Love Began with the First Meeting



"Hey, come and have a look. Is it straight?" Maggie stood on the chair and adjusted the Spring Festival couplets with trembling hands, her face red from the cold.

Hana was standing a little distance from Maggie and looked at her handiwork. "Well, the one on the left should be raised by about a centimeter. Okay, okay. That's it!"

Maggie quickly pasted them up and then jumped off the chair. She began to clap the dust off her hands while saying, "Oh, it seems that the two of us have to run all the affairs of our family from now on. Tomorrow is the Spring Festival, but neither of the two men in our family came back to paste the Spring Festival couplets."

Hana sighed, slightly bitter at her words. Then she smiled helplessly. "But there is nothing we can do. Well, come into the house to wash up. Let me see if we still need anything else for the festival. Then we can go to the market to do the rest of the Spring Festival shopping."

"Okay!" Maggie gestured with a naughty smile. But when she was about to enter the house, a voice sounded from behind her.

"Ma'am." The gate guard came over and saluted her. "A package of yours has arrived. Please, come to the gate to sign for it." Maggie was a senior officer, which was why he had come personally to inform her of the package.

"A package of mine?" Maggie looked at Hana in confusion, as she was not expecting any deliveries now.

Hana just smiled knowingly. "Go and have a look. Maybe it's from Edgar who wants to give you a surprise because he can't return."

Maggie's eyes lit up at once at her words. She ran towards the gate in a hurry.

At the gate, Edgar stood far away in a heavily padded jacket. His figure was well hidden by an ancient, decades-old tree. From beneath the spreading branches, he watched the gate as the van pulled up with the delivery. Quietly, Edgar observed the courier standing by his van, waiting for a signature, and then he looked at the gate in anticipation. From far away, he saw Maggie running merrily towards the gate. She was wearing a pink, down-filled coat.

Edgar looked longingly at her lively figure, not wanting to look away or even blink. His expression became more and more attentive until Maggie's figure was finally imprinted in his eyes and like a brand deep in his mind.

All of a sudden, a car came roaring around the corner with a loud booming noise. Edgar leaned slightly back to hide behind the tree in a reflexive action. Only once the car had passed him did he look back at Maggie.novelbin

Maggie looked at the large package for a moment and then saw the express bill on it. When she noticed it was Edgar's vigorous and forceful handwriting, her eyes lit up and she signed for it at once. She picked up the large package and couldn't wait to open it and find out what Edgar would have sent to her.

"Beep...Beep..."

The sound of the car horn stopped her mid-action. Maggie turned around and saw that it was Cain in the driver's seat. Suddenly, her smile became wider.

Cain deftly parked his car in the parking lot and stepped out. He looked quite tall and arrow-straight in a suit and a knee-length cashmere coat. He was handsome and in shape, so he looked even nicer than those international models who graced the catwalks.

Cain walked towards Maggie with a roguish smile. Noticing that she was carrying a large package, his smile became even more winsome. He asked casually, "Oh, what a large package! Who sent it to you?"

"You want to know? But I won't tell you!" Maggie looked like a proud peahen. She gripped her package tighter, just like she was carrying a treasure. Cain raised one eyebrow and his smile deepened. "Except for Edgar's New Year's gift... I'm afraid nothing could make you burst with joy like this." Maggie didn't say anything and just shook her head happily. Her reply just served to confirm Cain's guess. "Didn't you say that you had an appointment so you couldn't come and spend the Spring Festival with us?"

Cain raised the corner of his mouth wryly and took a last intent look at the package in Maggie's arms. Then he replied nonchalantly, "Thanks for your reminder. Even though I can't spend the Spring Festival with you, I should bring New Year's gifts to your mother. Wait a minute! I've left them in my car." So saying, and not waiting for Maggie's reply, he turned back to the parking lot. He looked around secretively with his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings.

The winter landscape was desolate and empty. There were just some bare trees to be seen. He knew Edgar wouldn't deliberately abscond from the military. Edgar probably just wanted to find out the truth. Yet, even at this crucial juncture, Edgar still made the time to buy gifts for Maggie. If he cared so much for her, how could he not come here to see her receive them?

"Beep...Beep..." Cain unlocked the car and casually observed the parking lot from under the trunk's cover. If Edgar wanted to view the situation at the gate clearly, the only place he could hide around here was just...

Cain straightened at once. His sharp eyes turned to the opposite side of the road where his car had just passed. His eyes quickly found the tree where Edgar was hiding, because it was the best place to hide nearby.

Cain took a precursory look at it and then turned back. He took the gifts out of the trunk and then closed it. Casually, he walked towards Maggie with them as if nothing had happened. He and Maggie entered the gate together, talking and laughing.

Edgar didn't step out from under the tree until they were far away. He looked straight ahead, not at Maggie, but at Cain.

If his memory served him right, the sharp and prating gaze he had sensed just now was the same as the eyes he had sensed at the airport when he had returned from Dragon Island with Maggie. If so, Cain had already been observing them since that day.

Darkly pondering this situation, Edgar turned around and left, walking at a calm pace. Walking along the street, he heard the occasional firecrackers crackling and spluttering. The New Year's atmosphere was strong, but it already seemed that he had been forgotten by the world.

Buzz!

His cell phone started to buzz in his pocket. Edgar first looked around and then moved away from the crowd, finding a secluded position before answering the call. For now, Tompson should have been the only one who knew this phone number. But the caller ID showed an unknown number on his phone.

Edgar frowned softly and looked at that number for a long time before at last answering the phone. He lowered his voice. "Hello."

"Three days..." Brian stood by the French window with his left hand in his pocket. He looked out at the snowflakes dancing in the air beyond the window and said, "Try to hinder Cain for three days. Now that they want to reverse what happened that year, I'll give Cain an answer." Edgar felt relieved when he realized that it was Brian calling. "Brian, but where did you get my phone number?"

Brian smiled softly. "Daniel had already called me when Tompson came to see you. My man gave Tompson this card. So what do you think?"

Edgar instantly frowned hard. He was not surprised that Brian could do this. But how could Tompson not have sensed some hint of a crisis? There must be something wrong. Maybe...☐☐☐☐☐☐☐