Chapter 144



“Auntie?” Hayden was stunned and unable to control himself, he let out a laugh.

Apparently, that girl was at most twelve or thirteen years old, but her ‘generation’ in the family was surprisingly older than Joseph’s. It was hard to imagine what the situation would be like when Joseph called her aunt.

She looked at Joseph and saw that his face did not look good. She restrained herself from laughing to give him an out.

“Mark, this is only nominal, right? I don’t think Joseph ever calls her aunt, does he?”.

Unexpectedly, not knowing if the butler was doing this intentionally or not, he shook his head and shook it outright, “He still has to call her that. Although Miss Eleanor is an adopted daughter, her name is already on the family tree. Every year, during Miss Eleanor’s birthday or the ancestor worship at the Spring Festival, you have to call her aunt.”

Joseph looked coldly at the butler, “Mark, I believe you are getting old and that’s why you tend to say unnecessary things. I think it’s time for you to retire and go home.”

Hayden lowered his head and restrained himself from laughing.

The butler immediately shut his mouth. He smiled awkwardly and changed the subject, “Here’s a little step, pay attention and remember to lift your feet. Pay more attention, little Noah and Stella.”

The Beckham Family mansion was a listed historic building in N. City. It was a traditional mansion with spacious halls and extensive courtyards. They walked through several winding hallways and recessed doors of the mansion. After walking for quite a while, they finally arrived at the place to eat.

Although Harrison had white hair, his body was healthy and he could stand.

“Mr. Beckham.” Hayden greeted him respectfully.

“No need to be so formal, it’s not a business occasion. Besides, I’m already retired, so don’t call me Mr. Beckham. You can just call me Grandpa like Joseph, no need to be overly cautious.”

Hearing this, Hayden’s face flushed slightly. After hesitating for a while, he said, “Grandpa.”

Harrison felt satisfied. Then he looked at Stella and Noah with a smile. “Stella and Noah, come sit next to great-grandfather.”

Stella didn’t look like a stranger at all. She took Harrison’s hand and kissed him on the cheek, “Great-grandpa, I want to eat fried ice cream.”

“Sure, the kitchen maids have prepared it for you. You can eat it later.”

Seeing the warm scene where Harrison and Stella were in a close relationship, Hayden became a little suspicious, “When did Stella get acquainted with you?”

Harrison was slightly dazed. His brain was surprisingly jammed.

The butler was quick to reply, “After meeting us once in the hospital, Master has become very fond of little Stella. And after learning that he has a good relationship with little Noah, he gave his phone number to little Stella and has gotten hers as well. Sometimes, he asks little Stella about little Noah’s business at school.”

“Oh, I see.” Hayden was no longer suspicious, “This sounds reasonable. It’s Noah’s first time at school, it’s normal for him to worry because he’s alone at school.”

Joseph’s eyes seemed somewhat complex, however, and he stared at Harrison for a while.

When Harrison, who had always been calm and self-possessed, met Joseph’s eyes, he coughed dryly and pretended to avoid him unintentionally.

These signs made Joseph realize that there must be some secret between these children and Grandfather. Grandpa was so familiar with Stella and it didn’t seem at all like they had only met once.

“Grandpa, was the fried ice cream also part of you guys’ conversations on the phone?”. He wanted to purposely lay bare his plans.

Harrison’s brain got stuck again. He looked at the butler, but this time the butler didn’t know what to do either.

After the grandfather and his grandson looked at each other for a few seconds, Harrison coughed indifferently.

“I knew Stella was coming, so I asked her about the food she likes. Being her future great-grandfather, I thought it was a normal thing to do Have I done something wrong? You on the other hand, you’ve known Hayden for a long time, but when I asked you what he likes to eat, what did you say?” Harrison managed to tease Joseph.

Joseph was stunned.

“What did you say?” Hayden raised his eyebrows and looked at him quizzically, “What do I like to eat?”

“Ahem.” Joseph looked a little unnatural, “I remember that you’re apparently not a picky eater and don’t have any habit of avoiding certain foods, so…”.

“So you don’t remember anything.” Harrison glared at him and regained his old man authority at that moment, “It’s because Hayden has a good temper. If it was one of those girls out there, they’d want to break up with you for sure.”

Joseph frowned and was completely speechless from the criticism.

Seeing this, Hayden felt good and looked at him without sympathy. Perhaps, Harrison was the only person in the world who could berate Joseph like that for no reason.

The atmosphere during dinner was very pleasant. The two obedient children were seated to Harrison’s left and right while Hayden and Joseph sat on the two sides of the table respectively facing each other.

The Beckham Family chefs were truly exceptional, as the taste of the meals prepared by them had nothing to envy to the meals prepared by the best chef at the ST Hotel.

After lunch, the two boys went upstairs to play. Hayden and Joseph accompanied Harrison to sit in the lounge for tea.

“Hayden, look what day you have off. Let’s pick a date.”

“What date?” Hayden’s heart clenched.

“I think the affair between you and Joseph should be told to relatives and friends so that the promiscuous girls outside don’t have the nerve to approach Joseph.”

Harrison smiled at first. But, when he spoke of ‘promiscuous women’, he glared at Joseph with a glare, “I have asked him to go and sort it all out with that actress, but he keeps dragging his feet to see what trouble is going on now. If it wasn’t for Hayden being generous, he would have already regretted it.”

Talking about Violet’s news, Hayden acted a little shy. He helped Joseph explain himself, “Actually, it’s no big deal, it’s just a rumor, not to say it’s all settled. Grandpa, don’t take it seriously.” The word ‘grandfather’ made Harrison feel ecstatic.

“Indeed you are the daughter of a well-educated family, you are much more magnanimous than certain people. All right, then. The tenth of next month is a decent day. It’s my birthday, so we can take the opportunity to announce the affair between you and Joseph.”

Hayden’s eyebrows furrowed slightly and she became a little nervous.

“Grandfather, you haven’t met with Hayden’s family yet. Therefore, it is inappropriate for you to decide about this on your own.” Joseph suddenly spoke up and answered for Hayden.

“How come I forgot about this?”. Harrison was a bit annoyed, “Yes, first we need to make arrangements to meet with Hayden’s family members.”

“I’ll take care of this matter.” Knowing the complexity of Hayden’s family matters, Joseph again vouched for her.

“Okay, you need to do it as soon as possible.” Urged Harrison to Joseph as he was slightly worried about it.

Hearing them talking, Hayden was a little distracted. He felt that an intelligent and sensitive person like Joseph must have seen his hesitation. He didn’t know if he had misunderstood something.

In the evening, Harrison asked Hayden and Joseph to stay at the mansion, not allowing Hayden to refuse. The servants said that the two children had fallen asleep, so Hayden could no longer leave. Therefore, he could only obey him.

Not knowing whether it was on the part of the maids or Harrison, it was surprisingly arranged that he stay in Joseph’s room.

“Isn’t there another room?” Hayden stood in the doorway of Joseph’s room and felt a little embarrassed. After all, they weren’t married yet and since this house was so old, she felt they should be conservative here.

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