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Renee felt a bit anxious and wanted to take Toph with her. But suddenly, Zuko appeared from nowhere and beat her
to it. He grabbed Toph's arm and turned him away from Renee.
"Toph—"
"Toph!" Zuko's voice drowned her out. "Uncle Frederic and Aunt Trinity are here too. We should go and greet them!"
Toph readily agreed, completely oblivious to Renee's increasingly dark expression behind him.
The butler smiled. "Ms. Renee, please come this way."
"Can we wait a moment?"
"Are you waiting for Mr. Toph?" The butler remained composed. "I know Madam well. She never includes others
when she wishes to have tea with someone."
Renee froze and slowly released her grip on her dress, forced to follow the butler.
-
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtCordelia's flower room was situated in a corner of Zen Residence—an all-glass structure that sparkled like a radiant
pearl in the night. There were various exotic plants and flowers inside, trying to outshine each other.
Cordelia was seated on a sofa, sipping tea, and a delicate pastry sat on the table.
Renee knocked on the door and entered, keeping her head low.
Cordelia looked at her with a smile. "Renee, come and have a seat."
Renee nodded, forcing a smile. Sitting beside Cordelia, she felt as if she were sitting on pins and needles —even her
breath was bated.
"Try this tea." Cordelia poured a cup for her. "See if it's any different from what you usually have."
Renee hesitated and looked up at Cordelia.
Cordelia smiled warmly, but Renee detected an iciness beneath her smile.
"Aunt Cordelia, I—"
"Come on, just give it a try." Cordelia placed the teacup in her hand.
The water temperature was just right, and the tea had a nice faint color. Renee was not well-versed in tea, and a
sense of inferiority inexplicably welled up within her.
She suddenly wondered what Lina would do if she were in her place.
Lina knew nothing about tea either. She had grown up with Jesse and Melissa, so her knowledge was limited.
However, she never hesitated to admit when she did not know something. She never cared about what others
thought, which was quite similar to Lena.
Thinking of Lena, Renee clenched her fingers slightly.
"Why aren't you drinking?" Cordelia chuckled. "Renee, you weren't this reserved when you used to visit."
Renee pursed her lips. She picked up the teacup and took a sip. The aroma of the tea lingered in her mouth.
"How does it taste?" Cordelia asked with a smile.
Renee put the teacup down. "It's nice."
"What's different about it?"
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Well..."
Cordelia smiled gently, no longer pressing her. "The tea leaves themselves aren't anything special. The key is the
water. There's a lotus pond behind Splendor Mountain, and the water used to brew this tea is dew collected from
the lotus leaves."
Renee nodded but did not understand the implication.
Cordelia looked at her. "Renee, dew is clean, so when it's used to brew tea, it's very refreshing to drink.
"In fact, being a person is similar.
"If your heart is clean, your life, like this cup of tea, will naturally be invigorating. You'll drink comfortably throughout
your life. Do you think this makes sense?"
Renee looked up abruptly, meeting Cordelia's cryptic gaze.
"Aunt Cordelia, you..."
"I believe you're a good child, so I won't spell it out." Cordelia put a hand over Renee's and spoke seriously.
"Whatever you've done, you know it yourself. This is the first time, and I hope it's the last!"
Renee's heart raced, and every nerve in her body tensed. A chill crept up from the depths of her heart.
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