The Sweet Rival (Mango Shen and Nathaniel Ye)

"What's wrong?"

Nathaniel frowned slightly. Wasn't the blue nymph grass the same as what Nanny Zhang said?

Aiden looked at Nathaniel, and then at Mango. He asked, "Which one of you needs blue nymph grass?" "My wife. What's the difference?"

Nathaniel felt that Aiden seemed to have something to say.

Mango also looked at Aiden. She was always on her guard against him who had suddenly appeared.

Aiden pondered for a moment and said, "Blue nymph grass is our specialty. To be exact, it's a specialty of our village. There are many tombs here, and it is very damp. The grass is likely to grow in the cemetery. However, it'll take some effort for outsiders to find the blue nymph grass. It has great algidity, and only people with elevated body temperatures can use it. Madam, you must think over it carefully. If you don't have the required temperature, consuming blue nymph grass may cause you to be infertile for your entire life."

Upon hearing Aiden's words, Nathaniel heaved a sigh of relief.

"We already have kids."

"You have children? I can't believe that Madie had became grandma."

Aiden felt melancholic again when he talked about that.

Mango tugged Nathaniel's sleeve and whispered in his ear, "I feel that there's something wrong with this man."

"Don't mind him. As long as he can take us to the blue nymph grass, it'll be fine. Do as you see fit. Don't worry about me."

Nathaniel patted Mango's hand and said in a gentle voice. To him, Mango's body was of utmost importance.

"How can I not care about you?"

Mango rolled her eyes at him, and it made Nathaniel chuckle softly.

"Both of you are really in love with each other. Madie and I used to be this way."

They had no idea that Aiden was watching them. He spoke as he noticed their romantic and sweet atmosphere.

Nathaniel said faintly, "Will you take us to the blue nymph grass now?"

"Since you're Madie's son and daughter-in-law, I'll take you there. You have to follow me closely. The climate here belongs to the sub-tropical region. It's hot and humid, especially in the cemetery at night. It's very slippery, so don't wander off."

As Aiden said so, he took the lead and went out.

Nathaniel followed behind him closely.

Mango hesitated for a moment before she left as well.

There was indeed a mechanism to open the door here.

Mango followed Aiden and Nathaniel out of the cave. When they arrived outside, the moon shone radiantly.

She glanced at the time. It was the stroke of midnight.

She didn't know how Zion, Henry, and the others were doing.

Mango took a glance at her mobile. There was a signal and she quickly called Zion.

"Mommy, where did you and Mr. Ye go? We turned over the whole village but we couldn't find you."

Upon hearing Zion's anxious voice, she said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Mommy accidentally fell into a cave. We just came out. I'm going to look for a medicinal herb with your daddy. Can you please wait for me with Uncle Henry at the Pickwick Lodge Farm?"

"What kind of herb requires you to go out at night? Can't you do it during the day?"

Zion was slightly worried.

Mango smiled and said, "Silly boy, there are some things that we have to search for at night. Alright, let's stop here. If you need anything, just call me. I'll hang up first, okay?" "Okay, take care of yourself."

"I will."

After Mango hung up the phone, she realized that both Nathaniel and Aiden were nowhere to be seen when she raised her head.

The land was surrounded by a wide array of graveyards, which made her feel spooked.

She was quite confident about Nathaniel's skills, but she didn't hear anything at all. Did Aiden use camouflage?

Mango immediately became nervous.

"Nathan! Nathaniel!"

Mango shouted.

Her voice sounded particularly hollow in the empty graveyard, which made her nervous.

Mango was a little afraid, but when she thought of

Nathaniel going missing, she couldn't be bothered with her fear and quickly searched the surrounding area.

After searching for about half an hour, she still couldn't find anything.

A gust of cold wind rustled the leaves, and it made Mango's skin crawl.

She swallowed a mouthful of saliva unconsciously. She took out her mobile and wanted to call for help, only to find that her phone was dead.

What should she do?

Leave or stay?

Mango wasn't sure.

Nathaniel certainly had no problem protecting himself. However, she was afraid that Aiden would drug Nathaniel since he was proficient in traditional medicine.

The place was just like a maze for her. She couldn't find any clues or information at all.

After some thought, Mango decided to seek for assistance first.

She left the place quickly and arrived at the Pickwick Lodge Farm at about three o'clock in the morning.

Everyone was still resting.

Mango didn't bother Zion. She ran to Noah's room and knocked on his door.

Noah immediately woke up from his sleep when he heard someone knocking on the door.

"Who's there?"

"It's me, Mango. Nathaniel is missing."

Mango's words made Noah open the door quickly.

As Noah came out in a hurry, he was merely in a nightgown. When he saw Mango's miserable appearance with her entire body drenched in sweat, he frowned and asked, "Didn't you say that you were going to find some herbs? Why is Nathan missing?"

Mango quickly told Noah about Aiden.

Noah frowned again.

"Aiden? Why did you both follow him to seek the blue nymph grass when you don't even know if he's a friend or foe?"

"Do we have a choice? We needed him to lead us out. I thought that both our skills were good enough, so it should not be a problem to deal with an old guy like him. However, they disappeared after I made a phone call."

Mango was extremely frustrated.

Noah frowned and said, "Don't worry, I'll ask someone to check on Aiden's background. Nathan can deal with Aiden. Don't worry."

Although Noah said so, Mango was still a little worried.

"Go back to your room and change your clothes. Don't catch a cold. I'll get myself dressed. See you outside later."

"Alright."

Mango quickly returned to her room and changed her clothes. Coincidentally, she bumped into Henry.

"You're back, Mrs Ye? Where is Mr. Ye?"

"What are you doing here?"

Mango was freaking out at that moment.

"I came out to use the restroom," Henry said sheepishly as he scratched his head. "The toilets here are all built outside."

Mango felt a little awkward in an instant.

"Oh, go ahead then. I'll head out with Noah later. Please take care of Zion for me."

"Okay, no problem. Wait, where are you going at this hour?"

Henry's words caused Mango's brows to furrow again.

"We met a man called Aiden. Nathan followed him outside to look for the blue nymph grass, but in a blink of an eye, he disappeared. Noah and I are going to look for him."

Henry was Novalee's younger brother. Since Mango treated Novalee as a good friend, she didn't hide it from Henry either.

However, when Henry heard Aiden's name, he couldn't help being slightly stunned.

"Who did you say you met?"

"Aiden Zhang, what's wrong? Do you know him?"

"How old is he?"

Upon seeing Henry's look, Mango suddenly became alert.

"He's in his fifties. He said he was Madeline's fiance. When the disaster happened in the village, he hid in a cave alone and escaped from it. He has been living alone here for years." Mango told Henry everything she knew.

Henry's brows furrowed tightly.

"Does he have a square jaw with a birthmark on his face? Is that what he looks like?"

Henry said as he gesticulated.

Mango paused for a moment before saying, "Yeah, he has a square jaw, but I wasn't able to see the birthmark too clearly. It seems like he hasn't washed his face for a very long time. His face was so dirty, and

I couldn't see him clearly as it was way too dark just now. What's wrong? Do you know this person? Do you have any idea where he's going to go?"

Henry looked at Mango, and only after a long while did he say, "If you and I are talking about the same person, then color me surprised."

"Why?"

"Aiden's been dead for a long time."

As soon as he finished speaking, Mango felt a chill run down her spine.

"Henry, this joke is not funny at all."

Her voice was a little shaky.

Nathaniel's skills were extraordinary, and ordinary people had no chance to attack him. However, she was beside him not long ago. Although she was talking on the phone with her head down, it was impossible for her to hear nothing. Indeed, they disappeared right under her nose. Now, Henry said that Aiden was dead, and the fact would freak anyone out.

Henry rubbed his arms and said," I had heard from my father when I was a kid that there was a very beautiful woman in our village called Madeline. Many people were after her at that time. Aiden was an orphan who was brought up by Madeline's parents. Both of them grew up together as childhood sweethearts. As you know, this village didn't allow inter-marriage with outsiders. Hence, Madeline's parents arranged an engagement for them and waited for them to get married when they were of age. When Madeline grew up, rumor had it that she went out of the village to deal with something and got to know somebody else. Hence, she wanted to break off her engagement with Aiden. That incident has caused a stir in the village at that moment. Due to this, Madeline's father had almost broken her leg but she insisted to annul her engagement."

Upon hearing Henry's words, Mango couldn't help but pause for a moment.

"Do you mean that Madeline came back to ask for annulment because she met a man outside?"

"I don't know. I also heard my parents talk about it inadvertently. Later, I thought it was quite interesting, so I asked them to tell me. The reason why I remember that incident well is that my sister had an admirer when they mentioned it. My parents didn't want my sister to be in love at an early age, so they told us about it."

Henry's story was flawless.

Mango's brows were tightly knitted together.

If what Henry said was true, why didn't Aiden tell them all these things?

Did he already make up his mind to kidnap

Nathaniel when he learned that Nathaniel was Madeline's son?

But why?

Was it revenge for his spurned love?

Mango couldn't figure it out.

She looked at Henry and asked, "Did your parents tell you about anything else? What happened to Aiden?"

"Yes, my parent said that Aiden loved Madeline very much and wished for her to give up the idea of leaving the village. However, Madeline disagreed, so he poisoned Madeline with his cooking. He wanted to

die with her. Unexpectedly, Madeline had a strange disease when she was a child. Her father treated her, so she was immune to poison. Hence, Aiden was the only one who died at that time."

As soon as he finished the story, Mango was completely stunned.