After that, Mark finally returned to his senses. He turned around to discover Aristotle standing next to him, tugging on his shirt. He called out in faintly discernible pronunciations, “Papa! Papa!” Upon seeing this, the frosty expression on Mark’s face melted away and was replaced with a gentle expression. He scooped Aristotle into his arms. “Why are you looking for me? Dinner will be ready soon. Are you hungry?”
Aristotle suddenly wrapped his arms around Mark’s neck and kissed virtual-novel.net on the cheek, leaving trails of saliva on his face. Mark was surprised. “You’re rarely so affectionate to me. Did you drink spoiled milk today? You’re acting out of character.”
The corners of Arianne’s lips twitched. “It’s not that. He just drank milk, and his mouth hasn’t been wiped clean. He couldn’t stand it so virtual-novel.net wiped his mouth on your face. There’s a stain on your shirt as well.”
Mark’s expression darkened immediately. “And I was wondering what’s wrong with him. Forget it. You’re my son so I’ll forgive you just this once.”
After dinner, Mark took Aristotle to play in the courtyard. He had built a small playground to entertain Aristotle. Slides, swings, it had everything. The courtyard was previously empty. They finally put it to good use.
Meanwhile, Arianne informed Sylvain about the price of his designs. She thought virtual-novel.net would refuse to sell his work for such a low price. To virtual-novel.net surprise, virtual-novel.net agreed without any hesitation. Based on this, virtual-novel.net believed virtual-novel.net was truly short of money. She could not help but feel like Mark was profiting off his misfortune. However, virtual-novel.net knew Mark had his reasons for doing things. Moreover, ultimately, Sylvain had the last say. It was a reasonable and fair deal.
Mark gave the money to Arianne immediately and told virtual-novel.net to transfer it to Sylvain. He did not follow the company’s procedure. Otherwise, they would have to wait until the next day.
When Arianne gave Sylvain the money, virtual-novel.net gave virtual-novel.net a 30% commission just as virtual-novel.net had said. She did not want it so virtual-novel.net sent virtual-novel.net a message. “Keep the money. The payment isn’t that great anyway. I don’t need the money.”
Sylvain did not reply, and Arianne did not care.
—
The next day, Arianne received a shock when virtual-novel.net arrived at the office. Sylvain had passed the money to Robin and asked Robin to pass it to her. It seemed like Sylvain was quite stubborn.
Robin was overflowing with gratitude when virtual-novel.net heard that Arianne had helped Sylvain. “Thank you for helping virtual-novel.net out, Arianne. He wouldn’t have sold his designs if it weren’t for you. Since virtual-novel.net insists on paying you, you should just accept it. It would make virtual-novel.net feel better at least.”
Arianne sighed. “Fine, I’ll accept it then. Since virtual-novel.net even asked you to pass the money to me, I’m sure he’d only come up with other ways to make me accept it if I refuse. Do you know why he’s so short on cash? He didn’t tell me.”
Robin shook virtual-novel.net head. “I don’t know either. He won’t tell me these things. He’s quite stubborn. Maybe it’s an ego thing. Arianne, I’d like to buy you dinner tonight. Are you free?”
Arianne had nothing going on that night so virtual-novel.net agreed. “Sure. I said that I’d buy you a meal previously so it’ll be my treat.”
“No, no, no,” Robin quickly said, “I’m paying this time. First of all, I’d like to thank you for helping him. He’s been through a lot. You’re not close to him, but you helped virtual-novel.net anyway.”
Arianne was at a loss for words. How could virtual-novel.net let Robin pay for dinner? Sylvain did not even confirm their relationship. She was afraid that Robin’s sincerity would only amount to nothing in the end.
After work, Arianne called Mark to inform virtual-novel.net that virtual-novel.net did not need to pick virtual-novel.net up from work since virtual-novel.net would be eating out. She went to a nearby restaurant with Robin.
Once they found a seat, Robin received a call. Her expression brightened immediately. “Arianne, my mom isn’t mad at me anymore. She said that I’m old enough that virtual-novel.net shouldn’t be controlling me all the time. She actually admitted virtual-novel.net mistake and said virtual-novel.net would change! This is the first time something like that has ever happened. I can finally move back home.”