When I Was A Wallflower

Chapter 228

were not many residents in the village or any special entertainment. The most the middle-aged and older folks did was group exercises, and they had almost dispersed.There were one or two that saw how luxurious Amelie’s car was and came forward to have a look. So, she had no choice but to lower her window.“Oh, it’s you, Elie.”The two lived near Amelie’s home, so they recognized her and greeted her with bright smiles. Following that, they looked at her car from all angles while commenting, “Have you made a fortune? This is such a great car.”The villagers were different from before and were now more knowledgeable. Therefore, many of the elderly villagers could recognize luxurious cars.As Amelie did not drive her car on her last visit, the two elderly women were surprised when they saw her car.She was anxious to get home but still smiled at them before greeting them politely, “Mrs. Olson, Mrs. Drew.”The two nodded, and Mrs. Drew reached out her oily hand that was used to doing chores and patted Amelie’s shoulder. “Elie, you must’ve come here to pick up your dad, right? That’s a good idea.”Hearing her mentioning Steven, Amelie thought about what Matthew had said and asked, “What happened to my dad?”“You mean that matter? Jeez! I even feel embarrassed just talking about it!” Mrs. Drew used her wrinkly hand to cover her face, but she was giggling.Meanwhile, Mrs. Olson was calmer. She also placed her hand on Amelie’s car window and explained, “Elie, your dad used to seem upright, but how did he turn into such a person? Men do develop bad habits after getting rich. After your dad sold his artwork and earned some money, he started to… His lifestyle became…Gosh!”When Amelie heard it was about her dad’s lifestyle, she was not as anxious anymore. She was worried about her dad’s health deteriorating or him getting into trouble. Since her dad stayed alone his whole life for her, it was reasonable that he wanted to find someone to accompany him during his last years.Therefore, she supported that idea.In the meantime, Mrs. Olson was still criticizing. “How can he do such a thing? Even if he wants a new wife, he should’ve found one that suits him. Why did he have to find such… Gosh!”The two could not bear to continue anymore and asked Amelie to head home and see for herself. Without wasting any more time, she drove toward her home.Since the last time they returned, Steven retrieved the old house he used to live in and moved back in. After arriving, Amelie parked her car and jumped out. Then, she pushed the old wooden door open without being bothered by anything else. The door was not locked, so she easily thrust it open.Subsequently, she glanced inside and saw a dark, gloomy courtyard.There was no light there, so her vision was blurred. However, she still caught sight of her father sitting beside the well, bending over while pushing and pulling the lever of the well. In the meantime, water was being pumped up from the well and flowed into a basin.Then, he bent down to pick up the basin and placed it outside the concrete well, where someone was sitting on a stool.Amelie could not make out the person’s face, but her pale legs swinging back and forth were eye-catching.He placed the basin before that woman and uttered slowly, dragging his words. “Hurry up and wash your feet. You should head to bed and rest early.”The woman on the bench giggled, which somehow exposed her age to be a young woman. It was then that Amelie realized the reason behind Mrs. Olson and Mrs. Drew’s behavior. So, my dad is dating a young woman?Hahahaha.Laughter sounded again.This time, Amelie turned on the flashlight on her phone and shone it in Steven’s direction while calling out, “Dad.”The light from her phone landed on his figure.Vividly stunned, he rose to his feet and was shocked when he saw her. “Amelie, why did you come here?”It was then that she approached him and looked at him in the night. “You haven’t returned after a long time, so I was worried and decided to check up on you.”She was shocked that her dad would date such a young woman. Then, she looked worriedly at the lady.Since it was dark outside, Amelie could not make out the woman’s face. The only thing she noticed was that the woman’s hair was hanging before her face and was not tied up.Though her hair mostly covered her face, the woman seemed like she was about Amelie’s age.Steven noticed Amelie was looking at the woman and coughed uneasily. “I wanted to return earlier, but this young woman suddenly appeared at our house. I asked her where she lived, but she said she doesn’t know. Then, I brought her to the police, but she started crying heavily. The police couldn’t do anything, so we could only wait and see whether her family would come and find her. There was no place to stay at the police station, so I brought her back here.”After listening to his explanation, Amelie finally understood what had happened. It turns out that Dad found a woman who has lost her way and not a girlfriend. I was right. Dad has always been upright, so how could he have fallen in love with such a young woman?Steven did not like talking to others, so he did not explain anything when the other villagers bumped into that young lady. That was why the villagers thought he was dating her and spread those rumors around the village.On the other hand, Amelie did not tell him that she came because of the rumors, but she could not help but worry about where that woman could go.“Since her family hasn’t come for her after so long, they might’ve given up on her. How about we bring her to a shelter?” Not only did they not know where that woman came from, but she also seemed mentally ill. Therefore, it was rather terrifying to keep such a woman around.After thinking about it, Steven nodded. “That’s not a bad idea.”“Elie.”Just as the two were talking, they suddenly heard a voice.Amelie was taken aback and scanned her surroundings.There was only her, Steven, and the woman around, so that voice…“Do you know my daughter?” He was the first to react and looked surprisedly at the woman before him.She nodded. “Of course, I know Elie. Elie is very pretty. She wears a princess dress every day and is the prettiest princess in the entire