Due to Mr. Sherman's intervention, the contest between Lance and Landon was forcibly halted.
Landon, holding the back of his head where he had been hit, looked displeased. "Dad, why did you hit me?"
"I'm your father; I can hit you whenever I want."
Mr. Sherman glared at Landon, then turned to Lance with a conciliatory smile. "Mr. Mercer, my son is usually spoiled by me and has a bit of a wild personality. If he said anything offensive, I hope you won't take it to heart."
Lance heard this and looked at Landon with a half-smile.
Landon, feeling both embarrassed and annoyed under his gaze, retorted, "Dad, what are you talking about? I know him. There's no offense taken. Stop saying nonsense."
"You know Mr. Mercer?"
Now it was Mr. Sherman's turn to be surprised.
Seeing this, Landon didn't know how to explain and, more importantly, didn't want Lance to laugh at him. "It's a long story. I'll explain it to you later. Let's go inside first."
After saying that, he didn't give Mr. Sherman a chance to speak and pulled him into the banquet hall.
Lance watched them disappear before turning back to greet other guests with a faint smile on his face.
The guests were surprised to see him smiling but understood when they thought about the announcement to be made tonight.
After all, the matter involving the two children had caused quite a stir online.
"Mr. Mercer, congratulations on having a son."
"Not just a son, but also a daughter. Mr. Mercer, you are truly enviable, having both a son and a daughter at such a young age."
"Indeed, we old folks are really jealous."
Everyone congratulated Lance with smiles.
Meanwhile, a servant led Julia upstairs. As they reached the door, they heard exclamations from inside the room.
"Wow, Mommy looks like a fairy, unbelievably beautiful."
Chloe's eyes sparkled as she looked at Deanna, showering her with compliments.
Gregory chimed in, "Mommy is the most beautiful I've ever seen."
Deanna couldn't stop smiling at their praise.
"You two look very handsome and pretty today as well," Deanna complimented them in return.
And she meant it.
The two children were already good-looking, and now in their carefully prepared outfits, they looked like a prince and princess from a castle.
Hearing their mother's approval, the children smiled even more happily.
At this moment, Julia entered the room and was stunned by the scene before her.
Under the bright lights, Deanna wore an off-shoulder gown in moonlight color with silver prints, revealing her fair and slender neck and perfectly shaped collarbones. She paired it with an exquisitely crafted sapphire necklace, looking both elegant and charming.
"Oh my God, Deanna, you look stunning tonight!"
Julia exclaimed in amazement.
Deanna smiled softly at her friend's reaction and graciously accepted the compliment while returning it. "You don't look bad yourself tonight, right?"
She directed her last words to the children.
The children nodded enthusiastically and sweetly said to Julia, "Godmother looks very beautiful tonight too."
"Even more feminine than usual," Gregory added seriously.
His words left Deanna and Julia both stunned.
Deanna playfully knocked on his head. "Who taught you to say that? Don't say it again."
"No one taught me. I just heard Uncle always saying Godmother isn't feminine," Gregory replied with a pout.
Deanna felt exhausted hearing this.
Why were her friends always so unreliable and teaching her kids bad things?
Julia, however, was furious. "That Landon! He must be looking for trouble, daring to say I'm not feminine!"
Watching her friend jump around in anger, Deanna couldn't help but agree with Landon's description in her heart.
Of course, she didn't dare say it out loud for fear of ending their friendship.
As the four of them chatted and laughed, there was a knock on the door, followed by Lance entering the room.
He immediately noticed Deanna sitting in the center, looking radiant and beautiful, and couldn't help but stare.
This was his first time seeing Deanna fully made up today.
"Mr. Mercer, snap out of it," Julia teased from the doorway.
Lance regained his composure and ignored Julia as he walked towards Deanna. His eyes were full of deep affection as if he wanted to drown her in it.
He stopped in front of her after a few steps and said in a low, husky voice, "You look so beautiful tonight that I want to keep you all to myself."
Hearing his tender words, Deanna blushed and shyly said, "Julia and the kids are here. Please restrain yourself."
"That's right, Mr. Mercer. Restrain yourself and stop making us jealous!" Julia nodded in agreement while poking her arm repeatedly.
Clearly, she found the situation quite cheesy.