Free Web NovelChapter 85: Chapter 85: Quick, Call Him Uncle
Ending the call, Damien waved his phone at Cecelia.
"Did you hear all that? Come with me to the mall."
Damien’s father had passed away from a serious illness when he was twelve. His mother was a strong-willed woman, and she and his father hadn’t had a particularly good relationship, which was why Damien was their only child.
After his father’s death, Damien’s relationship with his domineering mother grew even more strained. Feeling that life in the Vaughn Family estate was dull and pointless, she left for a foreign country on her own.
He had been raised by his grandfather.
Taking pity on him for being effectively motherless and fatherless, his grandfather doted on Damien and was, naturally, very concerned about his marriage.
But Damien had always had poor luck with women, never meeting anyone he truly liked. He had no desire to get married, and his constant excuses had ended up offending the old man.
After Damien’s father passed away, the old man placed an even greater emphasis on family ties. For years, Damien’s second and third uncles, along with their wives and families, had all lived together with the old man.
Damien didn’t want to listen to his grandfather’s nagging, and he certainly didn’t want to endure his aunts’ sarcastic, backhanded comments. Using his busy work schedule as an excuse, he often stayed away.
He used to make a point of visiting every weekend, but at the beginning of the year, he’d gotten into a face-to-face argument with his second aunt over his second uncle’s job. Since then, he hadn’t returned to the old family estate in months.
If his grandfather hadn’t called him personally, he would have completely forgotten about the 80th birthday.
He felt a pang of guilt, but he had no idea what kind of gift to buy. So, he brought Cecelia and Candy to the mall with him.
Cecelia was also someone with few family ties. Her parents had both passed away from illnesses around the time she was in middle school, leaving her to rely on her older brother. Cecelia had never bought a gift for an elder before and had no idea where to even start.
"How about buying him a set of clothes?"
After wandering around for several minutes and seeing that Damien had found nothing he liked, Cecelia tried to offer a suggestion.
Damien shook his head. "He doesn’t like clothes from the mall. He usually wears custom-tailored outfits, and besides, he doesn’t need any more clothes."
"Then what about buying him something to eat? What’s his favorite food?"
The family employed chefs specializing in Cantonese, Sichuan, Hunan, and Anhui cuisine—a whole variety of flavors. The old man had eaten everything there was to eat; he wouldn’t care for food from the outside.
Cecelia: "..."
’This won’t work, that won’t work... I should probably just keep my mouth shut.’
Damien held Candy’s hand and walked ahead, thinking that perhaps he should buy the old man some antiques.
Aside from studying old artifacts, he didn’t seem to have any other hobbies.
Just as he was thinking of going elsewhere, a woman’s voice suddenly called out to Cecelia.
"Cecelia! Candy! What are you two doing here?"
Cecelia turned and saw that it was, surprisingly, her sister-in-law.
Her nephew wasn’t in school today; she had apparently dragged him to the mall to go shopping as well.
"Sister-in-law?"
As she spoke, her sister-in-law had already arrived in front of her, pulling her nephew along.
"Why aren’t you at work today? And why isn’t Candy in school? What are you...?"
Her eyes shifted, and she saw Damien holding Candy’s hand. The sister-in-law froze for a moment, the expression on her face changing.
"This must be my brother-in-law, right?"
She had seen Cecelia’s marriage certificate and remembered the photo of a handsome, young pretty boy.
She had assumed that any man willing to marry someone like Cecelia, who already had a child out of wedlock, must be some useless pretty boy. She never expected him to be so tall and imposing.
’These clothes... they look so expensive. Even Cecelia looks much classier just by standing next to him.’
Her sister-in-law was the type who treated people according to their perceived status. When Cecelia had no money or power, she looked down on her and always tried to bully her. But the moment she saw that the man by Cecelia’s side was no ordinary person, her attitude changed instantly.
"You’ve been married for so long! I kept telling Cecelia to bring you home for dinner, but she always said you were too busy. I can’t believe we ran into you here today. Brother-in-law, are you on vacation? Rocky, hurry up and say hi to your uncle!"
Cecelia knew that she and Damien didn’t really have a relationship anymore, but her sister-in-law didn’t.
Hearing her sister-in-law say such things, she felt a wave of embarrassment and quickly glanced at Damien to gauge his reaction.
Thankfully, Damien played along, giving her sister-in-law a gentle nod.
"Hello. I’m sorry, I have been quite busy recently and haven’t had a chance to visit. It was rude of me. Please don’t be upset, Sister-in-law."
Seeing his good attitude and respectful demeanor toward her, the sister-in-law couldn’t have been happier.
"Not at all, not at all, we’re all family! Why be so formal? Work is important, I understand. Rocky, why haven’t you greeted your uncle yet?"
As she spoke, she pushed Rocky a step forward.
The little boy, with his chubby, endearing face, had a lollipop in his mouth. He obediently called out, "Uncle."
Damien, still holding Candy’s hand, knelt down and patted the boy’s head.
"Hello. What’s your name?"
Seeing how gentle Damien was, Rocky boldly stated his name, then held out his chubby little hand.
"Uncle, give me a red envelope. My mom said I can ask for a red envelope after greeting an elder. You have to give me a big one!"
Cecelia: "..."
Damien glanced up at her. Cecelia hurriedly tried to pull some cash out of her own pocket for Rocky, but Damien was one step ahead and had already taken out his wallet.
"Your mom’s right. But I wasn’t prepared today, so this is all I have. Take it for now, and the next time we meet, I’ll give you a proper big one, okay?"
With that, he took out all the cash from his wallet.
It wasn’t a very thick wad, but it looked to be at least a thousand or two. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
Rocky immediately reached out and took it. Cecelia’s face flushed with embarrassment.
The sister-in-law beamed. "Oh, my! To think we’d run into you at the mall... you really shouldn’t have spent so much. Come over for dinner tonight. I’ll cook you guys something delicious."
As she spoke, she took the money from Rocky’s hand and slipped it into her own pocket.
Damien stood up, his expression neutral. "I’m sorry, we have something on tonight, so we can’t make it. Perhaps another day. Let us prepare properly, and we’ll make a formal visit then."
"Busy again? I swear, you two... Cecelia only has one brother and sister-in-law, and you’ve been married for so long... Fine, fine, I understand. Another day, then. Cecelia, let me know in advance, okay? I’ll buy some extra groceries and make a feast for you!"
What could Cecelia say? She could only force a smile and agree.
The sister-in-law then pretended to be enthusiastic and turned to greet Candy.
"Candy, have you missed your auntie?"
"This little girl, I watched her grow up. She was so close to me when she lived at our house. I haven’t seen her in so long, I’ve actually missed her. Candy, why aren’t you calling me ’Auntie’? Call me Auntie and I’ll take you to buy some candy."
She reached for Candy’s hand, but Candy instinctively ducked behind Damien.
The sister-in-law’s hand missed. Her tone was half-joking, half-stern as she said,
"What’s wrong? It’s only been a little while, don’t you recognize your auntie anymore? You ungrateful little thing. Have you forgotten how I used to look after you when your mom was too busy with work to take care of you?"
Her words made Damien recall the first time he had met Candy—her pitiful, heart-wrenching appearance.
’This auntie... has she already forgotten how she used to hit her? She really has the nerve to say anything.’
