Chapter 187 Acted Very Well, Act Again
Max looked at Alexander and suddenly flashed a mischievous grin.
He turned around and, mimicking Alexander's embrace of Grace, took Liam's hand and gazed at him with mock devotion. "Like."
Liam immediately copied Grace's shy demeanor, batting his eyelashes like a bashful little deer, lowering his head with feigned hesitation. "Like who?"
Max replied with tender affection, "You."
The two children performed their parents' heartfelt confession right in front of Alexander and Grace.
Liam pressed further, "Who likes me?"
Max answered, "I like you."
Grace was completely speechless.
Had these two turned into little drama queens overnight?
Who would have thought Liam had such acting talent? He perfectly captured Grace's shy expression from moments before. "Say it again."
Max channeled Alexander's cool yet passionate demeanor, "I like you, Liam. Let's be together! I want to dedicate my entire life to you, completely and wholly."
After Max finished delivering his final line, both children threw their arms wide and embraced each other tightly.
Grace's face burned with embarrassment as she discreetly hid behind Alexander, only half her flushed face visible.
Alexander, however, said gently, "Very good performance. Do it again."
Max and Liam fell silent.
They'd originally intended to tease Alexander with their little show, but they'd forgotten that as their father, Alexander wasn't one to be easily embarrassed.
The two boys tried to make their escape.
But Alexander strode over with purposeful steps and grabbed them both, one in each hand, positioning them face-to-face in front of him.
"Don't run."
Alexander raised an elegant eyebrow. "Don't you like acting? Perform it again."
Liam was first to refuse, "I don't want to!"
Max also stubbornly turned his head away. "Me neither."
Alexander fixed Liam with a stern stare.
Liam immediately trembled and pointed a shaky finger at Max. "He wanted to do it."
He promptly threw all responsibility onto Max.
But Max looked up and gave Liam a disdainful glance, crossing his arms with composed elegance. "Wasn't once enough? I'm not doing it again."
Alexander declared, "If you don't perform, you can't go to your rooms."
Max pouted pitifully.
Alexander added, "And you didn't include the kissing. You left that part out."
Max's face turned green.
Seeing Alexander's stern expression, Liam knew he meant business. He tugged at Max's sleeve. "Let's do it one more time. I'll play Daddy."
Max replied coolly, "Liam, if you want to act, do it yourself."
Liam protested, "How can I play both Daddy and Grace at the same time by myself?"
Max suggested, "Play dual roles. You can do it."
After hearing this, Liam actually stepped aside and performed the whole scene again solo.
He faced the air, making an embracing gesture, burying his face against an imaginary person like Alexander had done, and said tenderly, "Like."
After delivering his line, he moved to the opposite side, adopting a delicate, clinging pose as he leaned against his "air partner," his eyes sticky-sweet like pulled sugar. "How much do you like me?"
At the doorway, Grace despairingly knocked her head against the door frame.
She kept mentally chanting, If she didn't feel embarrassed, then someone else would have to be embarrassed instead.
But Liam had real theatrical talent. The more he performed, the better he captured the essence of both characters.
Especially Alexander's way of kissing Grace, he mimicked it perfectly, embracing his "air partner" with such soulful expressions that he was clearly lost in the role.
The more Alexander watched, the more his face darkened.
Max stood to the side with his arms crossed, watching Liam's immersive performance. Unable to bear it anymore, he pushed him. "Okay, stop it."
Liam stumbled and glared angrily at him. "You pushed me."
He suddenly pounced on Max, and like two kittens batting at each other, the two children became a tangled pretzel on the floor.
Alexander suddenly stood up and walked over to Grace. "Go back to your room."
Grace asked, "You're not actually angry, are you?"
Embarrassing as it was, the children's little performance had actually been quite adorable.
Alexander replied, "Not quite."
He cupped the back of her neck and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Tomorrow, I'll take you shopping for clothes."
This would be the first time he'd brought her to a formal family dinner, so he wanted to buy her something appropriately elegant.
Grace nodded. "All right."
She returned to her room.
The door remained slightly ajar.
She watched as Alexander picked up both children like little kittens, one in each hand, carried them to their room, closed the door, and settled them down for the night.
The next morning, when Grace woke up and walked to the dining room, Max and Liam were already up.
Max had prepared breakfast.
For some reason, perhaps thanks to Max's cooking, Liam was visibly getting rounder by the day, his face showing increasingly obvious baby fat.
Grace walked over and bent down to examine Liam more closely.
Liam looked up blankly, his cheeks bulging with food, his expression full of confusion as if wondering why Grace was staring at him.
Grace suddenly blurted out, "Has Liam gotten a little chubby?"
Liam's hamster-like chewing motion froze.
Max mercilessly confirmed from the side, "Liam has been eating a lot lately. He does seem a bit chubbier."
As he spoke, Max mischievously lifted the corner of Liam's shirt, exposing his belly. Liam's adorable little tummy protruded into view for both Grace and Max to see.
Liam blushed and frantically tried to cover his stomach, looking somewhat indignantly at Max, clearly embarrassed.
Max asked, "How much does Liam weigh now?"
Liam shook his head.
Did Grace and Max think he was fat?
But he didn't feel any different.
He didn't think he'd gained that much weight.
Grace said, "Liam's still little. It's good for him to be a bit chubby, it's probably just baby fat."
Max countered, "But he can't get too fat. If he gets too fat, he won't be able to find a girlfriend. Girls these days like slim boys, not chubby ones."
Liam blinked in bewilderment. "How much is too fat?"
Max said, "Over sixty pounds, I guess."
Grace felt slightly exasperated. At such a young age, Max was already as concerned about weight management as his father.
Alexander exercised at the company gym for an hour and a half every afternoon without fail.
Max continued, "If he gets too fat, he'll have to go on a diet and won't be able to eat my cooking anymore."
Upon hearing this, Liam suddenly looked guilty and got up, walking to the living room to rummage around until he found the bathroom scale.
He couldn't exceed sixty pounds, or he wouldn't be able to eat Max's cooking anymore.
Liam silently prayed in his heart, kicked off his slippers, and innocently stepped onto the scale.
Soon, numbers appeared on the display.
When Liam saw the reading, his little face flushed bright red.
Grace and Max curiously walked over, but Liam immediately shifted his small pale feet to cover the screen.