As the two little ones finished speaking, Lance, who was working nearby, overheard them.
He immediately stopped what he was doing and walked over to the children.
"Gregory, Chloe, give me the phone. I'll ask your mommy."
"Okay, Uncle."
The children didn't object and handed over the phone willingly.
Gregory added with concern, "Uncle, you must find out if Mommy is being bullied."
"I will."
Lance took the phone and sat down beside them, starting his inquiry. "Tell me, what exactly happened?"
Deanna looked at the serious man on the video call and couldn't help but smile wryly.
However, she didn't plan to reveal anything, believing she could handle it herself.
"Really, it's nothing. Don't listen to Gregory and Chloe's nonsense."
"But I don't think Gregory and Chloe are talking nonsense."
Lance's eyes focused intently on Deanna.
His deep gaze left Deanna momentarily stunned, unsure of what to say.
At that moment, she saw the man speak again, his voice magnetic. "Not just Chloe and Gregory, even I can tell whether you're happy or not."
"Oh? Then tell me, what am I like when I'm happy and when I'm not?"
Deanna raised an eyebrow, looking at Lance with interest.
Lance smiled. "When you're happy, there's a light in your eyes and your mouth curves upward. When you're unhappy, your eyes are dark and your mouth doesn't smile. And..."
He deliberately paused.
Deanna, while twirling her hair, instinctively asked, "And what?"
"And you like to twirl your hair when you're in a bad mood."
Lance finished with a gentle smile.
Deanna's hair-twirling motion froze instantly at his words, feeling inexplicably guilty.
She avoided looking at Lance directly, her eyes darting as she said, "You speak so seriously, but it's all nonsense."
"I'm not talking nonsense. If you don't believe me, you can ask Gregory if the details I mentioned are correct."
Lance quickly defended himself.
Before he could call Gregory over, the little guy approached on his own to back him up. "Mommy, Uncle is right. When you're happy, your mouth curves upward. When you're in a bad mood, you don't smile and you always twirl your hair unconsciously."
Deanna was left speechless.
She cleared her throat lightly and asked the little guy, "Have you finished your homework?"
"I finished it a long time ago," Gregory replied with a pout.
Deanna was at a loss for words again.
Seeing her slightly embarrassed expression, Lance's lips curved up but he still helped by sending the little ones away. "Alright, take your sister to play. Let Uncle and Mommy talk alone."
"Okay." Gregory nodded in agreement and then left the living room with his sister.
Seeing this, Deanna felt a bit dissatisfied and uneasy. She asked, "Why did you send Gregory away?"
"Because only then will you tell me what really happened."
Lance didn't hide his intention, his eyes fixed on Deanna in the video.
Deanna felt even more uncomfortable under his gaze and retorted deliberately, "Who gave you the confidence that I would tell you?"
Hearing this and seeing her proud demeanor, Lance couldn't help but laugh.
"No one gave me confidence. But I'm willing to be your confidant, to lend an understanding ear to your happiness and heartaches."
By the end of his words, he was looking at Deanna with focused attention.
Their eyes met, and Deanna felt a flutter in her heart from the emotions she saw in his eyes.
Before she could react, he spoke again with a hint of coaxing in his tone. "Tell me, what happened? If someone bullied you, I'll help you get back at them!"
Almost as soon as he finished speaking, Deanna felt her emotional defenses crumble.
In the end, she couldn't hold back and poured out all the grievances she had suffered over the past few days.
"If it weren't for not wanting to trouble Old Hughes, I would have left already."
By the end of her words, Deanna's eyes were red.
Lance saw this and felt a pang in his heart. He advised gently, "If you're unhappy, then let's not treat anymore. I'll talk to Old Hughes."
Seeing that he wasn't joking, Deanna quickly stopped him.
"Forget it. I've already promised Old Hughes to cure his friend. Besides, there's no reason to leave things unfinished."
"But if you're unhappy doing it, there's no need to continue."
Lance tried to persuade her a bit more.
Deanna smiled. "It's okay. Now that I've talked about it, I feel much better. Besides, the Walsh family has promised to discipline their daughter properly."
Seeing her insistence, Lance gave up trying to persuade her but had other plans in mind.
After hanging up the call, Lance didn't put down his phone immediately but turned to call Xavier.
"Drive over and pick me up. We're going to Jando."