I am aging gracefully in the world of famous books

Suddenly saw a face that appeared in a dream, although there was a little discrepancy, it was enough to attract Pei Xiang's attention.

She resisted the urge to catch up with the little boy immediately, and waited quietly for the manservant to settle the wages of all the temporary employees, and then pretended to come quickly from the sloped lawn.

"Miss Meredith, what can I do for you?" Seeing Pei Xiang who suddenly appeared, the servant asked politely after being slightly startled.

"Oh, which direction is the conservatory? I heard that Mrs. Constance and Mrs. Lincoln are over there, and I'm going to find them. But I've been walking for a long time, but I haven't seen that place full of flowers. Ladies lounge."

The male servant suddenly looked surprised. He glanced at the direction Pei Xiang was coming from, and said with a smile:

"Miss Meredith may have chosen the wrong direction at the second fork. If you had taken the path on the right, you must have met Mrs. Constance and Mrs. Lincoln by now."

"Then where am I now? I just seemed to see some people busy, so I slowed down."

"There is a narrow tree-lined road in front of you. Go back along the narrow tree-lined road and you will reach the flower house."

"What about the other side?"

"If you continue to go forward, it is the route back to the main house."

Pei Xiang nodded slightly, indicating that he had written down the direction.After expressing her gratitude to the gentleman who guided the way with a smile, she changed her tone and asked curiously and concerned about the scene she had just seen:

"Excuse me, I accidentally saw a child working among a group of adults. Well, which family's child is that? How do you do such hard work?"

As soon as the servant heard this, he knew what Pei Xiang wanted to ask.

To be honest, before he had seen little Hummel's great strength with his own eyes, he also felt that it was a bit ridiculous or too cruel to let such a thin child do the same physical work as a grown man.

"Oh, the child that Miss Meredith saw was the eldest son of the Hummel family, Ace Hummel. That kid is only 11 years old this year, but his strength is no worse than that of an adult, and he is particularly careful and prudent in doing things. After Mr. Moffat learned of little Hummel's situation, he specifically told us that if there is a job that requires temporary employment, give little Hummel a chance to make money, who would let the child be in a pitiful situation."

"Ace Hummel..." Pei Xiang carefully wrote down the name, and then asked slowly, "Is that Hummel from Germany? There is only a sick mother and seven young children at home .and the father of the children, um, Mr. Hummel, died in an accident earlier."

"Yes, it's their home."

Seeing that Pei Xiang was interested in this topic, the manservant told more about what he knew.

"In winter, Ace's child was seriously ill. He almost didn't survive the time. The doctors gave up and only asked Mrs. Hummel to prepare mentally. But God had mercy on the family and sent mercy to Ace who was in a coma. Overcome the disease.

"After Ace regained his health, in order to support Mrs. Hummel's family, he came out to do odd jobs to make money. He is strong and not lazy. Gradually, some people are willing to hire the child, and this is also to help the poor Mrs Hummel and her children."

Hearing this, Pei Xiang sighed softly and said with emotion:

"Many of the residents here are really generous and kind. It is also because of everyone's help that I have a stable life today."

The servant immediately showed a proud expression, and he said happily:

"Helping others can always bring endless happiness. Good deeds are more precious than treasures. This is God's teaching to his people. We have always kept it in mind and worked hard for it."

Pei Xiang nodded in agreement, and then asked a few questions about Ace Hummel's past experience with concern.It's a pity that the manservant didn't know much, and what he could discuss with Pei Xiang was only general information.As for more specific details, he didn't pay special attention to them.

After bidding farewell to the male servant, Pei Xiang did not immediately return to the living room as originally planned, but went to the bustling greenhouse.She chatted with the ladies for a while about clothing fabrics and the latest social gossip, drank another glass of sweet and sour fruit juice, and then got up to leave.

When Pei Xiang finally returned to the ball room, Laurie was already a little restless, and he breathed a sigh of relief only when he caught a glimpse of Pei Xiang's graceful figure approaching.

"Thank God, I thought you were crying outside because you couldn't dance."

Pei Xiang laughed angrily and said, "As long as you don't make lovely Meg cry, I won't cry because of trivial things like forgetting how to dance."

Laurie smiled sheepishly, and said guiltily:

"I was inconsiderate because I was too surprised before. Some things, uh, I regretted them after I said them. It was really rude and indecent. But fortunately, during the time when you disappeared miraculously, Meg and I have reconnected."

Standing in front of the window with Laurie, Pei Xiang said while looking at the people laughing and relaxed on the dance floor:

"I'm relieved to hear you've made up. I know what you're worried about, Laurie, but I think you ought to trust a girl brought up by Mrs. March. She might try something new out of novelty." , but will never forget what is the most precious."

Laurie nodded thoughtfully, and then he didn't want to mention the little conflict before, so he changed the subject and said:

"Amy, I noticed that Ned of the Moffats was very flirtatious. He flirted with Meg first, and then he kept courting you all the time, and you didn't seem to resent it, and you actually had a very speculative chat with him. I May I ask, what wonderful words and phrases did that gentleman say that you admire so much?"

Pei Xiang raised his eyebrows: "Admiration? That's out of the question. However, some conversations between him and Ms. Gardner did give me a lot of hints. It can be seen that whether a passage is wonderful or not is not only related to the passage itself. It is related to the content of the content, and it is also related to what the listener gets from it.”

Laurie snorted softly: "In my humble opinion, no one will gain insight from pompous and boring words."

"This kind of thing is not absolute," Pei Xiang retorted with a smile. "On the other hand, there will always be some people who are unmoved and fall asleep with their heads covered even after listening to the "Declaration of Independence."

Laurie frowned and muttered, "It's really cunning logic. Amy, don't tell me that your 'strong words' are defending Ned Moffat, that idle guy."

"Of course I'm not defending him." Pei Xiang glanced at the worrying young man with a smile, and gave him a reassurance. "I'm just talking about the facts, and I didn't put any extra emotion on the relevant characters."

"So you've given up on the flattery of Moffat and his friends?"

"What are you worried about, Laurie?" Pei Xiangming asked knowingly.

"Maybe I was frightened by Meg's mature appearance and sudden change tonight," Laurie looked helplessly at Meg, who was bouncing around on the dance floor with a slightly drunken smile, and said with a little distress, "Just like that all at once. I suddenly realized that my sisters are growing up, maybe, no, they must face the eternal multiple-choice question of money and love. Of course, it would be better if they can have the best of both worlds.”

"I infer from your expression that you think a rich young man like Mr. Ned Moffat is not a good match for Meg?"

"And you, Amy."

Pei Xiang smiled sweetly, and promised to Laurie who had thought a lot tonight:

"Don't worry, my brother, I will never marry someone I don't love, or a man I don't really respect."

These words made Laurie's eyebrows relaxed, and a sense of relief came from the bottom of his heart.

But after a short pause, Pei Xiang continued to explain her view of love:

"Although I have amnesia, I know that a woman must treat herself kindly. Therefore, it doesn't matter even if I love the wrong person or marry the wrong person. Anything that makes me unhappy, just break up. Stop the loss in time, and the next one will be better .”

Laurie: "..."

The sense of relief disappeared in an instant, and Laurie suddenly didn't know where to start.

At this time, Major Lincoln came over to ask Pei Xiang to dance. After Pei Xiang explained his special situation clearly, he chatted with this stable and decent officer.

She is quick-witted and talkative, with a wide range of interests, and even if she lacks a lot of common sense, considering her confused memory and outstanding beauty, no one would find it boring to talk to her, especially a bachelor like Major Lincoln. A man with a sense of justice and compassion.

Laurie watched Pei Xiang in silence while smiling softly while controlling the initiative of the conversation with ease. At this moment, he was more curious about the identity and experience of this girl before she lost her memory, and he began to worry about Pei Xiang's future from another angle. marital status.

At the end of the dance, the two bid farewell to Meg, and then left the Moffat house together in a carriage.

On the way, Pei Xiang admired the night view of the town through the car window.

When the carriage passed by the entrance of a store, she happened to catch a glimpse of Ace Hummel limping along the side of the road. Through the little light in front of the store window, Pei Xiang saw the child in a state of distress .

Little Hummel's clothes were more ragged and dirty than before, with mud spots on his face, and his short sleeves completely exposed his scarred hands, and he suffered some kind of injury on his leg. The journey was slow and laborious.

"Stop, stop!"

"What's the matter, Amy?" Laurie asked puzzled as the carriage gradually stopped.

"Look at that kid," Pei Xiang pointed to Laurie, "it's so late, let's give him a ride."

Laurie didn't have such good eyesight as Pei Xiang. He tried his best to look at the slowly moving little figure, but he didn't see clearly the distress and scars on the other person's body, but he could preliminarily judge that it was a poor child who didn't come home late at night.

"Well, of course we want to take such a little guest," Laurie nodded without hesitation, and asked curiously while opening the car door, "Do you know that kid? Do you know where he lives?"

While staring at Ace Hummel outside the car, Pei Xiang replied in a low voice:

"That's Ace Hummels. Do you remember the Humels? Mrs. March is very concerned about the family and visits Mrs. Hummels and her children from time to time. Ace should be the Humels." boss."

"Oh, the Hummels, of course I know."

Laurie jumped out of the carriage. He recalled that the reason he became acquainted with the March family was because those kind and lovely girls gave their beloved Christmas breakfast to the impoverished Humel family. He couldn't help showing a warm smile meaning.

"Okay, just follow Ms. Amy's instructions, and I'll go and invite our little Mr. Hummel to the carriage."

While speaking, Ace Hummel, who was left behind by the carriage, gradually approached.He ignored the carriage that stopped suddenly, and he had no intention of asking for help. Instead, he avoided the direction away from the carriage, letting his thin figure quietly hide in the shadows.

Seeing this, Pei Xiang, who was sitting in the carriage, raised his eyebrows slightly.She confirmed once again that this child who looks very similar to Cuicui has a very strong sense of vigilance, and... She guessed that Laurie would not be able to invite him into the carriage.

Sure enough, Laurie approached Ace Hummel, bent slightly to talk to him, and pointed to the location where the carriage was parked.But the child hiding in the shadows just shook his head silently, and had no intention of following Laurie into the carriage.

Even Ace Hummel secretly assumed an attacking posture, presumably in case Laurie suddenly turned into a human trafficker

After visually comparing the force values ​​of Laurie Lawrence and Ace Hummel, Pei Xiang also got off the carriage in order to prevent the older one from being frightened, frustrated and injured.

"Mr. Hummel, hello, I'm Amy Meredith, nice to meet you. May I have the honor to invite you for a ride?"

Ace Hummel, who has a pair of calm and indifferent black eyes, looked at the beautiful girl who came slowly, and felt that she was very kind.More importantly, his intuition told Ace Hummel that he couldn't beat her right now.

Calmly withdrew his small action of always preparing to fight back, Es Hummel pursed his lips and responded:

"I am Ace Hummel. Thank you for the invitation, Miss Meredith, but I would prefer to walk alone."

——Ace didn't want to stay in a closed space with strange and unknown humans.

Pei Xiang seemed to have expected that she would be rejected a long time ago. She smiled lightly and didn't try to persuade her any more. Instead, she said in a gentle voice as she usually greets each other:

"In that case, I shall say good night to you, and wish you all the best, little sir. Let us go, Laurie."

Laurie also felt that he was being regarded by the boy as a villain.While he felt that a handsome young man like himself should not be misunderstood in this way, he felt that it was good for the child to be vigilant.

So, when Pei Xiang beckoned Laurie to go back to the carriage, he subconsciously responded, then turned around and left.

But after he walked a few steps, he felt uneasy again, so he couldn't help but look back.

At this sight, just in time for Ace Hummel to look at him and Pei Xiang's complicated eyes, Laurie's heart suddenly softened. He mistakenly thought that this stubborn and alert child actually wanted to get help.

With this in mind, Laurie simply stopped and tried to look at Ace in a mess with a friendly smile and peaceful and tolerant eyes, hoping that he could feel kindness from himself.

Ace Hummel did not hide in the shadows this time to avoid Laurie's sight, but took two steps closer to observe Pei Xiang and Laurie seriously.When he saw this man and woman standing side by side and preparing to leave, he suddenly felt strong reluctance and dissatisfaction, but he didn't know why.

After a moment of silence, Laurie tentatively asked:

"Little guy, Mrs. Hummel must be waiting for you to go back at home as soon as possible. How about letting me take you in a carriage? If you arrive home earlier, your mother and younger siblings will be more at ease."

This time, Ace Hummel did not refuse Laurie's invitation to ride with him.

He raised his hand and wiped the mud marks on his face with his sleeve, stretched the crumpled skirt of his clothes, and then limped towards Pei Xiang and Laurie, and stood between them skillfully and calmly.

Pei Xiang looked down at the little boy's facial features that resembled Cuicui, couldn't help but gently took his little hand, and frowned slightly at the various scars on the boy's hands.

After getting in the car, because of the natural intimacy in his heart, Ace Hummel really wanted to sit side by side with Pei Xiang.But he looked down at his dirty clothes and hands, and after a moment of hesitation, he finally forced himself to sit with Laurie.