Carla begun to wonder how
the Ans could serve lunch to so many people at the same time. 'How big must their kitchen be to be able to do this?' she quietly thought to herself.
She eventually got the answer when it was time to eat. She witnessed how all the people in the living room and in the yard moved towards the back of the East Yard. Carla was a little startled to find out that there was a big dining hall over there.
People were chatting with each other as they made their way to the dining hall. For most of them, it seemed like it wasn't their first time to be there at all.
"Carla, I'm also hungry. Shall we go with them and eat?"
Sean asked while he rubbed his growling stomach.
Carla thought about it for a little while then she nodded at her little brother. "Okay, let's go and get some food.
They must have enough for two more," Carla told Sean.
Then, they walked out of the room and was about to take the stairs when they saw Rainer coming over towards them. He looked a little surprised but delighted to see them. He stated with a smile, "Just in time! Miss Carla, Mr. Terence sent me to invite you for lunch." With a wider smile than before, Rainer led Carla and Sean downstairs to the lunch area.
When they reached downstairs, Carla saw a massive round table in the East Yard's dining hall. Upon a closer look, she saw Edmund sitting at the center of it all.
Terence sat opposite his father with two vacant seats beside him.
Also sitting at the table were a couple, an elder man and a beautiful girl who looked like she was of Carla's age.
"Carla, come here and sit with me,"
Terence called out to Carla as soon as he saw them. He took Sean's hand and helped him sit in the chair beside him.
Immediately after Carla and Sean had taken their seats, the elder man asked, "Edmund, who are these two?"
For the majority of the guests, there were suddenly two strangers who showed up on what was supposed to be a family feast. So it was very reasonable to ask who they were.
"Uncle Adams, let me introduce them to you. This is my girlfriend, Carla. And her younger brother, Sean," Terence answered before Edmund could do so.
"Really?"
The elder man who Terence called as "uncle" was a little bit surprised. He took a closer look at Carla and turned his attention to the couple sitting in the same row as him. They seem to be exchanging messages with their eyes.
The young beautiful girl sitting in the middle also took a closer look at Carla when she heard the word "girlfriend" from Terence.
Suddenly the elder man laughed and then stated, "I understand. It's completely normal for a young man like Terence to get himself a girlfriend. Edmund, don't you think so?" The elder man turned to Edmund with a grin on his face.
Edmund smiled back in embarrassment and nodded at the elder man perfunctorily. "Let's start eating. The dishes are getting cold," Edmund kindly announced, raising his voice a little.
As a matter of fact, the elder man and Edmund are cousins. Edmund himself had no idea that his cousin would bring his granddaughter that day.
Edmund and his cousin had always been on good terms.
They were relatives anyway. Thus, it was not impossible for the elder man's granddaughter to be married to Terence.
Carla picked up a crayfish for Sean as soon as she heard that they were allowed to eat.
"Uncle Terence, this is for you," the young beautiful girl who sat near Terence sweetly stated as she husked a crayfish for him.
Carla almost burst out laughing. She thought, 'Did I hear that correctly? Uncle Terence?
The niece wants to marry her uncle?'
"Thank you," Terence addressed the girl politely and then quickly picked up the husked crayfish to put it into Carla's bowl. "Are you hungry? Eat this," Terence said using his sweet voice.
"No, no, I don't deserve it. This especially came from a niece who made it for her uncle. I couldn't dare to eat it," Carla teased in a low voice. She was repaid by a sneer from Terence.
Then, Carla went on to eat with a smile on her face. After a while, she placed a specific type of fish on Terence's bowl that she knew he liked to eat.
When the girl saw how Carla and Terence were interacting, her face couldn't help but turn sour. In return, she also put some fish pieces into Terence's bowl which was picked up by Sean and placed into his own bowl right away.
The girl did not smile throughout the meal.
Meanwhile, it became perfectly clear to Carla why most of the people attended the lunch that day.
"Thank you, granduncle," Amanda said with her signature sweet smile.
Few girls would dislike Terence upon seeing him for the first time. And Amanda was not an exception. If she had not seen him in person, she would not believe that there would be a man that would impress her so much.
Just one look and Terence's smile, his voice and his facial expressions all rushed into her heart.
Edmund smiled back in embarrassment. Inside, he was sighing in disappointment.
It would be really nice if Terence agreed to marry Amanda for it would help strengthen the stability and harmony of the Ans. On the other hand, if Terence would like to marry someone from a good family, it would also be helpful for the expansion of the Ans' business.
But at the moment, Terence only had eyes for Carla. Edmund knew that no matter how perfect Carla she is, there was one thing she lacked. She would not be an asset to the Ans family or their business.
Otherwise, he would have been really happy with their marriage.
Meanwhile, Terence and Sean were playing games as well as chatting with each other upstairs.
Sean would always talk to Terence about everything. If he were being honest, he preferred to talk with Terence than his sister. So Terence knew many things about Sean that Carla did not know.
For example, Sean would tell Terence about his school work, his friends and his arguments with them, and so forth.
And Terence would offer his advice all the time. As a result, Sean would always look for his company.
Carla leaned on the tatami while she watched the two of them, only to find herself being excluded from the conversation. Giving up, she went on to just eat the fruit slices that she brought.
After a while, she got off the tatami and approached the two who were busy with each other's company.
"Um... Terence, I'm going to HA City the day after tomorrow,"
Carla plainly said. But it seemed like no one heard her.
Suddenly, Terence turned his head in her direction when she was about to repeat what she just said.
"What did you say? You're going to HA City?"
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