bChapter /bb276 /b

    Holden still hesitated to ept it. “Even if it’s for the printing and shipping costs, it’s still way too much,” he said.

    Yosef’s tone brooked no refusal when he said, “You earned it. Please ept it.”

    Since Yosef insisted, Holden had no choice but to ept it. “Alright, I’ll ept it then,” he said.

    After Yosef, Skr, and Adam bid farewell to Holden, the family of three found a nearby restaurant and settled down for a meal.

    The restaurant by the seaside served only the freshest catch from the ocean. Skr had a soft spot for shellfish, though peeling them was always a bit of effort.

    After peeling a few, Skr lost interest and stopped eating them. Looking a bit bored, she absentmindedly picked at the fish.

    From the corners of her eye, Skr noticed Yosef slowly peeling shrimp across the table. His hands were slender and perfectly proportioned,

    more delicate than a woman’s.

    ‘Those hands belong to the ck–and–white keys of a piano, not peeling shrimp at the table. What a pity, Skr mused.

    Yosef peeled about a small bowl’s worth of shrimp before stopping. He removed his gloves and pushed the bowl toward Skr. “Skr, help

    yourself since you like it,” he said gently.

    Adam nibbled on his fork, his eyes sparkling. He nodded his little head happily, thinking, ‘Finally, Dad’s getting the hint and taking the

    initiative!‘

    Skr stared nkly at the bowl of shrimp, momentarily lost in thought. ‘I thought he’d peeled them for himself. God knows they’re for me?‘

    she mused in surprise.

    ‘Yosef has been making these thoughtful gestures more oftentely,‘ Skr thought. ‘And each time, I can’t help but feel my emotions stirred.

    ‘If this continues, things might get out of my control,‘ she thought.

    Skr pushed the bowl of shrimp back to him and said, “No thanks. I’m not really into shrimp.”

    Adam was puzzled. ‘Didn’t Mom enjoy eating it just now? Why didn’t she like it anymore? Is it because of Dad? Why does Mom suddenly seem to dislike Dad? They got along just fine just now,‘ he thought.

    Adam Tooked at his dad with a silent question in his eyes, “What’s going on?”

    Yosef was equally clueless. ‘I didn’t do anything wrong,’ he thought. Father and son exchanged baffled nces.

    “You two enjoy the food. I’m going out for a while,” Skr said.

    Her mind was in turmoil. ‘I need some fresh air to clear my head and calm down,‘ she thought as she walked out, leaving Yosef and Adam

    behind.

    Adam asked, “Dad, did you notice Mom’s mood is kind of offtely?”

    “Yeah, a little,” Yosef admitted. Her emotions were all over the ce around him. How could he not notice?

    Adam rested his chin on his little hands and wondered, “What’s going on here?”

    Yosef had never been in love before, so he had ino /iidea what was happening. Father and son exchanged a baffled bnce/b.

    b08:33 /bbTh? /b14 bAug /b

    Adam looked up at his dad and asked, “Should I just ask Mom?”

    Yosef shook his head and said gently, “She might not tell you, Adam.”

    Adam mumbled, “You’re right.”

    Yosef shared the current situation in the group chat. Although his friends were not particrly insightful, and their advice rarely workedb, /bbhe /bbelieved that two heads were better than one.

    “Who knows, maybe one of them can figure it out,‘ he thought. As soon as Yosef sent the message, the other three immediately replied.

    Volker, surrounded by women, picked up on it right away and started typing swiftly.

    He replied: [Yosef, she’s wavering now. Just work harder, and you might win her over.]

    Yosef was skeptical and responded: [ Are you sure?]

    Volker, excited, sent a voice message straight into the group chat, “Hey, you can doubt me about anything else, but don’t you dare question my ability to analyze rtionships!