Chapter 359: The Fool's Sudden Inspiration
"Daniel!"
Veda called out in a trembling voice.
She hoped Daniel didn't hear her, after all, she had kept her voice down - Mason and the others didn't hear it anyway.
The King family members visibly relaxed when they saw Daniel.
Zoey was about to stand up happily, but Griffin stopped her with a look.
Although he knew Veda liked Daniel, with the two families getting engaged, Zoey as a girl needed to maintain some dignity for appearance's sake.
Zoey sat back down, but her eyes were smiling happily as she looked at Daniel.
Daniel first greeted Griffin and the others.
After he sat down.
Griffin and Mason chatted for a few sentences, and the conversation turned to the engagement.
At this point, the young people just needed to listen obediently without raising objections.
Soon, the two elders had everything settled.
"Let's arrange the engagement ceremony for one month from now. Zoey, what do you think?"
After everything was settled, Mason set the final date and then asked Zoey.
Actually, once the engagement was set and the parents on both sides had made it official, the Smith family wouldn't back out easily. Even if Zoey thought one month was long, she naturally wouldn't raise objections at this point.
Besides, an engagement was a big deal - they needed time to send invitations to close families, design dresses, and arrange everything for the engagement ceremony.
"Mr. Smith, if Daniel has no objections, then I have none either."
Zoey said, pretending to be reserved.
This was her agreement.
Mason didn't bother asking Daniel, and directly decided with a smile, "It's a family alliance - what objections could he have? If he has any, I'll scold him. So it's settled then. As for the dresses and such, you young people have your own taste, I won't get involved."
Mason's words basically meant he was leaving things for Daniel and Zoey to discuss themselves.
"Okay!"
Zoey responded.
Daniel replied with a sound, accepting it.
Then the two families ate together, and afterward, Daniel was asked to see Zoey off.
Veda was smart enough not to follow along at this point, staying behind with Nathaniel.
Originally, this should have been a time for the engaged couple to bond and get along well, and Veda was ready to secretly watch from behind.
But as soon as Daniel walked out the door, he became distant and cold.
"I have something to do. Zoey, I'll have the driver take you back!"
Daniel said directly.
Zoey's smile froze on her face. She spoke sadly, "Daniel, do you have to be so cold? Now that the engagement is settled, no matter how unwilling you were before, wouldn't it be better if we got along well from now on? What do you say?"
Daniel's tone remained indifferent, "Zoey, this has always been my personality. If you're not satisfied, they haven't gone far yet - you can go back and tell both families. It's not too late to cancel now."
Zoey told herself, hold it in, hold it in!
She didn't want all her efforts to go to waste.
Just wait a bit longer.
After leaving, she would spread the news about the two families' engagement, then have her father suggest to the Smith family to make an official announcement - then it would be a done deal.
"Daniel, don't be angry. That's not what I meant. If you have the driver take me, then you won't have a car. If you have things to do, how about I ride with you and have the driver drop you off first?"
This way she would seem very understanding, and it would be inappropriate for Daniel to refuse again.
But Daniel didn't do what Zoey expected.
"Nathaniel!"
He called to Nathaniel who was walking over.
Nathaniel naturally felt a kind of admiration and awe toward Daniel. Without any hesitation, as soon as Daniel called, Nathaniel came right to him.
"Daniel!"
Nathaniel responded respectfully.
Veda frowned, wondering why Nathaniel was butting in between the engaged couple.
She stamped her foot and hurried over too.
"Did you drive here?"
Daniel asked directly.
Nathaniel, ignoring Veda tugging at his clothes, answered honestly, "Yes."
"Take Ms. King home safely. I have things to do, so I'll leave first."
After Daniel arranged this, he said to Zoey, "Someone will take you home specially. I'll leave first."
Then, without giving Zoey a chance to react, he had already opened the door of the car York drove over, got in, and left directly.
"...Daniel..."
Veda was the first to react and called out after him.
But York, as if he hadn't heard Veda's call, stepped on the gas and drove away.
Zoey actually knew that Daniel wouldn't change his mind once he decided something.
For such a small matter, she couldn't possibly go to Mason to solve it like with the engagement issue. She could only swallow her displeasure and watch Daniel leave.
Nathaniel stepped forward and made an inviting gesture, "Ms. King, please. I will definitely get you home safely."
With Daniel, she could hold it in for the sake of the engagement proceeding smoothly, but this Nathaniel was just a relative of the Smith family - she wouldn't hold back with him.
"No need, go away!"
She actually wanted to scold him about what status he had to be worthy of taking her home, but seeing Veda walking over, she changed her words to maintain her image and didn't say anything so extreme.
Veda could understand Zoey's mood right now.
She even glared at Nathaniel on Zoey's behalf, "It's all your fault. Was this the time to listen to Daniel? You really know how to mess things up. If I'd known, I would have told Grandpa not to let you come along."
Facing Veda's blame and Zoey's cold rejection, Nathaniel still maintained a gentle and gentlemanly attitude.
He insisted, "Ms. King, taking you home is the task Daniel gave me, and I must complete it! If I can't take you home, Daniel might think Ms. King is very dissatisfied with his arrangement."
He seemed to have no temper.
But he was a smart person who knew Zoey's weak spot. With these words, even though Zoey was unwilling, she got in the car to prevent these words from reaching Daniel's ears.
But to save face, she still said as she got in the car, "Daniel is still concerned about me. We were born into such families and know to prioritize the big picture. Daniel has things to do, so naturally I'm understanding. Aren't you leaving? Drive already."
Veda was also afraid Zoey would be unhappy about this, so she got in the car too and tried to comfort Zoey.
"Zoey, don't be sad. They just got engaged, Daniel probably hasn't adjusted his mindset yet. But don't worry, he's a very upright person. Since you're engaged, he'll slowly discover how good you are. Emily will just be a thing of the past."
Emily again.
Zoey couldn't stand hearing Emily's name.
She suppressed that frustration and forced out a smile, "There's still a month until the engagement. Things could still change in that month. I know Daniel is upright, I'm just afraid he's unwilling right now."
Veda thought for a moment, suddenly thinking of something, and said, "Although the engagement is a month away, I can go back now and announce this good news in our circle, right?"
"But wouldn't that be inappropriate? What if Mr. Smith isn't happy..."
Zoey said, pretending to be conflicted.
She naturally wouldn't do this herself.
But if Veda did it, even if Mason and Daniel were unhappy afterward, it would be directed at Veda. And because Veda was part of the Smith family, they probably wouldn't be able to deny the news easily.