Chapter 42 The Unexpected Guest
As night fell, the afterglow of the evening sun shone through the windows into the house, staining the hand-woven Persian carpet that covered the floor.
Mr. and Mrs. White paced nervously in the living room. They had received a phone call from their eldest daughter half an hour ago and learned that she and her husband were coming to visit them tonight.
The old couple was taken aback by the sudden visit, and they racked their brains to figure out what was going on. They wondered what kind of scene Lanny and David would create at home.
Lanny's every move made the couple very wary. Their eldest daughter had been emotionally disturbed since she was a child. The situation became more severe after the birth of their youngest daughter, Bella. Whenever Mr. and Mrs. White showed care and love for Bella, Lanny would cause havoc in the house, accompanied by attacks on Bella, who was born without a wolf and could not withstand her sister's attacks and was always covered in bruises over her body.
The White couple took Lanny to many child behaviorists. They consulted with them, and the result was that Lanny, like many children, was intensely possessive of her parents. This possessiveness led them to attack potential competitors.
Mr. and Mrs. White deliberately ignore Bella to reduce Lanny's delinquent behavior. They favored Lanny at every turn, hoping that this would make Lanny feel safe enough not to attack her sister out of jealousy.
This worked at first, but Lanny became more demanding of the Whites and meaner to Bella. She gradually saw herself as the only child in the family and Bella as just a little servant.
"They spoiled Lanny." Mr. and Mrs. White often heard people talk about them like this behind their backs. They also regretted why they hadn't taken stern measures to correct Lanny when she was young. Now, it was too late.
***
The doorbell rang.
Mrs. White hurriedly got up to open the door. When the door was opened, she was surprised that the visitors were not Lanny and David but Bella and Edward.
Her mother's surprised look was all caught in Bella's eyes. She did not understand the reaction of her mother. Wasn't it normal for a daughter to visit her mother?
Bella didn't think much of it as she walked into the house and gave her parents the dinnerware.
"Just put it in the locker." Her father said.
Bella wanted to go up to them and hug them, but their coldness made her flinch. Her eyes were slightly sore, and she choked back a sob.
"Why do you buy dinnerware like this when we have so much of it in the house? This kind of product was only worth keeping as a display. We don't care to use it." Mrs. White said sarcastically.
Bella squeezed her coat tightly, suppressed her sorrow, and forced a smile that more like crying, "Sorry, mom. If you don't like it, I can take it back."
With her hands on the wheelchair, she said to Edward, "Let's go home."
Edward reached out to stop her and said to Mr. and Mrs. White, "Mom and dad, we bought a gift to visit you. So, we should at least have dinner before we leave."
"Wow! How do you have the nerve to say something like that?" She had just noticed Edward in the wheelchair. Mrs. White looked at him astonished and scolded, "You're such a loser. You can't even take care of yourself. You need to rely on our daughter to go out and work to support you, and you even use the money she worked hard to earn to buy gifts. Do you think we'll appreciate you?"
Edward's face did not show a hint of dissatisfaction after he heard his mother-in-law's insults.
On the contrary, Bella could not stand anyone's humiliation of her husband. She retorted, "Mom, please stop saying things like that, okay? Edward is not as bad as you think. He's working hard on his walking. He has a special doctor to help him recover, and when his legs are back to normal, he'll get a job. Am I right, Edward?"
Edward nodded to Bella.
But Mrs. White's focus was that Edward must have used Bella's money to hire a doctor. She cursed Edward for being an unashamed parasite.
"Stop talking nonsense," Mr. White yelled at Edward, "Do leave now. You're not welcome here!"
Bella gritted her teeth when she saw her parents treat Edward like this. She held her anger in her heart, ready to take Edward away by force.
At this moment, the doorbell rang again. The White couple looked at each other with blue faces.
Mr. White went to open the door at a heavy pace.
There was no doubt that the visitors must be Lanny and David. It seemed that a drama was inevitable tonight.
Mr. and Mrs. White were sighing silently. They had thought of driving the Bella and Edward away before Lanny and David arrived, but they hadn't expected them to come so quickly.
"Mom and Dad, I missed you so much!" Lanny gave her parents a big hug as soon as they entered the house. Her eyes flicked to Bella and Edward and sarcastically said, "Oh, it's my poor sister and brother-in-law. What brings you here? You didn't come here to rub it in because you're broke, did you?"
Bella was surprised at their arrival. Was it all a coincidence?
Bella was indifferent to her sister's provocation. She didn't want to start any conflict with her sister. She tried to leave with Edward first but was stopped by David.
David was holding a set of beautiful German Masonry, which he spent 20,000 dollars from the antique store. He did not want to spend so much money, but he wanted to show it off in front of his parents-in-law and Bella and put Edward down hard.
David presented the porcelain to Mrs. White, complimenting Mrs. White's gorgeous looks and noble temperament.
"Thank you, David. We are truly blessed to have such a good son-in-law like you," Mrs. White's eyes darted to Edward, "Unlike this handicapped man who sends gifts that are not upscale at all."
Edward heard these words and just smiled. In another five minutes, the real show was about to take place.
Five minutes later, the doorbell rang again.
What was wrong with tonight? Mr. and Mrs. White exchanged glances and shrugged. No one knew who the guest at the door was.
As soon as Mrs. White opened the door, she saw a courier holding a fine celadon vase. Her eyes glowed, and she hurriedly took the vase to look at it carefully, allowing no one to come near for fear that the vase would be knocked.
This celadon vase shape was thick and complete. The base was pure and unadulterated, with bright flowers, rich composition, and more layers but not chaos. The bottom of the vase was also printed with two lines of Chinese characters.
Mrs. White asked her husband to bring her presbyopic glasses and help her put them on. Mrs. White carefully studied the two lines of small characters for a long time. Her pupils suddenly dilated, and she exclaimed, "This is the Qing Dynasty produced celadon. It is the best of the best!"
Mrs. White gave the courier a 100-dollar tip and asked him who had delivered this.
"It's Edward Wilson." Andrew, dressed as a courier, left these words and turned to leave, breathing a long sigh of relief that the task was finally completed.