The Sweet Rival (Mango Shen and Nathaniel Ye)

Barack used to be sophisticated and charming, but he had been tortured until he became like this.

Although Magnolia didn't know what the king had done to Barack, she could imagine the pain that he had gone through from the wounds that she saw.

Magnolia had planned to ask Mango for a clear explanation, but she was afraid that Barack would run away once she left.

She had finally found his whereabouts and had seen him again! Hence, she would never let him disappear from her sight.

Magnolia was about to ask to prepare some food when she was told that Nathaniel had already asked them to do so. Hence, the staff in the kitchen were already carrying out his orders.

Hence, she hurriedly said, "Tell the staff to not put cilantro in the food because he doesn't like them."

Although she didn't say these words loudly, Barack heard it.

Did he dislike cilantro?

Well, he couldn't remember anymore.

After being imprisoned in the dark cellar, he had even eaten rotten food, let alone cilantro. If he did not eat, he would not be able to survive. Furthermore, he had even stuffed many other indescribable things into his mouth.

At the thought of this, Barack felt disgusted by himself.

Right now, he was like a rat in a ditch, so he looked filthy and disgusting. How could he be together with Magnolia?

Even if he still loved her, and even if he did not care about her past, what could he do?

He was not good enough for her, after all!

Well, Barack had always hoped that he could leave the cellar. But now, when he got what he wanted, he wanted to go back and never see anyone again.

He didn't care about anyone else's opinions, but he didn't want Magnolia to see his current state. Unfortunately, he had still appeared in front of her this way. Then, Barack turned on the tap and allowed the water to flow onto his body. It had been a long time since he had felt this warmth.

He had thought that he would die in that dark cellar, but he never expected to get a chance to be free again.

Right now, just a simple hot bath was already a luxury to him.

It was difficult to clean his hair, so he picked up the scissors aside and cut his hair. Although it was scraggly, he looked better as he had groomed it.

While Barack was taking a shower, Magnolia did not stay idle. She went to find clean clothes, but Nathaniel had already prepared them. So she went to the kitchen again and personally made two dishes and even warmed a pot of wine for Barack.

By the time she finished all these and returned to her room, Barack had not come out yet.

Mango wanted to go and have a look, but Nathaniel carried her onto the bed and said in a low voice, "Look, both of them probably want to spend some time with each other tonight. So even if you have any questions, you won't have the chance to ask them too. You should go to bed first as it's getting late. After all, you have the energy to chat with Barack tomorrow if you rest well, right? Besides, we have plenty of time in the future, so we can talk to Barack anytime we want."

Nathaniel knew that Mango was emotional, and he also knew how Mango wanted to see Barack desperately. After all, Barack and Dennis were twins. Hence, whenever Mango looked at Barack, she would be reminded of her own father.

Well, Mango had never seen Dennis before. Even though she had seen his picture, she didn't get to see him before he died.

To Mango, this was her regret in life.

Therefore, she wanted to fulfil her wish by looking at Barack.

How could Nathaniel not understand what she was thinking?

However, Barack probably didn't have the energy or time to deal with his niece now.

Upon hearing Nathaniel's words, Mango knew that Nathaniel was telling the truth. However, she still said excitedly, "We have rescued my uncle, right? He won't be taken away again, will he?" "Don't worry. As long as he's in my territory, no one can take him away."

Nathaniel said with a smile.

Mango nodded her head after hearing his reply.

"Yes, that's right! With our men around, no one can take Barack away anymore. Besides, you've taken care of the people there. Even if they wanted to inform the king, it would take them some time. They wouldn't be able to find Barack anymore then."

Mango muttered to herself childishly

On the other hand, Nathaniel saw that she could not calm down for a while, so he could not help but lower his head and kiss her lips.

Mango was stunned for a moment before she immersed herself in the kiss.

On the other hand, Barack finally came out of the bathroom after washing himself for about one and a half hours.

He had looked filthy and grimy previously, but he was now clean and sparkling. Although his hair was unevenly cut, he looked more refreshed.

As he had not seen the sun for so long, his skin was pale to the point where it looked sickly. His gaze was also lifeless and was not as sharp as others. When Magnolia saw this, she had the urge to cry.

Alas! Barack used to be a spirited man. His eyes always sparkled as bright as stars and always captivated others, but how did he end up this way? However, Magnolia suppressed the misery in her heart. Then, she smiled as she took Barack's hand before sitting down.

Barack unconsciously dodged her hand, but Magnolia realized it and grabbed his scrawny hand before he could do so.

Right now, he was wearing Magnolia's night robe.

THen, Magnolia smiled and said softly, "These are all your favourite dishes. I cooked them myself, so please try them. Do they taste the same as twenty years ago?"

She had an expectant gaze in her eyes as she said these words, and it seemed as if they had not been separated for twenty years.

Barack felt warmth in his heart, and tears started welling up in his eyes when he saw this scene.

He never thought that there would be a day when he could sit with Magnolia and eat dinner together with her again.

After that, Barack picked up the spoon. His movements were a little awkward, but he still picked up the food and put it in his mouth.

A familiar taste immediately filled his taste buds, and tears filled his eyes.

However, he didn't speak and lowered his head as he began to eat. Even though he didn't devour his food greedily, Magnolia still felt heartbroken when she saw the scene in front of her.

"Eat slowly, alright? There's still a lot of food. Don't just eat the dishes. Here, have some rice too."

Magnolia then passed the rice to Barack as she said these words.

Meanwhile, Barack paused for a while before taking the rice started eating it. Throughout the meal, he didn't talk to Magnolia at all and didn't even look at her. Magnolia's tears flowed uncontrollably from her eyes when she saw this

If she didn't fall in love with Barack back then, would he already have many children and grandchildren? In fact, would he be living a blissful life right now? Alas! It was her fault!

She had ruined Barack's entire life!

At this thought, Magnolia blamed herself so much and sobbed. "Let me tell you. I've always thought that if I've never met you and never fallen in love with you, you would have already married the right girl and had a family with her. You could have ventured into the business industry or entered the military by now! Sometimes, I can imagine you joking around with your friends and being filial to your mother too! What an exciting life it would be! Alas! You ended up this way because you met me and fell in love with me! Barack, I can't ever repay you, even if I have to do so for my entire life!"

After hearing this, Barack stopped eating for a moment and a tear fell from his eye into his bowl.

Did he regret it?

Barack had asked himself this question countless times over the years.

Did he regret meeting Magnolia? Also, did he regret falling in love with her?

Well, the answer to these questions were always the same.

He never regretted it!

If it weren't for Magnolia, he would never have known how much he could do for someone he loved. If he hadn't fallen in love with her, he wouldn't have studied geological surveillance and vines. Also, if he had never met Magnolia, he never would have known how stubborn and determined he could be.

Well, he felt satisfied because he had loved someone so sincerely through his whole life. Hence, he had never thought about how he had ended up.

Of course, it would be great if they could be together. If that couldn't happen, he would be fine as long as she could live a happy and blissful life.

Barack's thoughts flashed through his mind before he ate again, and he pretended to not hear what Magnolia was saying.

Meanwhile, Magnolia's heart ached when she looked at Barack, who was so quiet in front of her,

In the past, although Barack wasn't very talkative, he could talk to her non-stop the whole morning.

But now, he seemed to have nothing to say, so she felt depressed because of the silence in the room.

Hence, Magnolia decided to leave without saying anything else.

Once Barack was alone, he put down his cutlery.

The food was delicious, but it didn't taste the same as before.

In the end, they could never regain the time that they had lost, and they could no longer continue the relationship that they had.

Oh, well. Barack thought that he had gotten used to the disappointments in life. But, when it came to Magnolia, the woman he loved, he realized that his heart was feeling excruciating pain when he thought about leaving her.

Alas! He loved her!

In fact, he loved her as much as he did twenty years ago!

But he didn't have the right to be with her!

Was there anything more devastating than this?

Barack had never believed in fate, but now, he didn't know what to do.

When he was in the cellar, he had only wanted to be free again.

However, now that he had come out, he was actually at a loss of what to do.

After all, he had spent almost twenty years in that cellar, and he had been completely cut off from the rest of the world. Thus, he didn't know how to adapt to society. Furthermore, he didn't know what he could do and contribute.

Previously, he had been determined to make a name for himself. But now, too much time had passed, so he was too tired to do so anymore.

At this thought, Barack looked at the plates in front of him and felt lost.

Where should he go from here?

Could he go back to the Hans family and leech off his siblings?

No, he couldn't!

He didn't want to live that sort of life!

But did he still have a life?

Perhaps his life had ended more than twenty years ago when that man had locked him into that cellar.

When Magnolia came back, she saw Barack staring at his plate in a daze. Right now, he was like a lost child who couldn't find his way home.

Suddenly, she felt heartbroken.

"Barack, have you finished eating? I'll trim your hair after you're done."

Magnolia tried to say this as lightly as possible.

Then, Barack paused for a moment before putting down his fork.

He was like a child who didn't know how to take care of himself in front of Magnolia. Hence, he became lost in thought slightly when he saw Magnolia holding a trimmer that she had borrowed from somewhere,

"Sit down then."

Magnolia walked over and gently sat Barack down on a chair. She then put a cloth around Barack and said gently, "Don't laugh at me if I mess it up later." She thought that Barack would say no like before. However, he was silent right now, so she felt depressed.

Magnolia knew that she couldn't push him, so she switched on the trimmer. However, before she could start, she noticed a row of needle pricks by his ear.

Her face instantly turned pale when she saw this!