"Sure," Patriarch Way adjusted his clothes, sat straight, and put his hands on his knees.
And the others were hearing Palmer's command, sitting by him or standing behind. Since there were so
many members of the Way family here, they had to align in two rows.
Alan was the most favored grandson and the descendant of the eldest son, and therefore, Patriarch
Way asked him to stand next to him. And then he got Nora with him.
Hazel didn't sit aside him, but left the place to her parents and stood behind them.
When everyone was ready, the photographer took the family photo for celebrating Patriarch Way's
eightieth birthday.
All the guests were clapping.
After that, he made a speech about appreciating everyone to attend his birthday party, and then the
feast began.
The music started with the changing lights. Alan and Nora danced firstly in the middle of the hall to
enliven the party.
Hazel walked straight to Oca and reached out her right hand to him with a smile, waiting for his
acceptance.
He drank the last sip of champagne, took her hand, and walked to the dance pool elegantly.
More and more people were joining the dancing, including Bright and Rose.
"Aren't you afraid that I will step on your toe?" Rose raised her head and said.
"Your heart will ache for that," Bright put his hand on her waist.
"…Shameless," Rose raised her eyebrows.
"Hah…" Bright smiled.
When Bright and Rose turned around, Ocaand Hazel were walking past them. With the light, Rose
could see the face of Oca clearly. She was stunned, stepped on Bright's foot, and fell into his arms.
Before that, she didn't notice him in the crowd, and now she could see his face, she finally knew how
Nora felt.
If he wasn't Oscar, who else could he be?
Rose just kept watching him.
Bright didn't feel good seeing his wife staring at another man. He made a few coughs to draw her
attention.
"Is he so good-looking?" Bright questioned.
"Yes, he is," Rose replied without thinking.
"What?" Bright was so unpleasant about losing his charm to his wife.
It was not until now that she realized she had made a slip of tongue. She comforted him quickly, "I
mean, he is good-looking but not as good as my husband, the most handsome man for me."
She didn't lie about that because she still loved Bright most. Besides, Bright and he was not the same
style in appearance.
"That's not genuine at all," Bright wasn't satisfied, "You have never looked at me like this."
Anyone could tell he was being jealous.
"I…" Rose didn't know how to contradict him, "I want to take a break."
Rose stopped dancing and walked away.
Bright followed her, "Are you afraid?"
"Why should I be afraid?" Rose took a cup of champagne from the waiter and took a slip, trying to calm
herself down, "He looks like Oscar as if he was Oscar."
"Nora's lover?" Bright recalled.
"Yes. But what made him become Oca, and a Chinese American?" Rose wondered.
"Just because he looks like Oscar doesn't mean he is Oscar. Besides, Oscar has gone. It makes no
difference to talk about this," Bright raised a cup of champagne to his lips.
Rose stared at Oca again. Her eyes were moving with him.
Meanwhile, Bright stood in front of her, "No matter who he is, you can only have eyes for me."
"…" Rose was amused.
"Don't look at him. Look at me," Bright emphasized.
"Fine," Rose smiled and nodded, "Only you."
"So, what happened just now…"
"I made a mistake," Rose surrendered.
Bright pinched her face, "Good."
In the dance pool, Nora had already felt disturbed and, what was worse, she made a wrong move and
sprained her ankle, falling down in front of Alan.
In a hurry, Alan reached out his hand to hold her, but someone had held her waist, turned her around,
and resumed the dance under his lead.
With a hand on her waist, Oca held Nora's hand and started the dance.
And Alan took Hazel's hand and danced as if nothing had happened.
Nora was so close to Oca, surrounded by his mint fragrance. Her heartbeat fastened.
She was nervous and disoriented, while Oca was calm like he only cared about the dance.
He stayed peaceful and said nothing, which made Nora felt detached and bitter.
"Thank you for helping me," Nora said.
"You are welcome," Oca replied, "young mistress."
Not Ms. Cooper, but young mistress… It seemed like he heard all the introduction.
Once the music was over, they separated. Alan came to help Nora immediately, "Are you all right?"
He crunched down to check her ankle, and Nora stopped him hurriedly, "I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" Alan asked her again.
"Will I continue to dance if it's not fine?" Nora said, "I know what's more important."
Hazel looked at his nervous young brother and said, "It has been a while since I saw you last time, and
in this time, I find you love your wife more, Alan. I'm so jealous."
"If you are jealous, sister, you should go to find a husband in no time," Alan suggested.
"Do you think finding a husband is like shopping at a grocery store?" Hazel argued.
"I thought you had found a desirable man," Alan glanced at Oca standing by her side, "I shall leave you
and Oca alone."
Hearing this, Nora felt rotten.
But why should she care about this, especially he was Oca, not Oscar?
"Let's go, honey," Alan held Nora's hand and walked away.
Nora hesitated a bit. She wanted to turn around and took another look at Oca, but she restrained it and
left with Alan.
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