Chapter 267: Chapter 264: Salty
"Brother, did Luna arrive at Frontier City? Has she contacted you all? I couldn’t reach Sis-in-law by phone."
On the phone, Zane Bennett’s anxious voice could be heard.
Norman Bennett just sat down next to Elliana Lyle’s bed, holding the phone with one hand and Elliana’s phone and watch in the other.
Everything was packed in a sealed bag.
Elliana took the bag the man handed over, but vaguely heard the word Luna from the man’s phone.
Maybe she heard it wrong, so she didn’t pay it much attention.
By now, Luna had already left, presumably already at the airport.
Luna wanted to quickly find Nancy, just like she did, so after just reminding Luna to take care, she let her go.
At this moment, she got her phone, and it was off; pressing the power button, she realized it was out of battery.
The man said over the phone, "No, I’ll have Raymond Wood ask for you."
After hanging up the phone, she casually asked, "Who was that?"
Norman replied naturally, "Zane Bennett."
Clearly, he didn’t want to tell her about the uncertain matters; the little girl was weak and couldn’t bear such things.
The lean meat porridge on the table had cooled down, no longer as piping hot as when it first started.
He reached out to pick up the bowl, holding a spoon with one hand and stirring it delicately.
To Elliana’s eyes, the sight was a delightful experience.
Norman’s hands were truly attractive, well-proportioned, and long, yet not so thin as to appear weak, with lines more fluid than those in comics.
They were prettier than those of any hand models on screen.
Even the act of holding a bowl was pleasing to the eye.
"Here." The man tested the temperature with his lips and brought the porridge to her mouth; she took a bite, savoring the salty meat fragrance and rich aroma of the rice spreading in her mouth.
This made her suddenly feel delighted, her almond-shaped eyes squinting into a crescent line as she stared at the man.
"Is it good?" Norman watched the little girl chew, as if she were tasting the world’s delicacies.
Usually, minced meat was added to lean meat porridge, but the little girl always wanted big chunks of meat.
"Ah~" Elliana had finished chewing a big piece of meat, evidently eating faster than usual.
She was practically wolfing it down.
She never ate this fast before, maybe because she was starving and ate rather impatiently.
The man’s feeding pace couldn’t keep up with her swallowing speed; she finally asked for the porridge bowl and hugged it, drinking on her own.
After finishing one bowl, she still didn’t feel full and said, "Norman, can I have another bowl?"
Norman put down the bowl she handed over, naturally holding her hand, his eyes showing a trace of distress.
Leaving her puzzled.
In fact, she was full, just wanted to eat a bit more to feel even fuller.
But thinking about it, there was no need; she was back, so how could she possibly starve?
"Little girl, I’ve decided to help you retire from acting."
He didn’t need the little girl to do anything for him, nothing at all, just to stay by his side obediently.
The original intent of letting the girl work was to train her more, so she wouldn’t wander off and cause trouble.
But after experiencing so much, he actually wished for the girl to mischievously cause trouble for him, at least that way she wouldn’t get hurt.
No matter what, he didn’t want the little girl to be harmed again.
Yet, at this moment, Elliana didn’t think that way; she hadn’t finished filming "Interstellar Immigrants," how could she just quit?
She was stunned for a moment and hurriedly retorted, "No, Norman, I want to finish filming ’Interstellar Immigrants.’
"Gary Young has already started recasting; you just stay by my side obediently, don’t worry about these things."
Norman’s tone was gentle, as if he were talking about something irrelevant.
But... she cared about it.
She didn’t want merely to be a rich wife who never lifts a finger; she aspired to be an excellent actress.
Perhaps it’s her dream; since freshman year, she had hoped to enter show business, even if starting as a mere extra.
Now she was progressing towards that, how could she give up halfway?
Shaking her head, she looked a bit wronged, "No... Norman, I want to act, I don’t want to quit."
"Listen, for your safety, I have my considerations."
Strangely, the man seemed like a different person today, as if there was more to his words.
Making her feel as though the dust storm was just part of the reason.
She initially planned to tell Norman about Lily Clarke, but now felt, Norman cared too much about her safety, mentioning it would make it even less likely.
"But... Norman... Hubby~ I really don’t want to quit, please don’t..."
"This matter is settled, we’re going back to North City the day after tomorrow."
Norman’s tone was very gentle, yet his words brooked no argument.
It seemed she had no chance to defend herself.
When the man reached out to touch her head, she leaned back in defiance, avoiding the man’s hand, even turning her head away.
Tears had already gathered in her eyes, she just held them back from falling.
She didn’t want to quit show business, but she also understood Norman worried about her safety.
But... she needed to grow stronger, stand on her own; she couldn’t just do nothing.
She didn’t want to rely on Norman for everything.
She also wanted... to be his pride.
Norman’s hand hung in the air, neither retracting nor continuing.
He knew this would happen when he said it; after all, he knew his little girl.
But for now, this was as much as he could explain.
"Sweetie, listen to Hubby, okay?" He reached out again, gently turning the little girl’s face back towards him.
Seeing the little girl’s already red eyes, he felt both distressed and helpless, coaxing her softly.
"Not sweet!"
Large tears rolled down her cheeks onto the pure white sheet; she wanted not to cry, she truly did.
Yet couldn’t help but cry.
Norman’s forceful tenderness made it impossible for her to hate him, but she hated his decision on her behalf.
She didn’t want to be a caged bird, not at all.
"Sweetie, anything you want, Hubby will give to you; stay obediently by his side, okay?"
It was rare for Norman to coax her so gently and patiently, like coaxing a child.
Anything she wanted? With a sob, she said, "I want to keep filming."
"Except this, Elliana, just listen to Hubby this time, okay?"
The man placed her hand by his lips, almost pleading.
Could she disagree? It seemed not.
Truth be told, she really fell for this approach; since her rebirth, Norman rarely treated her like this.
Only during her junior high days did Norman plead with her to eat, to eat up when she was sick.
She used to agree, but now she couldn’t happily agree, nor could she outright refuse.
After all, she knew, Norman was only like this with her; overall, Norman still had that aura people feared to some extent.
Her refusal was as futile as scratching a stone with a cat’s paw.
"Do I... do I have to agree?" At this point, she was already crying to the point of breathlessness.
"Sweetie." The man tenderly kissed away her tears, finally resting gently on her lips.
After pulling away, Norman reached out to gently rub the little girl’s hair, saying, "Sweetheart, just for a while, after this, whatever Elliana wants to do, Hubby won’t stop you, okay?"
The little girl pursed her lips in grievance, her big almond eyes wide open, murmuring, "Salty."