Chapter 186: Chapter 174: Such a Lightweight

Flora Bloom’s family, plus Caleb, Lisa, and Lex Cross’s group, spent the better part of the day cleaning. It wasn’t until dusk began to settle that they finally finished tidying up one of the villas.

Although Flora Bloom had pre-cooked dishes in her dimensional space, Caleb Bloom, Sherman Lynch, and the others insisted after they finished cleaning. So, Flora had to take out a good amount of vegetables, eggs, and flour, along with a piece of frozen pork belly.

There was only one table in the villa, so a few of them moved it into the yard and brought over chairs from the other villas.

Their group of eighteen, plus the fourteen from Lex Cross’s team, couldn’t possibly fit at one table.

Even with Flora Bloom, Cynthia Grant, and Selina helping, it still took them, along with Ethan Monroe and Jade, over two hours in the kitchen to prepare a huge feast for more than thirty people. Flora even brought out beer and peanuts for the soldiers.

After Flora Bloom’s family, Lex Cross, Caleb, Ethan Monroe, Neal Wallace, Sherman Lynch, and Cynthia Grant sat down, all the spots at the table were full. The others, still in high spirits, gathered around the table with their bowls and chopsticks to eat.

Luckily, this was a residential area, so there was no shortage of bowls and chopsticks in any of the houses. The people standing each held a bowl of rice and stood behind those who were seated, happily grabbing a bite of food with their chopsticks now and then.

The women and the two children in the group finished eating first, leaving a crowd of men behind. Most of them were soldiers, and even those who weren’t started getting swept up in the lively conversation. It seemed true that every man dreams of being a soldier. The group had barely eaten a few bites of food, but they had already downed a whole can of beer each.

Lisa and Caleb had gotten to know each other well over the past few days. Right now, Lisa was leading Caleb as they crouched by the persimmon tree in the yard, looking like they were about to climb it. Flora Bloom simply reminded Caleb to protect Lisa. After all, even though Caleb was young, as a Level 3 superpower user, a fall from a tree wouldn’t hurt him at all. But Lisa, an ordinary person, was a different story.

Since it was getting late, Shauna Wallace, Maeve Preston, Shelly, and Selina went back together to the villa they had chosen to rest. When Flora was about to go back to her room, Cynthia Grant insisted on sleeping in her room with her.

The moment they entered, Cynthia Grant suddenly threw her arms around Flora Bloom’s neck. With a look that said, "Fess up," she asked, "What’s the deal! How do you know Lex Adler? Oh my god, he’s a legend in the military’s special forces! His rank is almost on par with some of the old guard. If it weren’t for him being so young and making some of the top brass wary, he’d be the top candidate for the future leader of the military!"

Hearing Cynthia Grant’s words, Flora Bloom’s brow furrowed. "What do you mean by that? It’s not that kind of relationship! Don’t be ridiculous!"

Cynthia Grant tutted. "Tch, still trying to fool me? When I came over at noon, I happened to see you two coming out of the basement. Your face was as red as a peach. What happened down there?"

"What are you talking about? Nothing happened! Oh, wait! What did you say his name was? Lex Adler?" Flora Bloom suddenly seized on the key point in Cynthia Grant’s words and asked.

"Isn’t his name Lex Cross?"

"It’s not wrong to say his name is Lex Cross! He was originally the legitimate eldest son of the Adler family, a military powerhouse in Argent! So of course his surname is Adler. But a few years ago, he had a falling out with his family and changed it. With the Adler family being so rich and powerful in Argent, who would dare acknowledge that their legitimate eldest son changed his name?"

"Legitimate eldest son? This isn’t ancient times. Is there still a distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children? Don’t tell me there’s an illegitimate son?" After Flora Bloom spoke, she suddenly saw Cynthia Grant’s mischievous grin, which grew wider and wider until she was clutching her stomach, laughing.

"Ahahaha, you’re killing me! I’m telling you, you and Adler—no, Cross—are really a match made in heaven."

Seeing Cynthia Grant doubled over in laughter, Flora Bloom rolled her eyes at her. "Hurry up and tell me. I’ve had a long day. If you’re not going to talk, I’m going to sleep!"

"Okay, okay, I’ll talk! Hahahaha! Remember back at the Azure Naval Base? The guy whose eyeballs you turned into fish food?"

"*Pfft!*" Flora Bloom raised an eyebrow, speechless. "Him? The illegitimate son is that arrogant?"

"And how! Who knows what kind of spell he was under, but Lex Cross’s father helped the other woman—the homewrecker—take her place. When Lex was very young, his father conspired with outsiders to have his mother killed!"

"That’s... that’s too outrageous, isn’t it?"

"It gets even more outrageous! If Lex Cross wasn’t so capable himself, he would have been dead countless times by now. That father of his is dead set on letting his illegitimate son take over. Too bad that Mason Adler is a total disappointment—a real Adou. Not only is his private life a mess, but his health is also poor. He’s just not cut out to be a soldier!"

Flora Bloom suddenly thought, ’Just how much hardship did he have to go through to become the tall, strong, heroic, and wise man he is today?’

"Hey, I’m just saying, the feud between that mother and son and Lex Cross is a life-and-death struggle. The day you destroyed Mason Adler’s eyes, you basically got a little revenge for him. Tsk, tsk, tsk, it’s fate! It’s really fate!"

Flora Bloom shot the sighing Cynthia Grant a look, speechless. "Even if it is fate, it’s a cursed one!"

"Tch, I knew there was something between you two! Right, that car was a gift from him, wasn’t it? Spit it out, how did you two meet?"

Flora Bloom lay down on the bed and pulled a corner of the blanket over her stomach. Her eyes gazed at the ceiling light as her thoughts seemed to drift into memory.

"Strictly speaking, it was at a bar."

"*Gasp!* A bar? A guy like Lex Cross would never go to a bar unless it was for a mission! Tell me the truth!"

"It really was at a bar." ’Unless it was for a mission, he’d never go to a bar? Then was he actually on a mission that day?’

In her past life, she knew that Belle Bloom had drugged her, leading to her one-night stand with a stranger. At first, she despised that stranger. But with the arrival of the apocalypse, she had no time for hatred. Gradually, she forgot her hate and why she had hated in the first place.

Now, the two enemies from her past life were dead, and she suddenly wanted to know one thing: After their night together, did Lex Cross ever try to find her?

In her past life, she never would have even considered such a silly question! So what if he had looked for her? Back then, when she found out she was pregnant, she had been completely stunned, as if she’d lost her mind. If he had come looking for her, she might have steeled her heart and tried to take him down with her.

The two of them talked about Flora Bloom and Lex Cross’s relationship for a long time before Flora finally shooed Cynthia Grant off to the guest room downstairs to sleep.

She thought she could finally get a good night’s sleep, but not long after she lay down, a polite knock came from the door. Before she could even say anything, Lex Cross walked in, reeking of alcohol.

Seeing Lex Cross let himself in, Flora Bloom said, slightly annoyed, "Who said you could come in?"

Lex Cross’s tanned face was tinged with the flush of intoxication as he looked at her.

"I knocked."

He walked to the side of Flora Bloom’s bed and sat down. Staring intently at her, he actually broke into a silly grin, revealing a row of neat teeth.

Seeing this, Flora Bloom’s eyelid twitched. She quickly sat up and reached out, tentatively touching his cheek. It was burning hot. Up close, she could see a faint blush on his face.

"You got drunk off a few cans of beer? And you call yourself special forces? What a lightweight!"

But just as you’d think he was drunk, he seemed to soberly shake his head. His smile never fading, he looked at Flora Bloom and said, "Your dad found a few jars of sorghum wine in the, *hic*, cellar downstairs. And in the wine cabinet, *hic*, there were a few bottles of wine."

Lex Cross’s hiccups carried a heavy smell of alcohol. Flora Bloom frowned and turned her head, not wanting to be too close. The pungent smell of mixed liquors assaulted her nose, making her stomach churn.