With that, Summer got up. "What's this?" Gale grabbed her. "No one's chasing you away, and nobody's avoiding you." "I know, I'm not blaming you guys, it's my own problem." Gale firmly pressed her down. "If you go out now, you'll definitely run into Joe, he hasn't left yet." "I'll go out the back door. Your house is so big, there should be several doors, right?" Summer looked around."Are you really planning to leave?" "Otherwise? Should I go meet Joe?" Gale looked conflicted. "How about... you just... give in to him?" "Say that again?" Gale shook her head. "How about you just... be with him?" Summer almost jumped up. "I asked you for help to come up with a solution, not to matchmake me with Joe!" "Just give it a try, it's been so many years..."Gale persisted, managing to pull Summer back. "He's not just messing around, he's sincere. Give him a chance, and give yourself a chance at a relationship."Gale said, "If he dares to treat you even the slightest bit badly,
"Joe isn't a playboy. He genuinely cares about you. You've just been imagining the worst, which is why you feel so insecure," Shawn said.Summer deflated, "Why is everyone siding with him...""I am just telling it like it is. Of course, if you insist on blocking Joe from coming in, I won't allow him in," Shawn said, crossing his legs casually."Really?""Between offending you and Gale or offending Joe, I'll choose to offend Joe."Meanwhile, Joshua had been pretending to watch cartoons. In reality, he was listening intently to the adults' conversation.Uh-oh.He thought Shawn and Mommy would persuade Godmother and let Godfather in to talk things out.However, in the end, no one sided with Godfather!What could he do?Joe had helped him before. Joshua could not just stand by this time; he had to do something!After a moment's thought, Joshua slipped out of the living room quietly when nobody was paying attention.In the dark of the night, he dashed toward the front door.Joe
He hesitated.Joshua continued, "Mommy said that Shawn was really persistent in pursuing her. Why don't you try the same?""If you don't act now, Aunt Summer might really leave.""If she wanted to reject you, she would have said it directly. Since she has not outright refused you, it means she still has feelings for you!""Uncle Joe, what you need to do is dispel her doubts and give her a sense of security!"Upon hearing Joshua's words, Joe felt motivated. Right, Summer had not rejected him!She had just run away.Maybe she had not figured out how to face him yet. That did not mean she did not like him!Joe was invigorated.He immediately stepped through the side door, patting Joshua's head. "Well done, I owe you one for this!"Joshua chuckled. "Go for it, Uncle Joe, win the lady's heart soon, and give me some siblings to play with!""Go for it!"The guard was speechless.Should he stop them or not?He had not done anything wrong; Joshua had let him in. It had nothing to do
Everyone turned to look at who it was. Joe appeared, wearing a blue shirt, neatly pressed black trousers, a watch on his wrist, and a slight furrow on his brow. Joe always greeted people with a smile, but now he had a furrowed brow, indicating that he was indeed worried.He glanced at Summer, and their eyes met. Summer, who had just stood up, suddenly sat back down.She asked, "How did you get in here? Didn't the guard stop you? Or did you use some other way?"Joe did not answer. He just walked straight toward her. Summer looked around, trying to find a place to hide. After searching around, she could only hide behind Gale.Gale symbolically shielded her and looked at Joe. "What do you want?""What can I do?""She doesn't really want to see you right now. Give her some time," Gale said, her voice gentle and calm.It sounded like Gale was on Summer's side. In fact, what Summer could not see was Gale winking at Joe while she spoke.Gale also felt it was quite tricky being caught
"Are Uncle Joe and Aunt Summer getting married?""Not yet, but they can now, since they have. When the time comes, we'll definitely be walking down the aisle with them," Joshua said.Nicole nodded. "So only married boys and girls can kiss.""Yes. You need to remember this, so you don't let other boys take advantage of you!"Cough, cough! Shawn lightly coughed twice. "It's past eight, you guys should go wash up and get ready for bed."Nicole looked innocent. "Dad, I haven't finished watching this episode of the cartoon yet."Only Nicole was actually watching TV."Watch it tomorrow. Let's go, Daddy will take you upstairs," Shawn said, standing up.He took his daughter's hand.Joshua could go by himself.Why was Joe able to come in? It must have been Joshua's doing.Joshua thought he had slipped out unnoticed, but Shawn had seen him all along. He just did not want to expose him.After all, they did need Joshua's help.Seeing this, Gale also got up. "Right, it's getting late,
"I didn't trick you; it was you who willingly made the bet. I didn't force you.""Then, from the moment we made the bet, it was the start of your malicious intent toward me! Joe, you had planned it all along! You were... you were..."Joe smiled faintly. "I was doing what? Go on."He had planned it out from there onward. Joe's affection had already surfaced at that time. It was just that Summer was too dense, thinking he only wanted to win, thinking he did not know how to cherish a woman.In fact, he was expressing his love and interest.Every man pursues a woman differently, but the core idea is the same, which is to create opportunities for intimacy.Summer stared at Joe for a few seconds, then suddenly turned her head away, afraid of his sincere gaze, unable to look into his eyes anymore. Women are most afraid of a man's sincerity. They fear that he truly means it when he says he loves you. When he says he does not love you, he truly does not.Men's love always comes fast and
Summer felt even more confused. Women tend to overthink, keeping things to themselves, and men cannot guess what is going on. Joe and Summer just stared at each other from afar, neither taking a step forward. After watching for a while, Gale finally could not help but turn to Shawn. "What do you think? How long will they stay like this tonight?""How would I know?"It was not like he was the one chasing after a woman.Gale muttered, "What is Joe doing? After so many years with no action or progress, suddenly confessing and pursuing all in one night, Summer would be scared to death by him. He either does nothing at all, or moves too fast. Who can adapt to that?"If she were Summer, she would panic too. How could a longtime friend and boss suddenly become someone who had been secretly in love with her for a long time?"Is it still fast? I thought he would have won Summer over when they left the country," Shawn said.Gale gave him a scornful look. "Do you think every man is like you
She felt torn. What should she do? If she agreed, she feared being too hasty and impulsive could lead to a bad outcome for their relationship."Actually, how did it end up being known by the whole Wood family?" Summer said."You came here, so I had to follow," Joe replied.Summer glared at him. "Why did you have to follow? If you follow, everyone will know what's going on!"She had nowhere else to go. She could only confide in Gale.Joe, feeling helpless, could only comply. "Yes, my fault, I didn't handle it well."He would not have bowed down so quickly before. He would have argued with her a few more times. Now, he suddenly started taking responsibility, which Summer found quite unusual!Did they not love bickering? Would he be more docile if they were together?"It's not your fault," Summer's tone softened. "Can this be kept a secret? I think everyone has figured it out; I just thought I was hiding it well.""Yes, Summer, many people have figured out that I like you. Only y