Chapter 391 What Kind of Grievance Is This?
Because Bianca was being so clingy, Andrew had no choice but to agree to tell her a bedtime story that night.
Bianca immediately cheered up and said excitedly to Andrew, "Then I'm going to take a bath! Wait for me, Daddy!"
"Okay."
Andrew watched her go with affection in his eyes.
Bianca turned around grabbed Victoria and pulled her along.
Vaughn and Rodolfo exchanged a look, then glanced at Andrew—their eyes asking the obvious question. You're really staying?
Andrew calmly met their gaze and said, "I'll leave after Bianca falls asleep."
Rodolfo said in a knowing tone, "This probably isn't the first time you've stayed over, is it?"
Vaughn also quietly added, "Those sets of clothes in the guest room, I wonder whose they are."
These words were clearly hinting at something, yet not completely calling it out.
Watching Vaughn and Rodolfo enter the house, Olivia stood there, her ears turned slightly red, embarrassment and shyness showing in her eyes.
Andrew, on the other hand, showed a slight smile and asked, "Why didn't you hide them better?"
Olivia walked two steps closer to him, looked down, and said, "No need to. Besides, they've all been through this before."
The elders all knew about their relationship. She never intended to hide it.
Hearing her answer, Andrew was in a very good mood. He reached out and gently pinched her round earlobe, as if playing with his kitten.
Olivia's body trembled slightly. She quickly pulled his hand down and said coquettishly, "Everyone's here!"
Andrew stopped teasing her and then held her hand.
After a while, the two of them went inside.
While Bianca was taking a bath, Vaughn had nothing to do, so he said to Andrew, "Mr. Hamilton, how about a game of chess with me? I heard you just humored Rodolfo. Let me see how you did it."
Andrew smiled and said, "Please."
The two sat down at the chessboard and soon began their match.
Olivia made a soothing honey drink for Rodolfo on the side while watching their game.
Olivia knew a bit about chess. She could see that with every move Andrew made, he was completely at ease, as if he had already calculated the next ten steps before moving.
No matter how Vaughn played his black pieces, he had a way to respond.
Rodolfo was also watching from the side, becoming more and more impressed and surprised by his chess skills.
When they had played earlier as opponents, Rodolfo hadn't felt it as deeply.
Now, watching from the sidelines, he could clearly see Andrew's overall planning and strategic thinking.
Rodolfo was fascinated by chess. From the first move, he could see that Andrew was laying groundwork, gradually forming an encirclement.
Moreover, this encirclement was done quietly, making it hard to detect.
Later in the game, before the opponent realized it, their pieces had already fallen into his trap, surrounded tightly.
The battle was intense. Vaughn's chess skills were also very good, and this match was quite exciting.
However, in the end, Andrew still lost to Vaughn by one move.
Vaughn looked at the board, reflecting on what had just happened. After a while, he finally understood why Rodolfo had said that.
Originally, if Andrew had continued with his previous strategy, he definitely would have won.
But Andrew, without anyone noticing, led his pieces to cooperate with Vaughn's thinking and deliberately walked into the circle of defeat.
The whole process was carried out almost flawlessly and covertly, so that the winner couldn't even tell at the end.
That's how it was for Vaughn. At first, he was overjoyed, but when he came to his senses, he realized Andrew had been letting him win.
After discovering this, Vaughn wasn't annoyed at all. Instead, he became interested.
"This is really interesting! Come on, let's play another round!"
Andrew naturally wouldn't dampen his spirits. He picked up the pieces and started a new game with him.
This time, Vaughn made it clear beforehand, "Don't let me win again. Chess is all about that intense battle feeling, otherwise it's no fun."
"Okay."
Andrew naturally wouldn't go against his wishes.
Soon, Vaughn made the first move and captured several of Andrew's pieces in a row.
His opening strategy was indeed sound.
But he was facing Andrew, who was also going all out.
The result was that he lost without question.
"Excellent, excellent! Your chess skills are really amazing!"
Vaughn was in a very good mood.
Honestly, when Olivia got married before, he had imagined playing chess with his son-in-law.
Unfortunately, that wish was never fulfilled.
The Johnson family looked down on them, and Michael wouldn't possibly waste time doing such things with him.
But now Andrew, standing before him, had won him over with his chess skills, and he was genuinely convinced and satisfied!
He was starting to approve of this son-in-law a bit.
Just then, Victoria came downstairs with Bianca, who had finished her bath.
Andrew checked the time. It was already late, so he didn't start another game with Vaughn.
He stood up and said to Vaughn, "Mr. Smith, let's stop here for tonight. I'll take Bianca to bed first."
Vaughn didn't stop him and said with a smile, "Alright, you go ahead."
He wanted to review the game they had just played.
Andrew stood up, nodded slightly to him, Rodolfo, and the others, then picked up Bianca.
Bianca was especially well-behaved. Because Andrew had really been waiting for her, she was very happy and let him carry her back to the room.
After lying down, she proactively covered herself with the little blanket, looking ready to hear a story.
Andrew took the storybook from the bedside and opened it.
Unlike the awkwardness of the first time, he was now very skilled at this.
Although Andrew's voice was still cool and calm, it carried emotion.
Downstairs, Victoria found it somewhat hard to imagine Andrew, such a high and mighty person, telling Bianca stories.
Especially since, during these days of taking care of Bianca, she had learned from Bianca and Yara about the process of Andrew caring for Bianca.
They could imagine the psychologist treating Bianca, but couldn't picture Andrew taking care of Bianca as a father.
Unable to resist, she sneaked to the bedroom door to check the situation.
When she heard Andrew's gentle voice and saw the scene inside, Victoria's heart was truly shaken.
Andrew's expression was soft. When facing Bianca, he really looked like a loving father.
Just like how Vaughn used to take care of Olivia when she was little.
It was exactly what she imagined a good father should be like.
Vaughn and Rodolfo downstairs also followed.
They also got a clear view of the scene in Bianca's room.
After returning to the living room, Victoria called Yara over and asked, "Has Andrew always been like this with Bianca?"
Hearing this, Olivia couldn't help but purse her lips, thinking, "Why not ask me?"
Yara didn't know what she was thinking and answered honestly, "Yes, Mr. Hamilton has always taken care of Bianca and Ms. Smith like this.
I've lived most of my life, and this is the first time I've seen someone be such a devoted father. He's really a hundred times better than a biological father. You can trust me, I'm not exaggerating at all!"
After hearing this answer, Victoria fell silent, not knowing what she was thinking.
That night, after Andrew put Bianca to sleep, he came downstairs.
In the living room, only Olivia remained.
Andrew looked around, walked to her side, and asked in a low voice, "Where are your parents and Mr. McCoy?"
Olivia held his hand and said, "They all went to rest. You really worked hard tonight!"
She felt that having Andrew, who hadn't been accepted yet, attend their family dinner was a bit unfair to him.
Even though her family hadn't done anything, Olivia still felt sorry for him.
Andrew shook his head and said, "How is putting Bianca to bed hard work? Bianca was so good, she fell asleep when I was only halfway through the story."
But Olivia still felt bad. "My parents' attitude..."
Before she could finish, Andrew pressed his finger to her lips. "Silly Olivia, I haven't suffered any grievance.
If I want to be with you, it's only right to accept some tests.
Your parents may object, but their attitude toward me is still very good. They haven't made things difficult for me.
If you think this counts as a grievance, then what should we call my family's attitude toward you?
You're the one who's truly wronged being with me, so don't say such things anymore."
After speaking, he reluctantly kissed her on the lips.
Feeling Andrew's tenderness, Olivia's heart warmed.
Seeing the attachment in her eyes, Andrew's heart stirred.
He reached out to rub her head, leaned close to her ear and said, "Alright, stop looking at me like that, or I won't want to leave. Go upstairs and rest. We'll see each other tomorrow."
Olivia didn't want to tempt him, so she obediently agreed, "Okay, drive safely, and send me a message when you get there."
"Okay."
Andrew soon left.
The next day, after breakfast, Olivia went to the research institute as usual to treat Damon.
Liam was there to assist.
When the treatment ended, Daniel came over holding a bunch of invitations in his hand. He handed them to Olivia and said, "These are all for you."
Looking at the thick stack of cards, Olivia looked somewhat surprised and said, "Why are there so many?"
Liam was also surprised and said, "Aren't these invitations to high society family balls?"
"Balls?" Olivia was a bit confused. "What balls?"
Seeing that she knew nothing about it, Liam explained, "As the name suggests, it's a ball held by truly prestigious families. Many important people will attend.
This ball is different from the business receptions you've attended before.
Those business receptions might be attended by business figures, but this ball is where truly important people gather.
In short, the families attending cover fields including literature, the military and politics, medicine, arts, and so on.
Many people that ordinary folks can't meet in their lifetime are qualified to attend!
The threshold is several levels higher than those business receptions!"
Olivia roughly understood. "You mean, those invited are heirs of wealthy families like you?"
"Yes!" Liam nodded. "Not just me. You're the person in charge of Medica Vitae Sect, and Medica Vitae Sect ranks in the top three in the medical field, so that's why you're on the invitation list."