No, I have to do something, I can’t just hang around all day and go back without anything.
After handing the task of tracking down Monteo to Kevin, Paige immediately took care of her own personal business, rushing to a handicraft store before dusk to make a set of mugs.
She really couldn’t think of anything else that she had designed by hand…
The sky was filled with a rosy glow as the sun set, and all the buildings were painted in a beautiful shade of pink. But Paige had no time to admire the view.
She got out of the taxi, carrying a completed set of mugs in her hands, her shoulders and arms sore from carrying them like they were dislocated.
Love really is exhausting.
Just making a set of clay cups had taken her hours, and she didn’t know if it would be useful to go home.
Paige walked towards the residential area, but suddenly she stepped back and looked up.
She saw a long red banner hanging from the gate of the residential area, promoting a children’s competition called Dream Chaser Cup.
The organization behind this competition is very formal and comes from a well-known and established elementary school. The school has a tradition of choosing to hold a competition every year to discover super high-quality preschool children, commonly known as gifted children, to recruit into the school, to bring fame to the school, and to cultivate the best young talent for the future of the country from an early age.
In the past, these students would be targeted early, sign a contract with a chaebol family, enter The Capital University or a prestigious university abroad, and then use what they have learned to work for them. Without incident, it is difficult to escape for half of their lives.
However, in the eyes of many ordinary people, this is already a very good way out.
They don’t know that there is a better way out, which is a way out that is completely independent without coercion.
In the future, it will be.
Paige found herself thinking about the current situation, and couldn’t help feeling a little depressed. She couldn’t think about it anymore, and now she could only think about how to appease Enrico.
She walked inside, but found a lot of people gathered at the entrance of the community, making a lot of noise, and everyone was holding some kind of ticket.
“I heard that this competition is very grand and formal. Usually when children register, the teacher can tell right away if they are qualified or not. It’s not easy for Sheryl’s child to even make it to the preliminary round.”
“Look at Sheryl’s face, she’s so happy just to have been given audience tickets, as if her grandson had won first place.”
“Don’t say that, her grandson is smart, and if he really wins first place, it will bring glory to our community.”
So this was the competition Sheryl’s family was entering.
And they were giving out audience tickets!
She was just the person she was looking for!
They had been spreading rumors about her family behind her back, and she would not let it go.
Paige’s eyes hardened, and she picked up her bag and walked inside, scanning faces to find Sheryl. Everyone was shocked to see her, and they all fell silent and kept their mouths shut.
After a few days of fermentation, now everyone knew that Mama Gabriel and Sheryl had a conflict, so naturally they didn’t dare to take sides. But it didn’t stop them from eating the melon.
So someone, not bothered by the trouble, said, “Sheryl came back and gave us tickets and left. Gabriel’s mother, why don’t you take Gabriel to watch the game too? You’re just sitting around anyway. I have tickets.”
As he spoke, two tickets were handed over.
“…”
Paige almost ripped the two tickets up. How could she possibly take Gabriel to watch Sheryl show off? Did she want to make her son angry again?
She gave the man a cold glance, said nothing, and left with the bag.
Back at Enrico’s house, Enrico was sitting alone in the living room watching TV. He leaned back, put his legs up on the coffee table, and looked carefree and lazy. He really looked like a spoiled brat.
Paige looked around, “Where’s Gabriel?”
“Sleeping upstairs,” Enrico said, staring at the TV.
“Why are you going to bed so early?”
Paige was a little surprised. Usually Gabriel loved to sleep in, but he would only pretend to be sleepy if he overslept in the morning or didn’t want to study, and he would never go to bed at this time.
“I’m tired from playing,”
Enrico said with a straight face, and then, glancing away, his eyes fell on the bag in her hand. “What did you bring back this time that I don’t like?”
“…”
Can he talk now?
Paige suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and walked expressionlessly up to him, handing him the canvas bag. “Go ahead and yell at me.”
Is he annoyed?
Enrico looked at her and reached out to take the bag, opened it, and took out a long wooden box. He opened the box and found three cups neatly lined up inside.
Two big and one small.
The coloring is very light, and the craftsmanship is not top-notch, but it is definitely not bad. The glaze is smooth, the color is clear and even, and there are no flaws.
Enrico glanced at them and really started to scold, “I’m missing two of your cups?”
“Oh, are you done scolding for today? Then give them back to me,”
Paige responded coldly, sticking out her hand.
Enrico really wanted to return it to her, and handed it over halfway. He looked at the glimmer of sadness in her eyes and suddenly realized something, reaching out to take one of the cups.
The moment he held it in his hands, he could tell that she had made it herself, not bought it on the street.
He twirled the cup with his long fingers. It was painted with minimalist lines of a young girl, leaning lazily on her side in his arm, her long hair falling down, her eyes half-open, her arm raised, her fingers spread out in the shape of the number five.
It was obviously a portrait, but she was good at capturing the features of the character, and he knew it was her just by looking at it.
Enrico set the glass down on the coffee table and took out another one. It had a man’s profile on it, drawn in a few simple strokes. The man’s face didn’t show a hint of a smile, and he was reluctantly holding up one hand to make a “yes” sign.
Needless to say, the small glass was naturally painted with Gabriel. The child was looking into the distance with his hands rolled up like binoculars, his mischief clearly depicted on the painting.
Enrico looked at it for a while before realizing that the child was showing a zero.
Five, two, zero.
Enrico couldn’t hold back any longer, and the corner of his lips curled up, a trace of smugness in his eyes.
But soon, he calmed down, picked up the cup that belonged to him, and looked up at her with disgust, “Trying to get back at me on purpose? Drawing my face so badly.”
Knowing what he was going to say, Paige took out the small mirror she had bought and held it directly in front of him.
“…”
Enrico successfully saw his face in the drawing.
“…”
Paige looked at him quietly.
Their eyes met.
The atmosphere was awkward for a moment.
Enrico looked at her expressionless face and said condescendingly, “What do you mean, you don’t want to be coaxed? Just say if you don’t want to be coaxed.”
“What if I really don’t want to be coaxed?” Paige said, putting away the small mirror.
As soon as she said that, she caught the momentary freeze in his eyes. He stared at her straight on, his jawline tensing, and his Adam’s apple rolling up and down involuntarily in an unconscious swallowing motion, a sign of unease and tension.
Seeing this, Paige almost wanted to laugh. She snatched the cup and wooden box from his hands and placed them on the coffee table.
Enrico reached out to grab it back, but she pushed his hand away and sat directly on his lap, hooked his neck and kissed him.