The President glanced at him sideways, “You understand me well.”
The assistant smiled obsequiously, “Shall I contact Isaac now?”
“Yes.” The President grunted and continued walking forward.
Sylvia watched them leave, blinking her watery eyes.
Franklin coldly eyed the President and his assistant, “If this were ancient times, they would be like an emperor and his eunuch.”
Sylvia couldn’t help but laugh at his sharp comment. Reflecting on the President and his assistant’s interactions, she had to admit Franklin’s description was spot on.
The President and his assistant headed outside to the courtyard, got into a car, and the vehicle slowly drove out of the Presidential Palace.
Several black cars discreetly followed behind, filled with heavily armed bodyguards ready to protect the President at any moment.
The car drove directly to Cloud Restaurant. The President put on sunglasses before getting out and discreetly entered the restaurant’s elevator with a few bodyguards.
To his surprise, Isaac had reserved the entire place.
Cloud Restaurant was one of the most upscale restaurants in Aettosa’s capital, usually bustling with business. Reserving the entire venue wasn’t cheap.
Isaac stood at the elevator door waiting for the President. As soon as the doors opened, he smiled, “Father, you’re here.”
The President felt a slight sense of pleasure at Isaac’s respectful gesture.
In contrast, Franklin was simply too much!
He completely disregarded him. Infuriating!
Why did he keep thinking about that rebellious son?
Cloud Restaurant was famous for its expensive and delicious food.
Isaac walked behind the President, “Father, where would you like to sit? The main hall or a private room?”
The President rarely dined in the main hall. It was quiet and serene here, and he suddenly felt like experiencing dining in the main hall. “Let’s sit in the center of the hall.”
Isaac immediately nodded, “Alright, we’ll sit in the center.”
After they sat down, a waiter approached to take their order. “What would you like to eat?”
The President couldn’t help but think of the home-cooked meals Sylvia prepared in the small courtyard. They looked simple but were full of color, aroma, and flavor.
Looking at the menu filled with exotic dishes like seafood and abalone, he suddenly lost his appetite.
He casually flipped through the menu and then looked at the waiter. “Can you make some home-style stir-fried dishes? Like stir-fried pork or fish-flavored shredded pork, minced meat with eggplant?”
The waiter was stunned. In all her years working at Cloud Restaurant, this was the first time someone made such a request.
Serving Isaac and the President wasn’t a job for an ordinary waiter; she was the head of the restaurant’s service department. She feared an ordinary waiter might offend these distinguished guests, so she came personally.
And what did she hear?
Someone came to Cloud Restaurant to eat home-style stir-fried dishes? Cloud Restaurant had all kinds of gourmet dishes, yet the President wanted home-style food?
She was a bit troubled and unsure if the chefs could make it. “Alright, please go ahead and order.”
The President began ordering dishes like minced meat with eggplant, spicy diced chicken, garlic scape stir-fry, and stir-fried lettuce…
After ordering, he realized he had ordered all the dishes Sylvia made for Franklin.
He felt a bit stuffy but still needed to eat.
“Also, bring some crispy pancakes and fried sesame cakes.”
“Oh, and I want red bean porridge.”
The President finally finished ordering.
Isaac found today’s President a bit strange. Not only was his demeanor awkward, but his tone while ordering was also odd.
There was an inexplicable awkwardness about him.
However, some things couldn’t be asked.
People often said serving a ruler was like serving a tiger; this was precisely why.
The head of service was very frustrated but still took the recorded menu to the kitchen herself.
She went straight to the head chef. “The President wants to eat these dishes. Can you do it?”
The head chef was also speechless. “Isn’t this overkill? I’m a top chef at a high-end restaurant, and I have to make these home-style stir-fries? And what are these pancakes? I don’t make pastries; let the pastry chef do it.”
“Alright then, can you handle these stir-fries?” The head of service looked at him worriedly, afraid he might not meet the President’s taste.
“Oh come on, I used to assist Missy in cooking these dishes. I’m quite good at them. Later on, Missy taught me some signature dishes too. Otherwise, do you think she’d let me be the head chef here?” The head chef pouted. These simple dishes were nothing to him.
“Alright then, I’ll leave it to you.” The head of service then went to find the pastry chef and explained the President’s request.
Fortunately, these pancakes weren’t difficult to make-just home-style pastries.
She exhaled deeply. Problem solved!
After about half an hour, the dishes and pancakes were finally served at the table.
The President looked at the dishes that closely resembled Sylvia’s cooking and nodded in satisfaction. They looked similar; he just wondered if they tasted the same.
He glanced at his assistant, who was staring blankly at the dishes on the table.
He smiled and waved at his assistant. “Come over and have a taste.”
The assistant felt a bit restrained. This wasn’t a private moment; it felt… inappropriate.
“When I tell you to sit, you sit.” The President grunted. The assistant quickly sat down and picked up his chopsticks.
Isaac found it even more puzzling.
Why was the President acting as if possessed?
Not only did he want simple dishes, but he also wanted his assistant to accompany him?
The President tasted a bite of minced meat with eggplant. “Not bad.”
He then tried a bite of garlic scape stir-fry that he hadn’t had enough of last night. Although it resembled Sylvia’s cooking, it wasn’t as tasty as hers.
Sigh-how could this top chef not measure up to Sylvia?
The assistant also tried a bite of garlic scape stir-fry and had the same soul-searching question as the President: Was this really the standard of a top chef at a high-end restaurant?
Oh well, it was barely edible.
Isaac found it tasteless. Weren’t there better dishes at Cloud Restaurant? Why insist on eating these home-style dishes…
It was simply… Isaac didn’t know what to say anymore.
He originally wanted to complain about Franklin; now he had no mood for it at all.
He just wanted to quickly finish this bizarre dinner.
Back at the Presidential Palace, after dinner, Franklin went to wash dishes while Sylvia sat on the sofa watching TV.
She had just turned on the TV when she received a WeChat message from Brayden. “Auntie, we’ll arrive in Aettosa tomorrow.”
“Okay, what time is your flight? I’ll pick you up.” Sylvia typed on her phone keyboard.
“The flight arrives at 2 PM. My mom will come along to take care of Jenna since she’s worried I can’t handle it alone.” Brayden replied quickly.
Sylvia sighed. “I’ll wait for you at the airport. Be careful on your way.”
Brayden sent a smiling emoji. Sylvia didn’t reply further and put down her phone.
She wasn’t paying attention to what was on TV. Franklin came out of the kitchen and saw the latest news on TV: “It’s reported that Olivia suffers from severe depression. This suicide attempt has sounded an alarm for everyone. We must be vigilant about depression and take care of friends and family who might be suffering from it. Depression isn’t scary as long as it’s treated promptly…”
“Hogan family’s youngest daughter attempted suicide?” Franklin said in confusion as he looked at the girl lying in an ambulance on TV.
Sylvia snapped out of her daze. “What did you say? Who attempted suicide?”
“Aren’t you watching TV? Didn’t catch that?” Franklin pointed at the screen. “Olivia attempted suicide but survived. Who knows if there will be any aftereffects.”
Sylvia quickly looked at the TV but only saw Dexter being interviewed. He looked very agitated. “I don’t know why she did it. Our whole family dotes on her… If anything happens to her, we’ll all blame ourselves.”
“It’s our fault for not taking good care of her.”
“It’s all our fault.”
Sylvia’s heart skipped a beat. She had been preoccupied with Franklin and Jenna’s matters these past few days and had forgotten about Olivia.
She regretted it deeply.
She hurriedly checked the copied footage from her tracking spell but… it had expired.
She had been too careless.
She stood up, grabbed her coat, and rushed out. “I need to go to the hospital. You should rest early.”
Franklin was startled and grabbed her arm. “Why are you going to the hospital now? Is someone sick? Or are you not feeling well?”
Sylvia took a deep breath. “I met Olivia two days ago; we had hotpot together, so…”
“Just someone you met once…” Franklin’s deep eyes stared intently at Sylvia. “You’re not someone who usually cares about others that much. So… why?”
Sylvia smiled weakly; this man really understood her well.
“Franklin, I think she looks a bit like my mother, especially her eyes. So… I’m a bit worried about her.”
“Carley also hopes I can treat her. Her depression seems a bit unusual.”
Franklin didn’t expect that just because of a slight resemblance, she would want to save someone else. It was truly shocking.
“Then I’ll go with you.”
So this Olivia was lucky because of her resemblance to his mother and himself?
That’s why Sylvia took notice of her?
“Let’s go.” Sylvia nodded and left with Franklin.
On their way there, she received a call from Carley. “Sylvia, did you see the news? How could Olivia be so foolish…” Carley’s voice was choked with sobs; it was clear she had just been crying.
Sylvia comforted her. “Olivia will be fine; don’t worry. I’m heading to the hospital now to see her. Are you coming?”
“Yes, I’m on my way too.” Carley sniffled. “She’s so foolish. See you at the hospital.”
“Okay.”
Sylvia hung up and looked at Franklin driving seriously beside her. His profile was perfect: high nose bridge, thin lips tightly pressed together, eyes focused ahead.
“Why are you staring at me?”