Ever since Grace Bennett received the ‘imperial sword’ from Mr. Carter, William Carter’s little affairs had practically become his source of entertainment. Watching William Carter fail job interviews again and again seemed to satisfy Grace Bennett’s mischievous tastes every time. Luckily, he was a man; otherwise, matchmaking for others would surely have become his greatest hobby.

As for this little scheme of Grace Bennett, William Carter knew it all too well, so after hanging up the phone, he turned it off right away to avoid being harassed by that guy.

He slept straight through until sunset before getting up to wash his face. When he turned on his phone, he was surprised to hear over a dozen text alerts ring out in succession—turns out they were all missed calls from Europe.

“Dad?”

He knew his dad’s temper better than anyone. After failing to reach him with more than a dozen calls, who knows how anxious he must be by now. If his father weren’t still over at his second sister’s place and too far away to do anything, he’d probably have already stormed over and kicked down the door.

Thinking of his dad fuming in Europe, William Carter shivered, quickly changed clothes, and got ready to go out and find a payphone. This was an international call, and the prepaid credit on his phone wouldn’t last more than a few minutes...

Chapter Four: [Willow Catkins and Alice Green]

As soon as he pushed open his door, he saw the door across the hall open as well, and a slender figure stepped out.

“Hi there?”

William Carter nodded. The family across the hall had just moved in; it seemed there was no man in the house, only a young woman with a child about two or three years old. And the woman was very young and beautiful—if not for the child, nine out of ten people would probably think she was still unmarried.

In the city, it’s common to live door-to-door for years without knowing your neighbor’s surname, let alone when the neighbor is a young, attractive woman. She was probably either a young widow or recently divorced; even if you kept your distance, gossip was inevitable. So although William Carter had seen her a few times, their interactions were limited to nods and smiles, and a few empty exchanges like “Hi there,” “Have you eaten?” or “Heading out?”

“Hi there, going out?”

The pretty neighbor was struggling to drag a bag out the door; at the same time, a small figure slipped out from under her arm, ran up to William Carter, and tilted her head to look at him: “Hello, uncle!”

She was an adorable little girl, with big eyes and fair skin, and those crescent-moon eyes sparkled as if hiding countless mischievous ideas.

“Uh, hello there, kiddo.”

Originally, William Carter had planned to just say hi and leave, but now he felt a bit embarrassed. He genuinely liked this little girl, so he affectionately patted her head and chuckled, “Why are you taking the child out and carrying so much stuff? Looks pretty heavy…”

Seeing William Carter address her, the woman looked up, blushing slightly, and said, “It’s getting late, I have to set up my stall…”

“Set up a stall?” David Carter was taken aback, sizing up his beautiful neighbor. They’d been neighbors for several days, but this was the first time he’d looked at her for so long.

Long, loose black hair, slightly parted red lips, a delicate oval face, slender fragrant shoulders… Her dress was a bit old, but on her, it outshone any celebrity or supermodel.

Natural beauty is hard to hide…

William Carter stared for a moment, though he was definitely not a lovesick fool like Little Grace. It was just that seeing such a beautiful woman in such circumstances made him feel a bit indignant on her behalf.

“Are you going to the flea market to set up a stall?”

William Carter quickly realized his lapse and withdrew his gaze, changing the subject. Judging by her gear and the time, he guessed there was an eighty or ninety percent chance that’s where she was headed.

“Yes, yes! Auntie takes Alice Green to the flea market every day. There’s so much yummy food there…”

Hearing William Carter’s question, the little girl answered cheerfully. In her eyes, the flea market was the best place ever—there was lotus seed porridge, fragrant grilled skewers, and sweet, icy stir-fried desserts…

“Auntie?” William Carter was surprised again.

“She’s my sister’s child…” As she spoke, the woman’s eyes reddened and she unconsciously lowered her head.

“Oh…”

Judging by her expression, there was clearly some unspoken sorrow. William Carter naturally didn’t want to pry, but it also felt awkward to just leave, so he pointed at the big bag and smiled, “Haha, you’re taking care of a child and carrying all this heavy stuff? I’m heading downstairs anyway, let me help you carry it.”

“Oh, I couldn’t possibly…”

The woman blinked, tempted but a bit shy. The quick change in her expression made William Carter guess kindly that she was probably still a young girl, and rather bashful at that.

“What’s the harm? We’re neighbors—helping each other out is no big deal. Isn’t there a saying, ‘A close neighbor is better than a distant relative’? By the way, my name is William Carter.”

As he spoke, William Carter picked up the bag. Seeing how easily he lifted it, as if it weighed nothing, little Alice Green got excited, clapping her hands and saying, “Uncle is so strong, amazing! With uncle’s help, auntie won’t have to work so hard anymore.”

“Alice Green, don’t say such things…”