Chapter 791 - Soon, Soon (1/2)

Beatrice felt like she was playing truant, to be honest.

It wasn't like she had never taken leave before, but she certainly had never done so on a whim. At the last minute.

Luckily, she didn't have anything urgent pending and Sam could cover the fort for the one day that she had decided to indulge herself.

With that thought, Beatrice was much more cheerful and started bathing.

She took her time, too, as she wasn't in any rush to go to work. After her refreshing bath, she decided to treat herself to a nice breakfast in a cozy cafe somewhere. There was this coffee shop she had seen the other day that looked interesting.

After dressing simply in a white blouse and blue jeans, Beatrice tied her hair in a ponytail and applied minimum make-up. Glancing at herself in the mirror in the hallway, she nodded in approval and proceeded to go out.

The moment she opened the door, however, she was greeted by an impatient looking old man with a mid-30s amicable Chinese man beside him. The said Chinese guy was about to ring the doorbell, and his finger was quickly retracted.

”Ms. Chan,” began the guy when the old man pushed him aside and was staring at her.

His fierce face broke into a huge smile as he shouted, ”Beatrice!”

Beatrice was taken aback, ”I'm sorry, Sir, but do I know you?”

”No, no, no,” the old man said, shaking his head as he unashamedly walked into the apartment.

Beatrice's eyes shot wide open but she didn't have the heart to stop him from entering. He was an elderly, after all. She shot the younger guy a look and he looked sheepish as he apologized softly under his breath.

”I'm sorry, but he was …” he began, only to be cut out again by the old man who started sounding so excited.

”This is your home?! It's so nice! And warm!” the old man said excitedly as he looked inside from the hallway.

It was only a one-bedroom apartment, with a kitchen and living room. Beatrice lived alone and if there were any unexpected guests, the sofa in the living room would open up into a bed.

The decorations were simple, like her, and mainly made of red oak wood. Contrary to the name it did not mean that the wood was dark red. Merely slightly darker than usual.

”Good good good,” the old man couldn't help but say as he saw the interior.

A lot can be seen about a person's personality from the way they decorated their homes. Simple and sturdy, non-pretentious. Warm and cozy. It also reflected his grandsons, who were strong like oak and dependable.

Grandpa Anton was very happy indeed.

Beatrice's head went from the young guy to the old man and before she could say anything else, the old man gleefully took Beatrice's hand, patted it as he looked at her with hearts in his eyes.

At least, that was what it appeared to her.

”Lovely girl, you're such a lovely girl,” the old man said, taking her hand and pulling her into her own apartment.

”Sir, she's on her way out,” Chen said gently and the old man stopped suddenly.

”Oh, right! That's right! Aren't you going to work, my girl? I waited so long and you didn't come out. And now, you're dressed so simply,” the old man said, and quickly added, ”Not that you're not beautiful. You're beautiful no matter what you wear.”

”But you're not dressed for work …” the old man looked at her, his eyes full of questions.

”I .. I took the day off,” Beatrice found herself telling him, without really knowing why.

Perhaps it was because he looked pretty harmless … and quite adorable, truth be told. He had this genuine happiness and excitement from the moment she saw him, and she was well aware that it was all directed to her.

But why?

She even felt, to her amazement, as if he was treating her like one of his own?

”He's Zack and Yuri's grandfather,” Chen managed to whisper to Beatrice quickly as the old man started pulling Beatrice outside this time.

Beatrice looked at the old man and couldn't help but smile as the explanation cleared up everything.

She never had a grandfather, as both her maternal and paternal grandparents passed away when she was very young. She didn't remember much about them, other than the fact that they were old and did treat her kindly.

”Sir, you should let her wear her shoes first,” Chen reminded Anton gently, ”And introduce yourself.”

”AH!” Anton shouted, letting go of Beatrice's hand.

”I forgot!!” he said, looking horrified, ”I was so excited!”

Beatrice smiled at him, and said, ”It's okay, Sir. No harm done.”

”No no no no no!” Anton said agitatedly, taking her hand in his again, ”You must call me Grandpa.”