Such a Rude and Noisy Woman

Chapter 425 A Scheming Woman

Letting go of Hiram's hands, Rachel walked into the kitchen. As she rolled her sleeves up, she

asked,"Flora, do you need any help?"

When Flora saw her, she pushed Rachel out of the room and exclaimed,"No, no, no! How could I ask

for your help? You're my guest. All you have to do is sit and relax on the sofa. I can handle everything

here. These dishes are just a piece of cake for me! Don't worry."

As she was an experienced chef, this amount of dishes was not really a big deal for her.

Looking around the kitchen, Rachel could easily see everything was really clean and there were no

greasy stains. In fact, she had to admit that Flora was graceful in the drawing room and skillful in the

kitchen.

So she walked out of there, since she couldn't do anything to help Flora.

In the meantime, Hiram was browsing for books on the bookshelf in the living room.

Only a few minutes later, Flora walked out of the kitchen, boldly and gracefully carrying two dishes on

her hands.

"You like this novel too? It's written by Herman Melville!" Holding the book in his hand, Hiram took a

quick look at Flora, who was placing the dishes on the table, and said.

"Uh-huh. I think it's a great novel about humanity. The truth is that hatred can help realize one's

potential, but it could also destroy a person." Smiling warmly, Flora shared her idea with Hiram.

Sitting on the sofa, Rachel lowered slightly her head to see which book they were talking about.

Moby Dick?!

She hadn't read that book.

"Oh, right. I have two other French literary classics books here. They're limited editions. Come and

check them out!" said Flora. Her interest seemed to be aroused by Hiram's question. So, like a swift

cat, she went to the bookshelf, took out two thick books and handed them to Hiram.

Interested and impatient, Hiram grabbed them in his hands.

"You can stay here and read them. I need to bring other dishes to the table." Gifting Hiram with a

dazzling smile, Flora walked towards the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Rachel, who was still on the sofa, was eating sunflower seeds. Although she was reading a

book too, as a matter of fact, she couldn't quite understand it, as it was written in English

Going to college had been a hard earned luxury for Rachel. And yet, Fannie worked very hard to be

able to pay the tuition and support her daughter. Unlike Hiram and Flora, Rachel didn't have the lucky

opportunity to study abroad, let alone learning foreign languages.

"Hiram, the dinner is ready!" Flora called Hiram with her gentlest voice, as she had already brought all

the dishes.

Now Rachel was feeling extremely thirsty, because she ate too many sunflower seeds. So she took a

glass of water, but the way Flora spoke to her man in the meantime almost made poor Rachel choke

with the water. 'How come she called Hiram, as though he's her husband?' Rachel was jealous.

"These two books are good. Once I saw them in a senior philanthropist's house, while I was in France.

But since then, I seldom see them on sale in any bookstore," said Hiram, as he put the books down

and sat on the sofa.

As she removed her apron, Flora sat on the sofa too and then asked Rachel,"Do you also read books,

dear? What type of literature do you prefer?"

Listening carefully to Flora's question, Rachel replied after a short pause,"Parenting and fairy tales. I

usually read books about pedagogy and education.

My two kids love stories. So I'd say that, most of the time, I read them tales."

Then nodding her head, Flora praised Rachel,"Oh, you're such a great mother. Whatever you do, you'll

always think about your children first and foremost."

As a sign of accepting Flora's compliment, Rachel stayed silent and modest. She took a brisk look at

the dishes on the table. Of course, they were all Hiram's favorites.

Generally, he didn't like oily dishes and sweet foods. He would rather eat something lighter. Although

Rachel was fine with that, she preferred something spicier and sourer.

"Have a try! I'll take you to eat other foods, when we go back." Sitting next to Rachel, Hiram whispered

in her ears, as he got a dish for her.

"Uh-huh," Rachel said very gently. Actually, it was not a big deal. It was just a dinner.

She could enjoy eating more, if she ended up really liking those foods. If not, she could just have a little

and leave them on the table.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Rachel! I don't know what you like to eat. I cooked these according to Hiram's taste. Are

you fine with that?" Flora felt sorry and apologized to Rachel.

As she was trying one of the dishes, she shook her head and replied to Flora,"No, no, no! Honestly, I'm

not a picky person and, in general, I'm willing to try any new foods. I've been married to Hiram for many

years, so I have gotten used to his taste. You don't need to feel sorry."

Afterwards Rachel glanced at her husband gently. In the past years, he had accustomed himself to her

habits too.

Grabbing some napkins, Hiram helped his wife wipe off the rice from her lips. He couldn't help, but

burst into laughter, saying,"Sweetheart, you're an adult. Why are you as careless as Joyce?"

"Hey, don't say that! Flora is here. You're embarrassing me." Slightly ashamed by Hiram's words, she

just glared at him.

As he looked at Rachel with his loving eyes, he apologized,"Sorry, honey. My bad."

Rachel and Hiram were looking at each other with eyes, full of love. That view was too much for Flora

to put up with. A few seconds later, she stood up abruptly, solemnly announcing,"Oh, I've got a really

nice bottle of wine here. I have never opened it. Since you're here today, let's have a drink!"

Flora went to get the special wine and put it on the table. "Hiram, can you, please, help me open it?"

"Sure!" Hiram said "yes" immediately. Then he put down his chopsticks and opened it with a corkscrew.

After that Flora was back in the living room with three glasses and poured wine into them one by one.

As Rachel reached to get hers, Hiram stopped her. "You'd better not drink it. Aren't you going to feel

uncomfortable in the car later? You need to take good care of your health."

Hiram said, as he took Rachel's glass away.

"That's fine, darling. Flora is a great host and she treats us really well. Since she has opened the wine

specially for us, how could I not drink it?" Rachel said and took back her wine glass from Hiram`s

hands.

His furrowed eyebrows were clearly showing that something worried him. But rather than stopping

Rachel, he just kept observing her closely.

Slowly, she took a sip of her wine. These two days, Hiram had kept inviting her to drink some wine,

before she went to bed. In fact, she found she was almost addicted to it.

Therefore, whenever she saw wine at night, Rachel couldn't stay away from it.

"Hiram, it's fine. It's just a glass of wine. You don't need to be so worried." Flora said, as she kept

observing him. Then she clinked her glass with Hiram.

And Hiram clinked his glass with Flora too.

"Oh, Hiram, I have something nice to show you. Would you want to have a look?" Flora said excitingly

with a singing voice, as something occurred to her. Then she stood up and walked towards her

bedroom.

After she had drunk half of her glass, Rachel realized something wrong was happening with her body.

She felt really hot, as though she was taking a sauna. Then she wanted to refill her glass, but Hiram

stopped her.

"Stop drinking! If you wish to refill, then wait until you go back home!" Hiram said firmly, as he took the

wine glass from Rachel and put it back on the table.

"I'm okay. It's just a little wine. I can't get drunk by that." Pushing Hiram away, Rachel peaked inside

Flora's bedroom. She lowered her voice and whispered,"Don't you hear that your sweet classmate

invited you to have a look at her collections?"

His face frowned, but then he heard Flora calling him,"Hiram, come here and check this out!"

So he had no alternative, but to stand up.

Hesitant, he stood in front of the door of Flora's bedroom, but didn't walk into it. Seeing him, Flora

showed him the photo album and said,"Come on in. Look! I still have these pictures. You haven't seen

most of them."

"Uh-huh. Flora, it's late now. I need to go back home with Rachel. You have a good rest too. Thank you

for your hospitality tonight," said Hiram. He was still standing next to the door, looking determined not

to walk in.

After putting an effort to "swallow" her surprise, Flora smiled,"Why?... Why are you in such a hurry?

These are the pictures we took at college. They won't take you so much time. Besides, it's still early

now. You seldom come to visit me. Why don't you stay a bit longer?"

Walking slowly towards Hiram, Flora said in a catty voice,"Hiram, you're the only friend I have in H City.

I don't want to disturb your life and I do hope you don't misunderstand me. It's just that I don't want to

lose a friend like you.

If you think I'm causing troubles for you, please let me know now and I won't bother you any more!"

Wearing a disappointed expression, Flora lowered her head and sighed.

Hiram furrowed his eyebrows,"I didn't mean that. It's just… Rachel feels uncomfortable. I want to take

her home, so she can have a rest."

Completely disregarding his words, Flora lifted her head, smiled, as though nothing had happened, and

continued working on her own obsessive goals. "Hiram, I hope you still regard me as your friend. If you

have any problem or you ever need to talk to someone, I want you to know that you're always

welcome, okay?"

No answer followed, as Hiram just closed his eyes, focusing on one thing and one thing only —— how

to get out of here.

At this very moment, someone ran straight to him. It was Rachel. She walked into the bedroom, perkily

asking like a little girl,"What are you reading? Can I have a look too?"