âNever offend Justinâ¦.â
Joel mentally repeated the words and looked at Ian, perplexed.
Uncle Ian had transformed the Smith Corporation from a company that always ranked second to one that ranked on the same level as the Hunt Corporation. Over the years, he had seen a lot happen in the country, but despite that, he had reminded Joel to stay on his toes and not offend Justin. How powerful and capable was Justin?
As he pondered, Ian said, âIf he really cares about Nora, he wonât mind if I make things difficult for him now. But if he doesnât, then let me be the one to offend him. Anyway, I donât have that long to live anymore. Youâre still young, you shouldnât do things that might jeopardize your future.â Hearing the gravity of her words, Joel nodded hastily and replied, âIâll keep that in mind, Dad.â
Fortunately, he had accepted Justinâs goodwill when he took the initiative to establish a good relationship with him. Thus, the two currently shared a fairly decent relationship.
He also suddenly understood why Ian hadnât reprimanded him when he allowed Justin into the house the other time. On the contrary, he had even given him a certain tacit approval. At first, he had thought it was because Ian was ultimately still somewhat pleased with Justin, but now it seemed that might not be the case after all.
ð ð ð ð ð
Just as Nora left the house, she ran into Pete and Mia walking home hand in hand.
Pete was carrying a big school bag on his back, his little face expressionless. He was totally a mini Justin. When his big round eyes caught sight of Nora, he unconsciously withdrew his hand from Miaâs.
Noraâs gaze swept over Mia. There was no sign of unhappiness on the little girlâs pointy-chinned face, indicating that the events in the garden had not affected her.
Besides, Mia had always been very shy in the past and seemed discouraged in everything she did.
However, the shy look on her face seemed to have dissipated somewhat. It seemed that Pete had given her a lot of confidence. Joel was right: the two times Tanya had been cyberbullied and had experienced reputation crises had matured Mia quite a bit.
As Nora watched Mia, a puzzled Pete asked, âMom, where are you going?â
âCough.â
For some reason, Nora felt a little guilty. Her eyes shifted from side to side and she looked up at the sky as she replied, âMm, Iâm going out to discuss some work business with someone.â She couldnât help but still feel a little guilty that she and Justin were going out on a date without Pete and Cherry.
Pete hesitated for a moment. âWith who, do I know them?â
If she said it was Justin, how could she turn Pete down if he said he wanted to come too?
With that thought in mind, Nora unconsciously lied. âNo, you donât know them. Iâm going.â
She hurried past Pete and Mia. After getting into the car, she hurried out, her face a little panicked.
Pete turned his head and looked at her.
Seeing that Pete didnât move, Mia also stayed where she was.
After a while, Noraâs car disappeared from their sight. Even then, Pete was still standing still.
A puzzled Mia asked, âPete, what are you looking at?â Pete let out a quiet sigh. âMy family is running out of time.â
Mia: â?â
Pete looked back at Mia with apologetic eyes. âMom was lying just now. She doesnât dare look me in the eye every time she lies.â
Mia thought for a while and said, âGrown-ups are all like that! But why would Aunt Nora lie to you, you mean she wonât go out and discuss work matters with someone?â Pete nodded. âMom never discusses work face to face, always on the phone, Because going back and forth to meet with someone is a waste of time! She could sleep instead. Iâve never seen her go out for work.â
Although Mia wanted to defend her aunt and explain on her behalf, after thinking about what he had said, she felt there was nothing she could refute. She could only stare at him and ask, âSo? If Aunt Nora isnât going to come out to talk about work, whatâs she going out for?â
âItâs almost dinnertime. Sheâs probably going out on a date.â
Mia: â?â
Pete continued to analyze the clues. âIf she were going on a date with the tyrant, sheâd definitely take Cherry and me with her. Even if she doesnât take me, considering how much the tyrant adores Cherry, he would definitely take her.â
With this in mind, he pulled out his phone and called Cherry.
The call was answered as soon as he dialed the number. Before he could say anything, he heard Cherry rant at someone. âHey, do you really know how to play? Your boat is stranded? â¦. Pete, what do you need, hurry up and say it! Iâm playing right now.â
Pete was quiet for a while before asking, âWhereâs the tyrant?â.
âDad has a very important meeting with foreign business partners tonight, heâs in the meeting right now!â
Puzzled, she asked, âWhatâs going on?â
â⦠Nothing.â Pete hung up quietly.
âPete, why didnât you tell Cherry the truth?â. asked Mia.
Pete sighed. âShe keeps dreaming that weâll be together as a family. Letâs not make her worry too, Geez!â. He straightened his back.
Among his family, the tyrant was unromantic, Mom was obsessed with sleeping, and even his younger sister wasnât to be trusted either. He was the only one carrying a weight he shouldnât be carrying at his age!
Mia nodded as she listened. Nevertheless, she tried to comfort him. âMaybe Aunt Nora and Uncle Justin are going out on a date? Maybe it wasnât convenient to take them to you guys. Pete, donât think about it too much.â Pete shook his head. âWhat would stop them from taking us with them?â
Mia wanted to tell him that there were too many possible reasons.
For one, it was clear that every night she slept in her motherâs room, but when she woke up, she was always in her own bedroom. Whenever he asked his mother about it, she never gave him an answer.
When she secretly asked her father about it, he blushed as well.
Gosh, adult issues were just so complicated!
While Pete was still worrying about her, Nora was sitting in a private room of a Chinese restaurant and staring at the plate of roast duck on the table.
Fork in hand, she picked up a piece of meat, planning to shove it in her mouth. Justin stopped her with a smile and said, âYouâre supposed to eat it with the flatbread.â
âI know.â
Nora looked at the numerous plates of luscious garnishes, the thinly sliced meat, as well as the small, delicate slices of flatbread, and said disdainfully, âItâs too much work.â
Not only did he have to take the flatbread and wrap the meat as well as the side dishes in it, but he even had to dip it in the sauce afterwards. Whether you eat it in small bites or gobble it all up, it makes no difference, since it all ends up in the same place.
So what was the point of wasting all that time?
Justin let out a chuckle. He took a piece of flatbread, wrapped a piece of meat in it and put it in front of Noraâs mouth. âOpen your mouth,â Justin said.
A surprised Nora opened her mouth, and the wrapped roast duck went into her mouth.
She unconsciously closed her mouth, her lips closing around the wrapped roast duck, as well as around the manâs fingers that she had failed to remove in timeâ¦.
Nora was stunned. Justin froze as well. He had chosen a private room that night. They were both sitting on the same side, and his body was turned slightly toward Nora. His fingers were in her mouth, and his fingertips just happened to come in contact with her lips and tongueâ¦.
Justin swallowed saliva.
A scene flashed through his mind, and his cheeks suddenly reddened.
As for Nora, her lips parted slightly in panic and she turned sideways. After swallowing the mouthful, she looked up at the ceiling and began to search for a topic of conversation. She said, âRoast duck tastes great with bread.â
âReally?â
Justinâs low chuckle sounded in her ear. Then, Nora heard him say, âThen let me try some tooâ¦â.
Along with that sentence, a large hand stroked the back of Noraâs neck. Then, her vision dimmed as the man leaned forward and began kissing herâ¦.
.
.
.
Comments(0)
Join the discussion — sign in to leave a comment
Sign In to CommentNo comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!