Julian chuckled and said, โIt seems like elders are all like that, right? My parents are the same. They love to nag. My dad, even though heโs such a macho man, heโs no different. Not to mention my mom. Whenever I see my dad now, Iโm like a mouse meeting a cat. I just want to hide in a hole to avoid his nagging.โThey both got into the car.Julian, who initially thought he would be driving, saw Quinn go ahead and sit in the driverโs seat. He asked, โAre you driving?โโYeah, Iโll drive. Youโre not familiar with this place, and my car is pretty normal. Iโm afraid you wonโt be comfortable driving it. Donโt worry, Iโm a good driver, and everything will be fine.โJulian walked around the car and took the passenger seat. He fastened his seatbelt and added, โIโve driven all kinds of cars before. Back when I didnโt make much money, I rode bicycles, and e-bikes, and even took the bus.โNow I drive a slightly more expensive car when I go out, mainly to keep up appearances.โIf Julian had no
Quinn said, โYour martial skills are so good that you donโt really need bodyguards. That night, I think I acted too quickly. Even if I hadnโt intervened, those thugs wouldnโt stand a chance against you. You would have surely handled them quite effectively with your skills.โI interfered and acted rashly, which actually robbed you of the chance to show your skills, and I missed the opportunity to witness your full capabilities.โJulian hurriedly responded, โIโm indeed skilled, but Iโm not as formidable as you imagine. That night, there were too many of them. I wouldnโt have been able to handle them all on my own. Iโm not as skilled as you.โI have bodyguards at home, but I rarely use them. Occasionally, I might go out with a couple of them. However, the bodyguards Iโve hired are typically just tall and imposing. They might know a few basic moves, enough to intimidate troublemakers, but they wouldnโt be effective against skilled fighters.โIf we encountered martial artists like last
Julian smiled and said, โYouโre welcome to visit me anytime.โOh, by the way, I sent two large boxes to you by courier. Have you received them? I tracked the shipment, they should be arriving today.โJulian had purchased a variety of specialty products from Wiltspoon, as well as some supplements for middle-aged and elderly people. He had them all shipped to Summervale, with Quinn as the recipient.ย After all, Quinn was his destined girl, and he wanted to make a good impression on her family.Having come all the way here, Julian felt that he could not arrive empty-handed.Quinn replied, โIโm not sure about that. I came to the airport to fetch you this afternoon, and if there was a delivery, it would be sent to my house. My mom is usually at home, and sheโd help me receive them. Julian, what did you buy for me? You donโt have to spend so much.โโItโs just some specialty products from Wiltspoon. Last time when you left in a hurry, I didnโt prepare much for you. This time, I bought a
When they arrived at the Crawford residence, it was a scene of warmth and festivity with many lights illuminating the surroundings.The Crawfords were eagerly awaiting their arrival.ย Hearing the sound of a car, Will came out to see, and upon recognizing his sisterโs vehicle, a smile graced his face. He approached the car and opened the door for Julian.โMr. Bucham.โโMr. Will, you can just call me Julian.โJulian was actually older than Will, but he had been addressing Will with honorifics. Will was a candid person like Duncan, and he did not mind how Julian addressed him.โEveryone is waiting for your return to have dinner together.โAs he spoke, Will walked toward the trunk to take out Julianโs luggage.Quinn said, โWill, Julian booked a hotel. After dinner, Iโll drop him off at the hotel, so thereโs no need to take his luggage down.โโI see. Julian, if you donโt mind, you can cancel the booking. We have empty rooms. You can stay here, and in the future, if you come to Summ
Quinn said to Will, โIf you dare to drink, Mom will sell all the fine wine we have at home.โQuinn enjoyed drinking as well, but her tolerance was rather low. Her mother did not allow her to drink, emphasizing that she was a girl and that her poor alcohol tolerance could lead to accidents.Will chuckled and whispered, โThatโs why we need to keep Julian at home. Heโs a guest and he brings us suppers. In return, we can share a drink or two without getting too drunk. This way, it wonโt affect our work the next day, and Mom wonโt complain.โIt was an ordeal for an alcohol enthusiast to resist drinking.Will thought of the last incident with Julian. When Julian came over, everyone in the house drank with him except Quinn.ย They had to use Julian as an excuse to satisfy their craving for alcohol. After all, the Crawford men could not overrule the lady of the house, their mother Zoey.Julian laughed and said, โDuring my stay here, if you feel like having supper, just let me know and Iโl
Zoey had a habit of nagging Dave for he had ruined their daughterโa twenty-four-year-old young lady, who had never been in a relationship and could not get along with the men they set up for her. Zoey complained that Quinn treated those men as buddies.Why buddies? Why could they not become lovers?Every time Zoey nagged, Dave would tease her, suggesting they should take good care of their health and have another daughter. Then, they could raise the younger one as a proper lady, which always makes Zoey blush. She would seize him and tickle him.They were old enough to be grandparents, how could they still have babies?If they wanted to, they could have done it when they were younger.โTime for dinner. Itโs late and youโre making Julian drink tea, it affects sleep. The same goes for you, donโt stay up late chattering when you canโt sleep later,โ reprimanded Zoey as she carried the dishes out of the kitchen.Dave chuckled, โJulian came from afar, heโs our guest. Itโs only hospitalit
Regardless of how they dissuaded him, Julian was firm that he had no ability to stop his parents, leaving the Crawfords quite helpless.They thought that if Julianโs parents did come, they would treat them cordially.Ring, ring, ring.Zoeyโs phone rang.She answered the call without checking who it was from.โOh, itโs Felicia.โHearing Zoey greeting the caller, Quinn and her brother immediately pricked their ears to listen to their motherโs conversation with Felicia.โYou want to introduce a boyfriend to Quinn? What does he do for a living? You know about Quinnโs situation right? You wonโt introduce someone afraid Quinn might be abusive like those previous ones, will you?โFelicia, let me clarify right away. If the prospective partner is worried that Quinn might be abusive, thereโs no need for you to play the matchmaker. Quinn wonโt marry anyone with such concerns. Iโd rather raise her for life than let her marry someone with tendencies for domestic violence.โFelicia chuckled
Quinn calmly ate her food. When Zoey was not looking, she seized the window of opportunity and refilled her glass with wine before downing it. By the time her mother looked over, she had already put down the glass and was back to calmly eating her meal. There was no sign of her sneaky behavior.Julian found this amusing.However, he did not dare to fill Quinnโs glass with wine. His future mother-in-law had strict rules about not allowing the family to drink too much, and even though he was just having a couple of drinks together as their guest, he could not overindulge.ย He certainly did not want to break the good impression Zoey had of him.โYes, itโs her colleagueโs son. She wants our daughter to meet him tomorrow at the nicely decorated bubble tea shop near our gym.โZoey handed the phone to Dave and asked quietly, โWhat do you think? Should we arrange for our daughter to meet him? He seems a bit overweight, and itโs clear that he seldom works out.Dave took the phone, and Will
Austin was extremely patient with the boys. Although they occasionally caused trouble, most of them were minor issues. They would never do something they were not allowed to do.After breakfast, Austin brought them their bags. With a boy in each hand, he left the house. It was to prevent the boys from saying he was playing favorites. Dominic was used to that scene. Initially, Austin was simply Ms. Isabellaโs private chef. However, he gradually took on more responsibilities.He would take the two young masters to school. If he had time in the evening, he would also fetch them from school. Austin also made sure Louis and Phillip did their homework, supervised their hobby classes, and played with them. Sometimes, he would even teach them martial arts and train with them. Dominic felt Austin was an all-rounder. It seemed like there was nothing Austin could not do. No wonder Ms. Isabella thought highly of Austin. However, Austin was a young master of a wealthy family. He w
Louis and Phillip were downstairs having the breakfast Austin had prepared for them. The food was different every morning, and everything was delicious.Having gotten used to Austinโs cooking, Louis and Phillip could no longer stand the food provided in the school. They thought the food there was terrible. Louis was enrolled in an elementary school not far from home. As he was a first grader, he did not need to stay in the dormitories and could have his lunch and dinner at home. Phillip, who was a year younger than him, was still in preschool. He would have breakfast and dinner at home. Actually, the preschool did provide breakfast, but Phillip refused to eat in school and insisted on having breakfast at home. In order to eat the breakfast Austin made, he would get up early in the morning without the adults waking him. After putting on his clothes and washing up, he would head to Louisโs place with his bag. โAustin.โLouis suddenly asked, โDid my sister come back last n
Isabella had always thought Tati was teasing her. Therefore, she did not take her words seriously. She thought it was completely normal for Austin to treat her well as she was his boss. From Austinโs perspective, she was his source of income. Now that Isabella pondered about it deeper, she realized perhaps Austin did come to Satbury for her. It was not just to be her chef. He always said Grandma May only gave the York lads a year to pursue their fiancรฉes. However, Austin had never left since he started working for Isabella. Even if he did, it was to accompany her on business trips. He was busy feeding and taking care of her every day and had never gone to pursue his so-called fiancรฉe. He did not even try to gather information on her. Was he not anxious?A year would go by pretty quickly. Although it felt like it had not been long since Austin started working for Isabella, three months had passed. Time really flew. Three months had gone by in the blink of an eye. Neve
When Austin reached the door, he stopped and turned to say, โMs. Isabella, I only care about my future wife. Other young women are simply strangers to me.โIโm polite to other women when I need to be. If theyโre unimportant, Iโll ignore them. Even if that woman is my boss, I wonโt cross any lines. If I do, there must be a reason behind it.โGet some rest, Ms. Isabella. You might have a headache when you wake up tomorrow. Iโll prepare a warm honey drink for you in the morning.โAfter speaking, Austin left. Isabella turned to look at where he last stood. What did his words mean?He said he only cared about his future wife.Aside from this lady, he would not step out of line with any other young woman, even if she were his boss. What did he mean by crossing lines?Was it showing concern? Did he mean that if his boss was a young woman but not his fiancรฉe, he would simply do what was required of him without any personal feelings involved? Was that what he meant?If so, was
Isabella was cold sometimes, but that was not her true personality. She was a reasonable person. Austin was not worried that he would be mistreated as a live-in son-in-law. โMs. Isabella.โIsabella looked toward him and waited for him to speak. He asked, โThis may be abrupt, but may I ask what your ideal type is?โIsabella was stunned. Why did the question come to her? What was the type of man she liked?โSomeone like Austin,โ she thought. After a moment of silence, she said, โI like men who are capable, responsible, and have correct values. Even if his family isnโt as financially well-off as mine, I donโt mind so long as heโs honest, competent, and sincere about his feelings for me.โOf course, itโll be great if we have the same social status. That way, weโll have similar perspectives and more common topics. If we get married, weโll be joining forces instead of it being a one-way financial aid.โโAlthough you can accept someone who isnโt from a similar family backgrou
After a moment of silence, Isabella said, โItโs okay. I know I was forcing it.โThere was no point in asking Austin if he did not want to reveal anything. If he wanted to tell her, he would do so without her asking. However, her curiosity spiked with his silence. She was eager to know who his fiancรฉe was. He was already so protective of his fiancรฉe even though he had not met her before. It made Isabella jealous. It was her first time feeling that kind of emotion throughout her life. Although it was not a strong feeling, she still felt it. โYou werenโt forcing me to tell you. You were simply curious. Most people have a curious side. Itโs only natural for you to be inquisitive as well.โAustin said gently, โItโs not just you. Those who knew that my nana had chosen fiancรฉes for my brothers and me were also curious about who the ladies were.โTo be honest, we didnโt even know Nana had been choosing fiancรฉes for us since a few years ago until she handed their pictures to us
โYou can drink it now. Itโll turn cold if left aside for longer.โIsabella took the ginger ale and drank it with elegance. She put it down after drinking half of it. โIโm drunk, but only slightly. I can walk, and my brain is still alert. I know what Iโm doing and saying.โIโve had enough ginger ale.โShe did not want to consume too much liquid late at night. โWhich family is your fiancรฉe from, Austin? Where is she? Do you mind telling me?โIsabella was insistent on getting answers. Austin had never told her when she had asked him about it before. He kept saying he would focus on working and that he was not in a rush to get married. After all, he was only in his twenties; Zachary only got married at thirty years old. If he was unsuccessful in wooing his fiancรฉe that year, he did not mind waiting for a few more years. Isabella suddenly felt jealous of Austinโs fiancรฉe, having had his heart without even doing anything. She wondered what Austinโs fiancรฉe had done to cat
Austin stared into Isabellaโs eyes. He could detect some feelings in her gaze, but it was not obvious enough. What she felt for him was still mostly admiration. It was not the right time for him to confess yet. He would continue to wait. โYouโre the best and most outstanding lady in my heart, Ms. Isabella. I admire you more.โAustin added gently, โYou give off a strict and cold aura sometimes, but youโre always a nice person in my eyes.โIsabella had treated him well ever since he became her private chef. It only got better after she discovered he was a young master of the Yorks. Austin believed her when she said she viewed him as a friend because her actions reflected it as well. However, he was not content with being just friends. He wanted to be her husband. He wanted her to trust him and love him forever. He would also reciprocate her feelings and trust. Isabella smiled. โEven my parents are scared and avoid me when Iโm in a serious mode. Louis and Phillip w
Austin responded, โDonโt worry, Ms. Edith. Iโll take good care of Ms. Isabella.โEdith had come in a hurry and left just as quickly. The hidden meaning in her cousinโs words was not lost on Isabella, but she did not comment on it.She allowed Austin to accompany her into the house. The lights were still on inside, but the first floor was empty. Everyone else had already gone to bed.Since Isabella had not returned yet, the housekeeper had left the lights on for her.The house was warm, so once inside, Isabella took off Austinโs coat and handed it back to him.Austin accepted the coat and followed her to the sofa. After she had sat down, he asked gently, โMs. Isabella, would you like some ginger ale for a hangover remedy?โIsabella rubbed her temples and said, โYes, please. I donโt want to wake up with a splitting headache tomorrow.โAustin immediately went to prepare it for her.Isabella leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes to rest. After some time, she heard Austinโs