When they arrived in the suburbia, they chose a place next to a brook. Some of them started to set up
tents, and some set up the grills.
Only Clarence and ‘Little Rabbit’ were sitting in the folding chairs aside. One was calm and easy, and
the other one widened his eyes, looking around to enjoy the view.
Stella walked over and squatted down next to Clarence. She said crossly, “Mr. Conrad, are you here
inspecting?”
Clarence looked at her and answered calmly, “If you could tell me earlier, I would take Nathan here.”
Stella was speechless.
What a shameless man!
Clarence added, “Besides, I am doing something.”
Stella was confused, “What have you done?”
Clarence turned to glance at the boy, who was stilling upright, “If I don’t take care of him, what if he ran
away and got lost? How will you explain to his mother in that case?”
“Ho ho.”
Stella wasn’t in the mood to talk to him. She took out a cup of yogurt from her snack bag and gave it to
‘Little Rabbit’. Rubbing his head, she said, “Boy, just sit here and be a good boy. Don’t run around.
Probably there would be a lot of bad eggs around here.”
Next to them, Clarence slightly snorted. He disdained how she tried to scare the boy.
‘Little Rabbit’ held the yogurt in his hands and nodded solemnly, “I won’t run around and neither will I
make trouble to you.”
Stella smiled. She stood up and said, “Good boy. You can play with this... uncle here. I’ll call you over if
the barbecue is ready.”
Clarence asked unhappily, “Why are you treating us so differently?”
Stella gritted her teeth, “Just shut up, Uncle!”
Clarence was speechless.
After Stella was gone, ‘Little Rabbit’ turned to look at Clarence, passing the yogurt in his hands to him.
Clarence said indifferently, “It’s for you. I won’t drink it.”
“I know. Uncle, please open it for me.”
Clarence sneered, “You are so old now. Why can’t you open the yogurt?”
‘Little Rabbit’ answered in a serious tone, “Uncle, when you got off the car, you snatched the candies
from Stella’s mouth. I’ve seen it.”
Clarence’s temples popped. He looked at the boy expressionlessly, and his eyes were fierce and cold.
‘Little Rabbit’ wasn’t afraid of him at all, “Uncle, if you don’t open it for me. I’m going to find Stella...”
Before he finished speaking, his hands were empty. Clarence opened the lid and returned the yogurt to
him.
“Thank you, Uncle.”
After that, ‘Little Rabbit’ raised his head and drank the yogurt in silence.
Clarence said, “Brat, you came out alone. Aren’t your family worried?”
‘Little Rabbit’ finished drinking the yogurt and corrected him, “I’m already ten years old. I’m not a brat.
Uncle, when you were young, didn’t you ever go out with your friends before? Did your family forbid
you to go out?”
Clarence was rendered speechless again.
On the other side, Sherry secretly checked on what was going on with them while adding the carbon to
the grills, “I didn’t expect that brat and Mr. Conrad could enjoy chatting so much. Have they thought
each other a bosom friend?”
Stella raised her eyebrows and smiled, “You called him a handsome young man before. Now you
called him a brat.”
“Jesus... Stella, I was wrong. Please don’t mention my dark history.” Sherry felt so exhausted, “As soon
as it ends, I’ll send him home. I won’t believe anyone known online anymore. What a little liar!”
Stella said, “Is there any misunderstanding? He’s quite cute and polite. Did you just imagined too
much?”
Sherry stubbornly retorted, “How could it be possible? He sent me photos of his abs. I couldn’t imagine
them, could I? I don’t want to fall in love anymore in my life. I’ve encountered all kinds of scumbags -
scumbags who cheated on me, who kept a girlfriend pool, and this one as well... He’s so young but he
didn’t behave himself at all. He learned to be a scumbag. I don’t think I have the luck to fall in love. I’d
better become a nun.”
Stella patted her on the shoulder with a smile for comfort, “No worries. After the design contest, you
can go take a leave and travel. As long as you can join the activities in real life, you would meet your
Mr. Right.”
“I’d better give up. Anyway, I can always attract the scumbags. I’ve accepted my fate.”
Stella raised her head and looked at the young couples who were teasing each other next to the
brooks. She curled up her lips, “It’s so good to be young!”
Sherry also looked over, heaving a sigh, “Exactly. If I were still their age, how could I be heartbroken by
the scumbags?”
They had takeout and snacks for lunch. After that, two couples found a flower field nearby, so they
went over.
Others who didn’t go there either took a nap in the tent or sat next to the brook, lost in thought.
Stella sat next to Clarence and whispered, “Mr. Conrad, do you feel quite bored?”
Clarence turned to look at her, curling up his thin lips into a smile, “With you beside me, how could I
feel bored?”
Stella also smiled. Looking at the sparkling stream for a long while, she said, “Sometimes, I feel too
stressed at work. If I hang out with those kids, I will feel relaxed.”
“Kids? How much older are you than them?”
Stella said naturally, “Also I’m just a few years older, I’m still older than them. In my heart, they are like
Chan. They are my younger brothers and sisters.”
Clarence reached out and held her in his arms. He whispered, “I’m only a few years older than you.
Why did you call me Uncle?”
Stella didn’t answer.
Clarence bit her earlobe gently, “Ehn?”
Instantly, Stella’s cheeks turned red and burning. She reached out to push him away, “Stop it! There
are so many people here!”
Clarence turned around and checked, “I can’t see anyone.”
Except for the child, who was doing his homework with his back to them, there was nobody else.
Sherry also had gone somewhere.
Stella protected herself with her hands in front, “No, you can’t do it.”
Upon hearing it, Clarence chuckled, “What can’t I do?”
Stella was shocked.
She didn’t expect that at this moment, the wretched man still tried to flirt with her. She wasn’t in the
mood to talk to him anymore. When she was about to stand up, he pulled her back and said, “All right.
I’ll stop teasing you. Sit here with me.”
She could hear the faint tiredness in his voice.
After a while, Stella asked, “Are you still quite busy recently?”
Clarence hummed. He explained, “I’ve got a lot of things to deal with. I’ll be on a business trip
tomorrow.”
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“I wanted to tell you today. Who knows you had such a plan.”
Stella curled her lips. She had to admit that it was her bad.
After a pause, she asked again, “When will you come back?”
“I’ll be gone for a whole week at least.”
Clarence didn’t worry about her. After all, a lot of people were protecting her in secret. He worried about
other things.
Stella sat up in his arms and asked, “Are you bothered by something? You seemed to be a bit weird
today.”
Clarence curled up his lips, “Weird? In what way?”
“You are rarely so serious.”
“It seems that you like me more when I’m not serious.”
Stella choked up.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda