and immediately felt puzzled by them. He glanced at Mond, and asked, "What happened?"

But Mond didn't glance at him nor reply to him, and instead asked the Butler, "Is Cherry now staying in the Chu House instead of going to work?"

The Butler diligently nodded to him, and said, "Mr. Mond, you did quite a good job! You managed to let Jackson see you together with Cherry, and you got him so furious that he decided to prevent her from ever seeing you again. He locked her at home, and she can't work at the JS Group anymore."

Stephen gazed at the Butler with a look of astonishment in his eyes. He then stared at Mond, and asked, "What did you do?"