Chapter 203: Causing Trouble for Christian?

Chapter 203: Chapter 203: Causing Trouble for Christian?

Yvonne Lancaster grew more confident as she spoke. "At the auction, once we secure Mr. Lynch’s connections, we won’t have to worry about Nathaniel Sloan monopolizing that piece of land!"

Liam Sloan fell into deep thought. He was certain now. The "Mr. Lynch" they were talking about was actually Nathaniel Sloan. He realized that they were looking down on Nathaniel while simultaneously trying to seek his help. Was this really the brilliant strategy the Lancaster family had come up with? Liam couldn’t understand it, but he was profoundly shocked.

At the Lockwoods’ home.

Noelle Lockwood could no longer be a celebrity. With zero source of income, she relied entirely on Rose Lowell to support her. Coupled with the company’s declining performance—as almost no one was willing to offend Nathaniel—Austin Lockwood had aged ten years from sheer worry.

He had completely lost his former spirited demeanor. "I told you not to offend Estelle..."

"How is this my fault? If anyone is to blame, it’s that jinx, Estelle Lockwood! She refuses to come home and refuses to get along with Noelle. I’m her mother! What’s wrong with me teaching her a lesson?!" Rose grew more indignant as she spoke. "Besides, aren’t people saying that Chairman Sloan’s son from his first marriage is back? Who knows if Nathaniel can still..."

"Shut up!" Austin’s eyes turned dark and sinister. "If you dare get involved in that matter, I’ll make you pay!"

Austin suddenly recalled the threat the Lancaster family had made over twenty years ago. He shuddered and clamped his mouth shut. If anyone ever found out about his deal with the Lancasters—how he had conspired with them to pull off a bait-and-switch with the babies—he would be a dead man! Not just Estelle, but Nathaniel too... The world could never know their true identities!

However, Austin knew exactly what kind of person Rose was. She was an absolute blabbermouth. If she found out the whole story, she would definitely go out and run her mouth about it. Thus, Austin couldn’t tell her the truth. He could only warn her, "Just stay out of it. Keep a low profile for now!"

Rose pursed her lips, completely unconvinced. She wondered what she had said wrong. Estelle was her daughter; what was wrong with scolding her a bit? Besides, the Lancaster family had brought Theodore Lancaster back. It was hard to say if Nathaniel could even continue protecting Estelle!

At this thought, Rose’s eyes darted around calculatingly. She decided that even if he forbade her from getting involved, she would do it anyway. Otherwise, how could she swallow this insult?

Two days later.

At Crestfall Kindergarten.

Estelle went to the kindergarten to pick up the three little ones, but they were nowhere to be found. A teacher told her, "Mrs. Sloan, one of your children’s classmates is having a birthday today. They took all the kids to Dewdrop Garden for dinner. The other students’ parents tagged along too, but Christian said not to bother you, so we didn’t call. Do you want to go over and take a look?"

Estelle was a bit surprised. Dewdrop Garden? However, Dewdrop Garden was their own family’s restaurant. Christian was very familiar with the place, so nothing bad should happen. Still, she quickly got into her car and drove over.

Meanwhile, at Dewdrop Garden.

A new student with the last name Lowell had transferred to their class today. Others might not have known, but Christian took one look and immediately recognized him as Rose’s nephew, Joseph Lowell.

Mia fell silent when she heard the name. She quietly asked Zachery, "With a family like the Lowells, what could they possibly have to show off?"

Right before school ended, Joseph’s parents—Rose’s brother and sister-in-law—announced they were treating the whole class to dinner at Dewdrop Garden. In reality, Timothy Lowell and Serena Foster had only invited the spoiled, unruly brats of the class. As soon as they arrived, these kids, instigated by Joseph, began to isolate the three siblings.

"Joseph, honey, the waiter said there aren’t enough seats inside. We have three extra people. What should we do?" Serena said deliberately, shooting a sideways glance at Christian and his siblings. She couldn’t help but feel smug.

A few days ago, Rose had approached Timothy and Serena, asking them to help teach a few people a lesson. In exchange, Rose had not only promised to transfer Joseph into the best kindergarten in Crestfall but also offered them a hefty sum of money. Timothy and Serena had agreed on the spot. Quietly teaching three little kids a lesson? That was way too easy!

They figured children were all terrified of being isolated and excluded. This kind of passive-aggressive bullying was invisible to others. If anyone asked, they could just claim the kids were too emotionally fragile—after all, none of the other children felt wronged, so why were only these three unhappy?

So, Serena had come up with a plan. Pretending to be helpless, she said loudly, "Sigh! There’s really no other way. High-end restaurants like Dewdrop Garden are very strict about seating. They can’t add more chairs, otherwise it’ll ruin the dining experience for everyone! The waiter just told me we have three extra people. He said we have to make a choice: either none of us eat here, or we drop three people!"

Joseph immediately chimed in, "We already made a reservation, so of course we’re going in to eat! I heard Dewdrop Garden has lots of fun stuff, and a single meal costs hundreds of thousands!"

Hearing this, the kindergarteners immediately started throwing tantrums at the thought of missing out on the fun.

"Then we just have to kick three people out!"

"I want to go in and eat! I want to go in!"

The parents coaxed their kids, adding, "Oh my, our children are already here. We certainly can’t make our kids leave!"

Because his family was wealthy, Joseph had already gathered a few lackeys on his first day. One of these lackeys arrogantly demanded, "Christian Sloan, you and your siblings should leave!"

As soon as those words were spoken, the spoiled brats who had been whining immediately followed suit.

"Yeah, there’s exactly three of you!"

"Since you’re all family, you won’t be lonely when you get kicked out. Just get lost already!"

Timothy and Serena exchanged a look. Seeing that their goal had been achieved, Serena stepped forward with a smile.

"Sloan, right? Look, everyone is saying you three siblings should leave. There’s nothing we can do about it. After all, the minority must submit to the majority, don’t you agree?

"But Sloan, we did invite you out to eat. Having you leave just like this seems a bit too unreasonable. How about this? You wait for us at the door for two hours.

"Once we’ve eaten and drank our fill, we’ll take you home. Look, the environment outside Dewdrop Garden is quite nice. You three can keep each other company out here.

"I’ve arranged everything so perfectly for you, aren’t you going to thank us?"

Serena couldn’t help but feel smug. She used to be a preschool teacher, and she knew that little kids were most afraid of teachers. She had deliberately used her authoritative tone and refused to believe Christian wouldn’t obediently fall in line. When the time came, they would be eating inside while Christian and his siblings waited outside in the open air. Just the thought of it was incredibly satisfying! And to think her sister-in-law had made Christian out to be so terrifying. The kid was clearly just an idiot!

Christian fell silent. He wondered if he had remembered incorrectly. His daddy had clearly stated that Dewdrop Garden refused entry to anyone from the Lockwood or Lowell families. How could Timothy’s family possibly have booked a table?

Christian spoke up very kindly, "Aunt Foster, I think you might be mistaken about something. Why don’t you go ask if the Lowells are even allowed inside Dewdrop Garden?"

Unfortunately, Serena completely missed the feigned innocence behind his seemingly kind words. Instead, she exploded in anger.

"I was kind enough to bring you out to eat, and what is this supposed to mean? Our Joseph even thought of you as his classmates, yet you treat his good intentions like dirt!

"Sloan, if you really want to eat, I see that dog over there is enjoying a pretty good meal. Why don’t you three go have a bite of that?

"I’ll leave my words right here: if you three don’t get lost, nobody is eating!"