Chapter 295 Arrogant?
But instead, the family ended up drawing even more attention.
The three of them looked like they had just walked off a TV set—too good-looking and totally different from everyone else around them.
With the Starlight Festival coming up, it felt like the supermarkets were practically giving stuff away. Even though Stuart picked one that was usually less crowded, it was packed today.
Stuart glanced at Josephine, "You okay?"
Seeing Josephine surrounded by so many people, especially with some guys giving her admiring looks, made Stuart want to hide her away.
But Josephine seemed totally chill. She casually pushed a shopping cart, grabbed some fruits Jeffery liked, and headed to the weighing station.
"Isn't this just how supermarkets are?" she said. "Maybe you just don't come here often."
Coming from a wealthy family, Stuart had barely ever set foot in a supermarket. He had never really needed to shop for anything, and his busy schedule kept him occupied throughout the year, so why would he ever find himself bored enough to visit a supermarket? But today was an exception.
Stuart typically despised loud and disorderly environments, yet today, amidst the bustling supermarket, watching Josephine somehow brought him a sense of calm.
A kid pushed a shopping cart and zoomed over. Stuart quickly pulled Josephine to his side, "Watch out!"
The kid's cart didn't hit Josephine but crashed into her cart.
The kid looked about six or seven, just the right age to be a little troublemaker. He didn't apologize after the collision; instead, he craned his neck to look at Stuart. Mainly because he had rarely seen someone so tall, and the kid in Stuart's arms had purple eyes!
"His eyes are purple!" he pointed at Jeffery and shouted, "Look! He's different from us!"
Before Josephine could say anything, Stuart spoke coldly, "Whose kid is this? Can someone control him? Running around and shouting—where are his manners?"
Stuart's authoritative presence and cold voice scared the kid, who looked at him fearfully and then burst into tears.
A nearby woman picking eggs heard the commotion and immediately reacted, "Teddy, what's wrong? Who bullied you?"
Josephine saw the woman's demeanor and felt a bit scared. Women of this age seemed pretty good at arguing. Josephine didn't want any trouble and glanced at Stuart, "Let's go."
But the woman shouted, "Hold on! You think you can just walk away after picking on Teddy? How old are you, picking on a kid like that?"
Seeing her aggressive manner, Stuart pulled Josephine behind him and said, "Ma'am, get your facts straight. Your kid ran into us with the cart and almost hit us."
"Almost hit, so didn't hit! Why are you being so fierce? You scared my grandson. Can you afford to compensate?"
Stuart had never dealt with people like this before. Clearly, it was her fault for not disciplining the kid, but now she was acting all righteous. He wanted to say more, but Josephine pulled him back and shook her head. Stuart reluctantly held his tongue.
Seeing this, the woman became even more aggressive, "Apologize to Teddy! Or I won't let this go! Look how scared Teddy is, you people...!"
As she spoke, Jeffery, cradled by Stuart, abruptly burst into tears. Though his sobs were quiet, his striking appearance and the tears rolling down his cheeks one by one elicited sympathy from those around.
Stuart immediately said, "You scared my kid too! You should apologize to us!"
People around started to chime in, "I saw it. It was Teddy running around with the cart and hitting them first, and then commenting on their kid's eyes!"
"Exactly, you have no reason to be so loud!"
"Look at that kid crying, oh, my heart aches!"
Undeniably, being attractive had its advantages. When Teddy was wailing loudly, no one uttered a word, but as soon as Jeffery shed a few tears, voices rose in defense of him..
The woman's face didn't look good, but she had never lost an argument, and Teddy was very important to her; no one could bully him.
She glanced at the crying Jeffery and said, "I mean, come on, it's pretty obvious this isn't your kid, right? Who knows whose kid that is!" Her tone was gloating and sarcastic, making it very unpleasant to hear.
Josephine didn't want to get tangled up with her because you never knew what she might say.
Just as Josephine was about to speak, Stuart cut in, "Who says he's not mine? I have foreign ancestry, so my son having purple eyes is perfectly normal. But you, always calling him your grandson, he might not even be yours!"
Before the woman could respond, Stuart continued, "If you don't discipline your kid when they're young, someone else will do it for you when they grow up."
With that, he put his arm around Josephine's shoulder and said, "Let's go."
The old lady was furious and wanted to chase after them to curse some more. Stuart turned back and shook his fist, "Don't mess with me, I can throw a punch."
His towering frame and strength genuinely startled the old lady, and Stuart then escorted Josephine away without hesitation.
The old lady caught wind of the murmurs around her, with many voices suggesting she hadn't reined in Teddy as she should have. She was fuming but couldn't argue with everyone, so she angrily dragged Teddy away.
On the other side, Josephine glanced at Stuart several times.
Stuart was holding a tissue, wiping Jeffery's tears. He asked gently, "Why are you crying? Did our Jeffery get scared?"
Jeffery said, "No, I was afraid that if I didn't cry, you guys would be at a disadvantage."
Stuart laughed, "Well, thank you, Jeffery. Because you cried, we won this battle."
He then looked at Josephine, meeting her gaze. He asked, "What's up? Why are you looking at me?"
Josephine said, "I didn't expect you could..." Could what? She couldn't quite put it into words.
Stuart said, "Didn't expect I could argue with an old lady?"
Josephine nodded. That was part of it. And also, how he said Jeffery was his child.
Stuart said, "If it were just me, I wouldn't care what she said. But she can't bully you and Jeffery. Besides, what did Jeffery do wrong? Why should she bring him into it?"
He then looked at Jeffery, "Jeffery, I'm sorry. I had no choice but to say you were my child. I'm sorry."
Jeffery looked at Josephine. Josephine, feeling a bit awkward, tucked her hair behind her ear and replied for Jeffery, "It's nothing, you don't need to apologize."
"Then let's go buy some things," Stuart said with a smile.
Jeffery said, "Mommy, I want some cookies."
Josephine also smiled, "Okay."
Jeffery had just cried, and his eyes seemed to have a layer of mist, making his purple eyes even more beautiful.
Although the earlier experience wasn't pleasant, Stuart didn't lose the argument, so their spirits weren't dampened.
They bought quite a few things. When they went to check out, they ran into the same two people again.
Teddy was fussing about wanting an expensive toy, and the old lady was trying to calm him down.
As Stuart's group passed by, she saw their cart full of items, many of which she couldn't afford, and felt a pang of discomfort.
Stuart, smiling, asked Jeffery, "Jeffery, do you want this?"
Jeffery loudly said, "Yes!"
Then Stuart picked it up and put it in the cart.
The old lady was silent. She felt so uncomfortable and raised her hand to slap Teddy, "Want what? We're going home!" Teddy burst into tears.
People around were watching her. She felt embarrassed and dragged Teddy away.
The three of them checked out, with Josephine holding Jeffery's hand and Stuart carrying two large shopping bags.
Josephine looked at him and couldn't help but smile.
Stuart said, "What's up? Do you think I'm petty?"
Josephine shook her head, "No, I just think that this side of you is quite nice. Yeah, really nice."
Stuart looked at her, his face full of smiles.
As they were walking to the parking lot, someone suddenly exclaimed, "Mr. Haustia?"
Stuart looked and saw it was one of his business partners. He nodded slightly and greeted, "Hello, Mr. Reed."
Timothy Reed was very surprised, "Mr. Haustia, you're here to shop in person too!"
Timothy's company wasn't very big, but he had a product patent, which allowed him to collaborate with someone as important as Stuart. He had always thought that someone like Stuart, from a prestigious family, wouldn't lead a mundane life like this.
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