Chapter 212 Puppy
"Ms. Spencer, you need to bundle up more," Evelyn insisted as she piled on more layers for Diana.
She wrapped her in five layers before finally letting her go.
By the time she was done, Diana looked like a big, puffy loaf of bread in her knee-length down jacket.
With a scarf wrapped around her neck, her voice came out muffled. "I'm going out to play in the snow, not to explore the Arctic. This is overkill."
Evelyn shook her head, ignoring Diana's protests, and added a hat and gloves. "No, Ms. Spencer, you can't catch a cold right now. Letting you go out at all is already a compromise. And you look adorable like this."
Diana rolled her eyes dramatically. Was that supposed to make her feel better?
Waddling like a penguin, she wondered how she was supposed to play in the snow like this.
Willow and Ridge were already calling for her, so she didn't argue and followed them outside.
In the yard, the kids were already busy. The older ones were using tools to pile up snow, while the younger ones cheered them on with snowballs in hand.
Willow, hands on her hips, took charge. "The men in black and Charles will build the snowman's body; Diana and Evelyn will make the head."
Ridge handed out plastic toy shovels, giving Charles a pink one that looked hilariously out of place against his serious expression.
Diana almost burst out laughing, and the others clearly wanted to but held back, scattering with their shovels.
With the adults helping, the snowman came together quickly. The bodyguards shoveled snow like machines, while Evelyn, Diana, and the kids shaped it.
Meanwhile, Charles ended up sitting with the cheering kids, clearly uninterested in the whole thing. He was only there to keep an eye on Diana.
"Charles, why aren't you helping?" a little girl asked sweetly.
She wanted to join in, but Willow had said she was too young and should just watch. But Charles was much older, so why wasn't he helping?
Charles's eyelashes fluttered. He wasn't great with kids and had once made a business partner's child cry.
He was about to answer when another boy piped up, "He's slacking off."
"Isn't slacking off something only bad kids do?" The little girl gasped, her eyes wide.
She turned to Charles. "So, Charles, you're a bad kid?"
Charles was silent. Yep, he was terrible with kids.
On the other side, the snowman was almost done.
Evelyn noticed Diana's nose turning red from the cold and stopped her. "Ms. Spencer, go to the backyard and grab some branches for the snowman's arms."
Diana nodded. Even with gloves, her fingers were numb. Brenda had warned her that pregnant women should avoid getting sick, so she had to be careful.
As she walked to the backyard, she took off her wet gloves and stuffed them in her pocket, blowing on her hands to warm them up.
In the backyard, besides the big oak tree, there were some low shrubs.
Diana bent down, searching for the perfect branches.
But she couldn't find any for a while.
She heard footsteps crunching in the snow behind her.
Thinking it was Evelyn coming over after finishing the snowman, Diana didn't look up and said, "Hang on, I'll find it soon."
The person behind her didn't respond, but she felt something poke her back.
"What's up?" Diana turned around, and to her surprise, it wasn't Evelyn but Charles.
He stood there with his usual indifferent look, holding the "weapon" that had poked her—a forked branch.
Diana's eyes lit up. It was perfect for the snowman's arms!
But since it was Charles holding it, she pouted and ignored him, turning back to continue her search.
Charles's expression shifted slightly. When Diana had headed to the backyard, he had followed her from a distance.
The yard was kept super clean by Kennedy, with only some fallen leaves and snow, no branches.
Even the one in his hand was freshly broken.
He had brought it to her, and Diana didn't appreciate it.
He ran his tongue over his teeth, feeling a bit frustrated, and tossed the branch to the ground.
Suddenly, she stopped, her eyes falling on a nearby shrub.
A faint whimpering sound came, though very weak, Diana still heard it.
The sound of footsteps in the snow seemed to scare it, so it went silent again.
She frowned slightly, squatting down to get closer to the shrub to listen more clearly.
Charles, seeing her strange behavior, followed with a cold expression.
"You..." He was about to speak when Diana pulled him down to squat with her, covering his mouth.
They were very close, and if they moved a bit closer, Diana's eyelashes could brush against Charles's nose.
The hand covering his mouth had a cold fragrance, and for a moment, he forgot to resist.
Diana whispered, "Don't make a sound."
Seeing Charles's dazed look, she realized what she was doing and quickly withdrew her hand. "Sorry."
Her lower face was buried in the scarf, and Charles could only see her eyes.
For a moment, their gazes met. But this time, Diana quickly turned her head, not wanting to look into his eyes.
"What's wrong?" Charles asked in a low voice, his tone carrying an unintentional tenderness.
Diana didn't explain, only quickly replied, "Listen."
As if to confirm her words, within thirty seconds, the whimpering sound came from the shrub again.
"There's something there."
They spoke almost simultaneously, but Diana reacted faster, "It should be a puppy."
Dogs whimpered when they were in distress.
And this puppy's whimper was already very weak.
Diana's heart skipped a beat, and without much hesitation, she stepped into the shrub.
Because the snow was so thick, she had to use her hands to clear the snow as she walked.
She stopped at the corner.
The whimpering sound was very close to Diana, and she looked carefully in the shrub.
Sensing someone approaching, a small white figure moved.
"It's really a puppy!" Diana exclaimed.
It was a white puppy, curled up in the corner, about the size of an adult man's palm.
Its body was partially covered by snow. If it hadn't wagged its tail just now, Diana might not have seen it.
Hearing this, Charles shouted from behind, "Don't touch it; stray dogs are dirty."
Diana didn't care about the dirt. She bent down and picked up the puppy.
She couldn't bear to see the puppy freeze to death. The winters in Evergreen City were particularly cold, and she wondered how the puppy had survived the heavy snow yesterday.
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