Chapter 39

In the living room, only John and Miss Philip remained.

After saying those words, John was surprised, but he also keenly noticed Miss Philip's embarrassment, especially when Lina and Hans looked at her with unusual expressions. Her face turned pale, and she almost bit her lip until it bled.

The students immediately understood their teacher's feelings.

As a traditional European aristocrat, Miss Philip always valued her honor above everything else. Even when she fell on hard times and became a governess for the Hunter family, she still made every effort to maintain her image and dignity.

No one understood this better than John.

But today, she had come to the door in such a disheveled state, asking for John's help, which was completely out of character. It must have been a serious situation for her to do this.

John was even certain that even if he were facing death, this proud lady would never do such a thing!

So, John immediately asked Hans and Lina to leave the living room, invited Miss Philip to sit on the sofa, and then asked softly, "Miss Philip, don't worry, please take your time. What happened?"

John's actions made Miss Philip's eyes flash with gratitude. She bit her lip and whispered, "John, I... I want to..."

Although she seemed determined, when it came to speaking, her lips seemed glued together, and she couldn't bring herself to say the words. Her shame and hesitation were clear for John to see.

Having lived two lives, John immediately understood.

Without much thought, John lowered his voice even more and said softly, "Miss Philip, is there some difficulty at home? If you need money, I have some in my study. You can come with me."

"Thank you, thank you, John."

At John's words, Miss Philip's eyes instantly reddened, and she looked like she was about to cry, her委屈obvious.

Confirming his guess, John quickly stood up and said softly, "Miss Philip, please come upstairs with me."

She sniffed and her eyes flashed with determination. She stood up from the sofa and followed John to the second-floor study. After John closed the door and was about to open the drawer, Miss Philip suddenly stepped forward and said softly, "I'm sorry, John."

"Why are you saying sorry?"

John's eyebrows furrowed slightly as he asked softly.

"I won't be able to come to teach you for the next two weeks."

Miss Philip lowered her usually proud head and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "I came to seek your help, but..."

Before she could finish, John shook his head and smiled, "Miss Philip, please don't say any more. I may not know you very well, but I understand that you wouldn't do this unless it was truly important. Don't worry, I'll explain to my grandfather."

"Thank you, thank you."

Hearing John's words, Miss Philip's voice choked up again.

Sighing inwardly, John quickly unlocked his desk drawer and took out an envelope, handing it to her and saying softly, "Miss Philip, there are three hundred dollars in here. Is it enough?"

"Enough, enough!"

Hearing it was three hundred dollars, Miss Philip was startled and quickly waved her hands, "Actually, it's not that much, one hundred dollars would be enough."

Miss Philip's weekly salary was twelve dollars, and three hundred dollars was more than half a year's income for her. The amount was shocking.

Without hesitation, John took out two hundred dollars from the envelope and handed the remaining one hundred dollars to Miss Philip, saying softly, "Miss Philip, use this money first. If you need anything else, please come to me... Don't worry, this money is mine, and it has nothing to do with anyone else!"

He didn't insist on giving her three hundred dollars but emphasized that the money was his, which made Miss Philip even more grateful.

"I will definitely pay you back!"

Holding the envelope with one hundred dollars tightly, Miss Philip bit her lip and bowed to John before turning to leave.

John didn't see her out of the study. He watched her somewhat flustered figure and sighed.

Deep down, John still liked the proud, reserved, and aristocratic governess. But after today, no matter whether Miss Philip could solve her problem with this one hundred dollars and return to the Hunter family to teach him, John knew that their relationship could never be the same.

"I hope everything goes well for her."

After a moment of silence, John closed the study door and sat back in his chair. This time, he didn't put his feet up but sat quietly, his pale face flickering in the kerosene lamp's light, lost in thought...

...

Miss Philip's situation was like a small interlude in life, and soon no one paid attention to it anymore.

Without the afternoon art classes, John had more free time, which he used to prepare his grandfather's birthday gift. Of course, he eventually thought of two good ideas and, considering their practicality, decided to make both.

For several afternoons, he spent his time at a factory.

This factory was where Old Hunter had previously commissioned someone to make a bicycle prototype. It was run by a German immigrant, and the workers were all Germans. In this era of mass immigration, most New York immigrants had no skills or education, but the Germans were an exception, with many skilled workers. This was why Old Hunter repeatedly reminded John to remember his German heritage.

After a busy week, John finally got what he wanted before Saturday.

On Saturday afternoon, guests started arriving one by one.

The Stone family came almost in full force, and the Funk family was also all present. The bicycle collaboration had made the three families even closer. Additionally, a few of Old Hunter's close friends arrived, filling the spacious living room.

Soon, it was time for John to give his gift.

Without any show, John presented a beautifully wrapped box to Old Hunter, "Grandpa, happy birthday!"

"Thank you, John."

Old Hunter, who was clearly in a good mood today, smiled and took the gift, then asked, "Can I open it now?"

"Of course."

John blinked and smiled.

Time can dilute everything, but it can also deepen some things. After more than half a year of interaction, John and Old Hunter had gradually let down their guard and become closer. After all, they were each other's only family in the world. Although they weren't as close as a typical grandfather and grandson, they were no longer as indifferent as they were six months ago.

Seeing Old Hunter about to open John's gift, Emma immediately came over, and even Funk watched the box with anticipation. They all knew John's background and were curious about what the gift was. Only Joshua remained calm, seemingly uninterested in the contents of the box.

Old Hunter quickly opened the box and saw the contents, pausing for a moment.

Two small boxes!

He chuckled and placed the box on the table, then started to open the two small boxes. Soon, he took out two strange-looking items and looked at them curiously.

The others also gathered around, curious.

Seeing everyone looking at him, John didn't keep them in suspense and explained with a smile, "Grandpa, these are two gadgets I designed specifically for you. Look at this one first. It's a pocket knife, but I added several components: a blade, a bottle opener, a punch, a screwdriver, and even an ear pick... I'm not sure if you'll find it useful, ha ha."

John made a small joke, but no one laughed. They all stared intently at the "knife," and Old Hunter's eyes sparkled as he examined it, unable to put it down.

"What is this one for?"

Finally, Emma, who wasn't interested in the knife, pointed to the other gadget and asked.

"This is a razor!"

John quickly explained, "You can see that I used a special design to encase the blade, so it can shave without cutting the skin..."

John explained seriously because, in his view, the manual razor he had copied from the future was more valuable than the Swiss Army knife. However, after his explanation, everyone quickly lost interest and turned their attention back to the Swiss Army knife.

"Uh... What's going on?"

John was confused and momentarily stunned.

"Ha ha, good."

At that moment, Old Hunter looked at the curious faces around him, put the two items back in the box, and smiled, "John, I like both gifts very much. Thank you."

John smiled, still wondering why everyone seemed less interested in the razor.

Old Hunter handed the gifts to Hans to put away and then invited his friends to taste the new wine. John sat with Joshua and Emma, chatting about recent interesting events. However, John was somewhat distracted. He had spent nearly one hundred dollars on these two items, the same amount he had given to Miss Philip, but the razor seemed to be ignored, which made him a bit depressed.

As they chatted, Emma suddenly walked up to John, smiled, and said loudly, "John, I heard you have a wonderful music teacher. It's your grandfather's birthday today. Why don't you play a piece for us?"