Book 1: She Becomes Glamorous After the Engagement Annulment

Chapter 62

Chapter 184: Why Are You Forbidding Mia From Learning How To Dance?

Joel tensed up and he asked nervously, “How are the results?”

The previous generation of the Smith's had three sons, and Ian was the youngest. They didn’t have any sisters.

No one had given birth to any daughters in their generation, either. Though, Ian had adopted a daughter. Should Nora really turn out to be their cousin, that would be great.

Besides, this would also give Ian the courage to live on.

Joel received a reply from Quentin while he was thinking about it. The reply took him by surprise. His upturned eyes slowly became downcast. A short while later, he said, “I see.”

After he hung up, Joel turned to look out the window and went into deep contemplation.

Some time later, he finally retracted his gaze as if he had made up his mind about something. Students started to exit the kindergarten after that.

Joel got out of the car.

Golden Sunshine Kindergarten students were all children of the rich and powerful. Therefore, the parents picking up their children were also all either rich or of high social status.

In the past, it was Mia’s mother who had picked up Mia and Brandon from school. However, Joel was the one coming over every day now, which caused the other parents to also start picking up their children themselves.

“Oh, are you here to pick up your child too, Mr. Smith? Nice to meet you!”

“What a coincidence, Mr. Smith! Are you here to pick up your child from school?”

“I’m the general manager of Glory Group, Mr. Smith. Nice to meet you…”

“…”

When Tanya, who was holding Pete’s hand, was about to leave the kindergarten, she was greeted by the sight of directors from various corporations standing in a row at the door.

The teachers in the kindergarten couldn’t help but marvel.

“Oh my goodness, those parents usually send nannies or bodyguards to pick up and drop off their children. Why are so many of them here in person today?”

“Anyone I hit with a random toss of a ball will probably have a net worth of millions of dollars!”

“I bet you don’t understand why, right? Can’t you see? Everyone’s here for Mr. Smith!”

“Mr. Smith is so handsome! No wonder Mia is so good-looking even though she’s so young. She must have inherited her looks from Mr. Smith! He’s also so graceful, gentle, and elegant.

Sigh, I’m so envious of Ms. Lynn! If only Mr. Smith would say something to me!”

“I know, right? Ms. Turner, you’re a dance teacher, right? Why don’t you go and have a word with Mr. Smith?”

Tanya, “…”

She lifted her head and glanced at the door. The graceful figure standing across the crowd seemed to stand aloof from the world and gave off an air like that of a noble gentleman.

Even after five years had passed, that man still shone so brightly and radiantly.

Five years ago, she had said, “I want to hide you away and not let anyone else see you. You’re simply too outstanding; I’m afraid that someone will take you away from me!”

But he had ultimately still become someone else’s husband.

When she thought of how he and Hillary were married, she immediately retracted her gaze.

Pete, who had caught a glimpse of her expression, became puzzled, and he asked, “Why aren’t you teaching Mia how to dance, God-mom? I think she dances very well.”

Mia was thinner than most other children, and she didn’t have much baby fat on her small face. She had a small oval-shaped face and a pointed chin. When she danced, her form was very light and weightless as though she were a butterfly.

Pete felt that it would be a huge pity if she didn’t dance.

Tanya touched Pete’s head and replied, “It’s because her parents don’t allow her to dance.”

Otherwise, why wouldn’t she have been exposed to dancing when she was already five?

Besides, she also really didn’t want to be involved with the Smith's anymore.

Pete tilted his head and nodded as if he had understood something.

Tanya took Pete to the roadside after they exited the kindergarten. The unreliable Nora had left with the car in the morning after she woke up, so the two of them could only take a cab home now.

The kindergarten was relatively far from the area where they could hail a cab, so they walked one street down and went to another road.

Joel had already spotted Tanya a long time ago.

She was a dancer, after all. Her legs were long and her waist slender, making her look as charming as ever despite just wearing ordinary-looking clothes.

He’d thought that they would at least make eye contact, but unexpectedly, Tanya didn’t take even a glance at him and took the child straight to the other side of the street.

Light flickered in his upturned eyes. After clenching his fists a little, he picked up Mia and got into the car with her.

While Tanya and Pete were waiting for a cab, an extended Lincoln suddenly stopped in front of them. The door opened, and Joel’s astonishingly good-looking visage appeared in front of them. He said, “Where are you going? I’ll give you guys a ride.”

Tanya was so shocked that she immediately looked around. When she saw that no one had noticed them, she breathed a sigh of relief. Then, she took Pete’s hand, took a step back, and said with an air of resistance, “No, it’s fine.”

But as soon as she said that, Joel uttered a domineering reply in a gentle voice, “Don’t make me get out of the car and kidnap you.”

Tanya, “…”

The parents and teachers nearby were about to walk over. Tanya didn’t want to cause any trouble, so she could only pick up Pete and quickly get into the car.

The car door slowly closed. Mia called out happily, “Cherry! Ms. Turner!”

Tanya smiled at her.

Pete took the initiative to sit beside Mia.

Tanya’s brows knitted together—she could only sit next to Joel now. Nevertheless, she shifted away from him and put some distance between them.

Joel frowned at the sight.

He lowered his gaze and asked, “Your address?”

Only then did Tanya finally react. After she gave him the Andersons’ address, Joel looked at her and asked, “Are you staying with the Anderson's?”

Tanya nodded.

Joel cast his eyes down. “It’s not very convenient staying in someone else’s home, right? Don’t you have anywhere else you can stay at?”

Tanya turned away and replied, “That doesn’t seem to be any of your business, Mr. Smith.”

She was calling him Mr. Smith again.

Joel took a deep breath and said, “That’s true. We have nothing to do with each other.”

Tanya clenched her jaw.

Indeed, they had nothing to do with each other.

In fact, that man must even hate her, right?

That was why he didn’t allow his daughter to dance—because she was a dancer, right?

Tanya didn’t expect that Joel would hate her that much. It was just that if he hated her so much, then why was he sending them home?

In the midst of her hesitance, Joel said, “It was my misunderstanding the other time.”

The other time? Was he talking about that time in the hospital when he misunderstood that she was Mr. Hunt’s lover?

With a cold look on her face, Tanya said sarcastically, “It’s not your fault, Mr. Smith. It’s because I look too much like someone’s mistress.”

The kindergarten was very close to the Andersons’ villa, so they had already arrived while they were talking.

The chauffeur even felt as if his boss had given him a cold look when he stopped the car.

“Let’s get off.”

Tanya was about to get out of the car with Pete when he suddenly looked at Joel and asked, “Mia’s Daddy, why are you forbidding Mia from learning how to dance?”

Chapter 185: Cherry Enters The Grand Manor

His question stunned Joel. “What?”

Pete glanced at a cowering Mia and said sincerely, “She likes dancing very much. Restricting a child’s hobbies and interests is not something that a good father does.”

“…”

Seeing that Joel’s expression had tensed up and that he wasn’t speaking, Tanya beckoned to Pete and said, “Come on down now.”

Pete hopped off the car.

The two of them entered the Andersons’ villa hand in hand.

The car door slowly closed as they disappeared at the door. When the car started once more, Joel finally looked at Mia.

He beckoned to Mia, who went over to him docilely at once. She tried to please him and said cautiously, “Mia doesn’t like dancing, Daddy…”

Her eyes flickered as she spoke, and there was a bit of panic in them.

Joel’s heart ached for some reason. He asked, “Was it your mother who forbade you from learning how to dance, Mia?”

Mia nodded, but then shook her head again. In the end, she lowered her head and said uneasily, “Mommy said that Daddy hates someone who dances, and told me not to learn to dance. Don’t worry, Daddy, Mia won’t dance!”

Her words made Joel’s eyes widen in shock.

Joel had always wanted to know Mia’s interests and preferences while she was growing up, but he found that everything that the girl liked to eat and play with were all things that he liked.

He had always thought that she had inherited those traits from him.

Little did he expect that they were actually all a result of Hillary’s training?

Joel’s expression darkened. “Daddy doesn’t dislike dancing.”

Mia’s eyes lit up at once, and she asked, “Then can Mia learn to dance with Ms. Turner?”

Joel looked at her. His jaw tensed up as he asked, “Do you like Ms. Turner very much, Mia?”

Mia gave him a timid smile and replied, “Yeah.”

She lowered her head and twiddled her thumbs as she said, “Ms. Turner dances really beautifully, yeah. I secretly watched her a few times. She also really likes to smile. I like her very much… But Mommy doesn’t like Ms. Turner…”

She looked rather depressed at this point. Then, she added, “Besides, Ms. Turner also doesn’t like Mia.”

The disappointed girl said, “She refused to teach me today.”

Tanya had refused to teach her… It must be because she really didn’t want to have anything to do with him, right?

Joel’s long, slender fingers balled up slightly, and the look in his eyes turned even frostier than before. He rubbed Mia’s head gently. After a short silence, he said, “It’s okay. I’ll think of something if you want to learn dancing.”

_

At the Andersons’.

Nora had just come out of the bath when Pete got home. The woman, who was wearing a silk nightgown, let out a lazy yawn and collapsed onto the bed.

Pete greeted her. “Hi, Mommy.”

Nora waved and said, “Yeah. Do your homework yourself.”

“Okay.”

Pete went to the study after that. Nora was about to go to bed when her cell phone suddenly rang. Cherry’s young and tender voice rang out on the phone when she answered the call.

“My dearest Mommy, have you found out where Sponsor Grandpa is?”

They had been chatting on Messenger for more than a month.

Their spark of friendship had been getting stronger and stronger, but their chat had been inactive the whole day the day before.

Why hadn’t Sponsor Grandpa come online yet today?

Cherry was panicked.

As though her actions were right and justified, Nora replied, “Oh. I forgot about it.”

“…”

Cherry sighed. “Then are you willing to look him up for me now, Mommy?”

“No, I’m not.”

Cherry was so mad that her little chest was heaving up and down. She silently told herself that she was her biological mother… She could only grin and bear with it and ask, “Then when will you be free to look him up for me?”

Nora raised her eyebrows and replied, “When I wake up, I guess. Alright, I’m hanging up!”

She was really sleepy now.

Beep… beep… beep…

The disconnected tone made Cherry’s heart go cold. Her little shoulders drooped as she looked up at the big villa in front of her, on the brink of tears.

She was staying with her father at the Hunts’ family home at the moment.

The family home was actually a manor.

By right, since Justin was the head of the Hunts, he should have been living in the manor. However, because the Hunt's were all living together, this meant that his second uncle’s family was also living there. Moreover, there was also that incident with the elderly Mrs. Hunt previously. Thus, Justin had taken Pete with him and resided elsewhere instead. Coupled with the fact that the two of them were staying in the main house, this meant that Cherry still hadn’t met anyone from the Hunts yet, even though it had been two days since they moved back.

In the midst of her thoughts, Justin strode into the room. He looked down at her and asked gently, “There’s a family dinner tonight. Do you want to join them?”

A family dinner?

Cherry loved lively places the most.

Moreover, several of her elders would also be there, which meant that she would gain a few more people that doted on and loved her.

Thus, she nodded and replied, “Yeah, I wanna go!”

“Okay.”

Justin smiled at her. Had it been his son instead, he definitely wouldn’t have wanted to go. As expected, his daughter’s personality was different. She was much livelier and more cheerful than his son.

He bent over, picked up Cherry with one arm, and carried her downstairs.

The Hunts hosted a family dinner every month. All the Hunt's were required to attend it as long as they were in New York—this was a rule in the family.

By the time they went down to the main living room, the spacious living room was already full of people.

His second uncle, Roger Hunt, sat quietly in the corner.

Roger’s son, Fatty, was playing with his cell phone with his head down. Apart from them, the other Hunt's in the family were also present. The elderly Mrs. Hunt had already been discharged from the hospital and was currently seated on the chair next to the master seat.

The master seat belonged to the head of the family.

The moment Justin came down, all the Hunt's stood up. Even if they were his elders, they were still required to show the head of the family courtesy.

Mrs. Hunt, who was the oldest there, said, “You’re here, Justin.”

Justin nodded and greeted his grandmother. Then, as if he was teaching his child manners—even though he was, in fact, giving his daughter a reminder—he said, “Say hi to your Great-Grandma, Pete.”

Cherry looked at Mrs. Hunt eagerly.

So, was she the Great-Grandma who’d had a fall some time back, causing her brother to be accused of pushing her?

Mrs. Hunt was also looking at her.

She had come to know what had happened after she regained consciousness after the operation. The old lady had felt rather distressed that her son and his family had used her against a child.

Pete was not like other children; he was mildly autistic and didn’t like to talk.

After that incident, the relationship that they had built after so much effort must be almost all gone by now, right?

Mrs. Hunt heaved a sigh at the thought and looked at Cherry cautiously. Knowing that her great-grandson probably didn’t dare to approach her anymore, she said regretfully, “Never mind… Let’s not make things difficult for the child anymore!”

“Yeah, that’s right! Don’t make things difficult for Pete anymore. He has mild autism, you know!” said Raymond Hunt, Justin’s second uncle. He sounded as if he was echoing Mrs. Hunt, but in truth, he was embarrassing Pete in front of all the other Hunt's. He added, “He doesn’t like talking!!”

How could a child that didn’t talk possibly inherit the company in the future?

Even if he was currently stripped of authority, once Justin became old, wouldn’t the company still be theirs in the end anyway?

Chapter 186: Do You Play Games?

Mrs. Hunt became angry the moment Raymond said that. She snapped, “Pete isn’t autistic, Raymond! Don’t you dare spout nonsense!”

Raymond curled his lip disdainfully. “Yeah, yeah, Pete isn’t autistic. He just doesn’t like talking to people, that’s all. Sigh, he can’t just keep avoiding talking to people when he takes over the company in the future, right?”

Roger said, “Don’t say that, Dad. Who knows, he may recover after he grows up.”

Chester couldn’t tell that they were mocking Pete. Neither did he recognize that the child was his leader, and thought she was his quiet and reticent little nephew, so he echoed them and said, “Yeah, it’ll be fine once he grows up!”

Raymond, however, scoffed and said, “That’s what everyone said when he was a baby, but you don’t see his condition getting any better the last few years, either… But I’m just worrying over nothing, of course, because Justin will definitely have everything all nicely planned out for the company in the future, right?”

He then looked at Fatty and reprimanded him. “And you, too, Fatty. Don’t just study all the time. What’s the use of being so academic? All that studying has made you stupid instead. What matters the most as a leader is eloquence! How can you make people trust and believe in you if you’re not eloquent?”

He was both overtly and secretly demeaning Pete.

All the other Hunt's looked at Pete when they heard what he said.

Indeed, what was the use of a genius if he was autistic?

Seeing that his words were showing effect, Raymond immediately became rather smug.

Roger, however, narrowed his eyes.

During past family dinners, Pete had either skipped it altogether and if he did attend, Justin would always lose his temper whenever someone mentioned the words ‘mild autism’.

Why was he keeping quiet this time, though?

Could it be that…

He was still wondering about it when the little fellow in Justin’s arms called out sweetly, “Hi, Great-Grandma!”

Roger, “?”

Raymond was also dumbfounded. He stared at the child in Justin’s arms in disbelief and said, “Were you the one talking just now, Pete?”

Cherry rolled her eyes and looked at Justin. Then, in her young but clear voice, she asked, “Is that grandpa deaf or blind, Daddy? Why are his ears and eyes so bad? Since our family is so rich, you have to get the doctor to take a look at him!”

The corners of Justin’s lips curled into a smile. His usually standoffish countenance looked rather relaxed. He glanced at Raymond and replied leisurely, “He’s very old, so he can neither see nor hear anything clearly.”

Raymond, “!!!”

Cherry replied adorably, “Oh, I see!”

As for Mrs. Hunt, she was so excited upon hearing Cherry’s voice that her eyes reddened. She wanted to reach out and take her into her arms, but when she thought of how the little fellow loathed physical contact with others the most, she retracted her arms and asked with a smile, “Is Pete talking now? Has he recovered?”

Justin cast his eyes down dispassionately and kept quiet. Instead, he put his daughter down.

As soon as Cherry’s feet touched the floor, she ran toward Mrs. Hunt. The little figure dived into the elderly lady’s arms and she called out adorably and tenderly, “Great-Grandma!”

Not only was the little fellow sweet-smelling and tender, but ‘he’ was finally willing to let her hug ‘him’ now.

Mrs. Hunt became even more excited, so much so that her hands even started to shake. She let out an excited sound of acknowledgment and then, without a second thought, took off a ring she was wearing and stuffed it into Cherry’s hands. She said, “Here, this is for you, Pete!”

Everyone present was shocked at the sight.

Mrs. Hunt’s ring was made of top-quality jadeite that formed only in hundreds of thousands of years, and was worth over ten million dollars! The elderly Mr. Hunt had given it to her when they got married back then!

At that time, they had said that it was to be passed on to future generations as a family heirloom!

The elderly lady had also been urging Justin to get married all this time, so that she could gift the ring to her daughter-in-law. It was a symbol of one’s status as the female master of the Hunt's!

Why had she instead given the ring to Pete in a moment of excitement today?

Raymond panicked. He stepped forward and said with a smile, “Look at how muddleheaded you are, Mom. This is a woman’s ring; why would you give it to Pete?”

The old lady glanced at him and replied with a smile, “Pete can keep it and give it to his wife in the future, then!”

In other words, she was saying that Pete’s wife would be the female master of the Hunt's in the future. In that case, Pete’s position as the head of the family was not to be doubted!

The elderly lady was backing Pete up!

Raymond frowned and looked at Fatty with dissatisfaction. Then, he said, “You mustn’t be biased, Mom. Since you’ve given that to Pete, what are you going to give Fatty?”

The fat little boy also looked at her expectantly.

Mrs. Hunt glanced at him and said with a smile, “Fatty can ask his Uncle Justin if there’s anything he wants! Justin is rich! And he’s also the head of the family!”

Raymond’s expression darkened even further.

Roger also lowered his gaze.

Seeing that the two of them were no longer creating any more trouble, Mrs. Hunt finally looked at Cherry and said, “Put the ring away properly, Pete.”

Cherry hastily said, “This is too precious, Great-Grandma. I can’t accept it!”

“One shouldn’t reject gifts from their elders. Just take it.”

Cherry subconsciously wanted to look for Nora, but she suddenly realized that Mommy wasn’t here, so she looked at Justin instead.

Justin cast his eyes down and smiled. Then, he stepped forward, took the ring from Cherry, and said, “Since Great-Grandma has given it to you, then just accept it. But you’re still young, so you can’t wear it yet. We’ll let your Mommy wear it first.”

‘Mommy’?

Mrs. Hunt’s eyes lit up the moment he said that. She asked, “What Mommy?”

The others also looked at him.

Was that man, who had made up his mind to remain single for his entire life, finally getting married?

Raymond and Roger instantly felt a sense of crisis.

Should Justin get married and have another two sons, wouldn’t Fatty have even less of a chance?!

The two of them frowned.

All of a sudden, Raymond said, “Alright, the grownups are going to talk. Why don’t you kids go to the side and play some games?”

He gave Fatty a look after he spoke.

Fatty immediately understood what he meant. He took a step forward, grabbed Cherry’s hand, and said, “C’mon Pete, why don’t we play some games? This mobile game is very popular now. Anyone can play it as long as they are not too stupid. Surely you know how to play it, right?”

It was common knowledge that Pete was a nerd whose only hobby was studying. This meant that he would definitely suck at playing games!

Cherry, “?”

Before she could even speak, Mrs. Hunt panicked and said, “Children shouldn’t play games too much!”

Roger smiled and said, “That’s a rather misguided statement, Grandma. Games can also reflect a person’s intelligence. Besides, people who only know how to memorize their books and fail to exercise practical application in their studies tend to have one-track minds.”

He looked at Justin and said, “Isn’t Justin himself someone who excels in every aspect? I’m sure Pete is also someone like that, so let’s just let him play!”

The way he spoke sounded as if people who were bad at games were very stupid!

Justin’ lip corners curled into a smile when he heard what he said.

Wasn’t that game that Fatty mentioned exactly the one that Cherry live-streamed herself playing?

He had already found out a long time ago that Cherry was the local server’s top player in that game!

Over at the other side, Fatty had already taken out his cell phone. He asked, “Do you have an account? Come on, let’s play a round! I can carry you in the game as long as you’re not particularly stupid! This game is the best at reflecting whether someone is clever or not!”