Chapter 40

"Grandmother, don't get angry for now, I... I will apologize to Melissa." There was a hint of resentment in Joseph dark eyes as he slowly walked to Melissa's side, gently patting her back. "Melissa, it's all my fault. Will you stop being angry now?" Joseph forced out a fake smile, increasing the force he was patting Melissa's back with, making it sting. "What did you do wrong?" Tearful, Melissa asked. She was intentionally making things difficult for him. "I should trust you. Is that enough?" Joseph maintained a calm face, gritting his teeth and whispering harshly. "Uh, you should believe in my character. That means you shouldn't prevent me from meeting my friends in the future." Melissa adhered to the principle of executing tasks thoroughly, otherwise it would all be a futile effort. "Joseph!" Grandma Julia reminded Joseph as she stared at his every move. Joseph managed to control his rage, putting on a calm front and saying "Alright, I promise you." "With that, I'll forgive you. It can't be helped, I am in love with you, after all" Melissa displays a sweet smile, takes his hand off her back, and secretly pinches his arm when no one is looking. "What did you say?" Joseph's eyes widened, as if even his breathing had stopped. Can this woman really say whatever she wants? "I said I love you, otherwise how could I bear Alvin and Alvina for you without any proper status?" Melissa responded warmly. Her acting skills were so great that it was like she could win an Oscar. Joseph displayed the ugliest smile he had ever had in his life, clenched his jaw and managed to spit out the words "I... also... love... you." Seeing that the two have made up, Grandma Julia started clapping happily. She finally put on a loving smile "That's good, my grandchildren. Bending your pride to admit your mistakes will end this." Grandma Julia asked Joseph and Melissa to sit on the couch, watched them for a while, and couldn't help but sigh to herself "Youth is wonderful!" "Granny, Joseph told me yesterday that he has an elder brother, whom I've never met." Melissa thought it was about time she brought up this request. "Oh, yes! I haven't seen Joshua and Nancy, those two children, for a long time. How about I invite them over one day, and we all gather at home for dinner, what do you think, Melissa?" Grandma Julia suddenly proposed. The house usually feels too lonely; it's time we all spend some time together. "I agree with grandma's idea." Before Melissa could speak, Grandma Julia had already suggested it. "No one has seen Alvina and Alvina yet. Let's give them a surprise." Grandma Julia said delightfully. "Yes, let's give them a surprise!" ........ On Friday afternoon, Melissa, Alvin, and Alvina. Mother and her two kids, dressed in adorable family matching outfits, were decorating the front hall on the first floor of the Clarkson's estate. Because today is a special day, tonight is the gathering of the Clarkson family. Joshua, Joseph, Nancy, and Liam will all be there. Only the parents of the three Clarkson siblings, Jacob and Ava Clarkson could not come as they were on a world cruise. They won't be back for several months. Melissa had been looking forward to this moment, and she had been so excited that she hadn't been able to sleep for several nights. "Alvina, go and fetch two more balloons for Mama." Melissa was busy making a balloon arch, pleasantly romantic in shades of pink and lavender. "Sure, I'm coming!" Alvina ran over excitedly, grabbing a handful of balloons from a large plastic bag and delivered them to his mother. "Alvina, do you know where I placed the streamers?" Melissa was somewhat flustered, after all, it was a big undertaking, and the hall was too large. They needed to decorate quickly. "They're right behind you, Mama." Alvina reminded. She had been humming nursery rhymes for quite some time. Both children were extremely happy since they started helping their mother set up. They loved collective activities the most. "Oh, it completely slipped my mind." Melissa patted her head as she spoke. They had been decorating for three full hours already, and it might take another three hours until they finish everything. The two children, tirelessly racing around the hall, filled the air with laughter. Soft music played from Melissa's phone. The warm sunlight poured in through the colored glass windows, dancing joyfully on the floor. "Mama, can you sing a song for us?" Alvina, tired from running around, cooed as she cuddled up in her mother's arms. Alvina also sat down on a small stool, waiting to listen to his mother sing. Just then, the song playing on the smartphone was Edelweiss from the movie "The Sound of Music". Melissa began humming along with the lovely melody, "Edelweiss, Edelweiss, greet the day so bright and new. Small and white, clean and bright, you look happy to meet me..." While Melissa was singing, a silhouette appeared in the doorway to the front hall, silently observing the beautiful woman singing and her two little treasures. "Mama, look, there's someone over there." Alvina quietly tipped off his mother while she was in the middle of her song. Looking up towards the entrance, Melissa indeed saw a tall, exceptional man standing there. Melissa stood up and paced towards him, tentatively inquired, "Hello, you must be the young master, right?" The man nodded, a faint smile emerged on his lips "Hello, may I ask who you are?" His handsome face bore an air of transcendence that made him seem detached from the world, and he spoke with a mild and gentle elegance. "I'm Melissa, Joseph’s girlfriend. This is Alvina and Alvina, my son and daughter." Melissa introduced them carefully, extending her hand to the man identified as Joshua as a friendly gesture. Joshua reciprocated the handshake, lightly clasping her hand. He often emitted an air of refreshing serenity, making it easy to tell that he was a man of contentment. Even his handshake was gentlemanly "Nice to meet you, your children are very adorable!" "Thank you," Melissa replied with a gentle smile, then asked "Young Master, why are you here so early? Isn't it your working hours now?" "I've finished my lectures for today, so I came early." Joshua, a lecturer at the tradition and cultural institution. "In that case, you're a teacher. No wonder there's a unique quality about you." Melissa couldn't help admiring and respecting Joshua more, considerably better than his scoundrel of a brother, at least a thousand times over. "Stop calling me 'you,' just call me 'big brother'." Joshua suggested, always with an ambiguous smile on his face, yet his eyes were as serene as a placid lake. "Okay," Melissa cheerfully agreed, but her brows furrowed in confusion again as she queried "Then what should Alvin and Alvina call you?" "They should call me 'Big Uncle'" Joshua responded in his usual quiet and gentle manner. "Hello, Big Uncle!" Alvin and Alvina greeted cheerfully. "Big Uncle, you are so tall!" Alvin looked up at him with admiration, praising "I wish I could grow as tall as Big Uncle when I grow up."