Chapter 41

"I also want to grow as tall as Uncle." Alvina piped up from the side. No one knew why, but the two children somehow became much quieter in the presence of Joshua likely enchanted by his mysterious charisma. "Why would a girl want to grow that tall? Wouldn't it make her less cute?" Alvin, sounding like a wise, little adult, reasoned with Alvina. "Then why are you allowed to grow so tall?" Alvina pouted and asked, her eyelashes fluttering. "Because I'm a boy. Boys have to be tall so they can protect girls." Alvin answered confidently, thumping his small chest. Melissa laughed lightly, putting her arms around the little necks of Alvin and Alvina. "Come on, let's get back to work!" Unexpectedly, Joshua also joined in. He picked up a balloon pump from the ground, slipped in a balloon, and started to inflate it. "Let me help too. That way we can finish faster." And so, the four of them began decorating the front hall together, a task that took up a whole two hours. Now all that was left was the streamer on the top of the tent. Melissa asked Tony to get a ladder, but even when he climbed to the top, he was still a bit short and couldn't hang the streamer. "Let me try." Joshua took the streamer and signaled Tony to step down. He climbed the ladder stably and managed to hang the streamer on the top of the tent effortlessly. "Wow! Uncle is so cool!" Alvina clapped from below the ladder. Joshua smiled at her warmly and ruffled her hair, a soft sentiment spreading through his heart. The three of them had brought a warmth and joy to his home, a family atmosphere he's longed for since he was a child but never managed to achieve. As the evening gradually darkened, Melissa estimated that the guests would be arriving soon. She personally cooked two dishes: a lotus leaf mushroom soup and a sweet and sour pork. These were her finest dishes and coincidentally, the first two meals she had made for Liam on their wedding day. When Melissa brought out the dishes, she saw unexpectedly that Joshua was standing on the other side of the dining table, lost in thoughts. It seems, he must be a man with a story. "Melissa, did you make this dish?" At some point, Joseph also came over. His tone was not like a question, but more like mockery. For some reason, whenever Melissa saw Joseph stands close to each other, she feels a sense of blockade in her heart.This dastardly man was sure to bring trouble! Melissa pulled Joseph to a corner, and took the opportunity to reiterate "Don’t mess up my act today, otherwise I will bust you." "Busting me won’t do you any good either," retorted Joseph "Don't you even care about grandma’s health anymore? What if she gets excited and gets sick?" Melissa calmly threatened him "You should also know that I'm not someone to be messed with, so you'd better not provoke me tonight." Joseph glanced at her "Then you’d better not leak a word, or else..." "I won’t receive a single penny." Melissa responded instinctively. She had memorized this sentence by heart. Just then, the bell at the front door rang. It must be Nancy and Liam. Uncle John had already rushed over to open the door. "Understanding!" Melissa glanced at Joseph and lip-synced without a sound. Joseph gave her a confirming look. As expected, Uncle John welcomed them respectfully as soon as he opened the door "Miss and young master are here. Please come in." Alvin and Alvina stealthily peeked at the commotion at the door, the two children hurried back into the kitchen to find Melissa. "Mom, that mean lady from the party is here." Melissa revealed a profound smile and said "Alvin, Alvina, you can't call her the bad woman tonight, you should call her aunty." "Why? She's so mean, she even hit mom!" Alvina asked with her teary round eyes full of confusion. "Because mom has to play a game with her, pretend that we are good friends, very, very good friends. Whoever plays the most convincingly will win." Melissa explained to the children that tonight is a game she planned carefully. She was actually looking forward to it! She led the two children out of the kitchen to welcome the guest she had long been expecting. And so, they met at the hallway where the living room and dining room connected. The very moment Liam saw Melissa, he stared in disbelief, as if he had lost his soul, while Nancy looked as surprised as if she had seen a ghost. It took a while for the couple to react. Nancy's mouth hung open in shock. She pointed at Melissa, and without any courtesy, she shrieked "You slut, what are you doing in my house?" "Your house? Isn't your house on Savannah Road?" Melissa cast a look at Liam and smiled lightly at Nancy. Savannah Road's dazzling and magnificent villa district was the place where Melissa and Liam had lived after they got married. Later, it was taken over by Nancy. "This is my grandmother's house, the Clarkson estate. Go back to wherever you came from!" Nancy took a step towards Melissa, pointing at her, her eyes full of hostility. "I'm afraid I can't do that, because this place is also my grandma's house." Melissa said with a smile. She shook Alvin and Alvina's tiny hands, and bent down to tell the two children "Even if we have to leave, it has to be approved by your Great-grandma, right?" "Right, we don't want to leave, we can't bear to leave Great-grandma." Alvin was the first to voice out. "Yes, and Great-grandma can't bear to let us go!" Alvina echoed her brother's words. "What?" Nancy's head was spinning even more. Everything seemed to be happening too suddenly. How did Melissa just move into the Clarkson house, and why did her two kids keep referring to their great-grandmother? Was it somehow related to the incident she had plotted six years ago? It wouldn't be such a coincidence that these two children were really her second brother's offspring, would it? Nancy's face turned rather stern "Melissa, what kind of game are you playing here?" "I'm not playing any games! Joe, why don’t you explain it to your sister." Melissa turned around and gave Joseph a significant look, signaling him to smooth things over. Even though Joseph was extremely reluctant, he had to play along with Melissa's plan for the time being. He was truly afraid that tonight's dinner would become a disaster, and it would upset his grandmother. "Nancy, Melissa is now my girlfriend." His girlfriend? What kind of joke was this? When did Melissa become his brother's girlfriend? Nancy was absolutely unwilling to believe this. "Big Brother, you've only known her for a few days, and..." Before Nancy could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by someone "Nancy, Liam, both of you are here! What are you doing standing around?" Grandma Julia, supported by the maid, came into the dining room, catching sight of everyone huddled together, unsure of what they were discussing. "Grandma, you may not know that Nancy and I were high school classmates. We were quite excited to run into each other today and we just got carried away with our talk," Melissa went forward to support her grandma, patiently and gently explaining. "Oh, I see, so now you are all much closer in relationship," Grandma Julia trusted Melissa implicitly, genuinely believing that they were indeed long-lost classmates.