Chapter 60: Christian and Zachery Seem a Little Alike

Chapter 60: Chapter 60: Christian and Zachery Seem a Little Alike

Estelle finished speaking and left without looking back.

Nathaniel watched her retreating figure, silent for a long time.

"Daddy."

Just then, a faint voice sounded by his ear. He turned his head, only to see "Christian" looking at him with utter disgust.

Zachery wanted nothing more than to beat up his scumbag of a father. "Daddy, do you know why the horses run away, the flowers stop blooming, and the sun disappears the moment you arrive?"

Nathaniel was already used to Christian’s nonsensical remarks. "...Why?"

Zachery looked at him with disdain. "Heh, Daddy, you really have no self-awareness. It’s because they’re disgusted by you, of course.

"Can’t you tell that Ms. Yara doesn’t want to talk to you? But it’s not surprising. Ms. Yara is pretty, rich, and knows how to run a business and manage a company. With such a wonderful woman, others would be lining up to court her. Why would she want to pay attention to a scumbag?"

Nathaniel fell silent for a moment and looked at "Christian."

Having praised his mommy without batting an eyelid or skipping a heartbeat, Zachery faced Nathaniel’s suspicion without a trace of fear. "Daddy, I’m just expressing my true feelings! You can’t crush a child’s enthusiasm for telling the truth!"

Zane Grant chimed in at the right moment, marveling, "Christian has really changed. He’s so much more lively now. If this keeps up, his illness won’t be an issue at all."

Zachery immediately nodded. "So Daddy, just make a little sacrifice and let me say a few words!"

Nathaniel closed his eyes, feeling somewhat helpless. He wondered, "What kind of twisted logic is this?"

Two days later.

The inspection at Rosalind Garden concluded, and the project officially began. Estelle and Nathaniel got into the car for the return trip.

During the ride back, Estelle cast several glances at "Christian." She found it strange. She wondered why the young Mr. Christian’s sitting posture looked a bit like Zachery’s.

Usually, Christian sat perfectly straight, practically a miniature version of Nathaniel. But now, he was sprawled all over the seat, looking exactly like Zachery.

Perhaps the young Mr. Christian had just spent too much time with Zachery. Estelle shook her head, dismissing the thought.

Upon returning to Imperial Crest, she went to her room to change clothes. Zachery immediately ran upstairs. "Young Mr. Christian, let’s swap back!"

Then, he saw the scene of Christian and Mia sitting at the desk, counting gifts.

Mia was completely immersed in a sea of presents. "Zachery, you little dummy, come look! These are all the gifts the kids and teachers at kindergarten gave to young Mr. Christian!"

After speaking, she picked out a small cake. "I want this one!"

Christian said dotingly, "Alright, they’re all yours."

"Thank you, brother! You’re the best!"

Zachery was speechless. He felt a sudden illusion that his place in the family had been stolen, striking him like a bolt from the blue.

He thought indignantly, "Well, well, Mia! While I was out there pretending to be young Mr. Christian, protecting Mommy, and roasting our scumbag daddy, you were here calling him ’brother.’ Who is your real brother?!"

He glared angrily at Christian, thinking, "This is my sister! Don’t you have your own sister? Why are you stealing mine?!"

Before he could even finish fuming, Christian stood up and stuffed a beautifully crafted puzzle into his hands.

"Zachery, you seemed to like this last time, so I bought it for you. Do you like it?"

Mia chimed in from the side. "Zachery, you little dummy, just accept it! Let me tell you, young Mr. Christian really won the hearts of those teachers and parents, but they all thought he was you. Now your reputation is amazing!"

Christian smiled gently and nudged the puzzle forward.

Zachery was speechless again. He thought, "Oh no, my heart is melting.

"Young Mr. Christian is so good at bewitching people! Who wouldn’t be charmed by this? Let alone the kindergarten teachers, even I can’t resist it!"

"Al... alright, I’ll accept it then..."

"Mhm. By the way, Zachery, could I trouble you with a favor?"

The completely bewitched Zachery nodded eagerly. "Uh-huh, uh-huh, of course."

Christian said softly, "Great. Then I’d like to keep swapping places with you for a bit longer. Let’s not switch back just yet."

Zachery nodded mindlessly. "Uh-huh, uh-huh..."

Christian smiled. "Then I’ll take that as a yes."

Zachery suddenly snapped out of it. "Wait, no..."

Before he could finish, Christian handed him a slice of cake. "Thank you in advance then. You’re so good to me, Zachery. I really like you."

Zachery was instantly coaxed into a dizzying spell of happiness.

Mia looked at him with the worldly-wise gaze of someone who had seen it all. She knew it—no one could withstand young Mr. Christian’s innocent act.

She thought, "Is it that I can’t spot a manipulative act? No! It’s just that young Mr. Christian’s act is too irresistible!"

Christian lowered his eyes. Today at kindergarten, he had overheard someone talking about an upcoming educational event on paternity testing.

When the time came, he would beg Mommy to do a DNA test with him. Once it was confirmed that they were mother and son, he would reveal his true identity and let Mommy know that he was also her child.

Then, he could rightfully act spoiled and affectionate with her!

A few minutes later.

Christian took Mia by the hand and went to find Estelle.

Excited, Mia threw herself at her. "Mommy!"

Christian stopped in his tracks and said, "Mommy."

Estelle looked surprised. "Zachery, my darling, aren’t you going to come over and give me a hug?"

Christian cracked a smile and immediately leaped into her arms.

He thought, "Is this what Mommy is like? She smells so good and feels so soft. I love it."

"How have you been these past few days? Everything okay?" Estelle picked Mia up and asked, "By the way, Zachery, you had a fever a few days ago. What happened? Are you completely recovered now?"

Zachery had always been in excellent health. Let alone a fever, he rarely even caught a cold. The sudden fever had worried Estelle to death.

Mia and Christian exchanged a glance. Mia instantly felt a little guilty.

She panicked inwardly, "Oh no, what do we do? Of course Zachery is fine—the one who had a fever was Christian!"

Christian remained remarkably calm. "I’m all better now. Don’t worry, Mommy."

"That’s good." Estelle felt relieved.

Seeing that Estelle didn’t have the slightest suspicion, Christian couldn’t help but ask in a soft voice, "Mommy, you haven’t seen us for several days. Weren’t you afraid we might have been swapped with someone else?"

Estelle was shocked. "Swapped? Little Zachery, do you really think Mommy wouldn’t recognize you?"

In truth, there was something neither Zachery nor Mia knew. Even Zachery himself probably didn’t remember.

When Zachery was younger, he had a very quiet and shy personality. However, while they were living abroad, they looked different from the other children, and some kids would always try to bully Mia.

To protect Mia, Zachery’s personality became more fierce and outgoing. Now, perhaps feeling that his environment was safe, his personality was gradually reverting to how it used to be after returning to the country.

Estelle rubbed the heads of her two little ones. "Let’s go have dinner."

At the Lockwoods’ home.

Rose Lowell paced back and forth. "Noelle, what do you think we should do? That Yara Lockwood is such a vixen. Now you can’t even go back to Imperial Crest. We have to think of a way..."

Noelle had already calmed down. "Mom, it’s not like there are no options. As long as Christian Sloan asks me to go back, no one can stop me."

Rose hesitated. "But that little brat..."

Noelle smiled with the confidence of someone holding the winning ticket. "Remember Christian’s piano teacher? Children are the most vulnerable to provocation. When he’s learning piano, I’ll just have the teacher mock and belittle him a bit, and then I’ll step in to comfort him.

"Once I coax him into depending solely on me, why would we ever have to worry about him not obeying?"

The next day.

After breakfast, Zachery wanted to go back to his room to act spoiled with Mommy, but then he heard Mr. Chapman say, "Young Mr. Christian, your piano teacher is here."

Zachery was horrified. He didn’t know how to play the piano! Was it too late to swap back with Christian?!

He quickly sprinted upstairs. Before he could even knock on Christian’s door, he heard the piano teacher speaking in an arrogant tone.

"Has young Mr. Christian not been practicing the piano lately? Sigh, he’s already dull-witted to begin with. If he doesn’t study hard, I won’t be able to teach him anymore. My previous students were all brilliant; they picked things up the moment they were taught. Yet young Mr. Christian can still only play a few pieces. If Miss Noelle hadn’t begged me to come, I wouldn’t even spare a second glance at a student like him."

Zachery was dumbfounded. He thought, "Dude, who are you trying to gaslight?"

He thought furiously, "Young Mr. Christian is dull-witted? Oh, I see! This piano teacher was brought in by Noelle Lockwood specifically to put young Mr. Christian down, wasn’t he!"

Zachery immediately turned around. Swap back? Forget about swapping back! He absolutely could not let young Mr. Christian suffer this kind of emotional manipulation anymore.

He decided he would be the one to fire the first shot against this gaslighting!