Chapter 119
Brian glanced at Jessica, who was sprawled over her desk, scribbling away. He knew this was Maxine’s final ultimatum, so he could only grunte reluctantly. “Fine.”
He thought, I will just agree for now, then I’ll have Jessica running errands for me!‘
Brian secretly made this grand wish in his heart.
Since Brian went to an international school and had way less homework than the other kids, the job of helping Jessica with her vocabulary naturally landed on him.
While Maxine was upstairs tidying up, she could hear Jessica’s bright little voice from downstairs every so often.
For a kid, Jessica was already pretty focused, but since she didn’t fully understand everything yet, she kept mixing up a few similar–sounding words.
Honestly, Brian was already losing patience after the first explanation. He took a deep breath, his face darkening, clearly about to blow up.
But Jessica was a pro at reading the room. The second Brian’s face changed, she immediately started sniffling, “Brian, I was wrong, I’m sorry!”
Cleo, who was working on her writing nearby, would poke her head out and tease, “What’s going on? Brian, are you picking on Jessica again?”
Jessica said, “I’m just too slow to learn, and I made him mad.”
Cleo grinned and said softly, “How could that be? Brian loves helping Jessica with her vocabulary, right? Isn’t that true, Brian?”
Brian clenched his little fists, thinking that if he said anything harsh today, he’d probably get kicked out on the spot. He forced himself to mumble, “Yeah…”
Cleo sat back down, looking very pleased with herself for keeping Brian’s temper in check.
After two hours of homework, Jessica had pretty much figured Brian out, so she started pestering him to play without a care. Brian was at his wit’s end, but with Maxine around, he could only grit his teeth and put up with it.
When it was time for bed, Brian walked into the room Maxine had set up for him. The sheets were fresh and clean, carrying a hint of her scent.
He flopped onto the soft bed, hugged the blanket tight, and breathed in deeply.
“Brian!” Jessica called from the doorway, waving at him. “Maxine says it’s time to wash up!”
Her cheeks were flushed with excitement. Having a friend to share the evening with made her positively giddy.
Brian followed Jessica to the bathroom, where Maxine had already set out fresh toiletries for him. It had been ages since he’d been this close to Maxine, so he felt a bit awkward.
But Jessica was already up on her little stool, expertly squeezing out toothpaste for herself. She called out, “Come on, Brian! This toothpaste is strawberry flavored!”
Brian rolled his eyes inwardly and thought, ‘Who even likes strawberry toothpaste?‘
He might still be a kid, but he’d inherited his parents‘ height and always ate well, so he was already a head taller than Jessica and could reach the sink without any trouble.
He took the toothbrush Jessica handed him and obediently started brushing his teeth.
Once he finished, he realized his room was right next to Maxine’s. Seeing her sitting on the bed reading, Brian hesitated, wondering if he should go in and
talk to her.
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09:20 Thu, 19 Jun
Chapter 119
Jessica wandered over in her pajamas and patted him on the shoulder,
“Brian, what are you doing just standing here?”
At that, Brian tumed and looked down at her. “My room’s right next to Mom’s. Where’s yours?”
