"Friendship first, competition comes second." She tried to indoctrinate them. "It's fine if you don't get first place."Both males turned to look back at her with disapproving looks."Mommy, don't you dare hold us back!" Aster "warned" her.Larissa was a bit angry. "Fine, I won't." She turned to leave. "Have fun on your own, you two! I'll be going now!""Hey—" Kevan reached out quickly to stop her.Larissa was unable to pull the leg she put out in time, and her body fell back from the momentum right into Kevan's broad chest. Kevan wore a thin sports t-shirt, so his protruding pecs were rather obvious. The moment Larissa's back hit them, she felt them immediately.Her face went beet-red in a second before she hurriedly straightened up and put some distance between herself and Kevan.A few mothers nearby let out cries of amazement. Those who were familiar with Larissa came over to tease her. "That scene earlier was totally from a tv show!"Larissa's blush deepened.…The first

Kevan did not move, however. His hands hovered protectively at Larissa's sides, forming a hug of some sort that kept her encircled. He looked down at her, her silhouette clearly reflected in his eyes."Are you hurt?" Kevan's voice was low and cool, but there was a hint of warmth in there. His concerned gaze made Larissa's heart skip a beat before pounding furiously. She began to feel rather hot under the collar, and the heat of her blush was enough to fry an egg."No," she replied very quietly.They had not had any physical contact nor had they said anything romantic, but there seemed to be an amorous atmosphere surrounding them, which made other people jealous."Daddy! Daddy!" Aster began jumping with anxiety. "We're going to lose!"Kevan finally returned his attention to the competition.Just like that, several people had already turned back. Even if he raced to catch up with them, he could not escape the fate of coming in last. Having figured out the situation, Larissa quickly

Although Kevan really wanted her to, he did not dare push his luck when he saw Larissa's face darkening. He reached over Aster's head and swiped the tissue out of Larissa's hand, hastily rubbing it over his face."All done." He raised his hand and threw the crumpled tissue into a trash can that was a few feet away in a perfect arc.Yet another round of exclamations sounded around them, and even Larissa had to look at him in a whole new light.Aster clung to Kevan even more and asked him with puppy-dog eyes, "Daddy, when will you teach me how to shoot hoops?"Kevan replied without hesitation, "When you're resting this weekend."Aster immediately leaped three feet into the air with delight and stuck out his pinky. "That's a promise!"Larissa watched this while her heart sank slowly.…Having lost some momentum in the first activity, Kevan and Aster got Larissa to join in on every other activity that they could participate in to gain more points, and they gave their all in every a

Larissa crouched in front of Aster and held his hand, calmly reasoning with him, saying, "Mommy can't take such a long holiday, so I can't go to Kailadon with you. Instead of wasting this spot, it's better to give it away to another student instead.""But …" Aster pouted, his face filled with disappointment.It was not that he did not know that his mommy was busy with work, and it was not that he could not understand—he had long known from a young age that Mommy and Godma only wanted to give him a better life by working so hard. But compared to what they saw as a "better life", he desired their companionship more than anything."I want to go with you …" His voice became very small, and it was filled with hurt.Larissa pressed her lips tightly together. She felt bad for him, and she felt guilty too. She knew that she had not spent much time with him over these years. While other kids were vacationing all over the world, having fun at carnivals and amusement parks, he was usually alo

Aster froze before his shoulders slumped—but he stopped complaining.…Kevan did not stay tonight. He knew when to take his leave. If he continued to find excuses to stay, Larissa would definitely resent him. If something happened again in the future, she would not be soft-hearted enough to let him stay anymore.Without Kevan, Larissa was much more relaxed, but she also felt that something seemed to be missing at the same time. On the other hand, Aster made sure his displeasure was written all over his face. He kept talking about Kevan. When it was time for bed, Larissa had to tell him thrice before he reluctantly returned to his room.Having not been in the hotel for the whole day, Larissa went to the study to deal with her work that had piled up. When she finished, it was already almost 3 am.Yawning, she exited the study while stretching, nearly tripping over something that was on the floor. She looked down and realized that it was Cookie lying on the floor near the study's doo

Having played with Aster for the whole day, Kevan only took out his personal phone that he'd kept muted after he got home.There were several missed calls displayed on the screen, all from his parents.A sudden sense of irritation washed over him, and he took a deep breath and recomposed himself before calling back.Violet answered quickly and asked, "Kevan, what were you doing today? Why didn't you answer any of our calls, and why weren't you at the company or at home?"Kevan lied smoothly. "I went to see a client."Violet released an "Oh," in response.Kevan asked her, "Was there something you needed from me?"The distant tone in his voice caused Violet's heart to ache. "They arranged to meet a lawyer, Mr. Evans, today to discuss the distribution of your grandpa's assets …" She paused, sighing softly. "Your grandpa never made a will when he was alive, so they're fighting pretty bad over it … It doesn't look good."Kevan was not in the least bit surprised. As a matter of fact,

Violet told him, "It's done."Once he had gone through the inheritance process, the mansion would be his, and his alone."Bernard's and Felix's families have probably conferred behind the scenes yesterday. Today, Felix agreed to take just 5% of the shares and the rest of your grandpa's properties. Bernard got the rest of the shares."Roland held 56% of the shares in the company. Felix only taking 5% meant that he was cementing Cody's position as president of the company by leaving him the bigger percentage of shares.Although Bernard's and Felix's families were in cahoots with each other, they frequently fought among themselves due to their selfish natures. For Felix to agree to make such a big sacrifice meant that Bernard's family must have made some sort of guarantee—either that or Bernard's family had gotten some leverage over Felix's family.Kevan was not interested in the reasons that made this happen. He only cared whether or not his plan could still proceed smoothly—as long

It took Ben some time to calm himself down. Kevan patiently accompanied him, and even helped him unpack everything, putting the things back where they had come from.Ben got someone to make them some hot tea before serving a full cup to Kevan."This is the new tea that Peighdale sent over to Old Mr. Rogers this year! It's a pity that he only drank it once …" Ben was originally introducing the tea happily when his voice grew smaller at the end, and his eyes turned red again.Kevan took a sip. The rich and bittersweet taste engulfed his tongue, but when the tea slipped down his throat, he could savor a slight hint of sweetness. He did not like drinking tea. Compared to alcohol and coffee, which were stronger, tea was too bland for him.But his grandpa used to drink tea like his life depended on it."Old Mr. Rogers always said that tea could calm the mind," Ben said through sobs as he pressed his chest with his hand. "After he passed, I've been drinking this tea relentlessly, but my

Besides, he was only suspecting Cody. He could not be completely sure that he was the cause of Grandpa's death.Kevan drank another cup of tea before finding an excuse to leave Pine Mansion.The moment he got in the car, he called Dylan. "Don't you have a high school friend in the criminal investigation unit? I want him to help me out with something."…In the afternoon, Larissa was about to leave the hotel when she got a complaint from a VIP guest. This guest was rather hard to deal with. When she was finished, two had already passed.She hurried to the kindergarten. Aster was still with two other kids in the classroom, reading children's books under Ella's lead.Upon seeing Larissa, Ella greeted her as usual but did not tell Aster to pack his things and go with her."Ma'am, let's talk outside." Ella's expression was a little serious, and Larissa's heart sank at once.Aster watched them in confusion not far away, and he did not look guilty as one would normally look after maki

Time was needed to retrieve the footage. Ella told Larissa to leave first, and that she would send it over to her later.Larissa held Aster's hand tightly. She was really scared. The unknown man Ella mentioned … Although she had not seen him in person, she had a feeling that the man was not anyone with good intentions."Ms. Gilmore said that a man came to pick you up?" Larissa asked Aster."Yep." Aster nodded. "But I didn't know him, so I didn't leave with him.""Great job!" Larissa smiled and gave him a thumbs-up.Ever since he was able to understand them, she and Wendy had been teaching him about stranger danger. It seemed that their hard work had paid off."If Mommy ever needs someone to go pick you up, I will call Ms. Gilmore beforehand, okay? If I never informed Ms. Gilmore, you can't leave with anyone who says that they're here to pick you up, and that includes Uncle Kevan and Uncle Dylan, do you understand?""Aww …" Aster's face crumpled. "Why are Uncle Kevan and Uncle Dy