Chapter 4 Four

"Didn't Butler Cedric teach you the rules of the Anderson family?" There was a slight hint of anger in Elias's voice.Lucy shook her head.Cedric, the butler, instantly broke into a sweat and said, "It's my negligence, Mr. Anderson. I will start teaching the young lady the rules tomorrow." He then took the overcoat from Elias's hand."Teach her now. Start makeup and dressing up at four-thirty. I'll take her to the old house at five-thirty. If she makes a faux pas in front of my parents, Butler Cedric, you know my temper.""Yes, yes." Sweat trickled down from his forehead.

After Elias went upstairs, Butler Cedric wiped the sweat off his face and said to Lucy, "Young Lady, let's begin.""Hmm," Lucy agreed amiably.Butler Cedric did not give Lucy a hard time; he just taught her some basic etiquette, such as wearing formal attire at meals, not making noise, and not speaking. When the master of the house comes home, the mistress of the house needs to greet him at the entrance, and personally help the master remove his overcoat before handing it to the maid, etc.To help with memorization, Lucy turned on the recording function of her mobile phone. As she recorded, she thought about how strict and tad fussy the house rules of this established family were. She was glad she had no plans of staying here forever, and that Elias did not like her either. She didn't like this odd man whose mood fluctuated constantly either. When the time is right, it would be best for them to go their separate ways, each minding their own business.Butler Cedric demonstrated some actions to Lucy, in order for her to grasp them quickly. Finally, he said, "Young Lady, let's wrap it up for today. Please go upstairs to change your clothes. When you are done, I will arrange for a makeup artist to do your makeup.""Thank you," said Lucy. She then turned off the recording function and ran to Elias's room on the second floor. She grabbed the outfit she had selected beforehand and closed the door from inside. She quickly took off her jeans and the white T-shirt and was about to put on her dress when she heard the bathroom door open.Lucy hesitated for a moment, quickly evaluated the situation, and decided to dive into bed as quickly as possible, wrapping herself up in the covers. She was always quicker to act than to think, and so once the idea occurred to her, she was already on the bed, with nothing visible below her neck buried in the covers. Her eyes stared wide-eyed at the source of the footsteps-- Elias.He, just fresh from washing his hands, came out of the bathroom only to see a flash of movement. He was taken aback, thinking there was a thief in his room. He was about to catch the intruder when his eyes met a woman in her underwear, who quickly darted under the covers, her eyes stayed trained on him.First Elias was stunned, and then he scoffed lightly, "Stop playing these games in front of me. Even though I slept with you last night, it does not mean that you are my woman."Lucy looked down, her thoughts unreadable.Elias walked to the door, and just before leaving, he said to Lucy – who still had herself tightly wrapped in the covers, "Behave yourself or you'll have to face the consequences you can't handle." With that, he left the room.The door was not completely shut, so Lucy could hear the footsteps of Elias. It was not until his footsteps faded away that she got up from the bed, wrapped herself in a cool blanket, walked to the door, and locked it securely. Then, she quickly changed clothes.Elias took care of some business in his study first. When he thought it was almost time, he left his study and asked his butler how much longer he needed to wait. Upon learning it would only be a few minutes, he sat on the living room sofa to wait for Lucy. Once he sat down, he saw a book on the sofa which was titled "The Little Prince." Raising an almost invisible eyebrow in surprise, Elias picked it up for a casual glance. He chuckled slightly as he didn't expect that this seemingly indifferent and distant girl would be interested in such a book.While Elias was flipping through the book, Lucy was also ready and appeared before him escorted by some people. Elias glanced up, momentarily entranced. The Lucy he had seen over the past few days was bare-faced and although lovely, she always looked a bit cold. But now, with meticulous makeup, enhanced by the long eyelashes and deftly applied eyeliner and brows, she looked much softer. Coupled with a snow-white chiffon long dress and a pair of white high heels, she was reminiscent of a blooming lily, casting a charm that was not too dazzling but impressive nonetheless."Not bad," Elias commented.Lucy responded with a wry smile. She then pointed at "The Little Prince" in Elias' hand and asked, "Can I have it back?"Setting the book aside on the sofa, Elias casually told her "Let's go," and strutted out.Seeing him leave, Lucy hurriedly followed, reminding their butler to take care of her book as she passed by him. The butler nodded in agreement and respectfully saw the two of them off.In the back of the car, Elias remained silent, engrossed in his laptop and typing away incessantly. Lucy, a woman of few words herself, turned to look out at the passing scenery, her thoughts hidden behind an impassive face. Thus, they journeyed in silence to the Anderson family estate, the old manor.Once at the Manor, Lucy had a look at the main building, a structure that seemed to have been constructed in the style of a foreign castle, exuding a sense of Baroque romanticism. Lucy smiled, guessing that Elias's mother, Amara, must be a romantic woman for his father, Grayson Anderson, to have a house designed in this style. She had heard that Grayson Anderson doted on Amara very much. Amara, an ordinary girl herself, was once the woman that Grayson Anderson had been willing to break off his engagement with his fiancee for, just to be with her. Sadly, Grayson's father managed to retain him and his son but drove Grayson Anderson and Amara out of the house. Over time, they had another son, Elias, and eventually, perhaps out of age or regret, the old man allowed them to return home.Interestingly, Grayson's ex-fiancee was Isabella Dalton, the late mother of Lucy.With a snort, Lucy found the relationship was quite complicated. What she could not understand however was why the Anderson family suddenly wanted the daughter of the Carter family as their daughter-in-law.Elias glanced at Lucy. Despite a faint smile playing at the corners of her mouth, her eyes remained indifferent, even when gazing at a multi-billion dollar property right before her, without a trace of envy or amazement. An unusual feeling rose within him. After all, he knew, despite being the young miss of the Carter family, she had lived a hard life.