Chapter 453
I Still Have Another Gift for You
The moment Ava Bennett and Hannah Bennett saw Claire Bennett, it felt as if all the blood in their bodies had frozen solid.
Claire Bennett!
Sh-She... how did she come back?
When Laura Bennett saw the shocked expressions on Ava Bennett's and Hannah Bennett's faces, she felt indescribably delighted.
Serves that mother and daughter right for getting so full of themselves!
After the brief shock, a considerable amount of discussion broke out at the scene. Claire Bennett's appearance sparked a wave of whispers among the crowd.
"Who is that? Why haven't I seen her before? She looks like some rich family's daughter."
"She's walking with Lila Bennett, so she must be someone very close to her."
"Could she be Claire Bennett?"
"Probably not, right? Didn't Ava Bennett just say Claire Bennett had already left the Bennett family and wasn't coming back anymore?"
...
Under everyone's astonished gaze, Claire Bennett walked forward at an unhurried pace.
She came to stand before Old Mr. Bennett and handed him an exquisitely carved box she was holding. Curling her lips into a faint smile, she said, "Grandpa, happy birthday."
Even Old Mr. Bennett hadn't expected to see Claire Bennett again.
His cloudy eyes lingered for a moment behind Claire Bennett, his gaze full of scrutiny and probing.
Then Old Mr. Bennett looked her over from top to bottom, and finally let his gaze settle on Claire Bennett's face. Only then did he confirm that the girl standing before him was indeed his granddaughter.
Old Mr. Bennett had remarried, and he had never been especially affectionate toward Claire Bennett.
But neither had he disliked or distanced himself from her. He simply took the gift from Claire Bennett's hands with a neutral expression.
Laura Bennett sharp-eyedly noticed that the gift Claire Bennett had given was actually almost the same as Ava Bennett's. Wasn't the logo on it exactly the same as the one on the gift Ava Bennett had just presented?
A moment ago, Ava Bennett had been showered with praise by everyone and had used it to belittle all of them.
Whether it was exactly the same or not, Laura Bennett couldn't stand seeing Ava Bennett so smug, so she immediately said loudly, "Oh my! Claire, you and Ava really thought alike. Who would've guessed you both gave Dad sleep incense!"
Laura Bennett's voice drew everyone's attention back once more to the gift in Old Mr. Bennett's hands.
Quite a few people began to notice something.
"I know what that is—it looks like that master perfumer Ziyun's sleep incense!"
"It really is the same as Ava Bennett's!"
That cry of surprise from one of the guests made everyone's expressions turn even more astonished.
Claire Bennett looked doubtfully at the sleep incense in Old Mr. Bennett's hand, clearly not quite sure what was going on either.
Her gift had been prepared by Julian Sterling, and she had almost forgotten to take it just now.
Claire Bennett hadn't originally shared any deep bond with Old Mr. Bennett anyway. She had only hoped the gift wouldn't go wrong, and had trusted that what Julian Sterling gave her wouldn't be too bad. She hadn't expected that this was what he had prepared.
Ava Bennett took a careful look at what Claire Bennett had given Old Mr. Bennett. Once she saw it clearly, her face turned several shades paler, and the hand at her side clenched tightly.
At that moment, the discussion around them still hadn't stopped, and someone noticed a difference.
"Wait, that's not right. Even though the logo is the same, the color on it is a little different!"
"What? Could one of them be fake?"
"Probably not, right? Giving a fake gift would be humiliating."
...
Suddenly, someone who knew the goods spoke up: "They're not fake. Both are real!"
Everyone immediately turned to look at him, only then realizing the speaker was a vigorous old man—Old Mr. Walker. He was an old friend of Old Mr. Bennett's, so naturally Old Mr. Bennett trusted what he said.
Someone asked curiously, "Old Mr. Walker, you're saying it isn't fake? Then why would the colors be different?"
Old Mr. Walker said, "Master Ziyun's sleep incense is blue, while the one made by his apprentice is purple. What Claire Bennett gave is blue. What Ava Bennett gave is purple."
Everyone showed expressions of sudden understanding.
So that was it!
The birthday gift Claire Bennett gave Old Mr. Bennett had been personally made by Master Ziyun, while the gift Ava Bennett gave Old Mr. Bennett had been made by Master Ziyun's apprentice.
That being the case, what Claire Bennett had given was practically priceless!
What Ava Bennett had given instantly seemed nothing special at all.
Old Mr. Walker said, "Old Bennett, haven't you been wondering why I've been in such good health lately? It's all because I've been burning incense personally made by Master Ziyun, so I've been sleeping well and eating well, and I've got a lot more energy overall."
As soon as he finished speaking, several old friends beside him all began chiming in.
"That's right. We've kept asking him for his secret, but this old bastard kept his lips sealed and refused to say a thing."
"Now the truth is finally out. So it was Master Ziyun's sleep incense."
"I'll go get some myself another day and try it out."
Old Mr. Walker laughed and said, "Don't even think about it. Master Ziyun has gone into seclusion recently, and no one can get him to take a commission. I'm using incense made by his apprentice now, but it always feels like I'm using some cheap counterfeit junk. It makes me uncomfortable all over."
After saying that, Old Mr. Walker looked at the two boxes beside Old Mr. Bennett.
"I think the incense from Master Ziyun's apprentice can be put away. Who knows—using it might not do any good at all, and might even make you sick instead!"