Chapter 965 Gold Coin Chocolate

Chapter 965 Gold Coin Chocolate

Teddy tilted his face up, pushed himself to his feet, and stumbled toward his mom and dad with his arms open wide.

In the end, he chose his parents.

Vera slipped a gold coin chocolate into his hand, but he tossed it right away and insisted on being held by his mom and dad.

This little guy!

Vera hugged Teddy and gave him a half-joking warning: "Theodore, you're still so young — don't grow up to be a total mama's boy."

Little Teddy just held on tighter.

Vera playfully hid to one side. Teddy looked around for her, then settled for the next best thing and grabbed onto his dad.

The table was covered with gold and silver ornaments, jade pieces, toys, gift cards, and all kinds of little props — he wanted none of it. He only wanted his dad.

Patrick set his son back down in the middle of the red carpet. Teddy's lip quivered, and he flipped right back over, crawling past all the random little objects — his tiny feet still marked with red ink from the ceremony — and made his way straight to Patrick, wrapping his arms tight around his dad's leg.

Someone handed him a toy gun. Someone else offered a small rattle. Others held out paintbrushes, books, toy coins... Teddy didn't even glance at them.

His aunt jumped in with her take: "My nephew just grabbed his dad during the zhuazhou ceremony. This clearly proves that wisdom has no age limit."

The whole room exchanged confused looks at Molly's completely straight-faced nonsense.

Molly pointed at everything on the table and asked, "Tell me — which one of these things even comes close to Patrick's status and net worth?"

That got people thinking.

Molly kept going: "What's the point of grabbing any of that stuff? My little nephew just has to hold onto his dad, and his whole future is taken care of — whatever he wants, whatever he does. His dad is the head of the Olteran Group, one of the most powerful figures in the business world. And as Patrick's firstborn son, he's the heir to the Olteran Group — the next big name in business. That's way more solid than grabbing any of those little trinkets."

Everyone nodded in agreement. She had a point.

Then Vera walked out from behind the group. The moment Teddy spotted her, he completely changed his mind and dove into her arms like a good little boy.

"But wait — my son grabbed me first," Vera pointed out.

Molly answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world: "Of course he went for you first when you were right there. Everyone knows you're the person Patrick loves most. Think about it this way — if my nephew grabs his dad, he saves himself thirty years of hard work. But if he grabs his mom? He's already at the finish line the moment he's born. Either way, as long as he's got one of you two, his life is already at the top."

"Mmm, mmm." Teddy held onto his mom and made little sounds of approval.

Vera looked down at her son — who was really just a tiny crybaby — and said, puzzled, "Is he actually that clever?"

Noah jumped in first: "That's my nephew — of course he is!"

Vera lifted the chubby little baby and looked at his soft, round face. "Let Mommy see just how smart you really are."

Patrick seemed to have bought into his sister's theory too. He gently patted his son on the back. "Teddy, say what you said earlier — 'I love Daddy.'"

"Pbbbt."

The whole room burst out laughing.

The banquet started shortly after without much delay.

Conversation at the table drifted toward everyday things — kids, partners, and life in general.

Shawn went around the table pushing the four single men to settle down and get married. Even Noah didn't escape.

Teddy's first birthday party had quietly turned into a warm gathering of family and friends.

In a spacious private dining room, the adults chatted freely.

Someone asked how Randall was doing. He said everything was fine.

They talked about Vera's studies. She said she was working hard.

They asked about Scott's wedding date. He said they were still planning.

And then there was Noah's schoolwork...

Marigold happened to be sitting across from Sebastian. When she glanced up, she saw him — the man with that really nice smile. Sebastian was teasing his wife again: "Molly, you got it right this time. Tonight I'll get you a rack of roasted pork ribs to gnaw on."

Molly took her husband's hands and studied them carefully, then broke the rules again — prying open one of Sebastian's fingers. Foul.

Sebastian just smiled and let her do it.

Scott noticed Marigold staring and his expression cooled instantly. Without making a scene, he stretched his arm out to block her line of sight, then picked up a piece of meat and placed it in her dish. "Marigold. Look at who you're supposed to be looking at. Don't push me."

Marigold turned back and caught the barely-contained irritation in his eyes. She picked up her fork and ate the piece of meat he'd put there. Scott's expression eased a little. He raised his glass to his brothers: "I think my Jiaozi has Mr. Olteran's eyes and brows. I just wonder if Mr. Olteran looks as cute as my Jiaozi when he cries. Ha."

After Teddy had his fill of pasta, Vera set him down on the floor and let him crawl around and explore.

Noah immediately put down his fork and went after him.

Brianna shook her head helplessly. "Noah is still such a big kid."

Susan wanted to go play with the baby too. She started to get up, but Randall pulled her back into her seat.

"Randall?" Susan said with a little pout.

Randall had been drinking, and his eyes were slightly red. He tilted his chin toward Noah. "He's already over there. What are you going to do, fight him for the baby?"

Noah, fully embracing his inner child, just sat right down on the floor so he was at the same height as his little nephew. Teddy laughed so hard he nearly choked on his own drool.

"Teddy, come travel abroad with your uncle for a couple of days. I missed you so much while I was away." Noah had been drinking too. He held his little nephew and leaned against the side of the couch, eyes closed, resting. "Before you were born, the person I missed most when I was overseas was your mom. But now that you're here, you're the one I love most."

Vera stood behind the couch, watching her brother say what was really on his heart now that the alcohol had loosened him up.

She smiled, her eyes going a little misty.

The banquet came to an end. The women and Sebastian — who was a public official — had stayed sober, but everyone else was somewhere on the spectrum of drunk.

By the time it was wrapping up, Molly still hadn't guessed which hand the candy was in. She clung to Sebastian and refused to let go: "If you don't buy me a milkshake and roasted pork ribs, I'm going back to my parents' place."

Marigold got a phone call — she had to head back to the precinct to deal with a case that afternoon. "The CEO of some tech company got into trouble. They're short on people. I've got to go."

Susan glanced at her boyfriend and said nothing.

Before she left, Marigold gave the little one — already fast asleep — one last hug. Scott felt a small pang of jealousy. He couldn't believe he ranked lower than a sleeping baby.

The four brothers checked into the guest rooms downstairs at Haoting Apartments for the night.

Timothy left with Zoey, Max, and his wife.

Before Randall left, the alcohol gave him just enough courage to walk up and stand in front of Patrick. "Uncle. Thank you."

Patrick said nothing, keeping his usual cool distance. He knew what his nephew was capable of. That situation the other day — Randall could have handled it on his own. But Patrick had stepped in personally because he wanted to give his nephew a reason to come home. He'd expected Randall to be stubborn about it, and he was. That still didn't sit well with him.

Vera got curious and leaned in. "What? What happened? What's going on with you two?"

Patrick pulled his wife back and went to see the other guests out.

Behind him, Randall held Susan close and spoke to Patrick's back: "Uncle. I'll prove myself. I'll make you proud. And when I do — I'll come home."

Vera tried to turn around, but Patrick pulled her in close and wouldn't let her look.

After a few drinks, Shawn was hugging his grandson tight, all sentimental: "Grandson, when are you coming home? Without you around, there's nobody to 'beat' Grandpa's cane anymore."

Randall: "...Grandpa, show a little mercy. I'm drunk, but I haven't blacked out yet."