Chapter 31
"No, no, not at all."
Benjamin quickly explained, "I just didn't expect you to invite an outsider."
"Outsider?" Edward said with displeasure, "Let me tell you all, when Ms. Johnson is here, it means she's my honored guest. You all need to show her proper respect, understand?"
Benjamin was scolded into silence.
Mandy stared hard at Charlotte.
Seeing Alexander coming over to take a seat, she quickly sat down next to him first, and provocatively raised her eyebrows at Charlotte, who could only sit across from them.
Charlotte just found it ridiculous.
Anyone could see through Mandy's little schemes - she obviously had feelings for Alexander.
Charlotte couldn't be bothered to care. She picked up her utensils but hadn't had time to eat yet when Edward directly used his fork to pick up several large shrimp and various dishes, piling them all onto Charlotte's plate.
In no time, the food on Charlotte's plate was stacked up like a small mountain.
"Try everything. I specially selected a famous chef to prepare this family dinner. Every dish is guaranteed to be delicious. See if it suits your taste."
This display left Benjamin and Mandy in disbelief.
After all, when they ate at home with Edward, he had never treated anyone like this.
Now he was personally serving Charlotte food, showing just how important Charlotte was to him.
Chloe's breathing became rapid. Wanting to show off, she deliberately coughed lightly at the dinner table.
"By the way, do you all know that the Langley family's recognition banquet is coming up soon?"
Charlotte paused, looking up at her.
Alexander glanced at Charlotte first but didn't say anything.
Edward frowned, "I know about the Langley family's recognition banquet. They sent me an invitation too. Why?"
Chloe put down her chopsticks and smiled somewhat embarrassedly, "I'm just asking casually. They sent an invitation for my father and me to attend together. We'll all be able to see each other at the Langley family's banquet."
Hearing this, Edward was stunned, then snorted through his nose.
He dismissively pursed his lips, "You guys can actually get an invitation from the Langley family?"
Chloe's expression stiffened, and she asked somewhat awkwardly, "Mr. Edward Harris, what do you mean by that..."
Edward became even more disdainful, "Exactly what I said. In every aspect, the Johnson family hasn't reached the level where they can attend the Langley family's recognition banquet, right?"
"You're just second-tier wealthy background in high society circles. Where do you get the qualification to attend a top-tier family's recognition banquet?"
Hearing this, Chloe's face flushed red with embarrassment.
Seeing her embarrassment, Benjamin quickly smiled, "Grandpa, since we can attend, then we can look out for each other when the time comes. Let's enjoy dinner and not talk about this."
After saying this, he glared at Chloe, secretly blaming her for embarrassing herself in front of Edward.
Chloe immediately felt awkward and didn't know what to say.
Mandy observed everything from the side, but her eyes only fell on Alexander.
She noticed that Alexander didn't seem to pay particularly special attention to Charlotte, and only then did she secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
However, she felt somewhat uncomfortable. She didn't know why, but she always felt that Alexander's casual manner was fake.
He seemed to care about Charlotte more than she imagined.
Thinking about this, Mandy felt extremely uncomfortable.
She stood up and coughed lightly, "Why isn't there the soup that father usually drinks on the table?"
Hearing this, the butler quickly came forward to explain, "It's still in the kitchen."
"Okay, then I'll bring it over."
Without waiting for others to speak, Mandy got up and walked toward the kitchen.
No one paid attention to her actions.
Edward kept serving Charlotte food, "Come on, Charlotte, try this roast duck too. This is my..."
Before he could finish speaking, he cried out and almost hurt his back.
The roast duck was placed in the position farthest from him, which happened to be right in front of Alexander. When he reached for it, he suddenly exclaimed, startling several people.
"Dad, you just had surgery. Take it slow."
Alexander suddenly raised his hand, as if he was just doing something completely ordinary.
Then, he forked several slices of duck and placed them on Charlotte's plate, taking care of her very naturally and casually.
Seeing this scene, everyone was even more shocked than when they saw Edward serving food earlier.
Edward was the elder in the family. It was always the younger generation who served him tea and water, so he had never served food to anyone.
But Alexander was different.
He was the most noble and aloof existence in the entire family. He never did these things. Except for Edward, he had never served food even to his elders.
But now he was actually serving food to Charlotte?
Benjamin was somewhat shocked for a moment.
Chloe gritted her teeth even more, her eyes full of hateful light.
She just couldn't understand it. Charlotte was just a country bumpkin who had never had a good day in her life.
Usually timid and submissive, now she seemed like a different person, speaking coldly and acting superior.
She saw that Charlotte's attitude toward Edward was cold and indifferent, without any respectful address, so why did both Edward and Alexander value and care for her so much?
Chloe gripped her chopsticks tightly, furious inside, but didn't dare show the slightest abnormality on the surface.
Charlotte looked at the few slices of duck on her plate, paused, then said "thank you" in a casual tone.
Alexander's expression was equally indifferent, "You're welcome."
After they finished speaking, there was no further interaction between them, as if they weren't familiar with each other at all.
Edward's eyes shifted between the two of them, and suddenly he showed a mysterious smile.
Charlotte met his gaze with a puzzled look, not understanding why he would show such a strange expression.
Just as she was confused, Edward put away his teasing look as if nothing had happened.
"Come on, come on, let's continue eating."
As he spoke, Mandy had already brought over a pot of soup and soup bowls that matched exactly the number of people present, placing them in front of everyone.
Chloe was going to marry into the Harris family in the future, so Mandy was naturally someone she needed to please.
She showed a bright smile.
"Thank you, Mandy."
"You're welcome."
Mandy picked up the last bowl, filled it with soup, and brought it in front of Charlotte. Her expression suddenly became very serious.
She earnestly called out to Charlotte, "Ms. Johnson."
Charlotte slightly lifted her eyelids, giving her a look that showed she didn't take her seriously.
Mandy smiled somewhat helplessly, "About what happened at the hospital before, I did something inappropriate. I'm apologizing to you again, formally."
Benjamin and Chloe didn't know what she had done and were somewhat confused.
Mandy directly brought the bowl of soup in front of Charlotte.
"This chicken soup is the most nourishing. I saved you a bowl with chicken meat. Try it."
Edward looked at her proactive gesture of goodwill and nodded slightly with satisfaction.
Charlotte, under everyone's gaze, took the bowl of soup.
The steam rose toward her. Smelling the chicken soup, Charlotte's eyes instantly turned cold.
There was something wrong with this soup.