Perfect Match: Irresistible Desire For You
Chapter 35

Ashley was good-looking and was quite tall. Even if she was only wearing simple clothes, she still stood out. And an exceptional beauty such as her would surely attract the attention of many people in the food market. Because of this, Leonard noticed Ashley almost instantly. And when he finally got the chance to see her up close, he was a little surprised. When he met her for the first time, he recognized Ashley as the daughter of a rich family. It was rare for such a lady from a well-off family to be seen in the food market. What was more, she was doing the groceries by herself and was even so good at bargaining with the stall keepers, which Leonard found so surprising. ‘No wonder my grandson likes her. He has a good eye.’

While he was doing his groceries, Leonard secretly observed Ashley, who was nearby, and wanted to get close to her. However, he knew that if he randomly approached her at the food market, she might replace it weird or get frightened, which could make her want to avoid him. When he saw that Ashley was done with her groceries and was about to leave the market, Leonard suddenly came up with an idea and pretended to fall near the exit in a hurry, hoping to make her notice him so he could achieve his goal. In the end, everything went according to his plan. Ashley helped him up without hesitation. Unfortunately, due to his sudden movement earlier, Leonard ended up spraining his ankle for real when he fell.

‘I’m too old to get hurt like this. I didn’t take it seriously when I was young,’ Leonard regretfully thought to himself when he felt the pain. However, after Ashley extended a helping hand and offered to accompany him to the hospital, Leonard felt satisfied both physically and emotionally. One could say that it was indeed all worth it in the end.

Leonard politely turned down her offer, but Ashley firmly insisted on taking him to the hospital. ‘She really is a good person. She is beautiful but not arrogant, and she is kind and thoughtful. It’s not often that you replace such a kind woman.’ Leonard looked intently at Ashley, feeling so pleased with her.

The two walked out of the market with Ashley assisting Leonard, then they took a taxi to the nearby hospital.

On their way to the hospital, Leonard took the opportunity to ask Ashley a few simple questions, such as “What is your name? How old are you? Are you married? How many people are there in your family?” And so on.

At first, Ashley answered each of the questions honestly. But, as Leonard started asking more and more personal questions, she couldn’t help feeling a little confused. ‘Is he checking if I’m eligible for permanent residency or something? Judging from the bold look on his face, he doesn’t seem to be a bad person, but why is he asking all of these questions?’ Feeling a bit doubtful and worried, Ashley didn’t give a straight answer to some of his questions.

Noticing that she seemed to be getting a bit hesitant to answer, Leonard realized that he accidentally got so into it that he unwittingly ended up asking some personal questions. In any case, Leonard still found out a few things about her. Her name is Ashley Guzman, she’s 24 years old and unmarried. She’s living with her brother and parents, and she is working in a big company right now.

Leonard apologized sincerely, “Please forgive my rudeness. I’ve been asking too much. Perhaps it’s because I don’t really get to talk to others that much. It’s just that you’re so warmhearted that I got a little too excited.” When he saw that Ashley seemed to have lightened up a bit, Leonard knew that his ploy to get her sympathy worked. So, he went on and said, “Can I call you Ashley? I hope you won’t mind this old man’s ramblings.”

Hearing the old man in front of her say these words with a sad expression on his face, Ashley was caught off guard, and she smiled at him and said, “You can call me whatever you want. What’s your name?”

“My name is Leonard Marshall. You can call me Leonard,” Leonard replied briefly. ‘I would love it if you start calling me Grandpa already.’ Leonard really wanted to say the last part, but he knew that now was not the time for that, otherwise, he would just frighten her again.

After that, Ashley started calling him Leonard with respect.

Nodding his head with satisfaction. Leonard asked, “Ashley, weren’t you worried at all that it might be a trick to blackmail people? After all, most people would probably just turn a blind eye when the elderly falls.”

“First of all, the elderly tend to be weak. We young people should help them when we see that they are in trouble. Besides, how many elders would be willing to blackmail others at the risk of embarrassing, let alone hurting themselves? As far as I know, whether it’s out of morality or some other reason, we should help the elderly when they fall down. Otherwise, we may miss the best chance to save their life.” She then added in a firm tone, “And besides, how can anyone possibly extort money in a public place? And you don’t really look like you’re that kind of person.”

“Yes! That’s right. If the younger generation thinks like you, the people’s social morality will improve and the world will be a much better place.” Leonard sighed after hearing Ashley’s thoughts.

Despite having been a retired military officer for many years now, Leonard still paid attention to relevant political and social issues. Truth be told, he only asked this question to ease the tension. However, he wasn’t expecting to hear Ashley have such an opinion on this matter, but thanks to this, he got to replace out a little bit more about her. ‘Not only is this girl kindhearted, but she also has her own points of view. She’ll be able to help me deal with things in the future.’

The two of them continued talking about this issue for a while until the taxi finally arrived at the hospital. Ashley helped fill up his registration form, and the doctor bandaged Leonard’s sprained right ankle. After listening to the doctor’s advice, the two of them left the hospital. On their way out, Leonard expressed his gratitude over and over again, and even invited her to his home someday. Ashley simply smiled and accepted his offer. Finally, the two of them exchanged contact information with each other.

After seeing Leonard off in a taxi, Ashley took a taxi and went home as well.

By the time Leonard got back home, it was already evening. Joseph wasn’t back yet. ‘That workaholic. How is he going to have time to spend with a girl?’ Leonard felt sorry that Joseph didn’t live up to his expectations. Since Leonard’s ankle was injured, it would be difficult for him to prepare dinner. And now he was feeling a little hungry, so he grabbed the phone on the table and dialed Joseph’s number.

“Joseph, I’m hungry.” Leonard didn’t bother wasting any time and went straight to the point the second the call was connected. Then, he went on and added, “And, I sprained my ankle.”

Joseph, who was still going through the documents, answered the phone call from his home. Before he could even ask why he called, his grandfather’s voice rang in his ears. When he heard him say “I sprained my ankle,” Joseph replied at once, “Grandpa, I’ll be there as soon as I can. Just stay where you are and don’t do anything, okay?” With that, he hung up the phone.

On the other end, Leonard felt a sense of fulfillment because he rarely heard Joseph saying such thoughtful words. After feeling proud for a while, he turned on the TV and leaned back on the sofa to kill time. He started thinking about how he could help make Ashley, who was virtuous and kind, his grandson’s wife. Leonard just couldn’t wait for his grandson to get married. So much so, that he didn’t even realize that his plan wasn’t going to work if Joseph, the person involved, didn’t agree to his plan.

Just as Leonard was dreaming of a bright future, Joseph opened the door and walked in, holding some packaged food prepared by his assistant in his hand. After putting away the things he was carrying, Joseph walked to the sofa to check on his grandfather. Leonard, on the other hand, just kept watching the TV with a blank expression on his face. It wasn’t until Joseph sat down next to him that he realized he was back home.

“Grandpa, did you sprain your ankle or did you hurt your head?” Joseph asked in his usual cold voice.