Andrew congratulated his daughter and his gaze quickly flew towards the man holding the tree. He had actually been watching his daughter for a while now and when he saw her hold the man's hand while happily talking to him, Andrew could already tell that this man might have been the one who made Abi became livelier and happier.
But when Andrew saw the man's face, he immediately felt uneasy. The young man was too good looking and not that just that, he had this noble and intimidating aura that nobody could ignore, despite the fact that he was acting like a prop man. Andrew could just feel that the young man was definitely not someone ordinary. In fact, he couldn't believe that his presence was far more incredible than this country's esteemed president whom he had once met by accident and even shook hands with. But it wasn't just because of that. Andrew felt uneasy the moment he saw how the young man stared at his daughter. That look in his eyes… it was…
"Thank you, daddy," Abi replied as she pulled away from her father's embrace. It was then that she saw that her father was looking past her. He was looking at Alex and Abi suddenly felt quite nervous.
"Who is this young man?" Andrew asked his daughter and Abi felt like her heart jump. She looked at Alex and the man just stared back at her calmly. His eyes gave nothing away and Abi couldn't get anything from them.
"Uhm… dad, this Alex," she told him, almost shyly, as she looked at Alex. There were questions in her eyes, asking if it was okay for her to disclose that he was her boyfriend to her family. She didn't want to lie to her family again so she was thinking of telling them the truth but she was hesitant. She was afraid that Alex might not like it.
Andrew leaned in on her daughter and whispered in her ear. "Abi, this is the man you like, right?" he asked and Abi blushed as she meekly nodded.
Her father then looked at Alex again. "Are you courting my daughter?"
Alex and Abi had the same reaction upon hearing the man's question. Alex's eyes flew towards Abi. Courting? Was he courting his little fruit?
Alex didn't court. He never chased any woman before and the word 'courting' had never appeared in his dictionary.
"No," he replied. Alex didn't know why he was acting strange, almost as if he was subconsciously being careful in front of this man. This man was ordinary, he could sense it with one look but for some reason, it was like he didn't even want to frown while the man was looking at him. It almost looked like he was trying to give him the impression that he was not a bad guy, even though he was, and he didn't know why.
"Oh, so you're Abi's friend…" Andrew was about to look at his daughter but the man spoke again.
"No," was all he replied, causing Andrew's eyes to slightly widen. He looked at his daughter with questions in his eyes. His daughter held this man's hand so intimately and yet they weren't even friends?!
Abi bit her lips hard as she stared back at her father before her lips hesitantly opened again. "Uhm… dad, he's my boyfriend," she meekly confessed as she kept glancing at Alex.
Andrew was surprised. This was something he didn't expect. He was sure that it wasn't even a month yet since she met this man. But somehow, he felt relieved that his daughter was in relationship with him. This was better than his daughter liking a man who didn't even see her as a friend.
"Alex, meet my dad, Andrew Chen," Abi continued the introduction, her eyes never left Alex's face. She could hear how loud her heartbeats were at the moment, as she waited for Alex's reaction.
But to her relief, Alex simply reacted like an ordinary person and greeted her dad. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Chen," was what he said in a calm voice.
"Oh, nice to meet you, Alex…"
"Alexander Qin." Alex filled in the blanks as he stretched out his hand for a handshake which was accepted by Andrew.
The two had just retracted each other's hands when an old couple had arrived in the scene.
"My, my, so you're the one behind my granddaughter's smile lately," an old woman approached them and she immediately took Alex's hand, like how a loving grandmother does to her beloved grandson.
Alex looked like he had stiffened a bit as he looked down at the old grandma, obviously confused or overwhelmed, but still calm as an untouched lake.
"What a good-looking child, but you complement my lovely granddaughter's beauty," she teased. "This grandma would like to invite you for dinner at our house tonight. So Abi, take him back home tonight, okay? We will go first so we can start preparing for the dinner. We will wait for you two. Make sure not to come home later than seven."
Just like that, the three left them without even letting Abi nor Alex accept or decline their invitation. Abi couldn't believe that her grandma decided all of that on her own like that.
Abi was biting her lips as she slowly turned to look at Alex.
"Uhm… Alex, I…" Abi pressed her lips in a hard line. "I was –"
"It's okay, it's just dinner," he cut through her and Abi's eyes widened in surprise. She grabbed the man's arms as she looked up at him with her big round eyes.
"Y-you're not angry?!" she asked and man frowned.
"Why would you think I am angry?"
"B-because I told them that you're my boyfriend without your permission."
Alex lifted his hand and was about to pinch her cheek but he stopped. Her face was still decorated with glitters and he didn't want to ruin it with his own hand.
Clicking his tongue, Alex grabbed her hand and pulled her with him as they left the stage.
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