It turned out that Charles Foster didn’t go home. Their nouveau riche family found it inconvenient to fool around with the kid around, so they dumped the child on the grandparents back in their hometown. Later, after both grandparents passed away, the nouveau riche parent still didn’t think to bring the child back, leaving them in a boarding high school in the old town. Each year, they’d give the teacher a gift, send the kid some money every month, and considered that fulfilling their fatherly duties.

It wasn’t until the couple started talking about divorce that they both suddenly remembered the forgotten child.

The nouveau riche parent wanted to use the child as a weapon, accusing Charles Foster of neglecting her duties as a wife and mother for years. Charles Foster also wanted to use the child as a bargaining chip, hoping to squeeze more money out of the nouveau riche.

Both harbored their own schemes, but quickly reached an agreement and brought the only child, forgotten in the old hometown, back home.

From this perspective, these two really were a match made in heaven—a pair of oddballs.

James Carter, expressionless, slapped William Carter on the back: “Ugh, so annoying. Isn’t one brat in the house enough? Now there’s another one.”

James Carter didn’t really like teenagers or children. She barely tolerated her own, and now Charles Foster wanted to dump another one on her.

William Carter: “Then why did you agree?”

“I never even gave my opinion!” James Carter complained in a low voice. “It’s all your grandma’s big mouth. Amber Foster bawled her eyes out and she agreed to everything. Who knows who the real mom is.”

Speak of the devil, and she appears. Suddenly, there was the sound of quick little footsteps behind them, and Grandma Carter, with a soft southern accent, chimed in: “Aiyo, what are you two up to? Nothing better to do than bully the puppy together? Little Emily, do you even look like someone’s mother anymore…”

With “Little Emily” and “Little William” both being scolded by grandma, they scattered in all directions.

William Carter lounged around the house, playing English listening exercises as background music, unable to understand why Ms. James Carter was so annoyed by the hassle.

He spent his days surrounded by middle-aged and elderly women. Every morning when he opened his eyes, he’d get an earful of his grandma’s warbling voice. A walk from the bedroom to the living room meant his other ear would be filled with Mrs. Bennett’s nagging. This made William Carter especially look forward to having a peer at home—a boy would be best, but a girl would do too—as long as she was pretty, he’d even play jump rope with her.

In William Carter’s anticipation, Charles Foster finally arrived, fashionably late.

Hearing the doorbell, William Carter tossed his English workbook onto the bed and dashed out to greet them: “Amber Jr.!”

At the entryway, a beautiful middle-aged woman poked her head in and waved warmly: “Hey, handsome, come let your godmother have a look at you.”

William Carter bounded down the stairs, but his eyes accidentally landed on the tall boy behind Charles Foster.

Instantly, the smile on his face was wiped away as if swept by -195.8°C liquid nitrogen—frozen solid, but his heart soared—

William Carter and Brian Cooper locked eyes at the entryway for a moment, their soaring emotions colliding, both inwardly exclaiming “Shit!” as the words crashed into their chests with a resounding thud.

Chapter 9: Calling the Parents Again

At the family dinner, from the moment they sat down, Charles Foster launched into her usual complaints.

Grandma Carter sighed and groaned in a theatrical tone, Mrs. Bennett was in charge of crying along, while William Carter and Brian Cooper, pretending not to know each other as “enemies,” both sat there looking as miserable as if someone had died.

James Carter was about to go crazy from Charles Foster’s endless rambling. She, along with the two brats, formed a three-way alliance of low pressure, while the dog Dou Dou, locked in the basement, howled like a wolf from time to time.

Brian Cooper knew that Charles Foster wanted to send him to someone else’s house for a few days, to clear the stage for the couple’s drama. Honestly, there was nothing to miss about the mess at home. After all these years, he was used to living under someone else’s roof.

He owned nothing, so he could only go along with whatever Eric Cooper and Charles Foster, who paid his living expenses, arranged. As a child, his unrealistic expectations of his parents had long since been numbed by repeated disappointments. Brian Cooper had planned to muddle through a few months at No. 6 High, settle in, and then get into a university as soon as possible, leaving those two weirdos to their own devices.

Who would have thought Charles Foster would send him to William Carter’s house!

One look at William Carter’s blank face, and Brian Cooper knew that, at least in terms of mutual dislike, they were perfectly in sync.

He hadn’t even finished a semester at No. 6 High, and probably no one near the school would want to rent to him short-term. He’d just had a falling out with David Wright and his gang, and staying in the dorm would be a hassle. As Charles Foster droned on in the background, Brian Cooper thought it over and finally made up his mind: “Forget it, I’ll just find a hotel near the school.”

He could stay as long as he wanted, have someone clean up, and meals would be taken care of—perfect.

When Grandma Carter gently told Brian Cooper to feel at home, he finally found a chance to speak: “I…”

But he only managed to get one word out before Grandma Carter suddenly reached out and touched his head and the side of his face.

Her hand was a bit thin and bony—age had taken the fullness from her skin—but she was well cared for, and still looked fair and delicate.