Calix brought Leslie and Calliope to a fine dining restaurant nearby. The ride was less than five minutes from the ho center.
The restaurant resembled a traditional courtyard house with an enchanting garden, surrounded by several smaller buildings.
The annexes served as private rooms for the patrons. They had their own smaller gardens, barricaded by wooden fences to ensure more privacy.
"Poppy, wear your hat," Calix handed the pink bucket hat to Calliope before alighting the car, "The sun is hot."
"Okay~"
Calliope obediently wore the hat, obscuring half of her small face. She didn’t know there was another reason Calix told her to put on the hat.
Despite being lunchti, the restaurant was generally quiet with fewer people compared to the ordinary eateries. After all, its clients were usually from the high society.
But, Calix still wanted to be careful without making it too obvious to Calliope. The situation was different than the ti they were at the ho center.
"I’ll lead you to your room, Mr. Xu and Mrs. Xu."
A waiter escorted the family of three to one of the annexes. He purposely asked for a place where they could view the beautiful garden without compromising their privacy. The annex was a good choice.
"Oh! So pretty!"
Calliope ran toward the sliding door once they entered the annex. Mimo’s limbs swayed in the air, following her movents. She took off the hat, revealing her beaming countenance.
Laughing softly, Calix strode forward to open the door. Within seconds, all of them saw the quaint garden of the annex.
"Let’s order so food first," Calix gestured to the dining table, urging Calliope to follow, "Poppy, what do you wanna eat?"
Beaming with happiness, Calliope hurriedly tailed after Calix. The waiter brought in a high chair for the children. The little dumpling sat on it with her father’s help.
"Leslie, have anything in mind?" asked Calix, lifting his eyes from the nu to the lady sitting opposite him, "They have varieties of soups if you wanna try them."
Leslie glanced to her right side. Calliope was also looking at a nu book. The little one complained about the lack of food photos as references, inciting laughter from her.
"I’ll have..."
The waiter swiftly left after getting their orders. Calix, Leslie and Calliope took the chance to head to the garden outside.
The gentle breeze carried the faint scent of sumr flowers as the sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
"Wanna try walking? Barefoot?" Calix smiled at Leslie. He placed one hand on the wheelchair’s handle while the other rested on the armrest, "See that faucet? You can wash your feet ah."
Giggles bubbled up from Leslie’s mouth. Nodding, she offered one of her palms to Calix, "That’s a tempting offer, Mr. Xu... Care to help ?"
"It’s my utmost pleasure to assist you, Mrs. Xu," responded Calix, his smile softening.
Calliope watched Calix supporting Leslie to walk after he took off her socks and shoes. Laughing at herself, she did the sa ti – kicking off her shoes to walk barefoot on the grass.
The family of three and the toy Mimo had fun in the garden before the waiter returned with a three-tiered food trolley. Everyone was famished despite having snacks and tea prepared by Manager Chen earlier.
"All stuffed, Poppy? Aiya, your tummy looks like a balloon now."
Calix teasingly asked Calliope after the little dumpling finished her last bite of dragonfruit and mango pudding. Her lips were tainted with the red juice.
"Hehe, Poppy loved all the food... right?" Leslie gently wiped the little one’s mouth with a moistened tissue.
"All yummy, hehehe~" Calliope patted her bulging stomach, laughing at herself, "Poppy feels sleepy now."
"We have one more place to visit ah," Calix clicked his tongue. He held back from pinching Calliope’s chubby cheeks.
"Oh, where?"
Leslie was curious. She knew Calix had more places in mind but, he hadn’t shared the plan with her and Calliope.
Did Calix want to bring Calliope shopping for clothes? The guess sounded plausible considering his nature.
"Just a small store on our way ho," replied Calix with a aningful smile. He didn’t give out more details, "You two will surely love it."
Leslie and Calliope exchanged a look, wondering the aning behind Calix’s words. They couldn’t imagine what kind of store the man was eager for them to visit.
"Well, let’s wait and see..." Leslie grinned at Calliope, raising her brows, "Right, Poppy?"
"Yes, Mama~" replied Calliope sweetly.
Helplessness imbued Calix’s smile. He had already planned to bring Calliope and Leslie to the store but, there was no suitable ti until now.
"Let’s head out."
"Okay..."
"Let’s go~ Let’s go~"
Calix pushed Leslie’s wheelchair toward the annex’s door while Calliope tailed from behind. The little dumpling humd to a song while hugging Mimo in both arms, once again wearing the hat.
"Logan has made the paynt," said Calix as he checked his ssages with Logan, "We can head straight to the car."
Calix instructed Logan, Mrs. Sang and the others to have lunch in the main building while his family of three was in the annex. The bodyguard was tasked to settle both lunch paynts using the company card.
The SUV was parked in the front yard of the restaurant, right next to the van driven by Logan. Without being in a hurry, Calix led Leslie and Calliope to the vehicle.
"Papa will put Mama in first," said Calix while opening the backseat door. He smiled at Calliope, "Wait for a minute, okay?"
"Okay~"
Calix carefully seated Leslie in the backseat, making sure she was comfortable. Calliope leaned against the wheelchair, still humming to a song.
"...Calix?"
The familiar voice caught Calix’s attention, including Leslie’s and Calliope’s. All three of them looked in the direction of the voice, finding two won standing not far from them.
Leslie unconsciously widened her eyes. She recognized one of the ladies.
Violet!
She didn’t expect to bump into the female lead today!
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