The girl averted her gaze and looked ahead, not refuting his words. To act convincingly, one must go all the way. Since she had agreed to help him, she considered it a contribution to the cause of science.
“And you?” Tom asked gently as he drove. “I’ve briefly introduced my situation. What’s your family like?”
“My… my situation isn’t important. You don’t need to meet my parents,” the girl blurted out. “I plan to hire a pair of parents for the engagement day.”
Tom Fritz was surprised to hear that parents could be hired. “You’re quite bold,” he said with a smile. “Won’t it be obvious?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll hire extras from a film studio. Money solves everything; it’ll be much better than having my real parents there.”
Tom teased, “Have you done this before?”
“Of course not!” the girl denied immediately. “How could I do such a thing? I just… saw a friend do it once.”
She turned to him and deliberately smiled. “I usually despise such insincere things, but for your sake, I’ll grit my teeth and bear it. Isn’t this also a contribution to the great cause of human science?”
“Absolutely,” Tom laughed at her genuine nature. “If I achieve anything in my research, you’ll definitely have contributed.”
What Agnes herself didn’t understand was that the reason she agreed to Tom Fritz’s absurd request was because her heart was unknowingly drawn to him. She didn’t reject him. If Andrew or Ansel had made such a request today, it would have been out of the question. This was something Agnes only realized later.
In a rose-filled estate, Lisa stayed by Mrs. Fritz’s side. She didn’t speak much but often wore a sweet smile.
“Lisa, do you have a particularly bad impression of Tom?” Mrs. Fritz held her hand and comforted her. “He’s just a bit stubborn. Give him some time; he’ll come around soon enough and definitely won’t bring back a girlfriend because he doesn’t have one.”
But Lisa felt that Tom Fritz would bring back a girl soon. Whether she was his girlfriend or not was another matter.
“Lisa, don’t be upset,” Mrs. Fritz reassured her. “If he doesn’t get engaged to you, I won’t let him go abroad.”
With Grandma using this as leverage, the engagement was set.
Lisa gently leaned on the elderly woman’s shoulder and said sweetly, “Grandma, Tom will bring back a girl soon.”
The silver-haired woman turned her gaze, “Did he tell you that?”
“Yes,” the girl nodded with a smile. “If he really has a girlfriend, that would be unfortunate.”
Grandma lovingly stroked her soft hair, “Don’t worry, let’s first see what kind of girl he brings back. I think she can’t be better than our Lisa.”
Lisa felt confident about this confrontation because she knew how excellent she was. From kindergarten onwards, she had always been outstanding in everyone’s eyes. In her understanding, there were hardly any girls better than her. Plus, with Grandma favoring her, Lisa felt she might not lose.
Upstairs in the study room, the door was closed.
Williams and Jane were inside.
The man sat at the desk while the woman stood by the bookshelf; their gazes met.
“If he has a girlfriend, why didn’t he bring her earlier? Why didn’t he tell us sooner?” Williams asked sternly. “Did you know about this?”
“It’s not a big deal,” Jane smiled and took it lightly. “It’s not too late now; they haven’t gotten engaged or married yet.”
So, the mother supported Tom Fritz.
As for the father’s attitude, it wasn’t that he didn’t support his son; he just had to consider his mother’s feelings as well.