From Sneers to Cheers: Anthea’s Ascent (Anthea )

The butler glanced back at Gerard, "Gerard, are you really clueless?"

"I haven't got a clue," Gerard said, shaking his head in bewilderment, seemingly oblivious to everything.

The Lindsay family had their own personal jet. Once they were at the airport, the jet took off directly for Capital City.

Throughout the flight, Gerard showed no particular emotion, his attention glued to his laptop.

Landing back in Capital City, it was past one in the morning.

The Lindsay estate was ablaze with lights.

Just as Gerard stepped into the foyer, a glass came hurtling through the air. This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.

"Crash." The glass shattered on the floor right before him.

Narrowing his eyes, Gerard continued to walk inside.

There sat Janet, fuming on the sofa, her face a thundercloud.

"What's got into Grandma?" Gerard approached with a smile and sat beside Janet, "Who's gone and ruffled the feathers of our matriarch?"

"Spill it." Janet demanded, her face stern, "Where have you been?"

"I was over at Cloudcrest," Gerard didn't hide it.

"And what business do you have in Cloudcrest?" Janet's anger was palpable, "Do you even care about me, your grandmother?"

His independence was growing.

Now he dared to sneak off to Cloudcrest without her knowledge.

Was his next move to bring that wench Carole home?

Gerard was taken aback, frowning, "Grandma, what are you talking about? I just went to Cloudcrest for a bit of fun with some classmates. How does that translate to not caring about you? Am I not allowed to visit Cloudcrest?"

"Weren't you supposed to go to Saltwater Metropolis?" Janet kept her gaze fixed on Gerard.

Gerard explained, "Originally, we were headed to Saltwater Metropolis, but my classmate claimed that Cloudcrest's Solstice Mountain was the peak of natural beauty, and he had relatives there, so we changed plans. Grandma, we went to Solstice Mountain yesterday afternoon, it was breathtaking. We even took photos, want to see how pretty it is?"

With that, Gerard pulled out his phone and showed her a photo.

The background was Cloudcrest's famous Solstice Mountain.

Janet's furrowed brow softened slightly at the sight.

Could it be that the boy really just went to Cloudcrest for a holiday?

Had she misunderstood?

It made sense, after all, nobody had ever breathed a word to Gerard about Carole.

Out of the blue, how could he possibly know about Carole in Cloudcrest?

Perhaps she was just being oversensitive.

"Who's this?" Janet pointed at a stranger in the photo.

Gerard introduced them, "That's my classmate's relative. This is his cousin, and here's my classmate, and this one is another classmate's friend."

Janet nodded.

She remembered Gerard's classmate whose family had good money. They weren't as wealthy as hers, but they still held some clout in Capital City.

Janet had no objections to Gerard fraternizing with this classmate.

As the conversation trailed off, Gerard added, "Grandma, did you urgently call me back for something?"

A sheepish smile played on Janet's lips, "Nothing urgent, I was just worried about you. Didn't you say you were going to Saltwater Metropolis? Then suddenly you're off to Cloudcrest, I feared you'd been duped."

"I'm to blame for that." Gerard admitted guiltily, "I got carried away with the adventure, completely enchanted by Solstice Mountain, and I should have let you know in advance. Oh, and Grandma, I even got you this enchanted crystal bracelet from Solstice Mountain. The hermit there said it's especially good for the elderly, for peace and safety. See if you like it."

Saying so, Gerard pulled out a small wooden box from his backpack.

The crystal bracelet was indeed from Solstice Mountain.

But it wasn't purchased by Gerard on his trip.

In fact, Gerard had never been to Solstice Mountain.

The photo was photoshopped.

Both the crystal bracelet and the photo were prepared by Gerard in advance, just in case.

He hadn't expected that they would actually come in handy.

Ever since witnessing how Edna and her daughter Darleen fawned over Janet, Gerard knew that keeping up appearances was crucial when dealing with Janet.

After all, Darleen could make Janet beam with joy over a ten-dollar pack of insoles.

As it turned out, he was right.

This tactic worked wonders on Janet.

Gerard's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

Cloudcrest was a destination he was sure to visit again.

When Janet took the crystal bracelet from the wooden box, a deep sense of guilt welled up inside her.

She had suspected that Gerard had gone to Cloudcrest to find Carole.

Yet here he was, simply on a trip to Cloudcrest.

And even while enjoying himself, he hadn't forgotten about her.