Chapter 8 Enrollment (2)
1227 Words
"Ms. Aliana, it's going to get better."
Luke spoke straightforwardly.
He felt that Aliana was not thinking like a mediocre child.
Luke believed the precocious and sensible Aliana would understand what he meant.
He was right.
Aliana nodded, quickly wiped her eyes, and once again looked at Luke with a smile.
Seeing Aliana like this made Luke's heart ache even more.
He let out a long sigh.
Luke rubbed Aliana's head.
"Ms. Aliana, I'll go get your lunch. Please wait a moment."
Luke adjusted his mood and returned to his usual work state. He respectfully bowed to Aliana before he turned away to get her lunch.
Aliana's attention was immediately back on her cell phone and laptop.
She rummaged through her shopping bag to see the invoice inside.
As she expected, there was no invoice at all.
Joshua had prejudged her reaction.
The invoice was delivered to Joshua immediately after the purchase.
Aliana froze for a moment.
Hastily grabbing her phone, she downloaded eBay and scanned the laptop.
Moving closer to the screen, she squinted and counted carefully.
She gasped at the price.
Seeing the price clearly, Aliana moved backward.
Uncertain, she counted it again...
She could not believe it.
She was thousands of dollars in debt at such a young age.
Aliana was suddenly desperate.
Hanging her head down, she opened her laptop and downloaded software to edit short videos.
Aliana, who was still gloomy, adjusted her mind, clicked on the software, and tried the functions inside.
On her cell phone, she also downloaded an app that would be a worldwide hit in the future.
Aliana set a firm goal in her heart.
She squinted her eyes like a little old man and worked hard to get familiar with the software.
***
The next morning, Aliana opened her eyes in a daze.
She was awakened by Luke's knock on the door.
"Ms. Aliana! Mr. Joshua said he was going to take you to school, so you need to get up and wash up quickly now."
"I see."
Getting out of the covers with great difficulty, Aliana rubbed her face and forced herself to wake up.
Quickly, she found her cleanest and most decent clothes from the closet and put them on.
She tied her hair in a ponytail.
And then she appeared in the dining room with such a brisk look.
Joshua sipped his coffee as he looked at the work messages on his phone.
He heard Aliana's footsteps and didn't look up at her.
"Hurry up and eat. I don't have much time. We'll just meet with the principal, and then you'll be in school all day today. The school bag, stationery, and other things are ready. Carry it yourself."
"Got it."
The conversation between the two was stiff and brief.
This bunch of words instantly made the atmosphere awkward to the extreme.
The servants poked their heads out of the kitchen from time to time to look into the dining room.
There were doubts in their eyes.
"What's going on? Why is the relationship between Ms. Aliana and Mr. Joshua getting worse?"
"Yesterday, someone working the morning shift heard Ms. Aliana arguing with Mr. Hugh and Mr. Joshua in the dining room. That's why they are so awkward today."
"What? Ms. Aliana had a fight with Mr. Joshua? I don't believe it."
"But it's not impossible. Yesterday, when I was cleaning up the garbage in Ms. Aliana's room, I saw a sachet in her garbage can that she made for Mr. Joshua. She threw it away before it was finished."
This news directly made the servants' mouths wide open.
The servants witnessed Aliana doing a lot for this family.
They felt sorry for Aliana, so they often helped her.
The servants were confused about the situation now.
They wondered if Aliana had given up on getting along with her family.
Some of the soft-hearted ones were about to cry.
They lifted their sleeves and wiped their eyes.
Meanwhile, they sighed.
"What a pitiful kid!"
Aliana ate her breakfast in low spirits. She only ate one egg and drank a glass of milk. And then she jumped down from her chair and went to the living room to get her school bag.
Joshua finished his last sip of coffee.
After putting down his cup, he headed straight for the door.
Aliana followed him, climbing into the car with some difficulties.
Seeing that she hadn't closed the car door yet, Joshua turned to look at Aliana in annoyance.
She was facing him and had just climbed in. She had not yet seated herself.
The words of reprimand caught in his throat.
This made Joshua feel particularly uncomfortable.
"Move fast! Don't waste time."
Aliana didn't bother to retort.
After sitting upright, she reached out her short little hands and slammed the door shut with all her might.
By the time she was done, Aliana was already exhausted.
She now really didn't have any strength to argue with Joshua.
The moment the door was closed, Joshua signaled the driver to drive away.
He kept frowning.
There were faint dark circles under his eyes.
His head throbbed painfully.
Squinting uncomfortably, he put down his cell phone and began to take a nap.
Beside him, Aliana smelled of cheap shampoo.
She asked Luke for it.
But the scent gradually eased Joshua's crankiness that had lasted a whole night.
It even reduced his headache.
In the past, with this scent, Aliana would massage his head.
At that time, her eyes were full of worry, and her hands were gentle.
Even when her hands were sore, she would continue to massage Joshua until he fell asleep.
Asleep?
Joshua's eyes opened in an instant.
He looked at Aliana, who was sitting quietly on the side.
She was too thin. She hugged her schoolbag and leaned against the back of the chair.
She was watching the scenery outside the window.
Her clothes seemed to be the ones that Leia had worn for some time and abandoned.
Her undernourished yellow hair was nearly transparent in the sunlight.
Joshua felt an unprecedented heartache.
He thought, "Since when did this little one stop pouting at me?"
Obviously, in the past, she would use a soft voice to ask him for what she wanted.
Later, she suddenly became sensible. She served him tea and water. Because of his insomnia, she developed a sleep aid tea that suited him and even learned to massage.
Joshua had a lump in his throat.
Aliana was still looking out the window.
The sun was shining today.
She felt as if she was lying on that mountain with a stunning view in her previous life.
The sky was blue, and the sunshine was warm.
She couldn't help but raise a hand.
Opening her palm, she wanted to touch the white clouds that floated across the blue sky.
She recalled the beautiful memories before she died.
"Aliana..."
The moment Aliana lifted her hand, Joshua started to panic, his heart in his throat.
He called Aliana's name shakily.
He felt Aliana was so distant from him at that moment.
His heart ached for her.
Joshua thought, "Why do I still feel she is so unreal when she is right in front of me?"
Joshua breathed heavily, and he reached out to touch his sister.
The car came to a screeching halt.
"Mr. Joshua, we've arrived."
- Writer
