Love Is a Sweet Addiction

He was very calm and politely thanked Korbin and took Esther’s hand, following Korbin to the guest room.

When they entered the guest room, Russell was sitting at the tea table, leisurely tasting the tea.

With Korbin’s introduction, Terence and Esther greeted Russell politely. Russell held a cup of tea in his hand, raised his eyebrows and looked at them. There was obviously a flash of amazement in his eyes.

“You are Terence? Darron and Ann’s son?” Russell looked Terence up and down.

“Yes, Mr. Russell.”

Russell nodded, “You look like Ann. Only Ann can give birth to such a handsome son.”

Although he was praising him, there were traces of mockery in his tone.

Esther did not expect that he actually knew Terence’s mother. Moreover, he seemed to be quite familiar with her. It was even the first time she knew that Terence’s mother was called Ann. From Russell’s words, Terence’s mother was still a beauty.

She secretly glanced at Terence and found that he was not surprised at all. He just bowed his head gratefully and said, “Thank you for your praise, Mr. Russell.”

Russell turned his gaze to Esther and began to look her up and down.

Terence grabbed Esther’s hand and introduced her to Russell at the right time, “This is my wife, Esther.”

Russell had just heard Korbin say that Terence came with a couple. He looked at Esther and nodded with satisfaction. “You look amazing together.”

“Thank you, Mr. Russell.” Esther smiled.

Russell pointed at the seats opposite him. “Please take a seat.”

Esther did not immediately take a seat. Instead, she took a step forward and handed the gift box to Russell. She said respectfully, “Nice to meet you. This is a small gift we prepared for you. I hope that you would like it.”

Russell looked at the gift box in her hand. “A gift for me?”

“Yes,” Esther said with a smile.

“Can I open it and take a look?” Russell was curious.

From the size and length of the box, it did not look like wine or cigarette, but rather like some precious collection, which arouse Russell’s curiosity. Most importantly, he wanted to see what kind of gift they would give him!

“Of course.” Although Esther did not know what Russell meant, she could still faintly feel the hostility and disdain hidden beneath his smile.

However, she still behaved well. She opened the gift box calmly and carefully. Then, she took out a picture scroll and untied the red string on it. Then, she unfolded the picture scroll in front of Russell.

As the picture scroll unfolded, the curiosity on Russell’s face was replaced by shock.

On the other hand, Terence, who was at the side, unconsciously frowned when he saw the painting. A complicated emotion flashed through his eyes.

“I have long heard that Mr. Russell is interested in collecting ancient poetry and painting. This is the Qing Dynasty landscape painting that my grandfather left me before. However, I personally do not have much research and love for painting. It was not easy to meet someone like Mr. Russell who knows painting and love painting. I am willing to give it to you. I hope that you will like it.”

Russell stood up from his chair in shock and stared at the landscape painting in Esther’s hand. After a while, he exclaimed, “This is a painting of a masterpiece. Are you sure you want to give it to me?”

“You are indeed professional. With a single glance, you can tell who the painting was made by.”

“Of course, the last time I was at the auction house in Beijing, I talked to a group of friends about this painting. Everyone was still discussing it. I didn’t expect it to be in your hands!” Russell stretched out his old hand and stroked the painting carefully. He clicked his tongue in wonder. “The painting is so profound. It’s refreshing and vigorous. Wonderful!”

As soon as Russell mentioned the painting, he forgot everything and even forgot to make things difficult for them. He continued to praise, “Do you know the painter? There were only three paintings that he had passed down, but each of them had profound skills. His works had always had an extraordinary artistic conception of both the Yuan and Song Dynasty. He was definitely a talent!

Esther didn’t know much about paintings. She had only gone online to find out about the author of the paintings a few days ago. Now that she heard what Russell said, she couldn’t help but feel a little reluctant. Was she a little too generous?

After all, this was left to her by her grandfather. When she took it away from the Cusack’s, she had hesitated to give it to Russell as a gift. Now that she saw Russell’s reactions, she was not as determined as before.

However, how could she take back the arrow that had left the bow? She had already sent the painting to Russell, so how could she take it back?

No matter how reluctant she was, she could only bite the bullet and continue to smile. “It seems that you know the painter quite well.”

“Oh, of course!” Russell nodded, then turned to Terence, who had been standing aside without speaking, and asked uncertainly, “Mr. Gibson is really willing to give me this painting?”

Terence turned his head to look at Esther and smiled calmly. “We have already brought it from City R, and it’s our pleasure that you can accept it.”

Russell smiled so much that his eyes narrowed into slits.

“You’re welcome. As long as you like it, it is fine.” Esther carefully rolled the painting back, then personally tied the red string and put it back into the box.

However, Mr. Russell hesitated for a while and said, “Mrs. Gibson, you should keep the painting first. Although I like paintings very much, I still understand the principle of not receiving a reward for nothing. Let’s talk about the land on the Fairy Mountain first.”

Esther and Terence looked at each other, unable to understand what Russell meant.Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.