Chapter 891 Obstacles to Success
Brendan felt as if all the rage in him had instantly disintegrated. Yet, he was still filled with hatred as he clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles cracked in response to the force of his muscles.
“That’s right. That’s the expression I’m looking for,” Wendy uttered with a pleased look on her face. “Rage is the primary driver for creativity and destruction. You can do it. Is one week enough?”
He lowered his head in denial. “It requires some skill and time to imitate someone else’s work, not to mention that Prince Caleb and Princess Diana are experienced individuals—they have high standards. One week is way too short. Are you trying to make me come up with some horrendous designs so that I make a fool out of myself?”
“Ten days, then,” she insisted with finality. “I’ll be waiting for your good news.”
With that, she led her people out of the room.
Yuri followed behind and shut the door before locking it from the inside. She then jogged back and apologized to Brendan, “I’m sorry. You wouldn’t have been forced to do these things you don’t like if it weren’t for me.”
“It’s fine. This allows us to stall things for a while,” he uttered dismissively.
Then, he pulled out a delicate pair of princess shoes from the gift bag. “Look at this! Is it nice? I bought this for our daughter,” he said excitedly.
The shoes were glittery, and there were handmade ribbons attached to the straps of the shoes. The tiny yet detailed designs made Yuri fall in love with them instantly.
“It’s gorgeous.” The worry in Yuri’s eyes disappeared as she happily took the shoes into her hands to look at them.
After a while, she seemed to recall something.
“What if it’s a boy?” She turned and looked at Brendan in puzzlement.
“We can buy another pair of shoes once the child is born.” He was still grinning as he put the shoes away. “Anyway, I hope it’s a girl. Better yet, one looks just like you. That way, I’d have two precious princesses in the house.”
Yuri eyed him speechlessly.
…
Monday came in the blink of an eye. Specky arrived at the Griffith Residence after class was over. He was in the midst of an educational game when he started sighing.
“What is it? Is it too hard?” Irvin figured that his friend might not have adapted to the fast pace of the game.
“No, it’s fine.” Specky turned around to look at Irvin before hanging his head low and throwing his hands up dejectedly. “It just feels like something’s missing. Perhaps, things have been too peaceful the past few days.”
Chubs was not around, and the room was oddly silent when it was just Specky and Irvin who were present.
Irvin looked at the seat Chubs usually sat thoughtfully. A rather conflicted look surfaced in his eyes before he gathered his emotions and turned to look at Specky with a calmer expression. “We all have to be responsible for our choices. You should focus.”
Specky didn’t seem to understand what Irvin meant entirely, but he nodded and did as he was told anyway.
“I got it,” Specky muttered obediently. He had just turned back to his device when the door was thrown open all of a sudden.
Chubs’ round figure made its way into the room.
“Ta-da! My dad bought these chocolates from overseas. Do you guys want some? Yes? No?” He held two boxes of expensive chocolate up as he cried out excitedly.
Both Irvin and Specky couldn’t process the situation when they saw how happy Chubs looked.
Chubs felt rather embarrassed to have his friends staring at him, so he quickly hid his chocolates away as he straightened his back and stood with his legs closed. He looked as if he were being interrogated.
Irvin was the one who broke the silence. “Didn’t you give up? What are you doing here?”
“Give up? I never said that.” Chubs eyed the other boy with an innocent look on his face. “I only mentioned I want to go a little slower, and then you sent me off.”
“You left just because I told you to do so? Do you not have a mind of your own? Also, why weren’t you here for the past two days?” Irvin frowned.
“You’re our leader, so of course, I have to listen to your orders,” Chubs uttered in a matter-of-factly tone. “And it was the weekend; everyone’s on holiday over the weekend. Even my father didn’t go to work.”
It seems like Chubs doesn’t know how to read between the lines. Irvin was speechless. I can’t believe I thought that it was my personality that made it hard for me to keep friends around.
“Have you made a decision?” He sounded rather grumpy. “It’s going to be hard if you choose to stay. Aren’t you worried about that?”
“No.” Chubs shook his head before responding with a straight face, “My dad told me that those who suffer alongside me are the ones who truly care for me. If you’re willing to take in an idiot like me, I’d never complain about a single order you give!”
After that, Irvin was silent for a while. It seems like Daddy is right. I must have misjudged Chubs’ character.
Chubs started to panic when he saw how silent Irvin was. “Are you… Are you tired of me, Irvin?”
Specky hurried over and pulled Chubs in for a pat on the shoulder. “Come on now. I’m not tired of you! I need you around so that someone performs worse than I do!” he joked.
“Nonsense! I’m following close behind you—you’re the one who’s going to be last!” Chubs cried in annoyance.
“You’re the last place; you’re the last. Lalala!” Specky teased.
“I don’t want to hear that word anymore! I’ll crush you!” Chubs replied. Irvin pressed his hand to his forehead helplessly. Is it really necessary to debate who the last and second-last place is? “Shut up! I want you guys back in your seats and start studying now. You guys can only leave after you have done everything on the agenda today!”
With that order, Chubs and Specky let go of each other before speeding off to their seats. They were eager to head home.
When Irvin saw how earnest the two boys were, he couldn’t help but curl his lips into a smile. Then, he returned to his couch and worked on his laptop. About two minutes later, Alexia knocked on the door and entered with a pot of hot tea to replace the one in the room.
Even though she didn’t say anything, both Chubs and Specky found their attention drawn to her. The trio started exchanging playful glances with one another right in front of Irvin.
Since Alexia was the one who started it, he couldn’t do anything but look away and pretend that he didn’t realize anything. However, Alexia took this opportunity to push her boundaries. After a while, she returned to the room with a plate of fruits.
Then, she borrowed the maid’s broom to come in and clean the room. It was obvious that she had no intention of leaving the room after that.
When she saw Chubs’ chocolate on the table, her eyes lit up. “Chocolate? I’ve never tried this brand before…”
“You can have all of it. Hehe!” Chubs offered all of his chocolates with a generous smile.
“Thank you, Chubs!” The smile on Alexia’s face was as sweet as honey. She leaned closer to look at his schoolwork then. “Did the school hand this out to you guys? Why didn’t anyone tell my mom to collect it? This looks rather odd. Do you know how to do it? Is it hard?”
She was like a question generator—she never seemed to run out of questions. Irvin felt as if there were millions of bees buzzing around him the whole time. He couldn’t concentrate on his work because of all the noise.
When Irvin saw that Chubs had lowered his pen and stopped doing his work, Irvin finally put his laptop aside before walking over and grabbing Alexia by her collar. He dragged her downstairs and handed her over to Elise.
“Mom, didn’t I tell you that you and Alexia are not allowed in the room during our study session? The boys and I need our private space to get things done!” Irvin was frustrated.
“Oh, alright.” Elise pouted. “But are you guys not hungry at all?”
“Yeah. Chubs and Specky look pretty hungry to me,” Alexia remarked with all seriousness in her pretty eyes in support of her mother.
Irvin’s expression darkened as he puffed out his cheeks and crossed his hands in front of his chest. He spoke like a lecturer who was angry at his students. “You guys are getting in their way to success!”
“Is that so?” Elise was amused. “Are we also getting in your way, then?” she teased.
“Mom!” he exclaimed. He wasn’t joking at all. Elise hastily apologized when she saw how serious he was. “Okay, okay. I promise not to disturb you guys anymore. Alright?”
