Chapter 596: So Intelligence Is Hereditary

“Miles, my wonderful son-in-law, come here and let me get a good look at you. You truly are a dashing young man.

“Our Nina can be quite immature and must have caused you a lot of trouble. Whenever you have some free time, why don’t the two of you come visit us at home?

“You see, you and Nina have been married for quite a while now, yet you haven’t come to visit her father and me. We haven’t even met your parents! We’re all family now. Isn’t it a bit inappropriate? If word gets out, people might say the Mercer Family has no manners.”

Mrs. Scott’s sycophantic intentions were glaringly obvious. Ever since she discovered Miles’s true identity, she had been incredibly smug. Whenever she went out these past few days, she boasted to anyone who would listen that the illustrious Mercer Family were her in-laws and that Miles Mercer was her son-in-law.

However, no one believed a single word of it.

Leaving aside the rumors that Nina Scott had married a penniless loser, how could her husband possibly be from the Mercer Family? Would the prestigious Mercers ever stoop to associate with the Scotts? Besides, everyone and their mother knew about the ugly fiasco between Nina and the Walker Family. The Scotts were truly shameless to brag so boldly. Not only did those people disbelieve her, but they also gossiped about Mrs. Scott behind her back, leaving her grinding her teeth in anger.

Miles’s gaze was ice-cold. “Are you saying that our Mercer Family lacks manners?”

“No, no, I didn’t mean that at all,” Mrs. Scott hurriedly explained. Her attitude toward Miles was completely different from how she treated Nina.

“Everyone knows exactly how you treated Nina in the past. A few casual words from you now won’t change that,” Miles said, his voice frigid. “Don’t ever harass her again.”

Nina blinked, staring up at him. Whenever she started to find Miles annoying, he always managed to show up right at the crucial moment. Just like now. He had clearly already left, so why was he back? And how did he know this woman was here?

“She’s my daughter!” Mrs. Scott retorted. “She only married you; she didn’t sever her ties with the Scott Family! Why shouldn’t I be allowed to look for her?”

Miles couldn’t be bothered to waste his breath on such people. He stated bluntly, “I’ve made myself very clear. If you don’t believe me, feel free to try your luck.” Without giving Mrs. Scott a chance to respond, he took Nina’s hand. “Let’s go.”

Nina followed him, and together they stepped into the elevator.

“Why did you come back?” she asked, looking up at the man who was more than half a head taller than her.

“I saw a car parked on the street that looked like it belonged to the Scotts,” Miles replied. “I figured she might have come looking for you again.”

“You even recognize the Scott Family’s cars?” Nina didn’t even recognize them herself.

“I’ve seen it twice. I remembered the license plate.”

Nina marveled at him. “You only saw it twice and memorized the plate?”

“Isn’t that perfectly normal? What’s so hard about it?”

“Is your memory really that good? How long does it take you to memorize a book?” Nina asked. She had never known these things about him before. To be honest, she didn’t even know Miles that well.

“That depends on the book,” Miles said. “An ordinary book might take a day or two.”

“A whole book?” Nina was astounded. Could memorizing texts even be measured in entire books? Back in school, didn’t people memorize things article by article? She was just a normal person. It took her forever to memorize a single classical Chinese text. During high school, it would take her over a week just to fail at memorizing those long passages, which had given her endless headaches.

“What about classical literature?” Nina asked. “You must have had to memorize those for the college entrance exams.”

“Those take a few dozen minutes at most. Reading them twice is enough.”

“Are you serious? You only need to read them twice?” Nina couldn’t believe it. Was Miles pulling her leg? They were so difficult; it seemed impossible. “I don’t believe you. If that’s really true, and your memory is that good, you must still remember them now, right?”

“Some of them, yes.”

“Then let me test you. Recite one at random.”

Nina named a specific text. She was just about to offer him a chance to quickly read it over twice, but to her surprise, Miles recited it flawlessly from memory without missing a single beat. It was completely different from how she and her classmates used to stumble and stutter just to barely pass their recitations.

Nina sighed in admiration. “How are your brains even wired?”

“This is nothing,” Miles said. “My oldest brother is even better at it than I am.”

“I always said Ivy was smarter than me back in school. It turns out it’s just genetics running in your family.”

“No, that’s just because you’re stupid.”

“Save your personal attacks. Wait, no, we’re getting off track. Back to the main point—the money you transferred to me earlier… my mom asked you for a bride price again, didn’t she? I can’t accept that money. Give me a card number, and I’ll wire it back to you.”

“That money is for you. It has nothing to do with a bride price. Keep it safe and spend it however you like.”

“But I can’t just take your money for no reason.” Nina didn’t dare use it; she would feel far too uneasy.

Miles stopped in his tracks. “You think this is for no reason?”

“Isn’t it?” Nina asked.

Miles pressed his lips tightly together. Seeing his reaction, Nina couldn’t help but wonder if she had said something wrong. She quickly changed the subject. “Also, where are you taking me?” She had been blindly following him without even knowing their destination.

“You’re coming home to live with me.” Miles guided Nina into his car and added, “For the time being, you’ll be living with me.”

“I don’t want to!”

“She’s definitely going to come looking for you again. Do you really want to be harassed by her?”

“Then I can just stay at a hotel! Just drop me off at any nearby hotel.”

“If Grandpa finds out you went to a hotel instead, he’d beat me to death.”

“Can’t I just not tell Grandpa?” Nina felt that since her marriage to Miles was just a fake agreement, it wouldn’t be appropriate for her to stay at the Mercer estate.

“No!” Miles’s tone left no room for argument. With that, he started the car and drove them straight back to the Mercer Family home.

During the ride, Nina checked the savings in her bank account. Her studio wasn’t very large, and since it had only been established recently, it was just starting to turn a profit. All the initial setup costs had drained her finances, leaving her with very little in savings. However, knowing that Seth was in a tight spot, she immediately transferred all her available funds over to him.

She then sent him a message: “Seth, I heard from Mom that the company is facing some difficulties lately. This might not be much, but I hope it helps a little.”

Seth was indeed drowning in trouble lately. Cameron Walker was furious and was setting up traps to sabotage the Scott Family at every turn. Since the previous project had been facilitated by the Walkers, their sudden suppression was making Seth’s life truly miserable.

Seth accepted the transfer and replied to Nina: “Thank you, Nina. How have you been lately?”

Nina typed back: “I’m doing well. Focus on your own matters and don’t worry about me. If you’re still short on cash, let me know. I’ll help you figure something out.”

She was willing to help because Seth had genuinely treated her well when she first returned home. They had built a solid relationship over the past few years—something that had absolutely nothing to do with Mr. and Mrs. Scott.