Chapter 653: Chapter 653: Survival of the Fittest—Do You Get It?
Little Dumpling: ???
The promised ally, but won’t even let him hug Mommy!?
Watching Kenny, who was about to become an angry pufferfish, Ann Vaughn hurriedly stopped Cyrus Hawthorne from continuing to bully him, "I’m okay, I can still hold Kenny."
"Mommy should rest well, this is a war between men!" Little Dumpling proudly raised his little chin, put his chubby hands on his hips, and glared at Cyrus Hawthorne.
Ann Vaughn had been in a coma for two days. She heard from the doctor that if she didn’t wake up by the third day, she might become a vegetative state.
Little Dumpling had been worried for a whole two days, so when Ann Vaughn finally woke up, he couldn’t help but be overly excited, wanting to dive into her embrace without considering Ann Vaughn’s physical condition.
Though The Archfiend catching him was justified, Little Dumpling couldn’t quite shake off the feeling of discomfort in his heart.
"Squat down!" Little Dumpling frowned. Due to the height difference, looking up at Cyrus Hawthorne made his little neck ache terribly.
Cyrus Hawthorne raised an eyebrow, looking down at the arrogant snowball, "Call me Daddy, and I might consider it."
"Strange Uncle!"
"Little rascal."
"I won’t give Mommy to you anymore! You bad-hearted guy!"
"Happy to oblige."
Sparks flew between the father and son with a crackling sound that made Ann Vaughn and Bella Hawthorne standing nearby feel helpless and full of despair.
Previously, whenever this happened, Ann Vaughn trying to speak for either side always seemed biased, so she smartly decided not to speak at all.
Half an hour later, Ann Vaughn finished a series of physical examinations and was pushed back into the hospital room.
"The injury on your arm is mostly healed, but your body is still very weak, which might pose future risks. I recommend staying hospitalized for two more days to ensure proper rest." The doctor advised before leaving the ward.
Ann Vaughn rolled up her sleeve to look at her injury but found that her arm, previously red and swollen with bruises, was smooth like before, leaving no trace at all.
She suddenly remembered that the day she treated Laura Quinn, her injured hand didn’t hurt at all, otherwise, it would have affected her needlework.
She had ignored this fact at the time, focusing all her attention on Laura Quinn.
Thinking now, perhaps her arm injury had already healed that day.
—After applying the medicine given by Warren Vance.
Meanwhile.
Outside the ward.
Cyrus Hawthorne paused in his steps, looking at the female caregiver who had just come out from Laura Quinn’s ward, a slightly mocking smile playing on his thin lips, "Caregiver Lowell changed his tastes again?"
Completely donned in a different outfit and appearance, Breeze: "..."
"Mr. Hawthorne certainly has sharp eyes." Breeze turned around and said with a forced smile.
This was the second time.
His advanced disguise had been seen through twice in a row by the same person.
If this got out, his reputation as The Thousand-Faced Ghost Doctor might be at stake.
"Flattering." Cyrus Hawthorne’s narrow eyes glanced at him lightly, his tone cold: "Unlike Caregiver Lowell, who suffers humiliation to achieve his goals by any means."
"Go back and tell your master to keep his branches and wings in check, lest they stretch too long and get pruned."
The invisible pressure emanating from him was so strong that it felt like one’s heart and blood were being madly compressed, giving a suffocating feeling.
Breeze’s face changed suddenly, watching the man enter the ward in front, remaining quiet for a long while.
Carefully pondering Cyrus Hawthorne’s profound words, Breeze narrowed his eyes.
"Truly a man even the master fears..."
Clearly saw through his identity earlier and understood his purpose in serving as Laura Quinn’s caregiver.
Yet merely exposed him without stopping him.
Why did he plan this way, Breeze, known for reading hearts, couldn’t figure it out.
...
After learning Ann Vaughn had woken up, Charlotte Hawthorne and Clara Hawthorne each sent people bringing a heap of supplements to visit.
Their attitude so enthusiastic it seemed as though they were possessed by the fake-smile boy, faces filled with awkward yet polite smiles, sharply contrasting their usual sarcastic and difficult demeanor towards Ann Vaughn.
Ann Vaughn: ...Maybe her way of opening her eyes wasn’t quite right.
But truthfully, she had no substantial conflict with them, so she wasn’t rude as she thanked them one by one.
"By the way, Annie," Charlotte Hawthorne sat by the bed, looking at Ann Vaughn affectionately, "I heard it’s you managing that Imperial Glory Branch company?"
That affectionate tone made Ann Vaughn’s skin crawl, so she nodded stiffly, "Yes."
"It’s like this, I was too busy to get the aromatherapy balls your company launched the day before yesterday, can you spare a few sets for me, I’ll pay triple the market price!"
Clara Hawthorne snorted, too busy to grab them?
Since birth until now, she hadn’t seen her pampered sister busy anytime.
It was just she sneered at the aromatherapy balls when they first launched, only to find her friends and sisters buying and trying them, discovering the amazing effects.
Wanting to buy them later, she’d found them sold out everywhere, nowhere to be bought.
Ann Vaughn was startled, glanced at the calendar on her phone, remembered that the day before yesterday was the planned launch for the aromatherapy balls.
She had forgotten completely.
"Triple is nothing? Annie, I’ll pay five times." Clara Hawthorne interjected.
Charlotte Hawthorne was instantly anxious, "Sis, don’t you have all the good stuff already, must you compete with me?"
"I’m just missing a set of aromatherapy balls, it’s not a competition, we all rely on skills, don’t we?"
"Then let’s rely on skills! I’ll pay seven times!"
"Ha, I’ll pay ten times!"
"..."
Watching the sisters, once close as twins, suddenly battle each other, Ann Vaughn was utterly bewildered.
Is something off with the feng shui in this ward?
Why does everyone end up arguing?
In the end, Charlotte Hawthorne and Clara Hawthorne forcibly bought half of the aromatherapy balls from Ann Vaughn at over ten times the market price, arranging to pick them up at her company tomorrow.
Strangely, they also forbade Ann Vaughn from saying ’gift,’ or they’d feel their financial power underestimated.
Neither sister wanted to lose face, almost pulling out cards to slam them on the table on the spot.
Ann Vaughn: ...As long as you’re happy.
Imperial Glory, newly arrived at The Imperial Capital, lacked the solid base and capability like in Marinia, meaning not many malls were willing to stock the aromatherapy balls, putting them at a disadvantage.
Yet when Quinn’s endorsement ads and posters were released, they attracted a large number of young people, boosting online popularity as well.
But this wasn’t the reason why the aromatherapy balls were sold out on the launch day.
The whole set was priced in the mid-high end, young people might hesitate to buy, preferring to try a single ball rather than purchasing the entire set.
However, they didn’t anticipate that, escaping the temptation of exclusive gift sets for whole purchases, they’d still couldn’t resist the unique allure of the aromatherapy balls’ effects.