Quentin Hua's eyes turned icy as he spoke in a cold voice, "Since when does Miss Du have the right to interfere in my affairs?"
Startled by the chill in his gaze, Joyce Du hurriedly said, "Cousin, I was just trying to scare her a little, so she'd behave."
Roxy Shangguan protested, clearly unhappy, "I've always been well-behaved! I only said that Hua-Hua doesn't like you. Hua-Hua, you don't like her, do you?"
Quentin Hua, of course, wouldn't contradict her. He simply nodded, "Mm."
Tears welled up in Joyce Du's eyes, shimmering as if she might cry. This time, she was truly hurt.
Roxy Shangguan paid no mind to whether Joyce was upset and continued, "This bad woman even said she wanted to be my mother! No way! I already have a mom. Besides, Daddy said that except for Mom, if any butterflies or bees try to get close to him, he'll burn them all to ashes!"
A flicker passed through Quentin Hua's eyes as he realized Joyce Du must have misunderstood his relationship with Roxy.
Sylas Ren stood to the side, bursting into hearty laughter. He'd figured it out too—Joyce wanted to steal a man, but it had somehow turned into competing for a dad. How could that not be hilarious?
While laughing, Sylas Ren said, "Little devil, I'd love to meet your parents someday. Ordinary people could never have a kid like you!"
Roxy Shangguan shot him a glare but didn't bother with his nickname. She'd noticed how Sylas had defended her earlier—she remembered favors and grudges clearly, always settling the score.
Joyce Du realized she’d made a mistake—Roxy Shangguan wasn’t Quentin Hua’s daughter at all. Then what was their relationship…?
She had a few guesses, but quickly dismissed them. Roxy was only two years old; there was no way they could be involved like that.
Even if her cousin doted on Roxy, he must see her as a daughter. That had to be it. Since he liked her so much, Joyce would try to like her too. She’d lost her composure earlier, letting Roxy’s words get under her skin and threatening her in a moment of anger.
Watching Roxy mutter complaints to Quentin Hua, Joyce’s eyes glinted. Roxy was much smarter than other children—no wonder her cousin was so fond of her. It seemed Joyce would need to deal with Roxy first.
Having thought it through, Joyce Du walked over to Quentin Hua, reaching out to tease Roxy. But Quentin Hua dodged her hand, his face full of displeasure.
Joyce Du froze, withdrew her hand, and forced a small smile. In a gentle voice, she said, "Roxy, it was my fault. Please don’t be mad at me, okay?"
Roxy let out a surprised squeak and buried her head in Quentin Hua’s arms, refusing to move. This woman was just too 'scary'—if she wanted to smile sweetly, she should at least check her own face first!
Her face was swollen like a steamed bun—the gentler the smile, the scarier it looked!
Quentin Hua cleared his throat, stifling his laughter, and gently patted Roxy’s back, coaxing her softly, "Roxy, be good, don’t be afraid. She’s just a little ugly, not a ghost!"
Roxy hesitated, then clung tightly to his clothes, snuggling deeper into his embrace, her body still trembling.
"Ahem... heh..." Sylas Ren made a noise somewhere between a cough and a laugh, his handsome face twisting as if he couldn't decide whether to stifle a cough or burst out laughing.
Joyce Du felt humiliated. Did he really not care about her feelings at all? Didn’t he realize how painful it was to be called ugly as a ghost by the man she liked? What’s more, the injuries on her face were caused by the very person he was holding, and instead of helping her, he’d even hit her himself! He didn’t stand up for her, just blindly sided with Roxy. She’d let all that slide, but now he said something like that—how could he be so cruel?
Joyce Du was truly heartbroken now. She no longer cared about pleasing Roxy; tears streamed down her cheeks. Autumn Du, though unhappy with Quentin Hua, didn’t dare help Joyce at this moment. Wendy Hua, however, wasn’t one to overthink—unable to watch any longer, she rushed over and shouted at Quentin Hua, "You’re being unreasonable! How can you treat Yue’er like this?" Coming from her, it was almost comical—when had the young lady ever been reasonable herself?
Wendy Hua glanced at Joyce Du, exasperated, "Yue’er, why are you apologizing to her? You didn’t do anything wrong!" As she spoke, she shot a glare at Roxy, who was still acting like an ostrich.