Overprotected By My Tsundere CEO-Chapter 561 - 343: Marcus Shaw: Good, Where’s My Cactus? (3)
Based on just the fragments Joseph Sutton heard from Crystal Hughes, he always felt that Crystal’s young old dad was capable of anything; he sounded completely unreliable.
The two got into the car.
Crystal rolled down the window, leaned on the glass, and looked up at the gloomy sky outside.
With continuous rain, the city seemed flooded, the sunlight hidden by the haze, everything in sight was foggy.
Crystal yawned.
She pulled out her phone, found the top contact in her list, and dialed.
Call rejected.
Dialed again.
Rejected again.
...
It wasn’t until the fifth call that the other side finally picked up.
Without waiting for the other side to speak, Crystal started to complain, "Little Handsome Hughes, why are you hanging up on me?"
"...I’m in class."
Andrew Hughes’s childish voice carried a hint of helplessness.
Crystal teased him, "Isn’t your mom coming back more important than class?"
After a brief pause, Andrew replied seriously, "More or less."
"..." Crystal was speechless for a few seconds, "Little Handsome Hughes, you’ve hurt your mom’s feelings."
"..."
Andrew suddenly stopped talking.
"Forget it, your mom is magnanimous and forgives you," Crystal, long used to this, broke the silence, and then asked him, "What do you want to eat tonight? I’ll take you."
"Grandpa is cooking tonight."
Crystal frowned, "You’re tired of your grandpa’s cooking."
Andrew emphasized, "You haven’t eaten it for a long time." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
"Alright..." Crystal sighed, "Do you want to leave class early? I’ll pick you up."
"No."
"Why, kindergarten isn’t fun anyway."
After a pause, Andrew seriously said, "Comrade Crystal, no mother would encourage her son to skip kindergarten."
Crystal gently ground her teeth, "Little Handsome Hughes, you think I don’t know your kindergarten skipping tricks?"
"..."
Andrew went silent again.
Crystal was intrigued, "Getting quiet because you’re guilty, who taught you that?"
"Marcus Shaw."
Andrew quickly blurted out a name.
For a moment, Crystal sighed softly, "Don’t learn from him; he’s a mute. Learn from your grandpa, sweet-talking and always with a smile, even at fifty-something, still charming young ladies."
"..."
Andrew went silent once more.
"...Sometimes I wonder if Marcus Shaw is your real dad." Crystal was utterly baffled.
After a pause, Andrew hesitantly asked, "What’s my real dad like?"
"..."
Crystal was momentarily at a loss.
After a while, Andrew slowly said, "Marcus Shaw says my personality isn’t inherited from grandpa, nor from you, so it’s definitely inherited from my dad."
Angry and dissatisfied with Marcus’s explanation, Crystal quietly retorted, "Your dad’s eloquent and good at debating; you’re not like him at all."
"Then..."
"You’re just copying Marcus Shaw."
"...Oh."
Andrew didn’t argue with her.
Marcus Shaw once said that arguing or reasoning with women never leads to a result, like his sister.
After a moment, Andrew said, "Kindergarten is about to start."
"Okay, your class is more important than your mom." Crystal pouted, "Before hanging up, won’t you give your mom a kiss?"
"..."
Andrew was speechless again.
Crystal: "..."
Marcus Shaw, this silent blockhead, has taught his son to be just like him. At three, he’d still give kisses; now, just over a year later, even those little privileges are gone.
After pestering Andrew, Crystal finally got a reluctant peck and hung up the phone contentedly.
Putting away the phone, she closed the window and turned her head to see Joseph Sutton’s gaze on her.
She asked, "What’s up?"
"Nothing," Joseph withdrew his gaze and looked ahead, "You seem unchanged."
"Really?"
Crystal rubbed her face; she felt her smile stiffening.
After a pause, Joseph shifted his tone, "But no one is unchanged."
Crystal tilted her head and smiled, "So?"
"You’re pretending."
"..."
Crystal fell silent instantly.
After another glance, Joseph’s gaze lingered on her left wrist, advising softly, "Take care of yourself. You can reach out to me if you need help."
Closing her eyes for a moment, Crystal suddenly opened them; her smile disappeared entirely as she leaned her head against the glass and said, "I’m fine."
Not sure if she was arguing or self-comforting.
She was fine.
Even if something happened... no one could help.
*
Friday night.
After dinner, Nora Scott sat on a recliner near the balcony, reading a script, with a floor lamp glowing warmly beside her.
Marcus Shaw walked past her, his expression indifferent, as if hinting at something.
Turning a page on the script, Nora didn’t think much of it, but after reading two lines, she suddenly realized something was off.
With a light cough, Nora abruptly snapped the script shut, ready to leave.
