Back in the room, Lance saw the two little ones sitting obediently on the bed.
The sound of running water could be faintly heard from the bathroom.
The two little ones noticed their daddy approaching and called out sweetly, "Daddy."
Lance nodded, glanced at the bathroom, and then lowered his voice to question the two in front of him.
"Be honest, while your mommy and I were away, what were you plotting with your Godmother?"
"Daddy, what are you talking about? I don't understand," Chloe said, blinking her innocent big eyes.
Gregory also had a look that indicated he didn't understand.
Seeing this, Lance raised an eyebrow and threatened, "Are you sure you don't want to tell me? If you slip up in front of your mommy later, don't say I didn't warn you."
Hearing this, the two little ones exchanged a glance and decided to confess.
"Daddy, we didn't plot anything serious with Godmother. We just thought it was a crisis for you when Mommy is around that uncle. As we know, he wants to take Mommy away from you. So Godmother suggested that we send Mommy love-packed lunches, dinners, and snacks every day in your name."
"As long as everyone at the research institute knows how much you and Mommy love each other, that uncle won't dare to pursue her. Otherwise, he'd be seen as a homewrecker and despised by everyone."
The two spoke in unison.
Lance felt gratified hearing this. He raised his hand and gently ruffled the heads of the two little ones, smiling as he said, "That's a great idea. As a reward for helping me, I'll buy you the latest version of the toys you like."
"That's awesome, Daddy! I love you so much."
Chloe, thrilled to hear that she would get the latest doll, hugged Lance excitedly.
Although Gregory didn't express it as exuberantly as she did, the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth clearly conveyed his joy.
As the father and children were chatting and laughing, Deanna walked out of the bathroom in her pajamas.
Seeing the three of them smiling so brightly, she casually asked, "What are you all talking about, looking so happy?"
"We were telling Daddy about things that happened at school," Chloe answered in her crisp, clear voice.
And she wasn't lying to Deanna; after they discussed their plans, they started talking about the funny things that had happened at school.
At this point, Gregory walked up and took Deanna's hand, speaking in his soft, childish voice, "Mommy, come lie down on the bed. My sister and I will give you a massage."
Deanna didn't refuse and lay down on the bed as per Gregory's instructions.
The two little ones, seeing this, winked at Lance before starting to massage Deanna.
Lance, watching the heartwarming scene before him, felt his eyes fill with affection.
...
Early the next morning, because she was thinking about going to the research institute, Deanna woke up early.
After having breakfast with her family, she drove to the research institute alone.
Later, when she arrived, quite a few employees had already shown up.
When they saw Deanna, they greeted her respectfully.
"Good morning, Ms. Jones."
In response to these greetings, Deanna patiently replied to each one, "Hello, keep up the good work."
And so, with everyone's attention on her, she made her way to the office.
At that moment, there were quite a few documents on her desk that needed to be handled.
After all, she had been away from the institute for several days.
Just as she was about to start working on these documents, there was a knock at the door, and soon after, Lionel entered the room.
"Miss Jones."
"Oh, Mr. Grant, what brings you here?" Deanna looked up and asked.
Seeing her gaze, Lionel got straight to the point, "I heard you were back, so I wanted to ask if the issue with the medicinal materials has been resolved and to give you an update on the progress of the research project over the past few days."
"The issue with the medicinal materials has been resolved, so there's no need to worry, Mr. Grant," Deanna briefly explained the collaboration with the Harris family.
Lionel nodded and then talked about the research project, "During the two days you were away, I led the team to overcome the first phase of the experiment. The next step is to add medicinal herbs with different properties, observe the results, and select the best formula for testing on lab mice."
"This is excellent progress. It seems my mentor didn't misjudge you. Mr. Grant, you have an exceptional talent for pharmaceuticals."
Deanna praised him, genuinely admiring Lionel's abilities.
However, as Lionel received this praise from the person he admired, his feelings were somewhat complicated.
So what if he was talented and outstanding? He couldn't win the heart of the person he liked, not even securing a fair chance for himself.
Thinking of this, his eyes dimmed, and his voice became heavy as he said, "Miss Jones, you're too kind. If we talk about talent, I can't compare to you. By the way, here's a proposal I made for the second phase of the research. Please take a look. If there are no issues, we can proceed with the plan for the second phase."
Without giving Deanna a chance to respond, Lionel handed over the document he was holding.