Chapter 564
Chapter 564
After a while, Ava came out with a dozen brand-new disposable cups. Stella was holding a needle and thread in her hand.
Frank was afraid that Ava could not reach far enough, so he followed closely behind her and prepared to help. Meanwhile,
Trevon stood at the door like a boss, preparing to watch them set up everything. He did not intend to lift a finger at all.
As long as Natalie wasn’t busy, it wouldn’t attract his attention at all.
In the distance, Stella stood on her tiptoes and reached out to pull down a branch. Ava was putting strings on the disposable
paper cups. Frank helped to hang them. Each person had a division of labor, so it was not tiring to get things sorted. Seeing that
Stella beside him was limited in height, Frank glanced at her but did not show any sign of helping her out. He kindly reminded
her, “The Turner family has chairs.”
“If you had extended your precious hand, would I have to jump around like a rabbit?” Stella complained.
Frank did not seem to hear Stella’s complaint. He still had no intention of helping. He stood quietly beside Ava and waited to
hang the cups.
Stella stopped complaining. In any case, Frank might as well have written “Exclusively for Ava” on his forehead with a black
marker.
Seeing that Stella was struggling so much, Ava also found it to be quite tiring for her. “Frank, can you help lower the branch
down? I’ll hang the cup up.”
“Sure, I’ll listen to you.”
A branch was pulled down by Frank. Stella immediately reached out to hang a cup. The two of them hung the paper cups from
different angles.
Stella cursed in her heart. She should not have come. Now she had to watch Frank and Ava act all romantic while she hung the
cups.
Seeing that the three of them were busy, Natalie urged the man who was incredibly free, “Go and help. Otherwise, Stella feels
left out.”
Trevon still did not move. His reason for it was very strange. He said in a nice tone, “Jumping will be good for her. She may even
grow taller.”
Natalie rolled her eyes. “If you don’t want to go, then don’t. Why bother making
up
that kind of excuse?” she thought.
“What are you all doing?” Joseph’s pleasant voice came from behind as he walked towards them.
Natalie turned her body sideways so that Joseph could see what they were doing. Trevón, however, continued to stand in his
original position, not moving at all. It was as if he was glued to the spot. He did not feel that he was blocking the doorway at all.
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Joseph glanced at the gun in Trevon’s hand. “Are you preparing to compete with each other?”
“Yes. He’s going to compete with Frank to see who has the best aim. They’re hanging stuff up now,” Natalie explained as she
carried her son.
Joseph watched from the doorway as Stella jumped three times but still failed to hook the cup on the branch. She probably
wanted to hang the cup higher. However, she was limited by her height. Joseph could not stand watching it anymore. He walked
over and reached out to lower the branch. “You can hang it
now.”
“Thank you, Joseph. That is very nice of you.” Stella pouted and said. There was a hint of sarcasm in her tone.
Ever since Joseph arrived, Stella no longer needed to jump around anymore. It was much easier for her.
There was strength in numbers. After more than ten minutes, the scattered cups hung on the branches and swayed in the wind.
The
pure white cups had cute graffiti on them. They were quite a sight.
Jasper couldn’t hold the gun. He could only slide out of his mother’s arms and get the bullets from inside the box. He handed it to
his father who was still standing in the way. “Daddy, here.”
Trevon saw the anticipation in his son’s eyes and bent down slightly. He picked up his son with one arm and took the bullets from
him. “I’ll teach you later.”
“Okay,” Jasper obediently replied. When he was with Trevon, Jasper was usually more obedient.
After he was done, Frank slowly walked towards the door. He rubbed Jasper’s little head and raised his chin. “How are we going
to compete?”
Trevon said, “Ten rounds, best of three.”
“What’s the bet?” Frank asked.
“My wife will not agree to a big bet, but a small bet is fine,” Trevon said seriously. He vividly portrayed himself as a henpecked
husband, as though he couldn’t wait to tell the world that his wife had the final say.
He even had a smug expression and a smile on his face. Natalie felt very exasperated by his behavior.
Frank chuckled. “We can take the healthy route. The loser has to run two laps around the manor. It’s the same as working out.”
Joseph, who had always been a steady personality, suddenly interrupted, “I’ll try
too.”
“Joseph, you’re participating too?” Ava said in surprise.
“Yes, it’s rare for our family to come together at the same time. Why not have a
good time together, right, Jasper?” After saying that, Joseph pinched Jasper’s
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earlobe.
Trevon handed the gun to Joseph and continued to carry his son. “It’s a virtue to respect the old and love the young. You first,
Joseph.”
Natalie rolled her eyes. Trevon was being way too dramatic.
Upon hearing that, Joseph smiled faintly and did not refuse. He took the gun and raised it. He glanced at a cup, removed the
safety catch on the toy gun, and pulled the trigger. The bullet accurately hit a cup and it shook.
Stella stood behind him like a cheerleader. “Wow! You are too accurate. Very impressive.”
This method of competition was quite good. It did not waste a lot of paper cups and they did not need to be hung up again. As
long as the bullets hit the cup, they could hear and see it. It would not break and could be used by the next person.
After firing five shots, a wind started to blow through the courtyard. The tree branches kept swaying as the wind swept through
them. The cups also danced along in the wind. It was very tough for the person who was firing the gun to aim. The difficulty had
increased.
Ava felt that such a lively occasion was rare. She wanted to remember this beautiful moment, so she took out her phone and
started to capture it.
She started filming the way her brother raised the gun. Joseph was wearing a shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His
eyes were narrowed as he aimed at the target. He was completely focused as if no one around him could disturb him.
Ava took a few photos of her brother and sent them to her sister-in-law upstairs.
At the side, Stella was even more excited than the person shooting. She kept staring at the cup and was almost cross-eyed. She
held her breath with every shot.
Due to the resistance of the wind, Joseph missed three shots. He gave the gun to Trevon. “Jasper, let me carry you. Let’s watch
your father’s performance. We can count together, okay?”
Every time the sigh.
gun
missed a shot, Stella and Ava would express their pity and
Joseph, on the other hand, did not care. It was just a game to begin with, so there was no need to take it seriously. The corners
of his mouth were always turned up into a smile, and he appeared extremely gentle.
Trevon raised the gun confidently and raised his eyebrows at Natalie. It was as if he was saying, “Look at me.” He held the gun
with one hand and fired 10 shots at the cups in one go. Every shot hit the cups, and the cups that were hit were still shaking in
the air. He praised in an indifferent tone, “This gun is not bad.” Joseph did not speak and only smiled faintly. Frank looked at
Trevon in disdain. “I paid a lot for it.”
Frank was a little hésitant when he saw Ava’s expectant gaze, but he still made up his mind. At the beginning of his turn, every
shot hit the cups accurately. In the
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end, he made two mistakes, and in the middle, he made two mistakes. The final result was Trevon first, Joseph second, and
Frank third.
The last place was fake. Joseph could tell, and so could Trevon. Trevon secretly cursed Frank for being a scheming bitch.
Because Frank didn’t put in his best, Trevon did not mention anything about running. It would make him look classless. He slowly
bent down and said to his son, “Take the gun.”
The competition ended.
Stella also took a lot of photos. Joseph went upstairs to see Christina, while Stella went to the living room to play with her phone.
Frank and Ava stood arm in arm at the side, watching Jasper play with the gun. Trevon was teaching him, and three of them
were watching. Jasper’s height was short, and the gun was a little big for him. It was difficult to hold it steadily without help, let
alone shoot.
After playing for a while, the courtyard was filled with the sound of Ava’s cheering, Natalie’s encouraging voice, and Jasper’s
excited laughter.
After dinner, Frank did not want to
Ava how to shoot. Stella stood at th Vaste the venue. In the courtyard, he taught
door peeling oranges. She ate oranges while watching how affectionate Frank and Ava were being. Trevon leisurely brought his
son along to be an audience too.
Jasper wondered, “Is the toy really for me or for the adults to play with?”
Natalie chatted with Emma in the living room. She initially planned to stay for a few days before she went back, but she felt
uneasy leaving the two children at home. After much consideration, she decided to go back to Athana tomorrow. Perhaps this
was what it meant to be a parent. Sometimes, when the children were by her side, she would feel that they were noisy. When
they were not by her side, she would start thinking about them and missing them. She would not be used to it.
“Natalie, if you’re worried about the children, why don’t you let Jasper stay here for a few days? Your uncle and I will send him
back.” Emma held Natalie’s hand and patted it gently.
Angie said, “You can just go back with us. Don’t worry, Rachel can handle them. Don’t underestimate your mother-in-law’s ability.
When she was young, she was not inferior to men in terms of capability. She’s a man of her word.”
Natalie knew what Angie/said was true. Back then, Peggy was also very afraid of her mother-in-law. Even Theo listened to
Rachel’s arrangements.
However, Natalie still wanted to go back. After all, they were twins. It was tiring for her mother-in-law to take care of them at
night. In addition, her mother-in-law always did everything herself, so it was even more tiring. “Aunt Emma, I’ll come next time.
You’re already busy enough now. If I leave Jasper here, you’ll be too
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tired. When the two children are a little older, we’ll come over to stay for a while, if you don’t mind the noise then.”
“Alright. I’ll be overjoyed then. Why would I find them noisy? Your uncle can’t wait for so many people to be at home every day.”
Emma stroked Natalie’s hair and looked at her with a doting gaze. She was relieved. “Then, I won’t force you. You can make
your own arrangements. Don’t be afraid of troubling us. We like to be busier too.”
“I understand.”
“It is really impressive that Rachel has a daughter-in-law like you. You’re still thinking about your mother-in-law’s hard work even
after coming out to play,” Angie praised. After comparing, she felt that her daughter was not good in any way. She sighed in her
heart.
The topic began to derail. Angie glanced secretively at her daughter outside the door. “Emma, do you have any good candidates
for sons-in-law like Joseph? Can you arrange one for Stella?”
Emma and Natalie remained silent for a long time. Seeing that the two of them did not answer, Angie continued, “I’ve decided to
change the way I educate Stella. Since my persuasion can no longer help her improve, perhaps dating will. I want to find a more
mature man to guide her and help her get better.”
Natalie was speechless. She could not come up with a reason to refute such a strange education method.
Without waiting for Emma to answer, Stella jumped out and said, “Mom, what are you saying? Chris hasn’t even started a family
yet. Why is it my turn?”
Stella had coincidentally run out of oranges. She had come in and was about to get some peanuts or something to munch on
when she heard her mother. She was so frightened that she almost slipped on the spot.
She would never have thought that her mother would skip her brother and have designs on her.