Chapter 140 Do You Have Cats or Dogs at Home?
Aaron tilted his head, his voice cutting through the quiet room. "I got in?"
"Yes!" Donna blurted out, excitement bubbling in her voice.
Aaron glanced around, taking in the room's decor with a raised eyebrow.
His young face stayed blank as he sat down and pulled out his phone.
"The people downstairs are annoying. I'll hang out here for a bit," he said.
"Those people?" Katniss frowned. "Tristan's here too?"
Aaron's face darkened, his tone sharp. "If he wasn't here, would I be?"
'Can I leave now?' Katniss wondered.
The room went silent, each of them lost in their own thoughts.
About ten minutes later, a servant came up to invite them down for dinner.
Katniss got up and led the way, followed by a nonchalant Aaron and a well-behaved Donna.
At the corner of the stairs, Katniss spotted Tristan lounging on the sofa.
His black suit added a touch of coldness, his short hair was neat, and his long legs were lazily crossed. A cigarette dangled from his fingers, ash accumulating, and his narrow eyes glanced over as he exhaled smoke.
His deep eyes took in Katniss, casually dressed with a fluffy ponytail and loose strands of hair falling on her shoulders. Her skin was delicate, her features exquisite, with a classical elegance in her eyes that was both charming and pure.
He raised an eyebrow slightly, then looked away and said something to Daniel.
Daniel and Wren both looked over.
"Dad, Mom!" Donna quickly ran downstairs, passing Aaron and Katniss, and went to Daniel and Wren.
The couple stood up to greet Donna, tidying her messy hair.
"This is Mr. Forbes," Daniel indicated for Donna to greet Tristan.
Donna smiled shyly. "Hello, Mr. Forbes."
Katniss and Aaron also came down, nodding slightly to greet the Wilsons, then nodding slightly to Tristan. "Mr. Forbes."
"Alright, everyone's here; let's sit down," Daniel said, inviting Tristan.
Then he turned to Donna, "Donna, you take care of Aaron and..."
Halfway through his sentence, Daniel paused and said, "Don't call her Ms. Grey now, it feels too distant."
"Got it!" Donna smiled and called out to Katniss, "Katniss!"
Tristan, who was about to put out his cigarette, froze for a moment, his eyes lifting slightly to glance at Katniss.
She stood next to Aaron and Donna, looking only a few years older, except for the mature look in her eyes that kids didn't have.
"Mr. Forbes, please," Daniel invited Tristan again.
Tristan snapped out of his thoughts, his eyes darkening a bit, and got up to walk to the dining room with Daniel.
With Tristan there, Daniel insisted on not sitting at the head of the table, so they ended up sitting in two rows along the long table.
Somehow, Katniss ended up next to Tristan, with Wren across from her.
"This is perfect, the two kids can sit on the side, and we adults can talk more easily," Daniel explained, noticing Katniss's discomfort.
Katniss forced a smile and nodded. Even if she was unhappy, she couldn't embarrass Daniel in front of everyone.
The faint smell of smoke and a fresh scent from Tristan wafted into her nose, and the crystal chandelier above reflected light in the reddish-brown liquid in the glass.
The meal seemed ordinary, mostly Daniel and Tristan discussing work matters.
Wren didn't make things difficult for Katniss, chatting with her about tutoring the two kids.
Aaron stayed silent, occasionally fiddling with his phone.
Donna, on the other hand, became more talkative, frequently calling out "Katniss, Katniss."
Katniss didn't mind, but Tristan found it increasingly irritating, turning to watch Katniss and Donna discuss a tricky eighth-grade problem.
Donna was a bit confused, and Katniss pointed out two key points in her thought process, but she still didn't know how to solve it.
Aaron, who had been silent, suddenly said, "You can't solve such a simple problem?"
Instantly, everyone's eyes were on Aaron.
"You can?" Katniss asked in surprise, then told Donna, "Go get the problem I gave you yesterday and let him solve it."
Aaron moved his lips, but before he could answer, Donna quickly ran upstairs to get her textbook.
In less than two minutes, the textbook was in front of Aaron.
With everyone watching, Aaron had no choice but to pick up the pen and start solving the problem, following Katniss's thought process.
He slowed down after a while, but Katniss wasn't in a hurry, slowly guiding him through the remaining key points.
To Katniss's surprise, Aaron's comprehension was much better than Donna's, and with her guidance, he solved the problem.
"Didn't you drop out in sixth grade?" Katniss asked.
But this problem was from seventh grade; Aaron shouldn't have encountered it!
Aaron sneered and proudly put the pen and notebook aside. "Born smart; is that not allowed?"
"Sure," Katniss never hesitated to praise, "You're really impressive."
Aaron felt a mix of shyness and pride at her words and decided to stay silent, letting his pride take over.
"Katniss is right, he really is impressive," Donna chimed in, adding to the praise.
The atmosphere inside the room was warm and cheerful, but outside, it started pouring heavily.
Maybe it was the cozy vibe, but Tristan drank a bit too much, his eyes slightly red.
His left hand, holding a cigarette, rested on the chair, while his right hand suddenly grabbed Katniss's hand under the table.
She was startled, her body stiffening involuntarily, and instinctively tried to pull her hand back.
But he held on tighter, his thumb gently rubbing the back of her hand, while his other hand brought the cigarette to his lips for a puff.
He continued to chat with Daniel as if nothing had happened!
"Mr. Forbes, what happened to your wrist?"
Daniel had long noticed the faint bite marks on Tristan's wrist, thinking he had seen wrong. When Tristan took off his jacket for dinner and rolled up his shirt sleeves, Daniel confirmed they were indeed bite marks.
Tristan bent his arm to look at it and said lightly, "Bitten."
Katniss's throat tightened, and she looked away uncomfortably.
Daniel asked in shock, "Who bit you? How could it be this bad? Did you get a shot?"
Tristan chuckled softly, unable to suppress the smile at the corners of his lips as he replied, "No shot."
"How can you not get a shot for a bite like that?" Daniel was astonished. "Do you have a cat or a dog at home?"
Tristan's thin lips couldn't close, smoke spilling from his mouth couldn't hide his smile.
It was the first time Daniel had seen him smile like this; what could have bitten him to make him smile so?
Katniss's ears turned red, and she turned her head, pretending not to hear their conversation.
Wren noticed something and pinched Daniel's waist hard. "You don't know what could bite a man and make him smile?"
Her voice was very low, but at a dining table, everyone could hear it.
Then Donna asked, "What could bite a man and make him smile?"
"You'll understand when you grow up." Wren patted Donna's head. "Eat your food, children shouldn't interrupt adult conversations."
Finally, she smiled at Katniss. "Since they're both full, I'll take them upstairs for a lesson," she suddenly couldn't stay calm.
"I was planning that Donna might skip today's lesson, but with the heavy rain outside, it looks like you won't be leaving anytime soon. You can take them upstairs." Daniel immediately agreed, allowing Aaron to go up as well.
Katniss glanced at Tristan, feeling the warmth of his thumb on the back of her hand, which he released after a moment.
He avoided her gaze by turning to take a puff of his cigarette.
Although Aaron went upstairs with them, Donna's lessons didn't match his level.
So Katniss gave him two of Donna's textbooks to read and then started teaching Donna.
The lesson began at eight and ended at ten.
As they finished, a bolt of lightning lit up the sky, making it as bright as day outside.
She led Aaron downstairs, where Tristan was playing chess with Daniel.
Wren came out of the kitchen with a plate of cut fruit and asked, "Class is over?"
"Yes," Katniss smiled, her gaze shifting to the two playing chess by the floor-to-ceiling window.
Through the misty rain outside, the chessboard between them created a picturesque scene.
Seeing Katniss come down after class, Daniel immediately put down his chess piece. "Ms. Grey's class is over, so let's stop playing. It's still raining outside, I won't keep you any longer."
It was a polite way of saying it was time to leave, showing Daniel's sincerity.
After putting down the fruit plate, Wren turned and patted Daniel's shoulder, scolding, "Mr. Forbes has been drinking, and the roads are slippery after the rain. It's dangerous."
"Well..." Daniel suddenly remembered that Tristan had driven himself and Aaron here today, without a driver.
"My mistake, I didn't think it through. I forgot about that, but I've also been drinking. What should we do?" Daniel asked.
Wren frowned and reminded him, "Isn't Ms. Grey here? Let Ms. Grey help drive Mr. Forbes and Aaron home!"
Katniss was stunned to be suddenly named.
Daniel was also stunned.
But Tristan, taking his coat from the sofa and draping it over his arm, stood tall under the light.
He turned and said expressionlessly, "Then thank you, Ms. Grey. You don't You don't mind the trouble, I hope?"
"Huh?" Daniel was still processing.
Wren smiled, "Indeed, it's a trouble for Ms. Grey. I'll see you out."
Led by Tristan, the group walked slowly outside, and Katniss followed in confusion.
From the door to the car, they walked a few dozen feet through the misty rain to the car.
Once everyone was seated inside, the cramped space suddenly felt even smaller with two more people, and Katniss finally realized that she was to drive Tristan and Aaron home.
After honking the horn to say goodbye to the Wilsons, she slowly drove away.
At the door, Daniel still felt something was off but couldn't pinpoint it.
Until Wren, arms crossed, asked, "Did you notice anything?"
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
