"This soup is nice," Slater couldn’t help but complint the bowl of soup he had been sipping, casting Zoren a look. "Let borrow your chef."
His eyes lit up, thinking this might be the best soup he’d had in a while. Or was it just because he was hungry that it tasted special?
"I agree with Slater," Haines mused. "This soup tastes good."
With Atlas backing it up with a nod, Slater realized it wasn’t just his hunger talking. Hugo, on the other hand, quickly chugged the soup straight from the bowl and slamd it down with a bam.
"I need more," Hugo breathed out, setting his eyes on Zoren. "Where can I get so?"
"I can get you so."
"It’s fine, I’ll do it!" Without waiting, Hugo jumped up from his seat and headed to the kitchen. It wasn’t like he’d have a hard ti finding it—the soup was just sitting in a pot.
anwhile, as Hugo busily served himself—only to chug it down—Haines snapped his eyes back to Zoren.
"Zoren, you should at least have a few helpers in the house," Haines suggested. "That way, you don’t have to do nial tasks and can save ti."
Zoren offered a smile. "I considered it when Penny moved in, but she likes that we can do these things together after a long day of work."
"Or she’s probably just trying to save every penny she can," Atlas mumbled before sipping from his spoon.
"I hate to admit it, but First Brother might be right." Slater nodded, giving Zoren a knowing look. "Don’t trust Penny too much when it cos to money."
Haines nodded, knowing his niece all too well.
"It’s alright," Zoren chuckled. "I honestly and genuinely enjoy serving her dinner and working in the kitchen."
Besides, having helpers in the house ant soone could walk in at any mont. Zoren liked the freedom of being alone with his wife—because anything could happen at any mont, anywhere. That was why many of their in-house guards often stayed away from the residence.
Even the night guards kept their distance from the main house while scouting for potential intruders.
"I see." Haines nodded, smiling. "If you don’t find it troubleso, then I guess this setup isn’t so bad..."
Trailing off, Haines and everyone else turned toward the kitchen, deep lines forming between their brows. Their eyes locked onto Hugo’s back.
At first, the noises he was making weren’t alarming, but now, Hugo was gulping down bottles of water one after another.
"Second Brother, are you... alright?" Slater asked, growing a bit nervous. Hugo was acting like a starving man who had just escaped the wilderness.
"Hugo," Haines called. "If you’re that hungry, you should eat more."
"I agree with Uncle Haines," Zoren added. "You don’t have to wait for Penny."
Atlas frowned. "Hugo, manners."
"Hah." Hugo hissed, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He had just chugged three bottles of water in a row, but alas...
"I feel thirsty."
He looked back at them, tugging at his collar to fan himself. "Hey, is the AC on? It’s kinda hot, don’t you think?"
"..."
No one answered at first. Then Atlas nodded, still calmly finishing his soup.
"It is a little hot," Atlas mused.
"Now that you ntion it..." Slater pouted, wiping his forehead to check for sweat. Surprisingly, the back of his hand was damp.
"It’s probably the soup," Haines said calmly. "It was hot, after all. And Hugo had several bowls."
"Hugo, you should just eat," Atlas suggested. "I’d rather have you eat now than look like a zombie from my dreams."
Hugo, still feeling strangely warm, tried to brush it off. "Well, thanks to the soup, I feel okay now. So I can just wait for Penny," he said, grabbing another bottle of water from the fridge. "I probably got a little dehydrated."
"So stubborn," Atlas muttered, shaking his head as he finished his soup.
Hugo returned to the table, chugging his water to cool himself down. But as ti passed, they all started feeling it. A rising heat—not quite like a fever, but noticeable enough.
They blad it on the soup, assuming they’d cool down in a few minutes.
So they ignored it, distracting themselves with random conversation.
---
Minutes later...
"I’m ho~!" Penny sang as she skipped into the dining room, knowing everyone was waiting for her.
Angel, who had been outside when she arrived, helped her and Mark carry the cakes she had bought.
The three of them weren’t expecting anything unusual inside. After all, Zoren had grown comfortable with his brothers-in-law, and Haines was easy to get along with.
But then—
Penny’s steps halted as soon as she stepped into the dining room.
Her brows furrowed as she took in the scene before her.
"Uh..." Penny blinked. And then blinked again. "Is there a the for this dinner that I didn’t know about?"
Mark and Angel, still carrying the boxes of cakes, stopped in their tracks and looked.
Their faces instantly twitched.
In the dining room, Penny’s brothers, uncle, and husband were still seated. All of them had different expressions.
But that wasn’t what caught her attention.
It was the fact that they all looked hot.
Hugo wasn’t even wearing his shirt anymore, displaying muscles honed by training and poverty. Atlas, Zoren, and Haines had unbuttoned their shirts, their damp hairlines visible. Slater had rolled his short sleeves up to his shoulders, turning his T-shirt into an impromptu muscle tee.
Their cheeks were equally flushed, and the bottles of water scattered on the table only made the scene stranger.
"...It’s nothing," Zoren finally rose from his seat and welcod his wife.
Standing in front of her, his eyes lit up as he took her in. He could hear his heart hamring against his chest.
His heart often skipped a beat around his wife, but tonight—it felt like it was racing ten tis faster than usual.
"Welco ho. I see you bought a lot," Zoren continued with a smile, though his eyes weren’t quite eting hers.
"The AC must be broken. None of us knew how to fix it," he added, rubbing the back of his neck. "Uncle Haines tried, but it didn’t help."
Penny blinked and then awkwardly crossed her arms over her chest.
’Renren, how can you say all that while staring at my breasts as if stripping ?’
"Anyway, hungry?" Zoren reluctantly peeled his gaze from her chest to et her eyes, smiling—a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
"Let’s eat. Co on."
For so reason, Penny had this urge to run away. Why? Because she just felt that her husband was very hungry but wanted to eat sothing else!
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