The Sweet Rival (Mango Shen and Nathaniel Ye)
Chapter 1169

"Who needs sleeping pills? Do you need them? What's going on? Are you finding it hard to fall asleep?" Wisdom asked several questions continuously.

However, Zion rubbed his hair in frustration and replied, "Urgh! I can't sleep. I'm very tired, but if I close my eyes, I'll see Sasa's body, so I can't fall asleep no matter what."

Then, he sat down directly beside Wisdom and said in a melancholic tone, "You know, Sasa's father was still in the ICU, and her mother couldn't stop crying. Alas! I never knew what my responsibility was. I used to think that I could follow in dad's footsteps and become someone influential in the military region. But now, I know that it's a sacred profession. No matter whether we are renowned or ordinary soldiers, everyone still has to protect our country. We can't reduce casualties, but we don't want anyone to die. Argh! She was chatting and laughing with us a few days ago, but now, she's gone forever. Now, I hear the sound of firecrackers coming from outside as all the families welcome the new year. They are having fun, but what about the soldiers? We're defending and fighting for our country!. I don't know why I came back. I'm exhausted, and I want to take a rest. I want to sleep well."

Suddenly, Wisdom's heart tightened when he heard what Zion had said.

He had not experienced the life of a soldier, so naturally, he did now know the deep bond that Zion had with his comrades. However, he understood the sadness that Zion was experiencing right now. Then, Wisdom held his hand gently and whispered, "We're going to be one year older after today."

"Yeah, we're growing up, huh?"

Zion smiled as he said this.

After that, Wisdom gave Zion a small bottle.

"This is a sleeping perfume, and I developed this recently. Put it on your bedside and put a few flowers in it. After that, this scent will fill the room, so you can feel calm and fall asleep easily. Besides, the chemicals in the sleeping pills might be harmful. You're still a young child, so your body can't take it."

Zion took the sleeping perfume and nodded.

"Wisdom, don't tell daddy and mommy about this, alright? I don't want them to worry about it." "I can keep the secret for you, but you have to promise me to take good care of your body. If you can't do that, I'll tell them about this. I don't know what they will do by then."

Zion felt helpless when he heard Wisdom threatening him.

"Let's go and welcome the New Year then. It's almost 12 o'clock."

Zion stuffed the perfume into his pocket and went downstairs. Meanwhile, Wisdom also packed up his things.

It was New Year's Eve today, so everyone gathered around the table in the living room. On the other hand, Brantley was sending new years blessings to everyone in the family.

Mango and Nathaniel sat by the side. When they saw the children come down, they smiled and said, "Deborah and Walter, I hope that both of you can give birth to a child and bring them here next year soon." Deborah's face turned a little red after she heard what Mango said.

"Hmm, we'll let time run its cause then!"

Walter held Deborah's hand tightly as she replied.

Suddenly, the clock chimed as it turned 12 o'clock.

Then, everyone wished Brantley a 'Happy New Year'.

Meanwhile, Brantley was so jovial that he was beaming with happiness.

"Yeah! Wishing everyone a happy new year! Come on guys, here are your red envelopes."

Brantley took out the red envelopes he prepared in advance and offered everyone one immediately.

Mango and Nathaniel had also received one red packet each!

This was the first time Mango had received a red packet from her elders since she was married. Thus, she could not help but feel happy and excited.

"Darling, look! Grandpa gave me a red envelope."

Mango smiled happily as she showed off to Nathaniel.

Meanwhile, Nathaniel took out a red envelope from his pocket and gave it to Mango, together with the one given by Brantley.

"Here. I'm your husband, so I'm giving you a red packet as well."

"Aww! Thanks, honey."

Mango was overjoyed to receive a red packet.

Zion and Wisdom saw it and quickly came over to wish their parents a happy new year. Naturally, they also received their red envelopes.

"Go and greet your uncle and auntie."

Nathaniel pointed to Walter and Deborah as he said so.

After hearing this, the two children ran over happily.

"Happy New Year, Uncle Walter and Aunt Deborah!"

"Happy New Year to you too!"

Walter was very happy that he quickly gave them the red packets.

Meanwhile, Deborah also gave them hers.

Walter thought that Zion and Wisdom would leave after giving them the red envelopes, but Zion continued, "Also, I wish both of you a happy new year on behalf of Rita." "Okay, fine, alright."

Walter and Deborah gave him another red packet after hearing what he said.

When he was done, Zion smiled and said, "We didn't have time to attend your wedding ceremony yesterday. So, today, we wish that both of you will live happily together forever." Walter paused for a moment after hearing what Zion had said.

Deborah immediately laughed in reply.

"Alright, I get it. I'll give you another red packet, so thank you for your kind words."

In a short while, Zion and Wisdom manage to get a lot of red packets from Walter.

Then, Zion and Wisdom moved to another place to greet the other adults.

Mango could not help but smile when she saw that her children were a little joyful and mischievous.

After the New Year's Eve dinner, everyone went back to their rooms and rest.

However, Mango and Nathaniel were more exhausted than the others as they took a flight to Creekside Cottage before this.

After all of them fell asleep, the night became particularly quiet.

When Brantley woke up the next morning, the Hans family had come over to greet him.

Terrance and Mateo had come on behalf of the Hans family to visit Brantley. After they had greeted Brantley, Mango and the others also woke up.

When the children came down, it became their turn to receive red packets from Terrance and Mateo. In the end, they were so happy that they went to greet the other relatives as well. Mateo and Terrance also laughed when they saw their happy faces.

"You guys are not young anymore, so you should probably get married soon. You all shouldn't take this problem lightly, okay?"

The Hans brothers nodded their heads upon hearing Brantley's words. However, they could only leave this up to fate, so both of them couldn't do anything about this.

As soon as Mateo started talking to Brantley, he received a phone call. Then, he got up and said, "Mr. Xiao, I've got something to do in the military region, so I need to go back first." "Okay, go ahead."

Of course, Brantley knew that how important military affairs were.

When Nathaniel saw that Mateo had stood up, he quickly said, "Let me send you off, Mateo."

After that, both of them walked outside.

At the door, Nathaniel asked in a low voice, "Is Morgan all right?"

"Nah, I don't think it's looking good as all the evidence we have is against him. Also, I heard that Mango is investigating something through the Dark Night Empire. Be careful, alright? Don't get yourselves into trouble."

Mateo's said these words so softly that only Nathaniel could hear him.

"Alas! I'm sure that things will get more problematic this year. You haven't really retired from the military yet, and all the formalities are stuck in my hands. I do want to approve your retirement, but the superiors aren't allowing me to do so. Nathan, please don't do anything during this period of time. Although what I said may seem aloof, I still have to tell you that it's important for you to behave for the time being. Morgan has gotten himself into serious trouble this time, and everyone knows you've got a good relationship with him. If you also get into trouble, I don't think that there's hope to save him anymore." Nathaniel knew that Mateo was hinting at something, so his expression darkened.

"What are they going to do with Morgan? Will they dismiss him from the military?"

"Not necessarily. But if they manage to prove that the evidence we have is all true, I think that he'll most likely expelled from

army."

However, a trace of heartache flashed across Mateo's gaze.

Morgan had served and contributed greatly to the army throughout his life. However, this time, the superiors had cancelled all his contributions because of this incident.

"What on earth happened?"

Nathaniel was anxious to know the truth.

He knew more than anyone else about Morgan's feelings for the military service.

"Don't ask me about anything. You know, even if you ask, I can't tell you anything. Sometimes, we should know our position well so that we will only ask the right questions. Well, I'm leaving now. Take good care of Mango."

After saying that, Mateo got in the car and left.

Nathaniel looked at Mateo leaving the place and suddenly, he felt very upset.

Meanwhile, Mango excused herself without waiting for Nathaniel to come back.

Then, she saw Nathaniel smoking at the door with a gloomy expression on his face. "Why are you smoking again?"

Mango directly extinguished the cigarette in Nathaniel's hand while she scolded him.

Nathaniel was slightly astonished because he only noticed that Mango had come out now. "Why did you come out?"

"I came to take a look at you because you haven't come back. Has Mateo left?"

"Yeah, he left already."

Nathaniel smiled faintly, but there was a lingering worry under his eyes.

"Is Morgan's case very complicated?"

She also knew about Morgan's issues.

Nathaniel nodded in reply.

"The main problem right now is that we don't know what happened to him at all. We just know that our superiors have placed him under house arrest. Right now, I heard Mateo say that it's very likely that Morgan will be expelled from the army. He also told me not to interfere with this, but... but we're talking about Morgan here!"

Mango understood how Nathaniel was feeling completely.

"You should take the children to the Eaves family to wish them a happy new year."

Nathaniel paused after hearing what Mango had said.

"Aren't you afraid that they will suspect you?"

"What should I be afraid of? My husband is honest, and I haven't done anything to break the law. The whole of Ocean City City knows the relationship that we have with the Eaves family. If they suspect us just because we met up during the new year, let them be. I don't care."

Mango's words warmed Nathaniel's heart.

"Tell grandpa later then, and well take the children there." "All right."

Mango nodded, and they entered the house.

After speaking to Brantley, Mango and Nathaniel brought Zion and Wisdom to the Morgan's house.

Nathaniel was very cautious along the way, and Mango felt that he was ridiculous.

"Do you have paranoia? How could you be so cautious only by driving a car?"

Nathaniel said in a deep voice, "Do you still remember? Someone told us that the Bernard was going after you on New Year's Eve, but today is the first day of the lunar year. He still hasn't taken any action!" "Why do you mean by he hasn't? Wisdom went missing, and Haniya was shot. But it's a little strange that he didn't do anything to me."

Mango also furrowed her brows when she thought of this.

Suddenly, she thought about Magnolia.

Was Magnolia's sudden return related to Bernard?

Bernard was a person who wanted nothing more than to kill Mango, so he had been targeting her frequently. Therefore, he would not abolish his missions easily unless he had to do so because something had happened.

What could it be?

Was it related to Magnolia?

Why did Magnolia suddenly come here alone?

A series of questions rang in Mango's mind, but she could not find an answer.

"Where did Magnolia go yesterday? Did Ned report to you before?"

Nathaniel's face darkened upon hearing Mango's question.