Chapter 2

Kelvin never thought that he would be meeting Corbyn here, of all places. He especially never thought that Corbyn would be the main interviewer at this preschool.

He could feel his head swirling. He suddenly recalled Corbyn telling him that he was a Yinglish teacher. So, it still made sense that he taught Yinglish at this preschool.

It was just that Kelvin had always looked down on people who graduated overseas and were only qualified enough to teach Yinglish in their home country. He always thought that these people simply didn't have anything better to do.

Now, the "someone who had nothing better to do" sitting among the panel of interviewers was looking at him with a distant and nonchalant look on his face.

There were two other interviewers aside from Corbyn. However, Corbyn was seated in the center, which strongly hinted that he was the one with the most influence over the decisions made that day.

Kelvin suddenly regretted being so haughty and rude to Corbyn at dinner last night.

Corbyn treated Kelvin and his family like any other, however. He did everything according to normal procedures and was seemingly objective with them. Kelvin also behaved like usual without trying to get close to Corbyn on purpose.

Kelvin's thoughts were that Corbyn wasn't the only interviewer present today. There were other people around as well. So, it wouldn't do if he were to suddenly try acting close to Corbyn in case of being accused of bribery or favoritism.

Since Kelvin couldn't speak directly to Corbyn at the preschool, he waited until he was back at work to ask Dean if he could treat Corbyn to dinner. Dean simply replied that it was up to Corbyn whether he wanted to go.

Meanwhile, Corbyn purposely left Kelvin hanging by standing him up twice. Finally, he showed up at the third invitation but arrived fashionably late.

"I'm so sorry, I had so much work at school today. I didn't mean to be late," he said apologetically.

Kelvin deeply suspected that Corbyn was doing this to him on purpose. Of course, that was also the truth, but he couldn't do anything about it.

That didn't mean he didn't feel frustrated at all, though. He was a financial elite working a "gold-collar" job, for goodness' sake. He thought of himself as someone from the upper-middle class of society. And yet, here he was, being made a fool of by a lowly preschool teacher.

Still, thinking about his son's future and education, Kelvin had to appear humble and agreeable with Corbyn this time. He told Corbyn that he was worried about his son's studies, but Corbyn simply replied, "Your son is smart. Don't worry about him."

Kelvin thought Corbyn's answer was very ambiguous. He got anxious at once.

Had Corbyn meant to say, "Your son is smart, don't worry about him, the preschool will take him in", or had he meant, "Your son is smart, don't worry about him, he will still excel even at other preschools"?

Corbyn was thoroughly enjoying the anxious, distressed look that came over Kelvin's face. However, nobody could tell that he was relishing the moment at all, and that was because Corbyn had a demure face with huge doe-like eyes, giving off the impression that he had a kind and sweet soul.

Of course, that couldn't have been farther from the truth.

But, it was precisely Corbyn's soft and innocent demeanor that had won Dean's heart.

Kelvin brought out the expensive gift he had bought for Corbyn and gave it to him, but Corbyn refused to accept it. He wasn't stupid. If he were to accept it, then Kelvin would be able to blackmail him in the future.

Corbyn would never give such an opportunity to anyone else. He just said, "Oh, your kid's a smart one. His Yinglish is quite fluent too. I'm sure that you've been a great father to him by teaching him well."

Kelvin chuckled and said, "It's not much. It's only because he watches Yinglish cartoons occasionally and caught on because of interest."

Corbyn replied, "But like what you said before, I'm afraid that not many of our teachers graduated from Ivy Club universities. I'm afraid none of us are worthy enough to teach him."

Kelvin's expression tensed. He knew it! He knew that Corbyn was cunning and petty! What a two-faced liar Corbyn was to be smiling so gently at him while stabbing him in the back!

However, Kelvin couldn't curse at Corbyn. He could only chuckle forcefully and speak in a more beseeching manner. "You must be joking! Everyone knows that the teachers at that preschool are the best of the best!

"Also… that university you graduated from is known for producing exceptional scholars and teachers in this country. It's important that teachers have a specialized field in which they teach, and even Starvard graduates can't measure up to teachers like you!"

Everything Kelvin said was so cheesy that Corbyn couldn't help bursting into a giggle. He decided to have mercy on Kelvin and stopped after a few more rounds of teasing.

To be honest, he wasn't harboring a terrible grudge against Kelvin. Corbyn didn't think it was fair to make things hard for Kelvin's son just because he was at odds with the kid's father.

Also, if Corbyn were to insist on making this an issue, it wouldn't just reflect poorly on his work attitude—his personal life would likely be affected too. After all, if Kelvin's son managed to enroll in that preschool, Kelvin would need to continue playing nice with Corbyn for as long as his son was there.

But if Corbyn kicked them out mercilessly for this, then Kelvin would have all the reason in the world to make life a living hell for him.

Still, he found Kelvin's sudden attitude rather amusing.

Corbyn didn't continue making things hard for Kelvin and let it go after a while. However, because he'd refused to accept Kelvin's gift, Kelvin was still left on the edge for days. It wasn't until he finally received the acceptance letter from the preschool that Kelvin was at peace.

He swore that he would never make fun of Corbyn again, whether in public or in private.

Kelvin, Sylvia, and Jared were the few people closest to Dean at work. Sylvia and Jared had always been the more mild-mannered ones of the trio, and now, Kelvin was also starting to act meek around them.

They all seemed to be fine with Corbyn around. Nonetheless, they still thought that Dean was too good for Corbyn. It was just that they couldn't possibly talk about it in the open, so Corbyn also pretended not to know about it.

They got along well on the surface. After all, they were adults, and they knew where to draw the line.

However, only one person didn't know where to draw the line, and that was Dean's mother, Holly Lennon.

…

Corbyn had been the only person at home that day when he heard someone at the door. He wondered who it could be as he answered it. He found out quickly that it was Holly.

Holly gave Corbyn a disdainful look as if she'd just seen rotten produce at the grocery store.

Corbyn knew that Holly hated him for being a guy. He also thought that he'd hate Dean for having a mother like her. But "unfortunately" for Corbyn, he was so smitten and infatuated with Dean that he just couldn't bring himself to hate him.

When Dean came home that day, he was surprised to see Holly waiting for him. "Why are you here? You didn't tell me you were coming over."

Holly huffed and said, "What, do I need to make an appointment to visit my son now?"

Dean simply replied, "That would be for the best."

Holly got angry. However, she couldn't bear to lose her temper at her precious son. So, she just replied in a frustrated manner, "Chrissy and Penny can just visit their sons whenever they like! They even have keys to their houses and often just show up unannounced!"

"Oh."

Holly felt defeated when she saw what she said didn't have an effect on Dean. She tried again a few moments later. "They even have grandkids now…"

Corbyn was there when Holly spoke to Dean. In fact, he was just sitting right next to Dean. Holly didn't even bother being subtle with her words as she said, "Dean, you need to have a child."

Had Holly been someone else, Corbyn would have already shot back at her, saying, "Well, if you like kids so much, Mrs. Hoffman, why don't you hurry up and give birth before your factory closes up shop in a few years?"

However, because Dean was there, Corbyn had to maintain his pure and innocent image. So, he hung his head and said nothing.

Dean said nothing, either.

Holly couldn't stand the silence anymore. She continued, "Dean, haven't you thought of having a kid?"

"No," Dean replied.

Holly widened her eyes in objection. "Why not? Having kids is one of the best things in the world!"

Dean answered simply, "I'm a male. I don't think it's physically possible for me to give birth to one."

Holly felt like she was about to implode. For the longest time, she didn't know what to say. She only glared at Corbyn in great dissatisfaction. However, she couldn't openly criticize Corbyn, so she tried another tactic.

She smiled widely and said, "Corey is a good person. He's polite, respectful, and charming in his own way…"

After she was done praising Corbyn, Holly added, "If only Corey were female."

Corbyn was dying to refute and say, "Yeah, and if only you were mute." But he knew that he couldn't possibly say it back to her. She was Dean's mother, after all, and he couldn't afford to get on her bad side.

In fact, Corbyn was even more respectful and tolerant toward Holly than he was toward his own mother.

He had always kept his claws in check and pretended to be the helpless damsel in distress whenever he was with Dean. So, he turned and looked at Dean with a pitiful expression.

Dean's face remained emotionless as he said, "But I'm gay. If Corey were female, I wouldn't even be with him."

Holly didn't know what to say anymore after that.

Corbyn was delighted at Holly's exasperated face. He thought, "Ah, Deanie is so cute today."

Someone once told him that if he thought someone looked handsome, it meant he liked him. But if he thought someone was cute, it meant he was hopelessly in love with him.

And that was exactly the case with Corbyn.

He was long past the stage thinking that Dean was a handsome guy whom he wanted to date. He was now at the stage of thinking that Dean was irrevocably cute no matter what he said or did, which meant that Corbyn was helplessly and hopelessly in love with Dean.

…

Corbyn's heart was still fluttering happily as he chatted with his best friend, Paxton Jagger. "I think I'm going to be with Dean forever."

Paxton scoffed. "Impossible."

Corbyn frowned. "Why not?"

Paxton answered simply, "Are you planning to continue with your act for the rest of your life?"

From the very start, Corbyn had been putting on a sweet, naive, and innocent act with Dean. He had also pretended to be poor and pitiful with him, citing that he didn't have enough money to rent a place on his own. And that was how he justified living together with Dean. Eventually, they became lovers as well.

Truth be told, Corbyn had lied to Dean since the start of their relationship. He wasn't a poor guy who couldn't afford rent on his own. He wasn't a mild-mannered person who never seemed to lose his temper.

Also, he wasn't a Yinglish teacher at a certain prestigious preschool.