Chapter 181
Pearl Restaurant.
Michael had reserved a table in advance and brought Samuel and Nora to dinner, completely undisturbed.
Nora had no idea that at this very moment, in the Smith Group's lounge area, two men were fighting over her.
"Mr. Smith, everything's been handled. Stanley got beaten up by Terry and ended up in the hospital. He should stay quiet for a while." David called Michael.
Nora cautiously glanced at Michael, who had stepped aside to take the call, feeling uncertain.
"Mom, this place looks really expensive," Samuel whispered.
Nora smiled at Samuel, "Samuel, study hard and make yourself strong. When you earn money in the future, you can treat Mr. Smith to dinner here too, okay?"
Samuel blinked, "He's Dad."
Nora looked around and spoke quietly, "Samuel, Mr. Smith is just being polite. You can't take it seriously. He'll be someone else's dad in the future."
Nora was afraid Samuel would be disappointed later, so she gently tried to comfort him.
Samuel's eyes reddened, and he lowered his head, looking a bit hurt, "I don't want him to be someone else's dad."
"Samuel, you can't think like that. Mr. Smith will definitely get married someday and have his own children, so..." Nora's fingers tensed up, "I'm sorry Samuel. Mom will give you a complete family, okay?"
"Mom didn't do anything wrong." Samuel cupped Nora's face and gently comforted her.
"Aunt Nora, where did Uncle Michael go?" Joseph had become like a homeless child, constantly clinging to Samuel.
Samuel couldn't shake him off, so he had to bring him along.
"He went to make a phone call." Nora smiled and ruffled Joseph's hair.
"Hello, are you ready to order?" The restaurant server looked at Nora and Samuel with a poor attitude. After all, this kind of high-end restaurant was quite snobbish.
Nora and Samuel were both dressed very plainly, while Joseph was wearing expensive clothes.
Even his little shoes were a limited edition, worth over ten thousand dollars.
"Just a moment." Nora nodded, somewhat nervously.
Samuel counted on his little fingers, "I want to treat Dad to dinner. Uncle Jasper gave me allowance, and I've been saving for a long time."
Nora paused and smiled at Samuel.
"Hello, I have five hundred dollars. Is that, is that okay?" Samuel looked up at the server and pulled out a stack of bills from his little crossbody bag—tens, twenties, fifties, and what looked like one hundred-dollar bill.
The server laughed mockingly, "Kid, that amount won't even cover the reservation fee."
"Mom, this place is too expensive. Can we go somewhere else?" Samuel asked Nora quietly.
Nora nodded, thinking she'd wait for Michael to come back and suggest changing restaurants, "Samuel wants to treat us."
"So are you staying or not? If you're not ordering, leave quickly. Don't waste our time. The seats here are expensive." The server's tone turned unpleasant when Nora didn't order.
"This whole restaurant belongs to my uncle. You better apologize to Samuel and my aunt, or you're going to be in trouble." Joseph said angrily, slapping the table, pouting unhappily.
The server clearly didn't take the children seriously and scoffed, "Whose kid are you? Do you know who owns this restaurant?"
"Who?" Joseph asked.
"Our restaurant is a high-end establishment under Starshine Entertainment. Not just anyone can come in here. See that table over there? Know who's eating there? Top star Tessa. Ever heard of her?" The server pointed to a table in the corner.
Only then did Nora notice that there seemed to be only two tables of diners tonight.
"I've heard of her." She had heard of Tessa, a top star at Starshine Entertainment, a first-tier celebrity in the entertainment industry. She'd apparently even been rumored to be involved with Michael.
Nora had heard about Tessa even when she was in prison. Back then, the women in prison all envied Tessa, thinking she was the woman most likely to become Michael's wife and marry into a top wealthy family.
"Then why are you still sitting here if you're not ordering? I really don't know who made this reservation for you." The server told Nora to leave quickly.
"Uncle Michael!" Joseph shouted angrily.
Michael happened to walk in from outside, looking like he was in a good mood.
Stanley had been beaten into the hospital by Terry, who said that if Stanley came to the Smith Group to talk nonsense again, he'd beat him up each time.
Michael was quite satisfied with Terry, who could be used this way.
"Uncle Michael! That server was bullying Samuel and Aunt Nora." Joseph shouted.
Michael frowned and walked over, "What's going on?"
When the server saw Michael, she panicked completely, covering her mouth in shock and fear, "Mr. Smith."
How could it be Michael who brought them?
How could a top-tier wealthy person like Michael bring such a shabby-looking woman here for dinner?
She never would have thought it was Michael.
Her face turned pale with fright, and the server quickly tried to explain, "I'm sorry Mr. Smith, Miss, I just, I just thought..."
Nora waved her hand, actively trying to smooth things over, "No, Samuel wanted to treat you to dinner. He only has five hundred dollars, so this place is too expensive."
Nora said quietly, also afraid of embarrassing Michael.
Michael crouched in front of Samuel, looking surprised and amused, "Samuel wants to treat Dad to dinner?"
The server's eyes nearly popped out. Dad?
Michael has a son?
Why would he be dressed so shabbily? Could those faded, worn clothes actually be some limited edition new style?
Samuel happily held up his stack of money, "I've been saving for a long time."
Michael held Samuel in his arms, his eyes darkening as he glanced at the server, but said nothing.
Nora was kind-hearted and naturally didn't want the server to get into trouble. After all, they were all just working people.
Michael didn't punish the server on the spot either, but he would definitely have the restaurant strengthen its management and staff training afterward.
"What does Samuel want to treat Dad to?" Michael asked gently.
Samuel happily hugged Michael's neck, "Dad, do you like eating skewers?"
Michael paused, looking to Nora for help. What were skewers?
Nora took a deep breath, "It's barbecue sold by street vendors at small stalls, one dollar per skewer."
Someone at Michael's level probably had never even heard of such a thing.
The server standing nearby was so scared her hands were shaking, keeping her head as low as possible, not daring to make a sound.
"Samuel, let's just eat here today, and we can, we can do your treat another day, okay?" Nora quietly tried to persuade Samuel. Michael couldn't possibly go eat street barbecue.
"If Samuel likes it, it must taste good. Let's let him treat us today then." Not only did Michael agree, but he also pinched Joseph's chubby cheek, "Joseph, you're getting a good deal today because of me."
Joseph was thrilled, "Samuel's treating!"
Nora stared blankly at Michael, Samuel, and Joseph. The three of them together—one big, two small—looked completely natural, even making Nora's heart tremble.
She really wanted to secretly take a photo of this moment.
Just to keep it secretly in her phone.
"Let's go." Michael put Samuel down and reached out his hand to Nora.
Nora stared blankly at Michael's hand. Holding hands in public wasn't appropriate, but somehow, she still raised her hand to reach for his.
"Michael!" A light, pleasant female voice called out.
It was Tessa.
She had been eating at the table in the corner. Seeing Michael, she called out in delight.
Nora's heart tightened. She instinctively withdrew her hand, somewhat awkwardly putting it behind her back.
Sure enough, in Michael's social circle, she could never hold her head up.
"Michael, what are you doing here!" Tessa ran over happily and affectionately hugged Michael's arm.