Exposing the Charade of Deep Affection - Season 3 Episode 26

Walter hummed in agreement, his voice calm as he said, “No matter, we simply won’t associate in the

future.”

He spoke in such a way that truly left the old lady somewhat helpless. She sighed slightly, waved her

hand at Walter and said, “Alright, I won’t interfere with you young people’s affairs. You go ahead with

your business.”

After speaking, she looked at me and said, “Tabatha, stay and chat with grandma for a while.”

Seeing this, Walter had no choice but to get up and leave.

Watching Walter leave, I turned to the old lady and began to speak, “Grandma, I…”

5.

She didn’t give me a chance to speak, instead she reached out to me and said, “Child, come help me.”

I stood up, helped her to her feet, not knowing where she planned to

1.

I saw her get up and point towards the direction of the inner courtyard. Seeing this, I helped her

continue to walk inside.

The old lady’s courtyard was very large. Usually, when we came over, we would only talk and chat with

her in the outer rooms, rarely venturing into the inner courtyard.

After she pushed the door open and entered, she saw a Buddhist hall of over a hundred square meters

in the inner courtyard. I was slightly taken aback, but not too surprised. After all, the old lady was of

advanced age, and setting up a Buddhist hall in her own room was something many elderly people

often did.

Upon entering the Buddhist hall, the old lady had me assist her to the altar. After lighting the incense

and candles, she handed them to me and said, “You offer the incense.”

Upon seeing this, I took the incense, bowed, and then inserted it into the incense burner.

The old lady walked to the cushion, knelt down with both legs, patted the cushion beside her, and

looked at me, saying, “Tabatha, come here.”

Dozens of Buddha statues of various sizes were arranged in this house. I walked over and knelt down

on the cushion next to her, calmly bowing three times to the Sakyamuni Buddha in the main position,

with sincerity in my heart.

The old lady’s posture was exceptionally respectful, even to the point of devotion. Watching her bow to

all the gods and Buddhas one by one, I remained silent, only looking at her with some confusion after

she finished her bows.

Praying to Buddha wasn’t strange, what was strange was, how did she suddenly call me to her small

Buddha hall?

After she had recited a few Buddhist scriptures that I couldn’t understand, she looked at me and said,

“Tabatha, do you know why I brought you here?”

I pursed my lips, shaking my head truthfully.

She held a Buddhist rosary in her hand, not directly explaining why, but instead began, “Walter’s

grandfather and I started our family with a little bit of hard-earned money. Over the years, the Hinton

Group has developed very well, and it is considered top-notch both abroad and

domestically. If we say that we started our business to fill our stomachs back then, by now, the Hinton

Group has become the lifeblood of the Hinton family. The old man instructed me before he left to hand

over the Hinton Group to Walter, and let him develop the Hinton Group generation by generation, to

continue our Hinton family’s descendants. You are Walter’s wife, and in the future, you will become his

wise helper, the inner house of the Hinton family, and it needs you to manage it.”

I pursed my lips, realizing what the old lady was about to say, instinctively wanting to interrupt and

refuse, “Grandma…”

“Let me finish,” she interrupted me, continuing, “Over the years, I’ve been hesitant. If I were to truly

hand over the Hinton Group’s estate to you, I wondered if you could shoulder the responsibility. I used

to worry too much, but now it seems I was overthinking. Your father left in a hurry, leaving a pile of

matters behind. If it were anyone else, they would have probably hastily mortgaged the Conner Group

by now. You are a resilient child, even when funds were cut off, you still persevered, risking your own

safety to go to Chesterburg to retrieve the funds. Tabatha, it hasn’t been easy for the Hinton family to

get to this point. I know what you want to say to me, but I am old and don’t have much time left. I no

longer have the time to find another Walter who cares and can take over the burden of the Hinton

family’s estate.”

Listening to her words, I remained silent, not responding, unsure of what to say for a moment.

Seeing my silence, she took a deep breath and said, “I know, whatever choice you want to make, I

have no right to interfere, let alone demand how you should act, Tabatha. For the sake of the help I

once gave your father, could you promise your grandmother one thing?”

At this point, I naturally had no reason to refuse. Looking at her old and tired face, I nodded slightly,

“Grandma, you speak.”

She wobbled open the cabinet door under the Buddha hall, took out a somewhat yellowed notebook

from inside, and handed it to me, saying. “Dale has told you everything about what happened ten years

ago. Many of the victims in that disaster were entire families. I have recorded a few survivors here.

Some of them were elders who have passed away from illness or old age in the past two years. Some

were children who have now grown up and started their own families. Some were left with severe

sequelae from the accident, physically disabled. These people, over the years, I have had Dale secretly

look after them.”