The next morning, Derek kept a smile on the corner of his mouth. He was in a good mood, especially when he thought of the date at night. He wished that it would get dark soon.
Charlie had never seen Derek like this. Charlie peeked at Derek several times.
Charlie's family had served Derek's family for many generations. They had been very close to the heirs of the Scott family. They were just like brothers.
Charlie served Derek's father at first, but now Charlie served Derek. In Charlie's heart, Derek was his master and he also considered him a son. Therefore, Aaron and Ian were like Charlie's grandsons.
"You look happy today? May I ask why?" Charlie asked. Derek was a little different today.
"What?" Derek came back to his senses and stopped smiling. "I'm just very happy that Aaron and Ian will be back today. The home is too quiet without them."
Charlie nodded in agreement. "Yes, I miss these two little guys too. I wonder how they were doing."
Derek heaved a sigh of relief as he managed to change the topic.
"I will pick them up in the afternoon. Prepare their favorite food for them," Derek said to Charlie.
"That's a sure thing," Charlie smiled.
At the company, Eric reported to Derek as usual. Eric graduated from an Ivy League university and was chosen by Derek as his secretary. Not only did Eric have outstanding performance, but he also took this job very seriously. That was the point that impressed Derek the most.
"Eric, you haven't taken leave this year, right? There aren't many things to do recently. You can take a break now. Send me the application, and I will approve it now," Derek said with concern. He knew how diligent Eric had been.
Eric was stunned. He was briefing the company's projects. Derek's words made him at a loss.
"Derek, how about the work..." Eric said hesitantly.
"I'll assign them to the others for the time being. You need some time to recharge yourself. I'll wait for you." Derek looked up at Eric.
"Thank you, Derek." Eric was delighted. He had been thinking about going to the beach for a vacation recently, and Derek gave him a holiday.
After Eric left, Derek put the pen down. He leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling. Emily's face appeared in his mind. He recalled her smile and her gentle expression in front of the children.
He wondered what expression she would have tonight. Tonight, she must be the most beautiful one.
Derek's imagination ran wild.
Meanwhile, in Emily's house, she and Teresa were preparing lunch, and the children were playing on the swing in the courtyard.
Sitting on the swing, Diane giggled happily, "Ian, push me. I can swing very, very high."
"Diane, we agreed that each person would swing for five minutes each time. It's my turn now." Ian pushed Diane. He also wanted to play.
"But it's not time yet." Diane swayed her legs with joy. "I can still play on the swing."
Ian looked at Chris and Aaron with a pleading gaze. "Really? Isn't it five minutes already?"
Chris gazed at Ian, who had been fooled by Diane. Chris felt that Ian was a little pitiful, yet Diane was Chris' sister, so Chris nodded expressionlessly.
Aaron also nodded seriously. Chris looked at Aaron in surprise, and Aaron lowered his head again to play number puzzles.
Ian continued to push the swing for a while. Diane told him again that the time was not up. This time, Ian did not believe her.
"It's boring. I'm not playing anymore." Ian ran toward Aaron and sat next to him.
"Come back. It's your turn," Diane shouted anxiously as she sat on the swing. However, because she was in a hurry to call out to Ian, she lost her balance and fell off the swing.
Chris had been staring at Diane, making sure she would be safe. So, as soon as he saw her fall, he rushed over.
Aaron and Ian also stood up in fear. Diane screamed, and they hurriedly ran over.
"Diane, are you alright?" Ian asked worriedly.
"Chris." Aaron saw that Chris was lying under Diane and had taken the brunt.
The children scrambled to help Chris and Diane up. Diane was fine. She was not injured. She was just a little frightened.
However, Chris' knees were broken, and he was bleeding. Since he was the only man in the family, he had to be brave. So he pursed his lips tightly. His face was a little pale, but he did not shed a single tear.
Seeing that Chris was bleeding, Diane immediately cried out, "Chris, you are bleeding. Will you die?" She wept and got hiccups.
"No, I won't," Chris said as he endured the pain. He raised his hand and stroked Diane's head to comfort her.
Ian was also frightened. He did not expect that Diane would fall after he left. He felt a little guilty.
Suddenly, he felt someone holding his hand. Ian turned to look. It was Aaron.
Aaron smiled at Ian. Ian calmed down.
"It's all your fault. It's all your fault," Diane sobbed, accusing Ian. "It's because of you that Chris got injured."
"It's not. I didn't do that," Ian said and cried. He was afraid and aggrieved.
"Ian is bad," Diane shouted.
"I am not." After Ian finished speaking, he ran back into the house in tears.
Emily was cutting tomatoes when she saw Ian running over and throwing himself into her arms while crying.
"What's wrong, Ian?" Emily hurriedly put down the knife in her hand. She didn't know what had happened.
The crying Ian couldn't explain the matter clearly, so Emily was anxious.
Just as she was about to take Ian outside, Aaron helped Chris in, followed by the weeping Diane.
Emily carried Chris to the sofa and brought over the first aid kit to clean his wounds. Her hands trembled slightly. Chris was injured, which made her feel distressed.
Diane and Ian gradually stopped crying, but the two little fellows would sob from time to time, looking exceptionally pitiful.
"What is going on?" Emily finished treating Chris' wounds. Fortunately, the wounds were neither deep nor big, and they stopped bleeding.
Diane and Ian lowered their heads. Chris told Emily about what had happened just now.
Aaron squatted beside him and blew at Chris' wounds. "They won't hurt anymore," Aaron said seriously to Chris.
"It's all Ian's fault," Diane muttered.
Tears welled up in Ian's eyes.
Emily squatted in front of him and rubbed his head. She said softly, "Ian, this is not your fault. Don't listen to Diane. You did nothing wrong."
"Diane, you and Ian agreed to play on the swing for five minutes each time. You didn't come down when the time was up. You didn't follow the rules. Ian was not wrong to leave," Emily said to Diane. Emily's tone wasn't harsh, but it made Diane blush.
"Chris loves you very much. He doesn't want you to be hurt. You have to be careful in the future, okay?" Emily said patiently.
Diane nodded in shame. She turned to Ian with Emily's signal.
"I'm sorry, Ian. I was so scared and I blamed you. I'll push you when you play on the swing later, okay?" Diane looked at Ian with red eyes.
In the end, Ian agreed to forgive Diane, but he asked her to take care of him for an entire afternoon as punishment.
Thus, this afternoon, when Ian wanted to drink water, Diane brought him water. As he wanted to eat fruit, Diane got him the fruit.
Seeing that Diane was so cooperative, Ian announced that he would end his punishment sooner.
Emily did not stop them and let the children solve the problem in their way so that they wouldn't hold grudges.