Winnie walked out of the kitchen with a dark expression, her friendly smile from earlier completely gone, replaced by disgust and disdain.Zayn pointed angrily at her and yelled, "Who's in charge here, you or me? Have you lost your mind? This is my former squad leader, what do you think you're doing?"Winnie rolled her eyes and scoffed, saying, "He's your squad leader, not mine! To me, they're just a couple of trash collectors. I've already thrown out the food. If you want to eat, go to a restaurant. I'm not cooking today!""You—ugh!" Zayn was so angry his vision darkened. He turned to Joseph with an apologetic look and said, "Joseph, I'm really sorry. My wife just doesn't know any better. Please don't hold it against her."Joseph looked at Winnie with a bitter smile. "Winnie, I'm sorry for the trouble today.""Hmph, it's no trouble. I didn't even bother to host you."With another dismissive eye roll, Winnie turned and stormed off to her room. Zayn, furious, slammed his hand on t
Zara frowned. "Why does Flynn have to get involved in this? Can't you all handle your own stuff? What a hassle!"Zayn slammed the table, his face flushed with anger. "What are you saying? Timothy is your older brother! Remember that—we're all family! And let me remind you, we even arranged a childhood engagement between you two back in the day. You—""Enough, Zayn!" Winnie interrupted sharply, her face showing displeasure.Zara's face turned red, then white. She shot Timothy a cold, disdainful look and spat out, "Childhood engagement? Hah! I'd rather die than be involved with him!" Then, without waiting for a response, she stormed off, slamming the door behind her.Zayn realized he might have said too much and gave Joseph an apologetic smile.With a sigh, Joseph, full of regret, said, "Zayn, I'm so sorry for causing you all this trouble over my son's job. And as for that childhood engagement, let's just forget about it. It was a drunken joke, nothing more. Timothy isn't worthy o
Zara and Winnie immediately came out of their rooms and went to the door. Standing outside was a young man dressed in a sleek black suit, his hair neatly slicked back and glasses framing his face. He looked handsome and dashing. It was Flynn Cooper.Winnie's face lit up with a broad smile. "Flynn! Come on in, quickly! Oh, look at you, bringing gifts again! You really didn't have to."Zara's face also softened into a happy smile as she looked at Flynn. She felt incredibly proud—her boyfriend was so successful.Flynn smiled politely. "It's my pleasure, Mrs. Lane. I brought some health supplements from overseas. Please accept them."Winnie's smile grew even wider, "Oh, Flynn, you're too generous! Come in, come in!" She took the gifts from his hands, and as she glanced around, her eyes landed on the boxes of fruit that Joseph and Cora had brought earlier. With a mocking smirk, she said, "Some people, even at their age, still don't know basic manners. Look at Flynn here—he knows t
With just one glance, Flynn could tell that Joseph's family was poor and unsophisticated. He felt a surge of disdain and contempt. "This man, my uncle? Please!" he thought to himself. However, since Zayn had already introduced them, Flynn plastered on a polite smile and said, "So this is Mr. Yeager's family. Nice to meet you, Mr. Yeager!"Joseph quickly nodded with a smile. "This must be Zara's boyfriend? What a fine young man!"Zayn laughed heartily. "You're too kind, Mr. Yeager! Now that everyone's here, let's head to a restaurant for dinner."Joseph hurried to his feet, smiling. "Zayn, let my family handle dinner today. We've come to ask for your help, and we'd feel bad making you spend money."Zayn glared at him with mock anger. "Why are you being so formal with me, Joseph? We've practically been sworn brothers for so many years—do you think I care about one meal?"Joseph quickly shook his head. "No, I insist! Zayn, listen to me this time. It's our turn."In a corner, Zar
Zara immediately frowned, her face full of disdain. "No way. I don't want to. I just had my car cleaned, and I don't want it getting dirty!" She glanced at Joseph and Cora's dusty shoes as she spoke.Zayn's face darkened in anger. "Zara! Get the car right now!"Seeing that her father was upset, Zara had no choice but to grumble under her breath and go get her car. Soon, a Mercedes C-Class pulled up. Sitting in the driver's seat, she rolled her eyes at Timothy and snapped, "What are you waiting for? Do you need me to invite you personally?"Cora, trying to appease her, walked carefully to the car, bending down slightly. "Zara, you can go ahead. We'll just take a cab. It's really fine."Zara, clearly irritated, replied, "I said get in, so get in! Stop wasting time."Cora's smile faltered. "Oh… okay!" She opened the door, and she and Joseph helped Tiana into the car.Timothy, however, stood still. Cora called out, "Timothy, come on, get in the car!"He shook his head. "Mom, Dad
As they reached the hotel entrance, the two uniformed waitresses immediately frowned, eyeing Timothy's group suspiciously. One of them asked, "You are?"Cora, feeling embarrassed, answered hesitantly, "We're here to have dinner.""You? Here to eat?" The two waitresses exchanged glances, scanning the group from head to toe, clearly not inclined to open the door. Their skepticism was written all over their faces.From inside the hotel lobby, Zara saw this and smirked coldly. She called out to the two waitresses, "Let them in."Startled, the waitresses quickly opened the door and allowed Cora and Joseph to step inside. Timothy, suppressing his anger, led Tiana inside.The ponytailed waitress gave Timothy a once-over and muttered under her breath, "Why are these broke folks here for dinner? They're bringing down the class of the place."Tiana's face flushed red, but Timothy simply looked at the waitress calmly and asked, "What's your name?"Caught off guard, the waitress answered, "
Soon, the food was served.When Flynn looked at the extravagant spread, he frowned in confusion. He wondered what was going on. There was king crab, 20-year-old Pinot Noir, and several bottles of nearly 30-year-old Burgundy wine, each worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Every dish was a rare delicacy, each one more luxurious than the last.With each new dish that was served, Flynn's face grew paler. He wondered what was happening as he definitely hadn't ordered anything this expensive.Unable to hold it in any longer, he quietly stopped a waiter and asked in a low voice, "Are you sure you didn't make a mistake? I didn't order any of these dishes."The waiter simply smiled. "No mistake. These are for your private room."Flynn was completely stunned, his heart sinking with dread. This meal had to cost hundreds of thousands, maybe even close to a million! He definitely couldn't afford that.Just then, Zayn, visibly impressed, commented, "Flynn, how did you order so many fancy
Flynn slammed his glass down on the table, coldly stating, "Since Timothy isn't going to show me any respect, then he can pay for himself later! Even the owner of this restaurant is showing me so much respect, who does he think he is not to return the favor?"Timothy smiled faintly. "Are you sure the owner is doing you a favor?""Of course! Are you implying that he's doing it for you instead?" Flynn laughed, the sarcasm thick in his voice.Feeling the rising tension in the air, Zayn attempted to mediate, smiling as he said, "Timothy, if you can't drink, then just don't. Flynn, don't push him too hard; Timothy really can't handle it."Maybe Flynn had a bit too much to drink. His face was flushed as he impulsively replied, "If he can't drink, then so be it. He'll pay for himself. I'm curious to see how this poor guy gets out of it!"As soon as those words left his mouth, the atmosphere turned ice-cold, and Zayn's expression stiffened.Winnie rolled her eyes and scoffed. "It's fine