Chapter 910: Chapter 910 The One He Loves is Back (Part 23)_1
Howard Coleman waited until Madeleine and Andrew Henris had bought their tickets and entered the Summer Palace before he got out of the car, bought a ticket, and followed them in.
Madeleine and Andrew entered the Summer Palace through the back entrance, which led straight to Yester Street. Both sides were lined with buildings constructed to mimic the Yester Garden scenery; numerous vendors were selling their wares.
Howard stood on the bridge and immediately spotted Madeleine and Andrew in front of the stalls, handling various antiquated toys, looking them over, and occasionally, when they spotted something they liked, they would pull out their wallets and buy it.
Walking past Yester Street and winding through a patch of woodland, they came across a small courtyard with a fish pond. Madeleine and Andrew bought some fish food and sat on the railings, sprinkling the food into the pond.
Koi fish, attracted by the smell of the bait, flocked toward Madeleine and Andrew. Before long, the area below them teemed densely with fish, presenting quite a spectacle. Madeleine pointed excitedly at a golden fish in the pond, clamoring for Andrew to look.
Howard was standing behind them at a nearby railing, clearly hearing the pleasure and excitement in Madeleine’s voice.
After leaving the fish pond, they followed the meandering path to the lake-edge of the Summer Palace, where the bright sunlight shimmered on the water’s surface, sparkling and glistening.
Madeleine, holding Andrew’s phone, took pictures of him and even asked a nearby tourist to take a photo of them together. During the photo, Madeleine boldly linked her arm through Andrew’s, tilting her head and smiling brilliantly, looking radiantly beautiful. However, Howard, watching this scene unfold, found Madeleine’s smile particularly piercing, so much so that it caused his eyes to become dry.
It wasn’t until Madeleine and Andrew had walked a considerable distance away from the long corridor that Howard snapped back to reality and stepped forward, forgetting he was standing on steps. He missed his footing and lurched forward unexpectedly. Fortunately, he managed to grab a handrail in time, yet he still ended up kneeling on the ground in a most disheveled fashion.
Wearing thin summer clothes, he knelt directly on the ground, the impact causing a pain that reached all the way to his heart, making it difficult for him to stand up. Clutching the railing, his head bowed, lips tightly pressed together, his mind was filled with images of Madeleine, her arm entwined with Andrew, laughing radiantly.
A concerned tourist nearby noticed this scene and, thinking Howard had been injured, came over to ask kindly, “Sir, are you alright?”
Howard didn’t respond, but his grip on the railing tightened until the good Samaritan asked him again. Only then did he slowly look up, shook his head at the kind person, and gradually stood up. He stretched out his hand, brushed the dust from his knees, and walked on, seeming somewhat dazed as he followed in the direction Madeleine and Andrew had gone.
By the time Howard caught up with Madeleine and Andrew, each held an ice cream and was in line to buy cruise ship tickets.
As they put on life jackets, Andrew handed his ice cream to Madeleine and personally helped her into her jacket, securing the straps for her before putting on his own. The two of them boarded the boat, one after the other.
The cruise ship they were on was the kind powered by foot pedals. Sitting side by side, they pedaled, ate their ice creams, and exchanged glances from time to time, clearly enjoying their conversation.