Chapter 584 - 580: A Little Trinket

Having asked, Emeric Grant didn’t feel awkward about it and decided to be direct. "Where’s Cecilia?"

Cecilia?

The nickname that slipped out of Emeric Grant’s mouth made Zelda Warner pause in confusion.

’Dr. Grant is calling her by her first name,’ she thought. It sounded a little strange to her. ’Are they really that close?’

But Zelda Warner clearly wasn’t wary of Emeric Grant. She just assumed he was asking out of a doctor’s concern for her, so she smiled, shook her head, and explained, "No, I’m fine going out by myself now. I don’t need someone with me all the time."

Emeric Grant nodded without a change in expression. "Thank you for the Full Moon Fruit."

Zelda Warner didn’t think any more of it, said goodbye, and left.

Emeric Grant sat in his chair, his expression slightly somber as he mulled something over. After a long moment, he picked up his phone and opened his chat history with Cecilia Sterling, but his finger froze in midair, unsure of what to send.

Cecilia hadn’t initiated any messages with him these past few days, either.

He glanced up and saw the Full Moon Fruit on the table. After a moment’s hesitation, he took a picture of it and sent it to Cecilia.

"Your sister-in-law just dropped off some Full Moon Fruit."

After the message was sent, the suppressed anticipation in Emeric Grant’s heart swelled. He stared intently at the screen, hoping to use the two bags of Full Moon Fruit to start a new conversation with Cecilia.

But Cecilia’s reply was blunt and unabashed.

"Miss me?"

Emeric Grant stared at the two words, momentarily stunned. But then the image of Cecilia’s face came to mind, and he smiled.

’That’s so Cecilia,’ he thought. ’Seeing right through him and calling him out without holding back, cutting straight through all the unnecessary pretense.’

That was just the kind of person she was. Why beat around the bush when the intention was the same? She must have understood the underlying message—the signal—his text carried.

Her directness made him feel like he’d been caught red-handed.

Emeric Grant no longer hesitated. He replied directly, "Yes, I miss you a little."

"Just a little?" Cecilia pressed.

The smile on Emeric Grant’s face widened, and he typed back his true feelings without reservation, "More than a little. I miss you a lot."

On her way to Phoebe’s one-month celebration, Cecilia couldn’t help but smile at the message. Her nails went TAP-TAP-TAP on her phone’s keyboard. "Then you can keep thinking about it. I’m busy today."

Emeric Grant wasn’t the least bit angry at her reply. Instead, he sent back a doting, single-word response: "Okay."

The car slowly pulled to a stop at the entrance of Aetherium. Cecilia Sterling got out, carrying a custom-made longevity lock for Phoebe that cost over a hundred Dollars. The main entrance was already decorated with magnificent balloons and an archway.

"Celebrating Princess Phoebe’s One-Month Birthday!"

Cecilia couldn’t help but smile as she looked at the scrolling text and Phoebe’s picture on the screen.

On the banquet floor, the most luxurious hall was already buzzing with activity. Although Wesley Yates wasn’t present, the guests attending Phoebe’s one-month celebration today were numerous and varied.

Besides the Yates family’s friends and relatives, there were also high-level executives from the corporation, the loyal men Wesley Yates had left to protect Cecilia, and of course, close friends like Mr. Young.

When Cecilia arrived, she happened to run into Mr. Young in the elevator.

He was dressed in a suit, clutching a thick red envelope. They exchanged a smile as soon as they saw each other. After Cecilia greeted him, Mr. Young looked at the item in her hand and asked with a grin, "What’s that you’re carrying?"

Cecilia glanced at the red envelope in Mr. Young’s hand, estimating it probably held ten or twenty Dollars. Considering the current value of the currency, that was indeed a considerable amount.

She smiled slyly and said in a deliberately mysterious tone, "You’ll find out in a bit."

"Playing mysterious with me?" Mr. Young scoffed, looking as if he had already figured it out. "It’s for Phoebe, isn’t it?"

Cecilia nodded. Just then, the elevator arrived. After they stepped out, they walked about ten meters and saw Mrs. Yates and her younger daughter-in-law—Tony Yates’s wife—at the registration table.

A few people were lined up in front, presenting their gift money envelopes. Mrs. Yates was greeting each one personally, smiling so widely her eyes crinkled shut.

It wasn’t that she needed the money, but on an occasion like this, it was hard not to feel happy and festive.

’Who doesn’t like receiving gifts?’

Mr. Young, standing in front of Cecilia, craned his neck to watch for a moment, then turned back and whispered, "I took a look. It’s mostly just token gifts to save face. None of them are even a full Dollar."

Cecilia smiled without speaking. ’Giving a whole Dollar is like giving ten thousand,’ she thought. ’You’d have to have a really close relationship and be quite well-off to be willing to do that, right?’

’With my brother gone, the fact that so many people came is already a huge show of respect. As long as the gift amounts are decent, it’s fine.’

"Oh my, Young, Cecilia, you’re here!"

Mrs. Yates finally spotted the two of them and hurried over with a cheerful grin. Mr. Young took the opportunity to hand her the red envelope. "Auntie, just a little something. I wanted to share in little Phoebe’s good fortune."

Mrs. Yates was a sharp woman. After taking the envelope, she gave it a casual squeeze and instantly knew from its thickness that it was substantial. She immediately had her younger daughter-in-law open it and record the amount.

When the envelope was opened, a stack of crisp, new one-Dollar bills was pulled out, startling Tony Yates’s wife, Summer Lynn.

"Whoa, Mom, this is so much!"

Even though Mrs. Yates had been prepared for a generous gift, she hadn’t expected this much.

"Oh, Young, this is far too much!" Mrs. Yates was thrilled, but she put on a pained expression. "You shouldn’t have spent so much. The thought is what counts."

"It’s nothing, Auntie, really. Jeb and I go way back, and with Phoebe being born at a time like this... she deserves a little extra," Mr. Young said sincerely.

At the mention of this, Mrs. Yates’s eyes reddened again. But before she could start crying, her younger daughter-in-law, Summer Lynn, exclaimed, "Mom, it’s thirty Dollars!"

The announcement stopped her tears in their tracks.

Thirty Dollars?

’That’s so much!’

Mrs. Yates’s reaction made the people waiting in line behind them awkwardly clutch their own pockets.

’What kind of decent person gives thirty Dollars for a one-month celebration?’ they thought.

Mr. Young deliberately glanced back at the people behind him, his gaze finally landing on Cecilia. He said with a chuckle, "Cecilia, your uncle here didn’t discuss the red envelope with you beforehand. Don’t feel any pressure. You’re from the younger generation, you don’t need to give as much as I did."

"Mr. Young, today is Phoebe’s one-month celebration. I’m her aunt, not some junior member of the younger generation," Cecilia said, directly handing what she was carrying to Mrs. Yates. "Auntie, I didn’t bring any gift money today. I prepared a ’little trinket’ for Phoebe instead."

Hearing it was just a "little trinket," Mrs. Yates didn’t think much of it and took it from her. But as her arm dipped under the weight, she exclaimed in surprise, "Whoa, this is heavy! Cecilia, what did you buy?"

"A longevity lock. I had it custom-made for Phoebe at a gold shop," Cecilia explained casually.

Mrs. Yates’s eyes went wide. "A longevity lock? This heavy?"

Cecilia smiled. "It’s not that heavy. 5,000 grams, only about eleven pounds. She can’t wear it, of course. It’s for her to keep for her dowry one day."

Standing to the side, Mr. Young was completely dumbfounded.

’Not that heavy.’

’5,000 grams?’

’Only about eleven pounds?’