You Are The Apple of My Eyes

Chapter 723 Keep Silent

Michelle was so shocked she couldn't move her legs.

For the past two days, she spent most of her time on the rooftop and would only leave to sleep.

When she went back up the rooftop, Lydia and Debra were there, sitting on the swing they had recently bought. They stretched their legs as they swayed gently under the soft warm light of the sun.

"Michelle, you're back!" Lydia bent her legs, pressed down her feet against the floor, and stood up. "Look! Debra and I made this swing chair. Come and try it! After Leon's birthday, let's keep this so we can sit on it in the future."

Her enthusiasm didn't seem to penetrate Michelle's low spirit.

"Come and play with us here!" Debra happily waved at her.

Lydia grabbed Michelle's hand and noticed that it was cold and her fingers were stiff. © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

It was very unusual for her since Michelle had always had soft hands.

"Why is your hand so cold? Did you catch a cold?" Lydia asked anxiously.

She placed her palm on Michelle's forehead, but it wasn't that hot to make her think she had a fever. And yet, Michelle's face was still very pale.

Lydia something must've happened. She shot a look at Debra, telling her to come over.

"What's wrong?" Debra touched Michelle's hand, and just like Lydia, she also felt how cold Michelle's hand was. "Oh my God, Michelle. What happened? Tell me. Does it have anything to do

with you or your parents?" Debra guessed. Since Michelle's parents were seldom home, it would only be natural for her to worry about them and be devastated if something happened to them.

Upon hearing the mention of her parents, Michelle came to her senses.

She lowered her head and said in a low voice, "Nothing happened to my mom and dad."

"Then something must've happened to you. Did someone bully you?" Lydia placed her hand on Michelle's shoulder.

Michelle shook her head and closed her eyes. "The sun's so bright it's making me dizzy."

"You might be having a sunstroke," Debra replied. "Go and have a seat. I'll ask someone to bring medicine here."

"Sit on the swing." Lydia guided Michelle and helped her sit down.

While Debra was on the phone, Lydia picked up the small fan and pointed it to Michelle. Judging by Michelle's trembling eyelashes, she felt that it wasn't as simple as a sunstroke.

"Did something funny happen to you when you went to buy flowers? We were so bored over here," Lydia asked, pretending to be casual.

After a long silence, Michelle whispered, "No."

Her voice was quiet and nasally.

'Someone must've done something to her, ' Lydia thought.

'Michelle's not easily offended. What could've possibly happened that made her this lethargic?'

Before she could ask Michelle, she heard a murmur escape from her lips.

"It's not funny. It's not funny at all." Her hands were balled into fists, clutching the hems of her clothes.

When Debra was finished with her phone call, she walked over to them and said, "Once everything's been delivered, we can ask them to arrange it for us as well. We don't have to do anything; just sit and watch."

Then, she turned to Michelle. "Are you feeling better?" Debra sat down next to her and saw a single bead of tear rolling down Michelle's cheek.

Debra stood up and exhaled lightly. She motioned towards Lydia and mouthed, "She's crying."

Lydia's eyes widened in shock.

She had known Michelle for three years and had only seen her cry two times.

Once when Nina had an accident, and the other was when her father fell ill. Aside from those situations, she didn't remember other times when Michelle cried.

Both she and Debra had no idea why Michelle was crying now.

Lydia thought it had something to do with Leon, so she asked her to confirm.

"Did something happen to Leon?" Debra paused for a while and said, "I don't think so. Wynn updated his WeChat Moments earlier at noon.

Lydia walked past Debra and sat down next to Michelle. She put one hand on Michelle's back and gently rubbed it. "If something happened, you can tell us. We'll figure it out together."

Michelle sniffed and looked up at the birthday venue, which they had worked hard to decorate. Since her eyes were marred with tears, everything looked foggy in front of her. She could only make

out a vague outline of her surroundings.

The white floral tablecloth covered the long table, fluttering gently whenever the wind blew. In the middle, there were empty vases. They were planning to put flowers in them tomorrow morning.

Along the edges of the table, there were pairs of silverware wrapped in paper towels. They were planning to remove the covers tomorrow evening.

There was also a balloon tied on the back of each chair by the table. Their colors alternated from white to blue.

She remembered inflating and tying up all those by herself.

At the end of the long table, there was a board made of thick white paper, with stickers in the middle that spelled out "Happy Birthday." She remembered that she chose the font personally, and it took her a long time to pick it.

There were many white and blue balloons scattered around the rooftop, which made the scenery look like a cloudy sky.

Multiple lines of colorful lights also outlined the wall. Last night, she had tried to turn on the lights and witnessed firsthand how gorgeous they were. For a moment, she thought she was stargazing under a clear night sky.

Normally, she would've preferred pink and white. However, since all of this was for Leon, she thought colors that matched the blue sky and the white clouds would better reflect his gentle heart.

'Will Leon like it?'

Michelle wanted to know but she wasn't confident.

All she could manage was a faint whisper as she wiped her tears. "Will Leon like it?"

"What?" Michelle's voice was so low that Lydia could barely understand her.

"Nothing." Michelle raised her head and smiled at the two girls with her. Her eyes were red and swollen while her cheeks glistened from her earlier tears.

Debra was worried about her. "Tell me what happened."

Michelle pressed her lips and looked at the floor. "I don't want to talk about it."

They had known Michelle for such a long time. They knew that if she said she didn't want to talk about it, there was nothing they could entice her to share.

"Okay. Keep it to yourself, then." Debra glared at Michelle and shot a look at Lydia, signaling to her to coax Michelle.

Lydia patted Michelle's back, trying to comfort her downhearted friend. "You can tell us when you want to share. Do you want to go to bed now?"

"Okay." Michelle nodded.

Debra's bodyguards were so quick to act. They not only brought medicine, but they also got the green bean soup, which could relieve the summer heat.

Michelle didn't take the medicine, but she did take a sip from the green bean soup and went to bed.

Although Michelle was a foodie, right now, she was too disheartened to eat anything. Both Lydia and Debra thought that what Michelle was going through was something really serious. So they decided to contact Wynn and ask him if something had happened to Leon.

They thought maybe Michelle and Leon fought.

But it turned out they were wrong.

Wondering about all the possibilities just made them even more confused. So instead, they decided to clear everything with Michelle as soon as she woke up.

Michelle lay in bed and cried for a long time before she finally fell asleep.

When she woke up, it was already dark outside.

Both her eyes were swollen after crying for a long time. When Lydia and Debra saw her, they were shocked.

"I knew it would be like this. It's just like when Nina had that accident." Huan sighed helplessly.

"I'll get her a warm towel for her face." Lydia stood and looked deep into Michelle's swollen eyes. "Leon called you a couple of times. We were afraid our surprise might be ruined so we didn't answer. Call him back."

"Okay." Michelle nodded. The light that her eyes usually housed wasn't as bright as before. "Why did Leon call me?"

Debra coughed and said, "Well, you didn't tell us anything earlier. So I called Wynn to ask if something happened to you and Leon. Maybe he talked about it with Leon."

Michelle sighed lethargically. "I'll call Leon back now."

She picked up the phone and stared at the familiar string of numbers for a long time. Then, she took a deep breath and pressed the dial key.

"Hello, Leon..."

"Michelle, where are you?" Leon interrupted her before she could even finish talking.

Michelle opened her mouth and was about to blurt out that she was at home. However, she managed to stop herself in time and answered, "Spring City."

She waited for him to say something but was only met with silence from the other line. In a weak voice, she asked, "Leon, what's wrong with you? Why aren't you speaking?"

"Michelle, I'm also at Spring City."

His words made Michelle stop breathing. Her eyes widened slightly as she tried to keep herself together. "Leon, I..."

"I just arrived. I asked your team manager where you are and he said you're not at Spring City." Based on Leon's voice, it was difficult to ascertain whether he was happy or angry.

Michelle was not in the proper headspace to think properly. She was panicking as she tried to figure out what she should tell Leon. Suddenly, she heard a woman's voice transmit from the other end of the phone.

"Is she out to play with her friends?" That was Valerie.

Michelle recognized her voice.

Her hands trembled.

She remembered everything Valerie had told her about Leon and what he was like around her. Valerie did such a good job at portraying him that the memory was crystal clear inside Michelle's mind. Even when she was sleeping, the memory would linger, and her dream would replay that scene.