B

efore she even entered the gym, she heard Quinn’s voice coming from within: “Stand steady now! Persevere! This is a basic skill. This part right here is what makes us, the Quinn School of Martial Arts, better than the Irvin School of Martial Arts. Martial arts aren’t something that can be learned overnight. You must take your time to lay a solid foundation…”

Nora pushed the door open and entered to see that “Cherry” had, at some point, changed into a set of men’s sportswear and was practicing her form.

Quinn, who had his back to Nora, was talking to her. He said, “Since you’re now my disciple, then you’ll have to listen to what I say from now on. You must practice this stance for half an hour every morning after you wake up. Your mother is too lazy and has always been disobedient since she was a child. You mustn’t take after her…”

Pete, who was facing the door and thus had noticed Nora, was lost for words.

He pursed his lips and stood up straight.

Surprised, Quinn exclaimed, “Why aren’t you doing it anymore? You can’t hold on anymore? You—”

Pete interrupted the rest of what he wanted to say before he could finish: “Mommy.”

Quinn stiffened. Then, he slowly turned around to see Nora leaning against the wall. Her arms were casually folded and her cat-like eyes slightly raised as she quietly watched the two of them.

Her big boss-like attitude frightened Quinn, who stammered, “Um, little Nora, this…”

Nora asked lazily, “Old man, did you tempt her with rewards or threaten her with punishment?”

“…No, I didn’t!”

Seeing that he was answering so surely, Nora looked at Pete again and asked hesitantly, “Cherry, are you genuinely interested in learning martial arts?”

Pete nodded firmly.

If he learned martial arts, should the tyrant dare so much as to bully Mommy in the future, he would be able to protect her and Cherry!

Nora was stunned.

Cherry took after her in her personality and was lazy and easygoing. She disliked being restrained the most. Yet she had actually taken an interest in martial arts?

Nora, who had always respected children’s views, agreed to it after a little thought. “Alright.”

After that, she looked at Quinn and said, “I’ll send her here at 7 am sharp tomorrow. Old man, I have something up today, so I’ll go back first.”

After she spoke, she stretched out her hand to Pete.

Pete very naturally took a step forward, took her hand, and followed her out the door.

Even after the two of them disappeared from the martial arts gym, Quinn was still in a daze!

No, little Nora, that isn’t your daughter you just picked up!

He was still in a daze when Cherry, who had just gone to the bathroom, ran over in her princess dress. “Huh? Where’s Pete?”

Quinn was at a loss for words.

Right after Cherry spoke, her cell phone beeped. She picked it up and immediately saw a text message from Pete: “Cherry, I went home with Mommy. Daddy will pick you up in the evening. We’ll switch back tomorrow.”

She was going to see her handsome Daddy again.

Cherry jumped excitedly and took Quinn’s hand as she asked, “Grandpa Quinn, when is Daddy coming to pick me up?”

“…Five o’clock in the evening.”

“Ah, then I still have two hours left. What shall we do? Do you have Barbies here?”

“… No.”

“Can I play games, then?”

“No, it’s bad for your eyes.”

Cherry pouted disappointedly and asked, “Grandpa Quinn, doesn’t the Quinn School of Martial Arts have any specialties?”

Old Quinn, who was taken aback, suddenly thought of something and answered, “Oh, that we do!”

As such, at five o’clock in the evening, Justin personally drove over to pick up his son.

His handsome countenance was calm at the moment. The Quinn School of Martial Arts’ style was masculine and domineering. He would definitely see his son drenched in stinky sweat all over like a little boy later, right?

With that in mind, he entered the school. He immediately saw a group of disciples dressed in white sportswear training in the compound.

Next to them, his son was wearing a white princess dress and pointing at one of them with his eyes all lit up. “Grandpa Quinn, Mr. No. 5 is the most handsome! But Mr. No. 9 is also very cool. Who should I pick? I’m so troubled!”

Justin was bewildered.

He cracked.

At this time, Nora hadn’t reached home yet. Instead, she was currently in Guardian Pharmacy, a herbal store and pharmacy in New York. She was holding a scale and choosing herbs from a box.

“Atractylodes lancea, wolfberry, chrysanthemum, cornus, rehmannia, dendrobium…”

After Nora adjusted the herbs’ proportions, she handed them to the pharmacist and said, “Please use these to make some pills for internal consumption. The ones from just now are to be made into ointments for external usage. I’ll come over and pick them up tomorrow.”

The pharmacist had a big smile all over his face as he replied, “Sure, no problem!”

The customer was generous enough, so of course, he was willing to do her a trivial favor like this!

After that, Nora took Pete home.

She had been too tired after she got home the day before, so she didn’t pay much attention to the elderly Mrs. Anderson’s eyes. However, after she woke up today, she had checked her pulse and also carefully observed her eyes. She discovered that the cause for the old madam’s loss of vision was that her eyes had received too much strain back then, resulting in vision loss from optic nerve damage.

There was no need for surgery. She just needed to nurse them back to a healthy state.

With the help of a GPS navigator, Nora drove all the way back to the Andersons. Before she even entered, she saw Melissa standing at the door. She was wearing a knitted dress and looked elegant and dignified. When she saw their car, her brows drew together in worry.

It was only when she parked the car in the villa that Nora spotted a luxurious Lincoln that was also parked there—it was obvious that a distinguished guest was visiting.

When she got off the car, Melissa hurried over and said, “Nora, your second aunt heard that you’re here, so she came over to take a look.”

The elderly Mrs. Anderson had two daughters and a son.

Nora’s mother was the eldest while Simon was the third child. In the middle was her second child, Sheena Anderson.

Nora nodded. She was about to take Pete with her and enter the house when Melissa held her wrist and said apologetically, “She has a foul mouth, so don’t take what she says to heart.”

Nora was taken aback for a moment.

She could vaguely hear an arrogant voice coming through the door: “… yet she married a man like that in the end. Her daughter even grew up in a place like California and has never gone through higher education… Mom, you always say that I’m not as good as her, but look at us now. In the end, I’m the one that the Andersons need, aren’t I?”

Mrs. Anderson reprimanded her. “How can you say things like that? Regardless of whether Nora is outstanding or dull, she’s your elder sister’s daughter! She’s part of the Andersons!”

“Don’t bother saying things like that. It was through great effort that the Andersons’ reputation has gradually improved over the years. You’d best keep a tight watch over her, lest she does something disgraceful and embarrass the Andersons!”

Melissa coughed as a reminder to the people inside. Then, she called out, “Mom, Sheena, Nora’s back!”

Only then did Nora enter. She immediately saw an attractive woman resembling Simon sitting pompously on the sofa.

Sheena was 46 years old this year, but she looked as if she was 30 years old instead. She wore a professional suit and fully exuded a mature woman’s charm. Compared with Melissa’s grace, she seemed bossier.

After Nora entered, her gaze fell onto Pete right away and she asked disdainfully, “So, she’s your daughter? She must be five this year, right? Can she play the piano? Can she dance? Can she do calligraphy? Do you take Mathematical Olympiad classes? What kind of interest classes do you attend?”

Pete, who had been receiving an elite’s education since he was a baby, was bewildered.

Who was she looking down on?