CHAPTER 511: CHAPTER 521: THE OLD MAN’S REQUEST

John Brown knew that the Old Master Smith would ask such a question, so he didn’t hide it and said, "Grandpa, to be honest, I married Gina with no intention of divorcing her, and I even have a child outside, whom I’ve brought home now."

The old master’s face darkened, and he said, "So, you’re saying you can’t marry our Melody?"

John Brown sighed, not because the old master was losing his temper, but because he felt sorry for Melody Yoody, and said, "Melody was my first love, and I haven’t married for all these years, actually because of her, but after meeting again, some unexpected things happened which kept us apart. Now that I’ve married Gina, I can’t not be responsible to her."

"Melody is pregnant with your child, you won’t take responsibility for Melody?" The old master put down his teacup, staring at John Brown, eyes sharp, hinting that if John didn’t answer well, he was going to get angry.

John Brown shook his head, saying, "It’s not that I don’t want to take responsibility for Melody, but now I’m in a dilemma. Leaving Gina would hurt her, not marrying Melody would hurt her."

"A true man decides when it’s time to decide, not being so indecisive."

John Brown showed a smile and said, "Grandpa, if matters of the heart could be handled so clearly, this world would be much simpler."

"Then what exactly do you mean?"

"Grandpa, can you give me some time to handle this slowly? Besides, this is a problem for us younger people; why should you get involved?"

"You little brat, are you saying I’m old?"

"Not that, but in matters like this, your involvement really doesn’t carry much meaning. Wouldn’t it be better to let us make our own decisions?"

John Brown remained composed and unyielding; no matter if the old master was blowing his beard or glaring, or banging the table, he maintained this attitude.

"Alright, alright, you brat, you’re like a brick from a latrine—stubborn and unyielding. I won’t force you anymore, but if you want Melody to be with you without clarifying things, you have to do a task for our Yawk Family."

John Brown found it amusing inside; he knew the old master was getting worked up for this matter, but he kept a straight face and said, "Grandpa, tell me, as long as it’s not something too difficult for me, I’ll do my best."

"You brat, now you’re negotiating terms with me." The old master gave John Brown an exasperated glance, then slowly said, "Do you know the powerful families in the City Center?"

John Brown nodded, "I know a bit, but I’m not too familiar with their power, just had some conflicts with the Brownie Family, and Christopher Taylor had his leg broken by me."

The old master’s face showed a smile, "What I want you to do is handle the Brownie Family. Since you have grievances with them, you shouldn’t object, right?"

John Brown sipped his tea lightly, saying, "If the Brownie Family wants to deal with your Yawk Family, I can help, but since they’ve done nothing to the Yawk Family, I won’t take the initiative to deal with them. Grandpa, this is my principle: if people don’t provoke me, I won’t provoke them. I just want to live a simple life."

The old master also took a sip of tea and said slowly, "In the City Center, among the few powerful families, our Yawk Family is the weakest, and the Brownie Family is the strongest. We want Melody to marry into the W Region to form an alliance against the Brownie Family. Now that there’s no support from the W Region, the Brownie Family will definitely act against us. Our Yawk Family doesn’t have the capability to contend with the Brownie Family. You got Melody pregnant, which makes us lose one backup, so naturally, you have to compensate."

John Brown didn’t have a good impression of the Brownie Family. The arrogance of Christopher Taylor showed what kind of family they were. Now, for Melody Yoody, he should help the Yawk Family, but he didn’t want to become a tool for the Yawk Family, so he said with a smile, "Alright, if the Brownie Family brings trouble, I’ll help."

"Good, let’s settle on this matter." The old master smiled smugly, like an old fox.

John Brown stood up and said, "Then, Grandpa, I’ll be leaving. But let’s not reveal my identity; I still want to live in peace."

The two never mentioned John Brown’s identity from the start, but John Brown knew very well that the old master definitely remembered who he was; otherwise, the old master wouldn’t have entrusted him with such an important matter.

The old master laughed heartily, also stood up and patted John Brown on the shoulder, saying, "You’re Melody’s man now, so you’re also a Smith Family Member. If the Yawk Family has matters, you’re not just helping, it’s your responsibility. Rest assured, your identity, I won’t even tell my son. As for whether you tell Melody, that’s your own business."

John Brown rolled his eyes, really wanting to curse the old fox, but after all, this was Melody Yoody’s grandfather, and for a big family, he had to use any means necessary. Otherwise, wanting this family to stand in the Province City against powerful enemies was absolutely impossible.

As soon as he came out, Melody Yoody nervously grabbed John Brown’s hand and asked, "How was it? What did Grandpa say to you?"

John Brown smiled lightly and said, "Grandpa said for you to be nicer to me, didn’t he, Grandpa?" he turned and asked the old master who followed them out.

The old master laughed heartily and said, "That’s right, Melody, you’re spoiled by our family, now that you have a man, you must change your temper."

Melody yoody was immediately very embarrassed and said, "Grandpa, I didn’t." Then she twisted John Brown’s arm and said angrily, "How dare you tell on me."

John Brown pretended to cry out in pain, which made the old master laugh heartily.

From the old master’s attitude towards John Brown, it was obvious that he highly approved of this grandson-in-law, which made Melody Yoody feel very relieved, but also surprised the rest of the Smith family. What skills did John Brown have that made the old master value him so much?

But no matter what, with the old master’s approval, no one dared to speak coldly to John Brown anymore. Robert Johnson initially treated John Brown rudely, but now he felt a bit awkward as an elder and simply didn’t face John Brown directly.

John Brown didn’t leave that day but was surrounded by some young people from the Smith family. Among them were both good and bad, but few were outstanding, most were either mediocre or spoiled, which is why the Smith family valued Melody Yoody so much.

Little Grace finally got a chance to pull John Brown aside, crossed her arms, and proudly said, "Brother-in-law, don’t you have something to say to me?"

Seeing Little Grace’s arrogant look, John Brown couldn’t help but laugh and said, "What should I say to you?"

Little Grace instantly widened her eyes and said, "You heartless player, you got my cousin pregnant and yet you are still with Charlotte. Aren’t you afraid I’ll expose you? By then, you’ll lose both."

John Brown chuckled softly and said, "Don’t you know what Charlotte always says she is to me?"

"The mistress... Oh my god, does she really know about your relationship with my cousin?" Little Grace was shocked, her eyes widened, and her mouth was open enough to fit an egg.

"She knows." John Brown nodded.

"Crazy, really crazy!" Little Grace shook her head vigorously and stared at John Brown, refusing to believe it was real. Even though Charlotte said she was John Brown’s mistress, Little Grace thought she was just saying it on purpose, never imagining Charlotte was serious.

John Brown smiled without saying a word. It was really ridiculous to talk about this kind of thing, and he didn’t know how to explain it.

"Wait, does my cousin know about Charlotte?" Little Grace thought of an important point.

Once again, John Brown nodded, thinking, not only does your cousin know about Charlotte, but she also knows about Gina Lopez and Emily Berns, but such things are obviously not necessary to tell Little Grace.

Little Grace’s facial muscles twitched twice and said, "The world is really crazy, Charlotte is crazy, and my cousin is crazy too!"

"Haha, as long as you’re not crazy," John Brown said with a hearty laugh.

Little Grace shook her head vigorously and said, "I’m going crazy too, you guys are driving me crazy."

John Brown laughed, amused by Little Grace, and said, "Okay, do you have anything else to ask me?"

Little Grace instinctively shook her head, then quickly said, "I’ll go back with you guys tomorrow. I want to see Charlotte; I haven’t seen her in days."

John Brown’s eyelid twitched, and he said, "No need, Charlotte is doing well now."

Little Grace’s eyes immediately lit up and said, "If you don’t let me see Charlotte, then you must have something you’re afraid I’ll find out. No way, I must go."

John Brown let out an awkward laugh and said, "Alright, if you want to go, you can go."

"Hehe, are you really letting me go?" Little Grace, at this moment, was so excited as if she had discovered a new continent.

"There’s no reason not to let you go."

Seeing John Brown looking so calm, Little Grace was somewhat puzzled again, but when she saw Charlotte tomorrow, she would definitely get to the bottom of it all. The world was indeed too crazy.

That night, John Brown stayed in Melody Yoody’s room again for the first time since returning. Naturally, the two were intimately close but couldn’t express it. Yet, Melody Yoody was both satisfied and resentful; she really wanted to be tender with John Brown. However, due to the child in her belly, she felt restricted and very uncomfortable.

However, as they talked about past events and reminisced about funny moments, it was as if they were back in their high school days. That feeling was indescribable, and because of their years of separation and the sense of strangeness and distance, it no longer existed at this moment.