The Sweet Rival (Mango Shen and Nathaniel Ye)

"I need to make a phone call!"

Nathaniel could see that Madam Hans wanted to some alone time with Mango, so he hastily made up an excuse.

"Let me know if you need anything, Mango. I'll be right outside."

Even though he planned to leave them alone, he still said that to reassure Mango before he went out.

She knew that Nathaniel was worried about her, so she nodded at him.

"I'll be going, Madam Hans."

"All right."

Then, Madam Hans nodded at Nathaniel.

After that, only Mango and Madam Hans were left inside the room and Mango couldn't help but feel somewhat restrained.

Although Madam Hans was her grandmother, they felt more like strangers. Other than their familial ties, Mango had no idea what else to say.

Then, Madam Hans pulled on Mango's hand and asked Mango to sit by her bedside. Then, she said, "I know that you don't like Andrea very much. Truth be told, I didn't like her either at the start, but she is you mother's daughter and your half-sister. Even though she's not related to the Hans Family, I can't be too harsh on her for Queena's sake, right? Furthermore, she cared for me faithfully over the last twenty days, so I can't just get rid of her, right?"

Honestly, Mango found it strange when she heard that Andrea had spent so much time together with Madam Hans.

Andrea was known for being a spoiled rich kid.

So, why would she suddenly start caring for Madam Hans?

Hence, Mango had no idea what that girl was up to.

Alas, it was pointless to say anything now as Madam Hans had a rather good impression of Andrea.

"I see. I don't mind it at all."

Then, Mango smiled faintly before asking, "Are you feeling better?"

"Much better. Speaking of this, I'm thankful to Andrea because I heard that she had obtained the antidote which saved me from being paralysed forever. Based on this reason alone, the Hans Family can't just ignore her, right?"

Then, Mango's entire body suddenly froze.

"Who told you that she brought the antidote back? Was it Minister Xiao? Or was it Terrance?"

"Oh Mango, why are you still calling her Minister Xiao even when you've acknowledged us as your family? She's still your mother, you know. Although she didn't raise you and she's aware that you're very close to your adoptive mother, you still can't call her that. Just imagine how sad she'd be if she heard that."

Madam Hans didn't have any intention of reprimanding Mango, but she just wanted Mango to be closer to them.

However, Mango didn't pay much attention to those details as she raised the question again.

"You said that Andrea got the antidote for you? Who told you that?"

"No one told me! Since Andrea is not a part of our family, your mother would never put in a good word for her. Furthermore, your uncle hasn't come around as frequently ever since Andrea came to take care of me. Actually, I overheard a nurse telling Andrea that she needed to rest because she had taken a beating in order to get the antidote. Despite the fact that I asked her about it, Andrea just kept silent. Truth be told, I'm sure she's keeping this to herself because she doesn't want to upset me. Oh Mango, I should treat both of you well since you two are sisters, right?"

Madam Hans's eyes were filled with hope as she looked at Mango.

However, Mango laughed bitterly on the inside.

So, it seemed that Andrea was very good at deceiving people.

Andrea actually robbed Mango's credit as she knew that Queena and Terrance would never tell Madam Hans the truth.

That was because the old lady would feel extremely remorseful towards Mango if she found out. By then, the mental stress would definitely affect her health terribly.

Hence, Mango had to admit that Andrea knew how to play her cards well.

Now that Madam Hans regarded Andrea as a good person, it would be pointless for Mango to say anything to the contrary.

As Mango thought of this, she smiled and replied, "Sure, whatever you say goes. I don't really have much of an opinion either way. However, you still need to take good care of yourself. You can ask Uncle Terrance to hire a nurse for you if you need one."

"It's alright, why would I need a nurse when Andrea is here? She's far more reliable than any nurse."

Hence, it could be seen that Madam Hans had a very high opinion of Andrea.

At the end of the day, Mango still felt a little uneasy about the whole situation.

Mango had no idea what Andrea was planning, so she was rather worried at the prospect of Andrea spending so much time together with Madam Hans. Alas, she couldn't think of a reason to get rid of Andrea. "Either way, it's better to hire a nurse. No matter how you put it, Andrea led a rather luxurious lifestyle back in the United States. Now that she's here with our family, we can't treat her like a servant, right?" Then, Madam Hans was delighted when Mango called addressed the Hans Family as her family.

"Yes, you're right! I guess my granddaughter can see the bigger picture. Very well, I'll do as you say!"

Madam Hans was so happy that she would agree to whatever Mango said.

Thus, Mango felt quite touched at Madam Hans's

actions.

"Nathan told me that Uncle Terrance has been busy handling the issue of my identity. Actually, I really want you to recover as soon as possible. If not, who's going to formally welcome me into the Hans Family?"

"Don't worry, I'll go home right now and enter your name into our family's ancestral lineage. Frankly, I can die happy if I can formally induct you into the ranks of the Hans Family. Please do visit me more often whenever you're free, okay?"

Madam Hans knew that Mango couldn't stay at the Hans Family mansion with her as she was Nathaniel's wife and the daughter-in-law of the Ye Family. However, she really loved her granddaughter and Madam Hans really wished that Mango could be by her side.

Upon seeing Madam Hans's pleading look, Mango quickly nodded her head.

"Okay, I will!"

"Good girl! Is the Ye Family treating you well?"

Clearly, Madam Hans had always been concerned about Mango's well-being.

Hence, Mango was touched and she replied, "Yeah, they do. Nathan and Madam Ye have been very good to me, so I'm quite happy living together with them."

"Well, I do know that the Ye Family have messed things up previously and caused you a lot of suffering. Now that you're part of our family, tell me if you ever run into any problems again. I swear that I'll never forgive anyone who dares to hurt you."

At that, Mango let out a small chuckle.

"Very well then. Would you like to rest now?"

"Don't be in such a hurry, stay and talk to me for a while longer. Truth be told, I'm very glad to see you."

In fact, Madam Hans was quite exhausted.

She would've taken a nap if Mango hadn't arrived. However, since Mango was here, she wanted to spend a bit more time with her.

This was her granddaughter!

Madam Hans had waited a very long time to find her, so she wouldn't give that up for anything.

However, Andrea walked back into the room before Mango could say anything else.

"Grandma, it's time for you to rest."

After that, Andrea quickly went forward to Madam Hans.

Then, the old woman chuckled and replied, "Not now, your sister just returned from overseas, so I really would like to speak to her."

"Well, that's not an urgent matter. Mango will be staying here for a while, so there's plenty of opportunities for both of you to catch up. However, the doctor said that you can't stress yourself too much. I've put in so much effort into your recovery, so you can't just let it all go to waste."

Andrea coyly sidled up to Madam Hans as she seemed to nudge Mango aside.

Hence, Mango frowned slightly at that and Andrea quickly occupied the space where she once stood.

"Grandma, I'm sure that Mango came back in a rush. Look, she hasn't brought anything with her to visit you, so I reckon that she has other matters to attend to. Mango's not like me you know, she's a famous designer while I'm unemployed."

Andrea's words were politely self-deprecating, but what she truly implied was that Mango wasn't aware of proper etiquette.

How could she, as Madam Hans's granddaughter, come and visit empty handed?

Hence, Mango's expression soured.

Ultimately, Madam Hans was her grandmother, and it wasn't Andrea's place to lecture her at all.

Just as Mango was about to say something, Madam Hans suddenly piped up.

"Oh look at me, I was so excited for Mango to stay for dinner and I didn't consider that she might be busy. Unfortunately, this old brain of mine isn't working as well as it used to. My dear Mango, are you in a hurry?"

There was a hint of anticipation in her eyes, but Mango couldn't stay any longer.

She was afraid that she wouldn't be able to control her temper if she had to stay and pretend to be close with Andrea.

"Sadly, I'm in a hurry. I'll join you for dinner some other day."

Mango's confinement period was still ongoing, so Nathaniel forbade her from eating anything cold or sour. Hence, she was afraid that she might end up exposing her weak condition and worrying Madam Hans if she stayed for dinner.

Conversely, Madam Hans was quite disappointed when she heard Mango's reply, but she still smiled and said, "Well then, just let me know when you have the time. I'm always available to spend time with you."

"All right, have a good rest. I'll be going now."

Mango smiled and nodded before she stood to leave. Then, she heard Andrea said, "Grandma, I'm going to see Mango off,"

"Go ahead."

Madam Hans felt glad when she saw how friendly Andrea seemed to be towards Mango.

However, Mango didn't know what Andrea was thinking, but she didn't refuse the other girl's offer either.

Then, both of them left the ward.

Andrea waited until they were a distance away from the ward before she turned and said coldly, "What the hell are you doing here? Do you think that you can flaunt the fact that you're the grandchild of the Hans Family to me? Let me make it very clear, I'm going to take away everything that you hold dear from you!"

Mango frowned when she saw the steely determination in Andrea's eyes.

"So, you're doing all of this just because you want to compete for Madam Hans's favour?"

"What a joke! Why would I need to do that? It's not like Madam Hans is some handsome man. In fact, I just can't stand the way you're better than me in everything. The Hans Family immediately rushed to restore your identity once you lost it, and they even argued with the officials in Santell Capital. I'm also my mother's daughter, yet I've been treated like an illegitimate child for more than twenty years! Why do you have it so easy? Mango, I only disliked you before this, but now I absolutely despise you! You don't deserve to be my half-sister!"

As she spoke, Andrea gnashed her teeth angrily.

However, Mango didn't have much of a reaction.

"So? Why are you bending over backwards just to care for Madam Hans? What's your true intention?"