The next morning, the two little ones rubbed their eyes as they emerged from their room and saw Lance sitting in the living room.
"Daddy?"
They called out, as if they couldn't believe it, and rubbed their eyes again.
Lance watched their adorable actions and a gentle smile appeared on his face. "You're both up."
The two little ones exchanged a glance and then ran towards Lance, jumping into his arms.
"Daddy, when did you get here?"
"Daddy, have you and Mommy made up?"
In their eyes, if Deanna allowed Daddy to be at home, it meant they had reconciled.
They looked at Lance expectantly, hoping to hear what they wanted.
Lance met their bright eyes and naturally understood what the little ones were thinking.
However, he didn't answer immediately but glanced towards the kitchen out of the corner of his eye.
Unbeknownst to him, his small action did not escape the little ones' notice.
Chloe, mischievously, leaned in and said, "Daddy, is Mommy still angry? If so, you should just coax her more."
"Exactly, Mommy has a soft heart. If you act a bit weak, she definitely won't stay mad," Gregory advised from the side.
Seeing this, Lance smiled more brightly. He raised his hand and ruffled their hair. "Kids shouldn't worry about adult matters. Go eat breakfast; it's almost time to take you to school."
Hearing this, the two little ones couldn't hide their disappointment.
Perhaps because they were too concerned, they didn't notice anything unusual in Deanna and Lance's interactions.
After all, if Deanna were still angry, she wouldn't have let Lance into the house.
After breakfast, the two little ones followed Lance to school with drooping heads.
Deanna stayed home to clean and make nutritious soup for her grandmother.
On the way to school, the little ones were listless. Lance noticed but didn't say anything, curious to see when they would figure it out.
Unaware of this, the little ones weakly said goodbye to Lance when they arrived at school.
Xavier, seeing their dejected expressions, couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for them.
"Mr. Mercer, are you and Missus really not planning to tell Master Gregory and Miss Chloe the truth? Aren't you afraid they'll be mad at you when they find out later?"
"Why would they be mad at me? It was their mommy's idea. Besides, if everyone else guessed that we were only pretending to break up and they didn't, it just means they're not observant enough. They can't blame me for that," Lance said, raising an eyebrow and deflecting responsibility completely.
Xavier looked at him speechlessly and couldn't help but ask, "Would you dare say that in front of Missus?"
The car fell into a brief silence.
Unsurprisingly, Lance wouldn't dare.
He looked expressionlessly at Xavier's teasing smile and said in a menacing tone, "It seems you're quite idle, gossiping about my affairs. Once this matter is settled, I'll send you to Central Africa to develop our new company."
Central Africa was an underdeveloped region. Developing a new company there required someone particularly resilient; otherwise, they wouldn't last long.
Of course, Xavier wasn't particularly resilient.
"President, I was wrong. I won't say anything more."
He quickly admitted his mistake.
Lance gave him a cold look but said nothing more.
At that moment, Xavier's phone buzzed. He glanced at it and then turned serious. "President, we just received news that there are several surveillance personnel near Master Gregory and Miss Chloe's school."
Hearing this, Lance's demeanor turned sharp.
"Are they Eula's people?"
"Yes."
Xavier nodded and then worriedly asked, "Do you think that woman might target Master Gregory and Miss Chloe?"
Lance narrowed his eyes dangerously. Knowing Eula, it was very possible.
Thinking of this, he ordered in a deep voice, "Capture those watching them!"
"Yes."
Xavier instinctively obeyed but then hesitated and looked over in surprise. "Capturing them might alert her."
Lance looked back at him coldly. "That's exactly what I want."
Understanding Lance's intention, Xavier sent out the orders on his phone.
Soon after, he received reports from his subordinates that the people had been captured.
"Mr. Mercer, we've got them."
Xavier reported to Lance.
Lance acknowledged with a nod and instructed, "Keep a close watch on them."
Xavier nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, Deanna knew nothing of this.
She was about to take the nutritious soup to visit her grandmother in the hospital when she was stopped by a tall foreign man at the gate of her community. "Miss Deanna, my master wishes to speak with you."
Seeing him, Deanna raised an eyebrow and already guessed who his master was.
"But I don't want to see her."
Hearing her refusal, the foreign man wasn't surprised and continued, "My master wanted a chat with you. If you don't come with me, I'm afraid something will happen to your two children."
Upon hearing this, Deanna's face changed dramatically.