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Chapter 87
Meanwhile, at the community hall, everyone else had arrived save for the one to whom
the empty seat next to Leanna's belonged.
Wendy said, "Hey, what's the matter with Harry? Is he stuck in traffic or something?" Then,
she turned to look at Leanna. "Leanna, I forgot to bring my cell phone with me. Why don't
you call Harry up and ask him where he is?" she suggested while throwing a meaningful
look at the latter.
Leanna was rendered speechless. That's too obvious, Ms. Shaffer.
Naomi let out a quiet sigh. "I'll make the phone call."
Wendy gave her a push. "What's wrong with you, Naomi? Oh, right, it suddenly occurs to
me that there are two dishes left in the kitchen. Come on, let's hurry and bring them
over," she said while dragging Naomi away.
Obviously, the other neighbors at the table had communicated with Naomi about this in
advance. "Just give Harry a buzz, Leanna. The food will get cold in a while."
"Yeah, that's right! Ask him where he is now."
Leanna let out a sigh. Just as she was about to take out her phone, Harry's voice suddenly
rang beside her. "It's not necessary, everyone. Sorry to keep you guys waiting."
A middle-aged woman asked, "Harry, why—" Then, seeing another person standing behind
him, she broke off mid-sentence.
Harry immediately introduced Aidan, saying, "This is President Pearson. You guys have
met him yesterday, right?"
"Oh, my, how could we forget about President Pearson? He's even more good-looking than
the celebrities on TV!"
"Yeah, that's right! Nice to meet you, President Pearson. Sorry that we didn't greet you
yesterday because you were quite far away. You look so young, President Pearson. Do you
have a girlfriend? Are you married? My daughter is also working in Highside. She—"
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"What nonsense are you talking about? Come on, President Pearson, have a seat. You're
our guest of honor here."
As everyone started talking at once, even the residents who weren't seated at Leanna's
table learned of Aidan's arrival, and they came over to greet him.
Harry had his heart in his mouth right away, fearing that Aidan would be annoyed by such
a huge commotion. He stole a glance at the latter's expression, only to see that the latter
was fine. Instead of getting impatient as he had imagined, the latter looked as impassive
as ever. Still, bigwigs of high standing like Aidan were usually unpredictable and volatile.
Fearing that the man's patience would reach its end, Harry dared not tarry for too long, so
he persuaded everyone else to return to their seats.
After the surroundings finally quieted down a little, someone came over and suggested,
"President Pearson, this table is full. We still have an empty seat over there. Why don't you
sit there with us?"
Aidan replied in an impassive voice, "I came with Mr. Mills, so I'll sit at the same table as
he does."
Naomi and Wendy had yet to return to their seats, but it was obvious from the jackets they
had left in their seats that these seats were taken. In other words, there was only one
empty seat left at the table. Without thinking much of it, Harry gave up his seat to Aidan,
saying, "Please have a seat, President Pearson."
Having been silent all this while, Leanna suddenly rose from her seat. "Take my seat,
Harry. I'll—" However, before she could finish her sentence, she was silenced by a
threatening stare.
Harry hurriedly said, "Uh… No, it's not necessary, Leanna. You sit down. I—"
At this moment, the middle-aged woman seated on Harry's left stood up. "Take my seat,
Harry. I'll sit at Sally's table. Just take good care of President Pearson."
After much trouble, the seating arrangement was finally confirmed. When Aidan sat down,
Leanna felt uneasy all over and quietly moved to the right.
At this moment, Wendy and Naomi returned with the dishes. When they saw Aidan sitting
there, Naomi involuntarily paused in her tracks for a second, whereas Wendy was startled
for a moment before coming forward and greeting him warmly.
Stealing a glance at Naomi, Leanna noticed that she put the dish on the round table with
her usual expression before settling in her seat.
Now that things had come to this, Leanna could only be grateful that Wendy was sitting on
her right. However, sitting between the gloomy mother and son made her feel even worse
than being torn apart.
At first, the others who were seated at the table dared not speak to Aidan due to his
standing and his dignified air, but Wendy was different. She was famous throughout the
blocks for her warm hospitality, so she began chatting with him after greeting him. "Hey,
President Pearson…" She slapped her thigh. "It feels pretty formal to keep addressing you
as President Pearson. I see that you're about the same age as my son, so I'm gonna call
you Aidan. You don't mind it, right?"
Aidan was stumped for a moment. Then, he replied, "No, I don't."
Wendy replied, "He he, that's great. Aidan, let me ask you something. Are you married?"
Leanna paused for a moment while drinking water. Ms. Shaffer, could you at least follow
the normal course of things? How could you ask such a private question right away? She
felt her temples throbbing.
At the same time, however, an emotionless voice rang beside her. "I am."
As soon as he said that, another female neighbor asked, "You're so good-looking, Aidan.
Your wife must be pretty as well, right?"
Aidan darted a sideways look at Leanna before replying in a casual tone, "She looks so-
so."
Leanna was rendered speechless.
Wendy then asked, "Do you have kids already? Aidan, I'm not trying to speak out of turn
here, but you're at the perfect age to have kids. If you have kids now, your parents can
help you babysit them. If you do so a few years later, your parents will get old, and—"
Leanna couldn't help but hem several times to interrupt her.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm
Wendy turned to look at her before refilling her glass. "You too, Leanna. Drink more warm
water lest you catch a cold."
"Thank you, Ms. Shaffer."
Just then, Harry cut in timely, "Ms. Shaffer… I don't think President Pearson needs his
parents to babysit his children at home…"
"You're right. I forgot about that," Wendy replied. "But, Aidan, it's more reassuring to let
your parents take care of your children than to let an outsider do so. My son is an
example. He insists on hiring a nanny to babysit his children instead of letting me do so,
and now they don't even recognize me as their grandmother. Trust me—no one loves
children more dearly than their parents."
Leanna clapped a hand to her forehead, thinking that there was no way she could salvage
the situation by herself. A few seconds later, Aidan's voice rang in her ear. "I'll keep that in
mind."
"Ha! That's more like it," Wendy replied. After chatting a little longer with Aidan, she grew
increasingly satisfied with him, so much so that her fondness for him was almost palpable.
"Oh, right! Leanna, I heard from Harry that you two had gone to the movies a few days
ago. How did it go? Was the movie entertaining?"
Leanna was rendered speechless. Why is it my turn to be questioned? Isn't there a
transition or something like that? She replied, "It was nice. I'll treat you to it next time if
you're interested, Ms. Shaffer."
Wendy didn't expect such a reply from her, though. After being startled for a moment, she
said with a smile, "Silly, what's the point of me going to the movies at such an old age?
Only young people like you guys like that stuff. Why would I want to join in the fun?" Then,
she took Leanna's hand and continued, "You see, Leanna, it wasn't easy for you to come
all the way from a place as far away as Highside, as well as for us to become neighbors
and know each other. I'm gonna be candid with you, so please don't turn a deaf ear."
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