CHAPTER 215: CHAPTER 215: HAVE YOU SEEN MY DAD?

Hearing the sound of the door unlocking, Shannon Quinn quickly put away the pocket watch in her hand, adjusted her emotions, and got up to walk to the door.

Seeing Leo’s nose running from the cold again, Shannon wiped it with a tissue and scolded him, "See, I told you not to go out in this cold, but you didn’t listen."

Leo sniffed and retorted, "The teacher said we need to exercise more. It’s you hiding in the house all day that’s not good!"

"Then in this cold weather, go out by yourself. Don’t get your grandma sick."

Leo turned around and acted coy with Catherine Yardley, "Grandma, you see how mom doesn’t care about me at all?"

"Your mom cares about you too. Go take a bath, and I’ll get your clothes."

Shannon went to the bathroom to run the water for Leo, and after he took off his jacket, he said, "Girls can’t peek when boys are taking baths."

"You little brat, I used to bathe you!"

"That was then, this is now."

Shannon reached in to test the water temperature, "Hurry up and bathe, and don’t play with the water."

Since starting kindergarten, he has mostly done these things by himself. He is quite independent and doesn’t like others helping him, which saves Shannon a lot of effort.

After bathing, Leo ran into Shannon’s room.

Shannon was sitting at the computer desk, browsing files sent over from the company.

"Mom."

"What’s up? Still not sleepy?" Shannon put down the mouse and turned her chair to look at her son.

Leo gently closed the door, walked up to her, rubbed his forehead, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

"Do you want some allowance again? Want to buy a new toy?"

"No." Leo looked at Shannon with big eyes before asking, "Mom, do I look like dad?"

Shannon’s smile froze, leaving her stunned.

She almost never brought up Leo’s father with him. Leo learned about the concept of "dad" from other kids while playing outside.

In his heart, he probably knew that his family was different from other kids’, and he might have had questions, but he had never asked Shannon about his father like this before.

Seeing the curious and expectant look in her child’s eyes, and remembering that Vincent Rhodes had passed away, Shannon felt a mix of emotions. She patted Leo’s head and said, "Yes, very much so."

"Was he tall?"

"Yes, so you need to eat well, so you can grow up to be as tall as your dad."

Leo chuckled, then suddenly changed the subject, "Did anyone add you on WeChat just now?"

The slightly emotional Shannon’s face immediately turned stern upon hearing this from Leo, "What did you do? Why don’t you ever listen?!"

Leo giggled, ran to the door, and shouted back, "I put your QR code in the matchmaking corner at the park!"

"You little rascal!"

Leo immediately shut the door, then stood outside, smiling to himself.

It got colder again the next day, with some light rain falling.

The winter rain just made the cold more biting, dampening people’s spirits.

Shannon held an umbrella and walked with Leo from the car to the school gate, her hands stiff from the cold.

After seeing the child into school, she turned to leave. By chance, she thought she saw a familiar figure. She looked intently in that direction again, but in the mix of cars, people, and colorful umbrellas, she couldn’t find that familiar figure.

She thought she must be crazy, wondering if she imagined him because she thought about him too much recently. He’s already passed away. How could he appear here?

Sighing with disappointment, she put away her umbrella and got back into the car.

She turned on the heater and rubbed her hands together. Once a bit warmer, she drove to the company.

As soon as she reached downstairs, she ran into Liam Sterling, who had just returned from a business trip.

"I thought you might not come in this cold," Liam greeted her teasingly.

"If I don’t come, how will I earn tuition money for my son?"

"Isn’t your son supposed to be earning money for you?"

"Don’t bring it up; I’m so mad I’m about to explode." Shannon glared at Liam, "I even suspect it’s you who’ve been teaching him."

"Now that’s unfair. If I had Leo’s brains, would I be in the state I’m in now?"

From a black sedan parked across the street from the company, Vincent Rhodes watched as Shannon and Liam laughed and chatted their way into the building.

No matter if Shannon and this Liam were just colleagues, he didn’t like seeing them joke and banter like that.

Because he was jealous.

He thought about how he wanted to re-enter her life quickly but also feared facing her again.

He didn’t know if she would be surprised and happy to see he was still alive or if she would be annoyed and ask him to leave her alone, just as before.

He decided to start by getting through to the child. If he could win over Leo and have Leo speak up for him, many problems might solve themselves.

So, in the afternoon, when school let out, Vincent went to the school again.

It was the grandmother who was picking him up today. Shannon was usually strict with Leo, whereas Catherine Yardley clearly doted on him. After picking him up, they went straight to a little food shop across from the school.

Leo saw him but didn’t approach because his grandmother was there; he merely waved secretly at him.

It seemed the kid had a good impression of him. Five hundred dollars was all it took to win him over. Dealing with a little money lover was pretty straightforward.

"Grandma, have you seen my dad?"

"What?" Catherine Yardley thought she misheard.

Leo repeated earnestly, "My dad, can you tell me why he left mom and me?"

Catherine was completely caught off guard by this question, "Did your mom tell you about your dad?"

"No, I’m afraid to ask mom, so I came to ask Grandma."

"When you’re a bit older, your mom will tell you. Some things you won’t understand right now."

"Do you think my dad was a good person?"

"Of course he was a good person, your dad was a hero." She just wanted to make the child happy, knowing how kids tend to idolize their fathers.

She even worried if the child was being bullied at school because of this, but from Leo’s cheerful demeanor, it didn’t seem like he was being bullied.

After they got home, Catherine felt the need to bring this up to Shannon.

"Leo asked me about it last night, too."

"I’m just worried he’s being bullied by classmates at school?"

"He’s more likely the one bullying others," Shannon said jokingly, though she felt a twinge of heartache inside.

"I’m telling you, Shannon, maybe it’s time you find someone. That Liam seems pretty good, and you know him well. I mean..."

Shannon couldn’t help but laugh, "Mom, what are you talking about? Liam is just a friend, and besides, he doesn’t see me that way."

"That’s not necessarily true. I think that boy likes you. Maybe one day I should ask him for you?"

"Mom, please don’t cause me trouble. I have to work under him, you know."