Leonardo was having a meeting in Tip Top Entertainment when his phone on the table suddenly vibrated. He glanced at the screen and his stern expression eased up. Taking his phone with him, he left the meeting.
Once he left, the senior executives who behaved like church mice in the meeting started to chatter.
“Mr. Jones, who could have called Mr. Emerson?”
“Who do you think? His wife, of course!” Carl could guess it without looking at Leonardo’s phone.
“Mr. Emerson is married?”
“It doesn’t seem so. An ill-tempered person like him has found a wife while I can’t find one…”
Shutting the door behind him, Leonardo took the call. Before he could say anything, Summer was heard saying, “Where are you now? I’m sending you a lunch box.”
She spoke very slowly, making her natural soft voice sound even more gentle. Summer was bringing lunch to him? Was he hallucinating, or did she hit her head somewhere?
“You’re home?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’m coming home.”
“Alright.” She could not have cared less. She did not call him just to deliver his lunch.
…
At lunchtime, “Douglas” arrived home on the dot. When Summer brought the soup to the table, he entered the dining hall.
“You’re right on time. Let’s eat.”
Summer was still wearing her apron. Standing on the other side of the dining table, she looked at him, all smiles.
Something struck him; she was being weird today. However, he kept the thought to himself and quietly observed her as he sat down, tucking in.
In Summer’s eyes, “Douglas” was very focused on everything he did. Even when he was eating, he was equally focused. His eyes never strayed away from his bowl and the dishes. Fishing out her phone from her pocket, she quietly snapped a photo of the side of his face.
It felt as though “Douglas” had sensed it as he turned his head to look at her, his eyes seemingly seeing through her skull and knowing what was in her mind. She panicked a little. Had he discovered that she had taken a photo of him?
It turned out, “Douglas” just wanted to ask, “Aren’t you eating?”
“I’m not hungry. Please enjoy your meal.” While she spoke, she took off her apron and left the dining hall.
Summer headed out only after “Douglas” finished his lunch and left home. Taking a bus, she went to her rented house with boxes of lunch. When she arrived, Douglas Jr. was playing games on the couch. There was a pack of potato chips beside him and pieces of chips everywhere.
“Have you had lunch?” She walked up to him and picked up the pieces on the floor.
“Not yet.” Douglas Jr. glanced up.
The kid was a juvenile delinquent. Just because he enjoyed playing video games, he ran away to another country.
“What would do if I didn’t come over? You don’t want to contact your family… Are you planning to starve yourself to death here?”
“It’s impossible to starve to death. When push comes to shove, I’ll rob the bank,” he said without even looking up, sounding serious.
Summer was at a loss for words.
After he finally completed the round in the game, he opened up the lunch box that Summer brought him. Once he took a few bites, he looked up, appearing amazed. “Buy from this restaurant next time!”
Summer pointed her finger at him, signaling him to wipe the grain of rice off the corner of his mouth.
“I cooked this myself.”
He reached for the grain, then said, “Be my girlfriend, then!”
Summer did not know how to respond.
Getting no response from her, he continued, “I may be on the dole now, but when I get to play professionally, I’ll be able to buy you handbags, dresses, and everything. Please think about it.” All women liked that kind of stuff, especially his mom, who only knew three things in life: shopping, shopping, and shopping. Summer was half-smiling, half-crying upon hearing what he said-he had said it in such a serious tone.
“Are you kidding me? I’m married.” As she spoke, she showed him “Douglas’s” photo, which she secretly took earlier. “Do you know this man?”
Douglas Jr. took a glance. “He’s my elder cousin. How did you get this?” He suddenly got nervous. “Where is he? I treated you as a friend, but you sold me out!”
“No, I didn’t!” It amazed Summer that the kid was so quick-witted. “Which cousin of yours?”
“Leonardo, of course! My mom and his dad are siblings. He’s my only cousin!” Following that, he took another mouthful of food and mumbled, “Your cooking is awesome. Why don’t you divorce your husband and be my girlfriend? Letting you live in such a place, your husband must have a mistress out there. Divorce him while you still can. I’m young and handsome with unlimited potential…”
Her astonishment and anger were dismantled when she heard Douglas Jr.’s words.
“What do you know as a kid, eh?”
Unfazed, he continued, “My cousin may be okay in the looks department, but he has Venus’ temper; it’s terrible. People like him rarely get a girlfriend. I heard that his wife has a face that only a mother could love. Ha, ha, ha…”
Summer’s face darkened. “So this is how you want to be? When are you going to contact your parents?”
“I will not contact them unless they allow me to take part in the tournament.”
“They’ll worry about you!”
“Trust me, they won’t. They’re used to this. They will only pay attention when I go away farther and longer.”
Again, Summer was speechless. As it turned out, he was a habitual runaway, and his parents just did not seem to care. Considering that he was just a teen, she could not bring herself to let him live on the streets. Besides, it was not the time to tell “Douglas” about him just yet, so she let him stay.
On the way back, Summer received a call from Lynn.
“Summer, have you talked to Leonardo? When will he come forward to help us?”
“He’s not too happy about me spending so much money with his Black Card, so he has taken back the card and refused to see me,” Summer said with a sigh.
“You have to persuade him to help you.”
“I’ll try my best, Dad. No worries.”
“Of course, I know you will. You are a filial child, especially to your mom… She’s used to a comfortable life. I’m not worried about myself. I’m fine with it. I just can’t bring myself to see your mom suffer…”
Just like Vicky, Lynn thought that she was concerned about Karen. He was making use of it to persuade Summer to help him.
Summer paused. She then said in a tone of voice that sounded as if she had been persuaded, “Mm, I got it.” As the line went dead, she hissed and tucked her phone back into her handbag. He wanted her to beg Leonardo to help Jarrett Group? That was not going to happen.