Calix and Vernon erged from Andrian’s ho office almost one hour later. Their father remained inside, seemingly having an important task to attend to.
Vernon raised one hand, patting Calix’s back. He firmly stated, "Don’t worry yourself too much. Now that we know him, it’ll be easier to counter what he plans to do."
Calix stared at his elder brother, finding the truth in what Vernon had just brought up. The sa thing ca to his mind after Leslie told him that the man was Nicholas Wu.
"I’ll continue to investigate," was all Calix said before parting with Vernon. Both of them headed in different directions.
Calix received a text from Leslie when he was still discussing the issue with Andrian and Vernon. She said everyone had left the lounge.
Leslie retreated to Calix’s bedroom. Calliope and Alia followed Old Madam Xu to the elderly lady’s chamber, most likely to nap together. Everyone decided to have lunch a little later than usual.
Striding down the hallway, Calix’s footsteps were heavy. The conversation he had with Andrian and Vernon earlier resurfaced in his mind, darkening his countenance further.
"You’ve been Xander’s good friend since childhood. Will you ever suspect him betraying you?"
Vernon’s question struck Calix’s heart. He couldn’t help but rember the strain on his friendship with Xander that beca more apparent recently.
Calix hadn’t forgiven Xander for the accusations the latter threw at Leslie a few months ago[01]. The fla of wrath burned in his heart every ti he recalled that night.
Xander’s stubbornness disappointed Calix thoroughly. The forr let his misjudgnt toward Leslie cloud his mind.
Xander tried to approach Calix but, he reminded his childhood friend to keep his halfhearted apology to himself. The tension inadvertently put Davin in the middle. Fortunately, he was smart enough not to ddle this ti.
’I believe in Xander. It’s up to him to keep up with my trust or not.’
Despite the strain in their friendship, Calix still believed in the camaraderie he shared with Xander for over two decades. At the sa ti, he wouldn’t let his guard down.
If Nicholas Wu won Xander over to his side, it ant the latter traded their long friendship with a petty grudge. That would be all on Xander.
Shaking his head, Calix let out a helpless sigh. He quickened his pace, wishing to et Leslie sooner. His footsteps reverberated in the quiet hallway.
"Sweetheart."
Stepping inside the bedroom, Calix called for Leslie. His eyes landed on the empty couch and bed before his gaze trailed to the open balcony. The breeze swept past the curtain, fluttering the hem.
"I’m here, honey."
Calix found Leslie sitting on the swing chair. Lying on the plush cushion, her legs dangled above the balcony floor.
"It’s hot here," Calix uttered in helplessness. He squeezed himself on the swing chair, lying just next to Leslie.
"The breeze is nice. The shade is great too. I feel sleepy just being here."
Curling up her lips, Leslie let out a soft hum. She carefully took in every detail on Calix’s countenance. His fringes swayed by the breeze, revealing his forehead etched with worries.
Despite looking cheerful as always, she still saw the faint traces of uneasiness on his face.
"How’s your talk with your dad and brother? Did you tell them about him?"
Leslie’s words, spoken ever so softly, were laced with concern. She roughly guessed Calix inford Andrian and Vernon about Nicholas Wu’s identity.
"I did."
Calix replied truthfully. His response was short, taking his ti to ponder his previous eting with Andrian and Vernon.
"Dad and Big Brother were shocked," said Calix after the short period of silence, carefully choosing his words, "Still, they think like us. It’ll be easier to keep an eye on him."
Humming, Leslie decided to drop the subject. Any topic regarding Nicholas Wu inadvertently distressed Calix. She also wanted to have a nice day without talking about that man.
"Mom told sothing earlier," Leslie changed the subject, bringing up what Harper ntioned to her in the lounge, "She and Dad wanna know if we want to introduce Poppy during their anniversary banquet."
"Ah... yeah. Dad has just told about that."
Before Calix and Vernon left the ho office, Andrian brought up the anniversary banquet this autumn. His father told Calix to discuss with Leslie about introducing Calliope to their circle.
Scooting closer to Leslie, Calix brought her in his arms before asking, "What do you think? The banquet will be attended by many people, sweetheart."
Calix thought this was a good chance to introduce both Leslie and Calliope formally as his wife and daughter to high society. They had already discussed the possibility before.
After Calix released an official statent about Leslie and Calliope during the Li family’s downfall, people’s interest in them skyrocketed.
"I don’t have any objection," replied Leslie, her voice clearly showing her stance, "We have nothing to hide, honey. Tho, we need to prepare Poppy for the banquet. I hope she won’t get overwheld seeing so many people."
Calliope was mostly surrounded by children previously. Only a few adults worked at the orphanage.
Despite agreeing, she couldn’t help but worry about the little one being the center of attention. Fortunately, Calliope was always a well-behaved girl.
Grinning, Calix uttered, "Our Poppy and Mia’s attention will only be on the food. Believe it. They won’t care about the guests."
Calix’s remarks earned laughter from Leslie. Playfully slapping his chest, her giggles resonated in the air.
"Hehe, our Poppy is so cute ah. I wonder how many boys will try to be her friends."
Calix froze. The thought hadn’t crossed his mind at all!
His parents often invited the children of their friends along. He recalled what happened last year when a group of munchkins approached his cute niece.
Calix laughed upon seeing Vernon being irked by the situation. He rejoiced over his elder brother’s misery, even calling Vernon a daughter’s fool.
And, now...
Haha.
Wouldn’t he just feel the sa?
Leslie was confused when Calix suddenly turned quiet. He seed to be irritated with sothing.
"Honey, what’s wrong?"
"Thinking of so snotty boys approaching our daughter annoys ah."
"..."
Leslie had nothing to say. She didn’t expect her daughter’s fool of a husband would think of sothing like that.
Sigh...
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Reference:
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