Chapter 432: The Jealous Lover
The wealthy were generally fastidious about handling things in a low-key fashion. Very few would kick up a huge fuss.
Hillary was intending to fight a battle of public opinion so that the judge would sympathize with her more when they went to court. One could say that she was resorting to very unscrupulous means just to win the lawsuit.
To think the reporter had been released, though… From the looks of it, it was Karl who had done something about it.
Joel was rather troubled.
The amount of influence that Karl had in the States had exceeded his expectations a little.
He wasn't really bothered, though. As the head of the Smiths, this bit of trouble was nothing to him. He was just a little worried that Tanya would not be able to take it if she saw the comments.
Joel put down the phone and entered the room.
The moment he did, he heard Tanya reading out the private messages that random people had sent her. "This person says that third wheels in relationships always end up miserable! He's right, a third wheel like Hillary certainly won't have any happiness left!
"This one says that we bullied the little reporter. Tsk, how blind is he? Didn't he see the reporter forcing a kid to answer her questions?
"And this one, too. He says that I don't have any class because I hit the reporter. Hah, he's right. Compared to someone like her who reprimands others when she doesn't even know the truth, I certainly don't have that much class. But I at least don't have such a high level of ideological consciousness that I would interfere in other people's matters…"
"…"
Joel: "…"
He had almost forgotten what kind of family Tanya had grown up in. She had already experienced several flaming wars a long time ago, so she didn't give two hoots about it anymore.
Cherry was seated opposite her. "Do you need me to scold them for you, God-mom? I'm really good at dissing people!"
"Do you know how to spell what you want to write?" asked Pete.
Cherry: "…"
Pete took the opportunity to persuade her. "You should practice your spelling when you have time! We have to study hard, okay?"
At the mention of studying, Cherry pouted and said, "You are not lovable anymore, Pete!"
Pete sighed.
The tyrant was strict with him, but he simply spoiled Cherry too much. This led to Cherry not knowing how to spell a lot of words, even though she was already five. He looked down at his Mathematical Olympiad problems that were nearly at high school-level, and felt that his sister was simply too stupid!
Tanya laughed when she saw the two children bicker. "The two of you are so… but it's true that you should practice your spellings properly, Cherry. Mia can already spell more than 500 words!"
Cherry curled her lips disdainfully. "If I really wanted to do it, I could memorize 500 spellings in a minute. I just don't want to, that's all! Besides, Daddy said that I am a girl, so I don't have to tire myself out like that!"
Tanya: "…"
She quickly put her arms around Mia and said to her, "Don't follow what Cherry does, okay?"
Mia nodded sensibly. "Okay, Mommy!"
Every time she heard Mia calling her 'Mommy', Tanya's heart would melt a little. She smiled and said, "My little baby Mia is so well-behaved~"
Mia's cheeks flushed at once.
Next to them, Cherry stuck out her tongue. "You're calling her a little baby when she's already five? God-mom, you are too mushy!"
Tanya looked up at her. "No matter how old you become, to your mothers, all of you will always be children!"
Cherry tilted her head but didn't refute her this time.
At this point, Joel came in and said, "Mia is also a girl, so she doesn't need to study that hard."
Tanya glared at him. "Don't be a slave to your daughter like Mr. Hunt! Besides, Mia is different from Cherry…"
Cherry was always filled with confidence.
Although Nora hadn't said anything about it before, Tanya had nevertheless discovered that the little girl was very smart, and could quickly master anything she was learning.
As for Mia, perhaps because she had been brought up by Hillary, she was always lacking in confidence.
She was always afraid that other people would dislike her, or that she wouldn't perform well enough.
A person like her would only be confident and have a better future if she became strong. Every child was different.
Tanya had specially taken psychology classes before she joined the kindergarten as a teacher.
Joel, who had been lectured, touched his nose. Then, he said, "Don't look at the news on the Internet anymore."
Tanya nodded and tossed the phone aside. "I find them very ignorant, too. I read it just now because I wanted to strengthen Mia's mental resilience. Say, why are they so childish, though? Is it actually that easy to make them think a certain way?"
Joel replied, "They are just a bunch of trolls on the Internet. Don't bother yourself with them."
Tanya nodded again and said with a smile, "There are still people who are supportive of me! For example…"
"For example, the young and popular singer, Clement Carter?"
Joel suddenly raised his eyebrows as he stared at the trending topics on social media on the phone before he shifted his gaze to Tanya.
Tanya was taken aback. "What's up with Clement?"
Joel handed her the phone. Only then did Tanya notice that the hashtag #ClementCarterSpeaksUpForTanyaTheThirdWheel was trending.
Tanya: "?"
When she tapped on the hashtag, she found out that Clement's latest tweet was:
Clement Carter: "Don't just follow the herd. To me, Ms. Turner has always been an open and straightforward person. She would never do that sort of thing. I trust her. @TanyaDances"
Tanya: "…"
Clement wasn't a pop star. Rather, he was a singer and music artist.
His voice was said to hail from the heavens, and he could switch between high pitch and low pitch very easily.
Clement enjoyed extremely high international acclaim.
He had a rich voice and a very wide vocal range. No matter how difficult the song was, he could easily handle it.
At the same time, he was also part of the Carters in New York. The family itself had a very strong artistic background and was a true family of artists.
When Tanya saw the verbal abuse he was suffering because he had spoken up for her, she couldn't help but ask, "Why is he sticking his head out at such a time?"
The way she spoke sounded as if she was very close to him.
Joel asked sourly, "Does your heart ache because he was scolded?"
Tanya: "…"
She finally noticed the jealous lover in front of her. Tanya burst out laughing and said, "It's Clement, you know. It's not like you don't know him. Didn't we play a lot with one another when we were kids?"
Joel snorted.
Tanya said, "When I left the country, he also went abroad for further studies. We once had a cross-industry artistic collaboration where he sang and I danced, so we got to know each other better."
"Tsk."
Joel couldn't help but say, "He sings while you dance. That sounds lovely."
Tanya burst into loud laughter again. She knew that Joel was not really jealous. Rather, he was just teasing her because he was worried that she would be affected by the remarks on the internet.
She pointed at Joel and asked, "Did someone fill you up with jealousy today?"
Joel was relieved to see that she was really alright.
In the evening, the two of them watched over Mia.
As they lay on either side of Mia, Joel looked at Tanya and suddenly asked, "Are you nervous about going to court tomorrow?"