Chapter 10 Come At Me If You're Planning Anything

The Lu family villa was surrounded by lush garden. The path leading up to the front door was lined up with camphor trees that stood like evergreen guards on both sides of the villa.

For a kid like Bruce, the villa was like a big garden. Minnie taught Bruce how to identify the plants all around them while they're on a walk.

"Look, this is a camphor tree.

Its leaves are great for expelling insects. You've lived here for a long time. Did you notice any mosquitoes around these parts? It's because of this tree."

Bruce looked around at the tall camphor trees. "I just wondered why the advertisement on TV always says that we should remove all mosquitoes while there's none around my home. But with this tree around, how can mosquito repellent incense sell out?"

Minnie patted him on the head and said, "You've never suffered from poverty. There are many tall camphor trees here in your family estate. Do you know how much one tree is worth? It's around 5,000 dollars per tree! How could an ordinary person buy one?"

Bruce looked like he wanted to say something about it so Minnie reached out and fluffed his hair. "And don't say that 5,000 dollars is not a lot. One day, I'll take you to see how ordinary people live. You'll understand it then."

She then led him forward.

They continued to study the plants around the villa as they strolled.

There were white poplars, cedar trees, jujube trees. It was an orchard out there. One by one, she taught Bruce how to recognize them.

The young kid was amazed by all the things he was learning. He held Minnie's hand and asked, "How do you know so much?"

Minnie patted his head again. "This is common knowledge. You'll know them by heart when you read more, so you should start studying well."

They talked all the way from the house to the big garden behind the villa.

The garden was built in a Southern style of landscape architecture. The plants were lusher around these parts and grew around bridges and rivers. Flowers hung on doorways that separated the garden. It was so beautiful that guests would always stop and stare at the enchanting garden.

There was a circle of tall trees not far away from the garden. Bruce pointed at one tree and asked, "Jessica, what's that tree over there?"

Minnie followed his little fingers.

"That one is a Ginkgo, a very slow-growing tree. The ancients called it the Grandchildren Tree because it grew too slowly. If you plant this tree, it will only bear fruit by the time you have your own grandchildren."

"Whoa!"

Bruce opened his mouth in a gasp.

"I didn't expect a tree to be so meaningful."

Minnie said, "Study hard. All knowledge could be used at the right time."

Bruce raised his head to look at her. "Are you kidding me? I'm pretty sure I'm better than everybody at school."

She couldn't help but laugh at his arrogance. "Bruce, you're the best. When will you take the first place? Here's a deal. If you get first place, I'll reward you with something."

Bruce raised his head. "Humph. And what can you offer me? Do you have any good things worth my efforts?"

As a kid, he liked it whenever he received care and encouragement from adults. Although he pretended that he didn't care, he was actually determined to study diligently for his final exams at school. 'I will take the first place for Jessica so she wouldn't look down on me.'

Bruce raised his chin proudly. Minnie smiled happily at Bruce. "Well then, if you got first place, I'll let you play a game. Don't forget that I keep your phone and PS4 Pro. If you want to play with them, you should please me."

She winked at Bruce playfully. Her words made Bruce lose his momentum. Waving around his hands, he said, "I know. Stop threatening me! I will get first place in my exams. Just wait and see!"

He was as arrogant as ever.

Minnie smiled and rubbed his head.

'How could my son be so obedient? The more I look after him, the more obedient he becomes. I almost want to take him away at once.'

Bruce couldn't hear her thoughts though. He watched as she smiled at him fondly.

A child's intuition is very sharp. Whenever they looked at each other, he could feel something soft and warm radiate through his chest. It was something he could only feel whenever he looked at Jessica. 'She's different from other women.'

Bruce confirmed this point again. He leaned over and asked, "Jessica, have you made up your mind what kind of plant leaf we will use as a bookmark?"

Minnie pointed to the tall Ginkgo tree they were just talking about earlier. "How about this tree? This kind of Ginkgo is called Ginkgoales. The leaves are very beautiful and come in two colors, yellow and green. They're also very beautiful when you pressed them in books."

Her words moved Bruce. "Okay, I'll pick them then!"

Bruce took off his shoes and was about to climb the tree.

Minnie was startled. "What are you doing?! Are you going to climb the tree by yourself?"

"Yes! I saw on TV how many people liked climbing trees. I've always wanted to try to but Daddy won't let me. Now I finally have the chance so of course, I want to give it a try."

Minnie grew worried. "What if you fall down from the tree? Let me do it myself. Okay?"

Bruce waved her concerns off. "Don't worry. I'll be very careful. See how tight I'm holding the tree."

And without any further ado, Bruce climbed up the tree. He imitated the rock climbers he would see on TV. He climbed the tree gracefully, like a monkey.

Minnie watched Bruce worriedly from under the tree. Each move from Bruce shook the tree. She said anxiously, "Bruce, stop climbing now. That's enough. Get down now."

Bruce looked down at Minnie and thought, 'I don't think so.

It's so easy to climb a tree! I just need to use both my hands and feet. I'm not afraid at all. There's nothing to worry about!'

He climbed higher and higher until finally, he stepped on a sturdy branch. He stretched out a hand and picked a leaf.

The Ginkgo leaf had a slender stem that fanned out into a light green leaf. There were many veins that could be seen side by side. The edges looked transparent under the sunlight.

'Jessica was right. It really is beautiful.'

Bruce continued to study the leaf carefully.

"Bruce, have you picked one? If you're done, you can come back down now."

Even though she couldn't see him, Bruce nodded. He hurriedly pulled some more leaves for Jessica. While he was picking them, he said, "Don't tell me what to do. I'll come down soon enough."

His mature way of saying words amused Minnie for a while. "Well, come down now. Stop playing around so we can go back now."

"Okay," Bruce said. Carefully, he protected the leaves in his hand and slid down. However, on his way down, his feet snagged into one of the branches. His hands weren't quick enough to hold on to the tree so he fell down.

"Ah..."

"Bruce!"

Minnie felt her heart stop. She rushed towards him and held him carefully.

A small rock dropped at a high enough elevation could cause holes on the ground, what more a person?

Minnie managed to break Bruce's fall to the expense of her arm. She heard the tell-tale "click" from her wrist. It was so painful that she couldn't hold on to Bruce. Upon checking, Bruce had hit his head on one of the stones on the ground. Blood gushed out from his head.

"Mr. Bruce!" The bodyguards were scared to death as they rushed toward them. They pushed Minnie aside to check on their young master.

Caught off-guard, Minnie leaned on her wrist to cushion her movement, accidentally putting her weight on the broken wrist. With a crack, she felt pain shoot out from the wrist.

But she couldn't care about the pain at all. Her worries were all directed to Bruce.

"Bruce!"

Bruce didn't open his eyes. He was still holding on to the Ginkgo leaves he had picked. Minnie wanted to open Bruce's hand but his hold was too tight.

One of the bodyguards radioed for the family doctor as he did his best to stifle the blood flow. He noticed Minnie was trying to open Bruce's grip on the leaves so he reached out one hand to stop her.

"Miss Jessica, please step back."

For him, Jessica was responsible for the accident. Whether it was intentional or not, he wasn't sure. But it didn't matter. Their boss would decide once he got back home.

The family doctor came soon. He ordered the bodyguards to place Bruce on the stretcher and wrapped his wound quickly to prevent any more blood loss. He waved his hand and said, "Send Mr. Bruce to the medical room now! And be careful with him!"

The bodyguards followed his directions and carried Bruce away.

Minnie wanted to come with them and look after Bruce but she was stopped by the bodyguards. The bodyguards followed her and three of them stopped her by forming a wall between her and Bruce.

"Miss Jessica, please don't make this difficult for any of us."

Minnie panicked and looked at the bodyguards anxiously. "Please let me follow him. I won't do anything. I just need to know he's safe. After that, you can do whatever you want. Just please let me see him, okay?"

The guards remained unmoved though.

"Miss Jessica, we don't have the right to allow you to do so. Please wait for Mr. Michael to come back and he'll tell you if you can."

No matter what Minnie said, it didn't seem that they would let her in. She was so anxious. She wanted to push in between the wall of resistance and check on Bruce. But the bodyguards were too big and strong for her.

"Jessica Lin!"

Just as they reached a stalemate, Minnie heard a roar. She turned around and saw Michael in a hurry.

He was fuming. Before she could say anything, Michael slapped her hard across the face. The force of it numbed her ears.

"You vicious woman. Come at me if you're planning anything! Don't bring the kid into this. How dare you hurt him?!"

"I will never dare to hurt Bruce!"

"Really? You provoked him to climb that tree, let him fall down and hit his head on the ground. And you didn't dare hurt Bruce at that? Jessica, you wanted Bruce to hurt himself and die, didn't you?"

Minnie wanted to defend herself but she couldn't say anything. Michael was right. It was all her fault. She should have stopped Bruce from climbing the tree. Minnie lowered her head and said nothing.

"Do you have anything else to explain?" For Michael, Minnie's silence meant she agreed with his points.