Chapter 7 – Don’t Be Afraid
It’s no wonder why the boy would have such a huge reaction especially after seeing Javier Zhong’s ferocious eyes staring straight at him.
Is he even a human at all?! Who treats such a young child like this??
With a frightened child in front of her, she could not be bothered with Javier Zhong any longer and gave her full attention to the young boy instead.
She cuddled him in her arms and soothe him, “It’s okay, Ethan. Don’t be afraid… Auntie is here…”
Stephanie Ruan then shifted his attention to a fancy ice cream truck nearby. “Wow, what is that, Ethan?? Take a look at it!”
“Do you want to have some ice cream?”
“Let’s go get one for you, alright?”
With that, she ignored Javier Zhong and brought the boy over to the ice-cream truck.
“…”
Meanwhile, Javier Zhong stood at the same spot and watched Stephanie Ruan from afar with a complicated gaze.
He had deliberately ordered the driver to make a u-turn just to see what she is up to. But never did he expect himself to be witnessing such a scene.
Was this the same lady who had schemed against him earlier at the clubhouse?
Why does she seem like a completely different person right now?
And the main question is, what exactly is her motive in getting close to him?
…
Ethan Chen looked at Stephanie Ruan and happily pointed to the flavour that he wants.
“Can I have two scoops of the chocolate-flavoured ice cream, please?”
“Total is 45 yuan.” The employee said to her while preparing to scoop the ice cream onto a waffle cone.
It is at this moment that Stephanie Ruan realised she has no cash in her wallet! She has just returned to the country and did not expect herself to be in need of any cash today.
“Do you accept card payments over here?”
Hearing the employee’s response, she squatted down in front of Ethan Chen. “Sorry Ethan, auntie didn’t bring any cash with me today. Let me go get some money from the uncle over there alright?”
Unwilling to disappoint him, Stephanie Ruan had no choice but to walk back to Javier Zhong.
With Ethan Chen hiding behind her timidly, she asked humbly, “Chairman Zhong, could I borrow 45 yuan from you? I do not have any cash with me today.”Copyright by Nôv/elDrama.Org.
Upon hearing that, Javier Zhong immediately placed his left hand out towards Isaac Wen, signalling him to hand the cash over.
To be honest, Stephanie Ruan is rather surprised that such a crafty man would actually be so cooperative and helpful in such a situation.
But sometimes words shouldn’t be said too early isn’t it??
And as expected of him, Javier Zhong stretched out his hand to pass the cash to her, while emphasising these words, “A favour in return.”
“!!…”
In utter disbelief, Stephanie Ruan instantly retorted, “Chairman Zhong, aren’t you being too stingy? It’s just 45 yuan. I will definitely return it back to…”
She wanted to take the money from his fingers but he just would not let go of it!
How annoying!!
After much difficulty, she managed to grab hold of his money by compromising, “Fine! A favour it is! But be reasonable and don’t you dare to ask for anything funny! I will not agree to it!”
Argh!! Such a cunning opportunist!
Satisfied with her response, Javier Zhong sneered and followed her.
After passing the ice cream to Ethan Chen, Stephanie Ruan brought him to sit on a public bench nearby.
“Ethan, do you remember your great-grandmother’s number?” She showed her phone to him, which displayed the keypad.
Ethan Chen thought about it for a few seconds before keying in a string of numbers.
Phew! Thankfully he is able to recall his great-grandmother’s number!
Stephanie Ruan could not imagine how worried she must have been to lose her great-grandchild!
With a successful call, it is mutually agreed that his great-grandmother would come over to find them at their current location.
Just a few minutes later, an anxious voice called out to the little boy. “Ethan! Ethan!!…”
Stephanie Ruan looked up and saw two older ladies walking hastily towards them.
Ethan Chen quickly jumped down from the bench and ran over to his great-grandmother’s side.
“Aiyo… My poor boy… Thankfully you are safe and sound!… Heaven has really protected you well!…” His great-grandmother hugged and kissed him passionately, as though he is her only precious treasure!
Thereafter, she stood up and held on to Stephanie Ruan’s hands with gratefulness.
“This pretty lady… Thank you for taking care of my great-grandson. I was so careless just now and didn’t notice that he had walked away on his own… If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t know where he would be right now…”
Stephanie Ruan could tell from her expression that it was an honest mistake, “It’s okay, auntie. It’s good that Ethan is safe now…”
And as she continued to comfort Ethan Chen’s great-grandmother, the other older lady who is accompanying her looked at Javier Zhong in astonishment.
“Javier… You…?”
“Grandma.” He immediately strode towards her while she is still staring at him in shock.
Grandma Zhong is the most respected senior member of the Zhong Family. No one in the family would dare to defy her.
Although her husband had passed on a few years ago due to his poor medical condition, it did not affect her powerful position in the family at all.
And everyone knows that she loves her only grandson a lot – which is Javier Zhong and is openly biased towards him.
Well, as for Javier Zhong, the only person whom he respects in the Zhong Family is his grandmother. He has grown up under her meticulous care and he could feel the genuine love that she has for him.
It is said that if he only has one weakness, that could only be his grandmother.
Although Javier Zhong has already long moved out of the Zhong’s Residence to his private mansion, he would still go over and visit his grandmother very frequently.
To be honest, if it was not for his grandmother, he would not want to take a single step into Zhong’s Residence. To him, that place is filled with too many ‘filthy’ people.
But despite feeling disgusted, it also shows the great amount of respect that he has for his grandmother.
Today, what caught Grandma Zhong by surprise is not because she has seen her grandson here, but that there is actually a lady with him??
In fact, she could not even consider this as a rare occasion because it has never happened before!
And what’s more… it’s such a beautiful lady!
Grandma Zhong could barely hide her excitement!
She knew better than anyone that her grandson dislikes being around women the most.
Even though she hopes for him to find a partner soon, she has always respected his decision and has not forced him to go for any blind dates – unlike his parents.
If not for the fact that she had accompanied her good friend out for a walk today, she would have missed this scene!
However, within a few minutes, Javier Zhong succinctly shared all that had happened to him today with his grandmother.
Although Stephanie Ruan is now his fiancé by name, he did not want to lie to his grandmother about the real situation – that this is all an act for the next 6 months!
Meanwhile, Stephanie Ruan noticed that Javier Zhong had walked over and stood beside the other older lady. From the way that they are chatting, it seemed to her that they have a very close relationship.
She initially felt that it is impolite to disrupt their conversation, but yet at the same time, she also felt uncomfortable that the older lady is consistently gazing at her – as though she is waiting for her to come over and join them.
Following her gut feeling, she walked over in steady footsteps and greeted the older lady respectfully. “Hello auntie, nice to meet you. I’m Stephanie.”