Chapter 89: Two Stubborn Boys
Alexander stood up and said to Emily, "It's getting late. I'll drive you home."
Liam immediately reached out and grabbed Alexander's sleeve.
He absolutely didn't want Daddy to drive Emily home!
Emily was practically seething with hatred for the annoying little Liam, who opposed her at every turn.
But Liam's tactic was effective.
Alexander hesitated for a moment, then said to Emily, "I'll have my driver take you home."
Emily immediately replied, "That's not necessary!" Her embarrassed appearance showed she was somewhat losing composure. If she hadn't been digging her nails into her palm, she could barely have controlled the resentful expression on her face. She forced a smile. "I can get home by myself."
Alexander didn't seem to notice anything unusual and simply said, "Alright."
Seeing this, Emily felt even more aggrieved.
She glared at Grace resentfully, then suddenly said to Alexander, "Doesn't the school have that camping trip this week? I'll go home and prepare for it."
After saying this, Emily slung her purse over her shoulder and left.
"Camping trip?" Grace was somewhat surprised. "Is it organized by the school?"
Alexander asked, "Max didn't tell you?"
Grace was stunned. "No." When Max had come home, he'd been rather gloomy and stayed in his room without mentioning it to her.
Liam rummaged through his backpack and handed her a school notice.
Grace took it and glanced over it.
This week, Lion Class would be holding a camping trip. It was an annual event held at the botanical garden. Since the parents in Lion Class were usually very busy with work and rarely had time to spend an entire day with their children, the camping trip was a great opportunity for both parents and kids to relax.
Grace was somewhat surprised that Max hadn't mentioned such an important activity to her.
"Let's go home!" Grace said. "Liam must be starving."
She could already hear hunger signals coming from his stomach as she held him.
Alexander nodded.
Grace carried Liam to the car, deliberately sitting in the very back row to avoid any direct contact with Alexander.
Alexander sat in the middle row and turned to look at her. Grace immediately turned her face toward the window.
He had originally wanted to ask if she wanted to join them for the camping trip.
But remembering that Emily had also volunteered to participate in the camping activity to create opportunities to bond with Liam, Alexander decided to give Emily and Liam one more chance.
If Liam truly didn't like Emily, he wouldn't force it anymore.
If he had to choose between Emily and Liam, he would always prioritize Liam's feelings first.
After all, Liam was what mattered most to him.
Back home.
The four of them had dinner together.
No one spoke during the meal.
Liam and Max buried their heads in their food. The two little boys were at an age where they were growing rapidly, and it had been hard on Liam to face off with Alexander at the school gate for so long, just as it had been hard on Max to wait so long for Liam while hungry.
Grace suddenly remembered something and asked, "Max, the class is organizing a camping trip. Why didn't you tell Mommy?"
Max looked up. He thought for a moment and said, "I forgot."
Grace: "..."
Max said, "The activity is voluntary sign-up. Do you have time, Mommy?"
Grace replied, "Even if I don't have time, I'll make time. I don't want to miss such a great parent-child activity."
Max said, "Okay, then sign the form later, Mommy. I'll turn it in tomorrow." He suddenly paused and asked, "But for the camping trip, do we need to buy a tent?"
A tent?
Liam curiously lifted his little head, opening his round eyes wide as he looked at Max with curiosity, as if asking what a tent was.
For camping trips, Alexander usually just had his driver bring an RV.
Other families also had RVs, so camping activities generally involved parents driving their RVs to set up camp at the botanical garden.
For meals, Alexander would hire several chefs to prepare a buffet at the botanical garden in advance—all exquisite dishes made by five-star chefs.
Liam had no concept of what a tent was.
Grace was amused by Liam's adorable expression. Seeing that he seemed quite curious about tents but not knowing how to describe one, she gestured with her hands. "A tent is something that... looks like a little house, um..." She felt truly at a loss for words and couldn't describe it properly.
Max said, "You'll see when we get there!"
Hearing this, Liam clapped his hands happily.
The next day.
After sending the two little ones to school, Grace went to an outdoor gear store to select a tent.
She had always wanted to take Max camping before, but tents were too expensive. A good tent often cost several thousand dollars, and she simply couldn't afford it at the time.
Grace fell in love with a skylight tent. This tent had one solid side and one transparent side, so at night, you could lie inside and look at the stars and moon in the sky. When sleeping, you could just pull the inner curtain closed.
The downside was that it was expensive and required some assembly skills.
This tent was quite large, so setting it up required considerable strength and time.
After much persuasion from the salesperson, Grace finally made the purchase and arranged for home delivery.
In the afternoon, Grace went to a used car dealership and bought a secondhand station wagon.
After thinking it over, she felt that always taking the subway to pick up Max was quite inconvenient. Now that she had some spare money, she wanted to buy a car for commuting and taking Max to and from school.
The paperwork was completed that same afternoon. Although the process was quick, it still caused her to miss Liam and Max's pickup time.
Grace called Alexander to ask him to pick them up. She had just finished getting her car ready when, over an hour later, Alexander called her.
Alexander's voice sounded somewhat stiff over the phone. "They refuse to come with me. They insist you come pick them up."
When he'd arrived at the school, Liam and Max were sitting at the school gate, looking at Alexander like he was some kind of child trafficker—wary and suspicious, refusing to go with him.
Before he knew it, all the children in the class had been picked up, leaving only these two little ones.
Alexander was at his wit's end and could only call Grace for backup.
Grace: "..."
It was one thing for Max not to want to go with him, but even Liam didn't want to go with him?
What a touching father-son relationship.
Grace drove to the school gate. Liam and Max didn't recognize her car and were still in their staring contest with Alexander until Grace got out of the car and they finally realized who it was.
Max exclaimed, "Mommy bought a new car!"
Liam said flatteringly, "Grace's car is prettier than Daddy's car!"