"Bah, you really are the king of playboys and jerks. So, what you're saying is that you don't really like Lei, and you're just messing around with her out of habit?" Renee questioned sharply. She had to confirm Xavier's feelings for Leia before she could help Leia make her choice."I don't want to answer this." There was a subtle uneasiness under Xavier's nonchalance. He looked at Renee indifferently and said, "You're not my girlfriend, so I'm not obligated to tell you about my feelings.""Don't try to evade this with your playfulness, Xavier. Answer my question if you're a man. I know you're not a real playboy, you're just disguising yourself." Renee had hit the nail on the head. She still remembered that he nearly died in the fire to save her. No matter how vile he pretended to be, he could not hide his true self as a brave and responsible man."What does it have to do with you? Your righteous indignation may make me misunderstand you.""Huh? What do you mean?"What do you think
Renee felt nervous when she turned around and spotted Leia. "Lei, when did you get here? Why didn't you say something?""I've been here for a while. It looked like you both were having a good chat, so I didn't have the heart to interrupt." Leia slowly approached them, her tone indifferent and cold.'Darn!' Renee knitted her eyebrows. She did not expect that Leia would overhear her conversation with Xavier.As someone with high self-esteem, Lei must be very hurt!"Don't listen to his crap, Lei. He is just speaking casually. He is not such a person, he…" Renee anxiously tried to make excuses for Xavier, but then realized that the man's words were simply unforgivable."You don't have to defend me, darling, I am that kind of person. It's good for Lei to know this early so that she will give up on her unrealistic fantasies." Xavier put his hands in his pockets. The corners of his lips curved upwards, and his gaze was carefree and charming.Leia looked at the man coldly and said disdai
"Eh, well…" Renee tried to join their conversation but found that they were too engrossed in their conversation. She had no chance to get a word in. Hence, she decided to leave first. "I'll leave you to your chat. Bye." When she was back in the dining room, Quinton had almost finished cooking. He was now enthusiastically arranging the dishes on the table. "Sis, you're home. You're just in time for the meal. Where's Xavier and Lei?" "They're still chatting." "What are they talking about? They're so engrossed in it." "Er, they're discussing how to gain my heart." Renee became quite helpless. While arranging the dishes, Quinton's hands stiffened briefly. He asked tentatively, "What do you think of Xavier?" "Although he's not very serious, he's a good man. He even saved my life." "That's good. You can consider him." "Oh, please. Quinton, why do you behave like Lei? Why do you keep setting me up with some random guy? Didn't you promise to take care of me for the rest
The dinner was indeed quite chaotic. It was as if Cupid had gotten drunk, and it began to arbitrarily set up couples. Both Quinton and Leia hinted at Xavier ceaselessly to please Renee, but Renee gave Xavier endless chances to please Leia. Xavier claimed that he wanted to pursue Renee, but his focus was all on Leia. He peeled prawns for her repeatedly. After that, he started peeling crabs for her. Hence, there was so much food on her plate that she could not finish it…"Okay, stop peeling. I'm already full." Smiling awkwardly, Leia stopped Xavier from peeling more prawns for her. After that, she lowered her voice and said, "Are you done using me? You should chat with Ren and serve her food. Have you forgotten what I just taught you? She's leaving the table if you don't act now." "So you do dislike me indeed. Didn't I peel the prawns and crabs nicely? I'll change, okay?" Xavier behaved like a feeble person and looked at her pitifully. Leia was dumbfounded. "Ahem, well, I'
"But you're also awesome, pretty, and unique. Why can't you feel my fondness for you?" "Why, you…" Leia's calmness was fluttered by him. Consequently, she blushed faintly. It might be because she had some wine, or it might be because of the romantic night. When she looked up at him, her clear eyes were watery and eager. "Tell me. Do you like me?" That was the first time she asked him that question directly. There seemed to be a tinge of ambiguity between them in the past. She seemed to have received some hints from him, but she did not dare to confirm it. Afraid that she would be misunderstood, she never dared to ask him that. After what happened tonight, she was indeed quite annoyed by that kind of endless ambiguity. She had no right to take a step forward in their relationship, but she was afraid of having regrets if she retreated…"I…" It might be beyond Xavier's imagination that Leia would take the initiative to lay everything on the table, given her abnormally hig
"Lei, what's the matter with you?" Xavier noticed something wrong with Leia, so he quickly ran over and inquired about it. "I'm… fine. It's none of your business!" She covered her belly and pushed him away, trying to act strong. However, the excruciating pain was killing her. She was in so much pain that she almost burst into tears. "Stop being stubborn. You don't seem fine at all. And your face… your face…" Xavier could not help but swallow slightly while looking at her face. He was flabbergasted. "What's wrong with my face?" "No, nothing." Xavier tried to help her up again. "We'd better get to the hospital now. I'm afraid something bad might happen if we delay this." "You're lying. There must be something wrong with my face." She was in so much pain that she broke out in a cold sweat, and she could not even stand steadily. She let Xavier support her before she took out her phone and checked her appearance. After that, she cried out involuntarily."Ah!" She sa
It was not humiliating to step on shit, but it would be the most humiliating ever to bump into one's ex while stepping on shit. At that moment, given her swollen face, she seemed to be in a sorrier state than stepping on shit. She did not want William to see that. "Lei, stop hiding. I know it's you." William deeply cherished this rare chance to meet Leia, so he sounded extremely agitated. Xavier stood between them, and he was taller and studier than William. His body appeared like a large mountain before William. William could not bypass Xavier no matter what he did, so he became very anxious. "Sir, please step aside. I have something to say to Lei." Helplessly, William pleaded with Xavier politely. However, Xavier took up an annoying front. He arrogantly looked over William's head. "Which midget is talking? I can't hear him." The assistant who stood beside William became angry. "Why did you say that? Dr. Jones is an expert that the hospital hired at a high cost. He's a
Feeling slightly aggrieved, Leia glared at the man who got angry out of the blue. "I got an allergic reaction instead of you. Why did you yell at me? If I wasn't afraid that you would be embarrassed, would I have eaten so many prawns and crabs? How ungrateful of you!""You..." Xavier's anger soon subsided. Feeling guiltier, he lowered his head more and whispered to her, "Why were you so silly? I thought you liked eating them, so I kept on peeling them for you..." "You're the silly one, not me!" Leia rolled her eyes at him and complained grumpily, "You didn't have to peel them for me even if I liked eating them. I'm nobody to you. Why did you exhaust yourself so?" Xavier heaved a long sigh and shook his head. "Yes, I'm silly. I'm the silliest person in the world... You're the smartest. There's nothing you don't know." When William witnessed their ambiguous interactions, he felt rather sad. "Lei, your allergic reaction needs to be handled right away. Follow me." He bypasse
Then, Stefan calmly placed the crab leg on the plate in front of Leia. Leia was flabbergasted. She did not dare to move. She wondered what he was doing, and if he wanted to sacrifice her."Why aren't you eating it?" Stefan looked at Leia, sounding composed. Yet, he was full of the dominance that could burn anyone.Leia swallowed and gnashed her teeth, asking Stefan, "How could you peel the crab for me? Isn't it inappropriate?" She was the most cowardly person. Usually, she looked fierce and indignant as if she wanted to punish Stefan severely. But when he came to her and looked at her, she would be very frightened. She would not dare to do anything."Why not? Someone said women shouldn't peel the prawns or crabs themselves. I'm just being a gentleman. It's nothing serious. It's just peeling the crab!" Stefan said. It was rare to see him speak so much. It was incompatible with his contradictory identity. However, it was clear that he was mocking Justin and saying how ridiculo
Both Stefan and Justin mocked each other, which made the atmosphere more awkward. Although Liam and Leia were simply watching the fun, they felt awkward, too. It made them restless.Renee was having a hard time, too. She smacked the table and said to Stefan and Justin, "You'd better stop eating. Go out and fight. The food got cold because of your endless fight."When she spoke, she sounded like a class teacher with absolute authority. Although both Stefan and Justin were dissatisfied, they fell silent and did not dare to say more. Everyone started enjoying the great food, but said nothing. It seemed a little gloomy.Renee was about to get a prawn, but Justin had already peeled it nicely for her. He dipped it in some sauce and put it in Renee's bowl. "I know you love prawns the best. I've peeled it for you. Of course, women can't peel the prawns themselves.""Oh, Mr. Baldwin. You're considerate. You're a role model among the men. Anyone who marries you will be very happy!" Le
Justin smiled and described the children's experiences, acting like a stepfather. When he talked about the children, he made it sound like they were his biological children. Stefan didn't look so good. He felt that the glass of wine was getting bitter."Well, I'm sure kids will find everything new and exciting when they go to a new place. But they'll get bored with it when time passes. They'll love their real home better." Stefan had wanted to act relaxed and casual, but he could not stop himself from refuting when he heard Justin's provocative words. "Mm?" Leia sat beside Liam and leaned against his arm, and whispered, "What are they doing? This is weird. Are they going to fight?""It's just a competition between men. They won't get into a fight." Liam kept eating and watching the fun. He merely found it amusing. As expected, Renee was greatly admired. Although she remained silent, she would always be in the limelight. Liam was amused to see people like Stefan or Justin
"How dare you!"Stefan's words instantly made Leia speechless. She had wanted to rebuke him, but he snatched the chance from her and struck her dumb.In short, he was an utter scumbag.After a moment, Leia finally managed to comment, "How shameless!" Justin had kept silent all the while. He looked at Stefan with a scrutinizing and mocking gaze. "Mr. Hunt, I admire your honesty and self-awareness. If that's the case, let's stop being reserved and have fun together!""Yes, let's have fun together. I'm shameless, too!" Liam joined in the effort to mock Stefan. He swayed his glass of wine and faked a smile. "I've known her a long time, so of course I know what shameless things Mr. Hunt has done. I think I'd better grab this chance to tell you all of them since everyone is here today."Standing at the door, Renee was worried that Liam might say more indecent things. She hurriedly stopped him. "Pipe down, Liam!" "Got it." Liam shrugged helplessly but obeyed her.Although he yea
"Do you want to leave?" Stefan saw Renee. He was calm, indifferent, and distant. His behavior stung Renee. Renee could easily recall their lovey-dovey memories. They had both risked their lives for each other and vowed to be together forever. They had two children, too. Yet, they ended up as strangers.Although Renee was heartbroken, she became competitive. She smoothed her hair and said in a similarly cold manner, "I'm going to the washroom." "Okay." Stefan did not have anything to say. He nodded and walked past Renee before heading to the dining table. "Hmph! I didn't expect you to come so boldly," Quinton sneered.At the sight of Stefan, Quinton subconsciously clenched his fists, acting like he was about to fight Stefan. On the surface, he wouldn't act aggressively because he knew Renee would stop him. "It's not easy for the few great families to get together. It's good and meaningful for us. If I refused to come, it would make me seem heartless."Stefan kept his co
Having said that, Renee lowered her head, about to leave. She didn't even have the time to bother about Adie and Abby, and told Quinton to take them home later. Her strange behavior filled Quinton with displeasure. He blocked Renee and said solemnly, "Are you afraid? Do you want to run away? People might think that you're guilty and have cheated on your husband!""No, I'm not!" Renee refuted him loudly, then explained seriously, "I'm busy. I need to handle something right away. Plus, I'm not guilty. I did nothing wrong. There's no reason for me to feel guilty." Quinton went straight to the point. "What are you afraid of since you know you're not guilty? Why do you want to run away? He should be afraid instead!""I told you. I'm not afraid of him. I'm just…" "What?" Quinton crossed his arms and looked at Renee coldly. He wanted to get to the bottom of it.Renee came up with a ridiculous yet normal excuse. "I… I recalled that the dessert shop that I want to head to is about to
Jovan called Stefan to sound the latter out. Anyway, it would be convenient for Stefan to rush over since they were both at the same spot. "I'll be right there," Stefan said. Then, he hung up.For a moment, silence washed over everyone, as if something terrible was about to happen.After taking in the new information, Leia said indignantly, "What's going on? Why does he want to come? Isn't he too shameless? How dare he come?" Although everything wasn't discussed openly, everyone knew why Stefan and Renee broke up all of a sudden, despite how lovey-dovey they were. The reason was that Stefan had cheated on Renee.Even if the adultery was faked, it was still the cause of their breakup. If Stefan were shameful or guilty, he wouldn't have agreed to come. He was going to face Renee there with their friends and family around. Certainly, it was embarrassing. "Hmph! Why not? He impersonated me, seized my business, and snatched away my woman. Plus, he led a steady life, got married
Jovan's words made the atmosphere quiet and bizarre. "Are you out of your mind, Jovan? It's already very annoying to have someone like you here. Do you have to get another annoying guy?" Leia frowned, crossing her arms. She kept scolding him.Initially, the atmosphere was considered harmonious. It was still considered fine even if there was an annoying person like Jovan. Unexpectedly, he wanted to call another, more terrible person to come here. Things would certainly go wrong. "Ms. Osborne, you're famous for talking harshly, too. You're just like me. I love it." However, Jovan was not mad at all. He grinned while waiting for Stefan to answer the call. Generally, Stefan would not answer Jovan's call. Surprisingly, he picked it up that time."What's the matter?" Jovan purposely put it on speaker mode. Stefan sounded aloof and emotionless.Jovan sounded wicked as he calmly asked Stefan, "Do you want to join a gathering, Stefan?""I'm going to hang up if you don't say anythi
In the past, Jovan had always regarded Stefan as a coward. Stefan couldn't forget about Renee, but he kept pushing Renee to another man. It seemed like Justin was more responsible, considerate, and gentle. Of course, Renee would lead a very happy, steady, and comfortable life with such a man. At the very least, Jovan felt that he could not be that meticulous and considerate. He would only drive Renee mad just to get her attention. "Hmph! Are you trying to humiliate me or yourself?" Justin didn't find that a compliment. Instead, it sounded like smockery. Jovan made it sound like Justin was a nice guy, but would not be picked by Renee. Usually, people like that had to suffer and would not end up well."I'm praising you." Jovan was helpless because of his reputation as the villain. Although he had said a lot of annoying things, he did want to compliment Justin. His love was probably as deep as Justin's, but his and Stefan's ways of loving Renee were much inferior to Justin's.