Chapter 363 A Thirty-Year-Old Old Man
“Daddy, it’s fine for Mommy to join us for dinner, right?” Charlotte stared at Justin with a cold face as she folded her arms in front of her chest, trying to look intimidating.
Throughout the 30 or so years of his life, no one had ever dared to talk to him like his daughter just did. Finding her amusing, he looked at Rachel, uttering, “I already ordered the food. It won’t take you long. You can just treat it as spending time with our children.”
Since Rachel had already promised Charlotte, she didn’t refuse his offer.
“Are you sure you two want to sit together? Can you eat by yourself, Charlotte?” Rachel questioned the two kids in front of her.
Samuel didn’t have a problem eating by himself, but Charlotte was a spoiled child, who was used to being spoon fed. Rachel did try to get her to change that habit, but eventually, she would give in to Charlotte once the girl threw a temper.
She didn’t know why her little brat became so independent all of a sudden. Tilting her head up in an arrogant way, Charlotte uttered, “I can eat by myself!”
With that, she shoved the spoon into her mouth.
Samuel, on the other hand, was happily chewing on his chicken wings.
The waiter then placed a glass of juice in front of Rachel.
“Thanks.” Rachel thanked the waiter.
Seeing that, Justin urged, “Don’t just feed them. You should eat.”
Rachel couldn’t stop moving her hands. All the prawns she peeled were put onto the kids’ plates.
“I’ll eat after peeling this last one.”
After placing the last piece on Charlotte’s plate, Rachel looked around but didn’t find any tissue.
Just then, Justin handed her a wet towel.
“Thank you,” said Rachel after being stunned for a while.
“You’re welcome.”
“How’s the news going? Is everything alright?” inquired Justin.
“Now that the attention has been shifted to the two of them, no one has been declaring a war anymore at Hudson Pharmaceuticals. It’s all in the past now to them. The one thing that got affected would probably be the endorsements for the health beverages not doing so well.”
Justin nodded at that. “It’s the consequence of the artist’s influence. Is Hudson Pharmaceuticals considering changing the ambassador?”
Leroy was a popular idol, so the announcement of his relationship was bound to have an effect on his career. All his endorsements were the first to be affected. Sales dropped greatly, and Hudson Pharmaceuticals happened to be one of them.
In response, Rachel shook her head. “No. I plan to sign a long-term contract with him.”
“Why?”
“There are plenty of popular idols in the entertainment industry, and every year, more and more artists will debut. It’s extremely rare to find an artist with good manners and personality. I have a hunch that even though someone like Leroy announced his relationship and screened out some fans, his real market value will stand out.”
“You’re taking a risk right there. Have you thought it through?”
“I’ve already instructed my assistant to draft the contract.”
Seeing that she had her own opinions, Justin didn’t utter another word.
While they were eating, Rachel’s phone suddenly rang.
She knitted her brows together upon seeing the caller ID. After setting it into silent mode, she left the phone aside.
“Why don’t you pick up the call?” inquired Justin.
“It’s Ryan,” answered Rachel.
Before she could explain further, a childish voice sounded from the opposite. “Mr. Ryan calls us so many times a day! He even calls our landline sometimes! Godmother is so annoyed. She calls him a pervert!”
“You can’t call him that, Charlotte,” reminded Rachel.
“But it’s the truth!” Charlotte pouted with a look of dismay. “Leroy is way more handsome than he is! Now that Godmother is dating Leroy, she wouldn’t bother about that old man.”
Charlotte was Leroy’s top fan, and when she knew about Leroy being in a relationship with Jolly, she was all for it.
Meanwhile, she called Ryan an old man…
Clearing his throat, Justin uttered, “I don’t think Mr. Ryan is that old right, Charlotte?”
“He is! He’s already over 30 years old.”
Justin was rendered speechless in an instant, the corners of his lips twitching.
Though Ryan was a few years younger than him, Charlotte thought of him as an old man. If it weren’t for the fact that he was her father, she would have probably called him an old man too.
That was because Charlotte was attracted to Leroy, who had the charisma of an idol.
However, Rachel was more concerned about Samuel’s preference.
“Samuel, who do you think is more suitable for Godmother? Mr. Ryan or Leroy?”
Samuel was too busy chewing on his drumstick that when he raised his head, Rachel could see the oil smearing all over his lips. With a muffled voice, he asked, “Huh?”
Rachel was speechless at that.
“Do you really not care about Godmother at all?”
Wiping his mouth clean, Samuel retorted, “She has too many boyfriends! I can’t care that much!”
“What if she got scammed?”
“By whom? Mr. Leroy?” Samuel sighed. “I’m more worried that he would be scammed by Godmother.”
Just as Rachel wanted to say something to defend Jolly, Justin laughed.
“Don’t children always know their mothers best?”
Reaching out his arm over the table, he wiped off the sauce on Samuel’s lips.
“Godmother is going to be so furious if she heard what you just said. She adored you for nothing,” said Rachel.
Blinking his eyes innocently, Samuel stated, “She won’t. I actually prefer Godmother to be with Leroy.”
“Oh? Why is that?”
“Because Leroy looks like a fool. He doesn’t seem to be all that smart. Godmother definitely won’t suffer if she dates him.”
Rachel winced at that, not knowing what to respond.
That meant Ryan must seem clever to him!
While they were talking about Jolly’s love life, the atmosphere around the table seemingly lightened. Charlotte was even willing to talk to Justin now. When Rachel saw that Charlotte ate whatever Justin put on her plate, she heaved a sigh of relief.
After an hour, they were still not done with the meal yet.
Samuel caressed his belly and leaned back against the chair.
“What’s wrong?” Rachel asked. “Are you full already?”
Just as Samuel wanted to nod, someone pinched him under the table. He then quickly forced a grin and replied, “No, I want some more.”
“You want more?”
Rachel widened her eyes at the table of food.
He was surely going to get a stomachache if he ate some more! “That’s enough for you today. You ate half of the chicken and a whole glass of juice. It’s also getting late. We should get going soon,” urged Rachel.
Hearing that, Charlotte became anxious. “I’m not full yet! I want a cake!”
While saying that, she raised her hand to signal a waiter.
“Excuse me!”
Just as she had called out to the waiter, she burped.
“Burp—”
Rachel was puzzled. “Are you sure you’re not full yet?”
Charlotte forced herself to nod in response.
“I know what you’re up to.” Rachel finally realized what was going on. “Do you not want to go home so soon?”
Charlotte felt guilty, but she insisted, “I just want to eat another cake.”
Glancing down at her watch, Rachel suggested, “What about this? I’ll give you two options. First, you eat another piece of cake, and then we go home. Second, I’ll bring you and Samuel out for a walk to digest the food, and then we go home. Which one do you want?”
Charlotte’s eyes lit up instantly. “The second one!”
To be frank, she couldn’t stuff any more food into her mouth!
“What about you, Samuel? Do you want to eat some more?”
Samuel grimaced. “I’m going to explode if I eat some more!”
