He pulled Jane up and deliberately changed his tone, saying, “By the way, didn’t you say you missed your grandpa recently? We can go to the old house together and see both of our grandfathers. They should get along well.”
Jane nodded. Tony and Mike had been good friends for decades, so they naturally got along well.
The two of them packed their things and went out. When they arrived at the old house, they met a servant who was watering flowers.
“Where’s grandpa?” Patrick grabbed the servant’s arm and asked unconsciously.
The servant smiled when she saw them. “Young master and young madam, Mr. Pansy is playing chess with Mr. North in the study. They’ll be happy to see you.”
Patrick smirked lightly when he heard this. He and Jane had just arrived at the door of the study when they heard Tony’s lively voice saying things like “kill” or “eat your elephant”. It sounded very cheerful.
Patrick looked at Jane with a smile on his face as he knocked on the door with his hand before slowly walking in holding her hand.
“Grandpa.”
Both of their voices sounded simultaneously as Mike and Tony looked up to see them with smiles on their faces. “Come here quickly! We were just talking about you two kids a few days ago! Why didn’t you call us before coming back?”
“We wanted to surprise you~” Jane saw her grandfather and immediately smiled widely as all her anxiety disappeared from her heart.
She grew up by her grandfather’s side since she was little; their relationship was not ordinary but rather deep-rooted love between grandparents-grandchildren.
When Tony saw Jane, he couldn’t help but laugh while wrinkles gathered around his eyes making him look kindly fierce.
“Oh… Jane… it hasn’t been that long since I last saw you but it seems like you’ve lost weight recently? How have things been going lately? Is everything okay?”
As he spoke these words, he glanced over at Patrick specifically; although he was satisfied with him being his grandson-in-law, yet thinking about how soon it would be until Jane got married made him feel somewhat reluctant inside.
“Tell me if Patrick has ever bullied or mistreated you,” said Tony worriedly.
Upon hearing this question from him, Patrick shook his head helplessly while Jane lowered her eyes slightly smiling reassuringly towards Tony, “Grandpa, don’t worry about me; Patrick has always treated me well so please rest assured.”
Mike, seeing the situation, chimed in, “Don’t worry, Patrick is a good kid. I’ve watched him grow up, and he has a kind heart. If he ever treats Jane badly, I won’t spare him.”
Tony intentionally snorted, “The kid is fine, but Jane is my granddaughter, raised by me. Marrying your grandson, and I’m not allowed to ask questions?”
“Alright, alright, you two, don’t argue over such trivial matters. Patrick and I are doing well now, so please rest assured,” Jane quickly intervened to defuse the tension.
Mike slapped his forehead, saying, “I didn’t know you two were coming back today; I didn’t have the servants prepare your favorite dishes.”
Saying this, Mike was about to get up and call someone, but Jane quickly stopped him, saying politely, “No need to bother, Grandpa. Patrick and I came back to see you all. Instead of having the servants busy, how about we cook for you? It’s also a chance for you to taste our cooking skills.”
Tony and Mike exchanged glances and readily agreed.
…
A couple of hours later, after Jane and Patrick had busied themselves in the kitchen, they prepared six dishes and a soup. The two elderly men had long come out of the study and sat at the dining table waiting. The family had a delightful time during dinner.
“Jane, you cook really well. This is the most delicious meal I’ve ever had,” Mike said, looking energetic and in good spirits, likely due to the return of the two children. Tony beamed proudly at him, as if to say, “See, this is my granddaughter.”
Around 8 PM, Mike came down from upstairs, chatting with Jane. The butler approached, saying, “Sir, the young master and madam returned today. Regarding their rooms…”
“Oh!” Mike, realizing the situation, looked at the butler and said, “I remember now. We rented out the rooms upstairs, right? Is there only Patrick’s bedroom left?”
The butler hesitated but, after seeing the look in Mike’s eyes, quickly understood what the old man had in mind. He hurriedly replied, “Yes, yes, just as you said. A few days ago, you mentioned feeling a bit bored and wanted to try renting out the rooms like others. So, we rented out the bedrooms for a short period. Now, only the young master’s room is available.”
Jane and Patrick, listening nearby, were both surprised. Rented out? How was that possible!
Patrick understood Mike’s intention, so he just lowered his head, quietly smiling and did not voice any objections.
Mike gave the butler an approving look and then casually said, “Alright, you can go arrange it now.”
After the butler left, Mike turned to Jane and said, “Jane… I know that you and Patrick haven’t officially gotten married yet. But you see, it’s just unfortunate timing. Why don’t you stay in Patrick’s bedroom tonight? We’re all family now anyway. I amn’t a stubborn old man either.”
Jane couldn’t help feeling embarrassed at these words. Patrick tried to smooth things over by saying, “Grandpa…”
Tony looked at his friend sitting across from him on the single sofa with a knowing expression. They exchanged a glance before standing up one after the other and saying, “Oh dear oh dear! We’re getting tired early since we’re old folks. We won’t disturb you young people anymore. Let’s go back to our own rooms to sleep…”
…
In the end, Jane had no choice but to share a room with Patrick for the night. When she lay down on the bed, she felt somewhat uncomfortable; she didn’t even know where to put her hands or feet.
Although they were engaged in an official capacity now and had shared intimate physical contact before as well as flirtatious behavior between them too, spending an entire night together in such a serious manner was still something new for them both.
When Patrick came out of the bathroom after taking his shower, he saw Jane lying stiffly on top of her covers, looking very nervous indeed; her fingers were even clenching tightly around some of them.
He couldn’t help laughing softly when he saw this; suddenly finding Jane’s nervousness quite cute actually.
He lifted a corner of the blanket and lay down, extending his hand to tentatively touch the woman’s fingertips. However, he could clearly feel her fingers stiffening. “What’s wrong? Why are you so nervous?”
Jane’s ears turned uncontrollably red. Although there was a bit of distance between Patrick and her, she always felt as if she could sense his breath, even having an illusion that they were closely pressed against each other.
Unconsciously, the woman swallowed, and her speech became a bit less fluent, “Nothing… It’s just a little nervous.”
Patrick chuckled softly, decisively not hesitating anymore. He directly wrapped his arm around Jane’s waist, pulling her towards him, “What’s there to be nervous about? We’ve slept in the same room before. You don’t have to be afraid.”
There was only a night light at the bedside, casting a dim, yellowish glow. Jane was turned around, her eyes looking at the man’s face, revealing a shy expression. “Why do you always say improper things? I’ve never seen you like this during work. Aren’t you embarrassed?”