In the evening, Annette came to Zachary's home and saw his parents, William and Barbara. Everyone seemed a little excited.
"Annette, look how pretty you are now," Barbara said while looking at her.
Annette smiled shyly, "Barbara, you are still the same as I remembered."
"We're getting old," Barbara said as she patted Annette's hand. "I heard from Zachary about what had happened to your mom. You were all by yourself these years, and we didn't help much."
"Barbara, I'm no longer a child, and I can take good care of myself." Annette smiled in relief and continued, "Probably my mother knew that I had grown up, so she chose to leave."
William and Zachary came out of the kitchen and said, "Annette, dinner is ready. Let's chat during the meal."
Annette walked to the dining table and looked at the dishes on the table. She praised, "Wow! William, this is impressive."
"Take a seat and try the food. See if my cooking skills have improved or not."
Just as they sat down, the doorbell rang.
Zachary got up and walked to the door. "Who would come at this time?"
Annette looked at the door nervously.
Zachary opened the door. When he saw the person outside, he was surprised. "Why are you here?"
"So, you are at home. I asked you to watch a movie with me. You said you didn't have time, so I wanted to see what you were busy with. Are William and Barbara at home?" A woman was speaking at the door.
Zachary made his way, and the woman changed her shoes quickly. When she saw Annette, she frowned and asked, "You have a guest?"
Barbara put the cup on the table and seemed a little unhappy.
Annette put down the fork.
Zachary went to the dining table with the woman. "Ann, let me introduce you. This is my girlfriend, Jennifer. Jennifer, this is Annette. She used to be our neighbor."
Annette stood up and nodded at Jennifer. "Nice to meet you, Jennifer."
Jennifer looked at Annette's pretty face and felt somehow annoyed.
She said indifferently, "Hello."
Then, she said unhappily, "William, Barbara, I don't think I came at the right time."
Barbara asked, "You didn't trust Zachary, so you came to check on him, right?"
"That's not what I meant. I just..." Jennifer took a deep breath and explained, "I simply stopped by to see you guys."
Zachary cast a glance at William. William stood up and said, "Jennifer, have a seat and join the dinner with us."
Jennifer sat beside Zachary, facing Annette.
She had been sizing up Annette. Annette sat down and felt a little awkward.
Seeing Jennifer's gaze, Barbara said with displeasure, "Jennifer, why are you always staring at Annette?"
Jennifer smiled calmly and said, "Annette is so pretty."
She turned to ask Zachary, "Zachary, why have you never mentioned her before?"
Annette felt that Jennifer's words were a little strange.
Zachary frowned. "Annette and I haven't seen each other for eleven years. We bumped into each other at the mall a few days ago."
"You recognized her at a glance even after eleven years. That's amazing. I went out with you to watch a movie. Only a few people were at the entrance of the cinema, yet it took you so long to spot me." Jennifer was dissatisfied. "Are you treating me differently?"
Zachary looked at her, frowning.
William placed a set of cutlery in front of Jennifer.
Jennifer could have ended the topic, but she was a little annoyed because Zachary had left her alone and had dinner with another woman.
"Zachary, you met your beautiful neighbor again. Do you regret dating too early?"
Barbara said unhappily, "Jennifer, do you think it is appropriate to talk about that in front of our guest?"
Jennifer looked at Annette and said, "Annette, I'm sorry. I like to joke around. Please don't mind me."
Annette could tell that Zachary's girlfriend was jealous.
She smiled, "It's fine. I don't mind. I'm just his neighbor and haven't met Zachary for many years. That's it. Besides, I have a boyfriend."
Barbara asked Annette, "I'm so caught in the memories and forgot that you have grown up. It's time for you to have a boyfriend. What does your boyfriend do? Where does he work? Is it nice to you?"
"He works in the Norman Group. He is very nice to me," Annette hesitated for a moment and said.
"The Norman Group?" Barbara was surprised. "That's one of the top companies in Akron. He must be pretty outstanding."
Annette said embarrassedly, "He is OK."
Jennifer raised her eyebrows and said, "What a coincidence. One of my friends also works for the Noman Group. Which department is your boyfriend in? Maybe they know each other."
Zachary frowned as he said, "Really? You have friends everywhere."
"I like to make friends, you know that."
Zachary was a little speechless. Jennifer had gone a bit far today.
Annette said, "They probably don't know each other. There are only a few people in my boyfriend's department."
"My friend works in the personnel department and should know people in your boyfriend's department. Just tell me. Maybe my friend can help your boyfriend in the future."
Jennifer continued, "Do you want to hide your boyfriend from William and Barbara? Don't you think that will be hurtful to them?"