Chapter 173: Why Are You Two Here?
Janice stood to the side, feeling guilty for going back on her word.
Furthermore, her heart had been a bit heavy after learning of Old Mr. Allson’s illness.
That was why she hadn’t said anything.
At that moment, when she heard Old Mr. Allson calling her name, she hurriedly roused herself from her reverie and walked up to him.
"Mr. Allson, I’m sorry. I was busy yesterday and couldn’t visit you."
Old Mr. Allson did not mind at all. "I’m glad that you’re here."
His warm attitude eased Janice’s mind a lot.
"Grandpa, if you’re bored, why don’t I have a chat with you?"
"That’d be nice."
Old Mr. Allson patted the stool beside his bed and said, "Come, sit down and chat with me."
"Alright." Janice sat down. "Why don’t I tell you about the interesting things I encountered during the interview?"
Old Mr. Allson nodded.
Just like that, the two of them began to chat.
Christopher stood by the side like an outsider. Seeing his grandpa’s eyebrows soften gradually, he heaved a sigh of relief. He turned around and went out, ready to call Rob to make arrangements for work.
As soon as he walked out of the door, he saw two familiar figures walking towards him from the other end of the corridor.
It was Nathan and Sophie.
Sophie was carrying a fruit basket. It was obvious that she had come to visit a patient.
He didn’t have to ask to know who they were visiting.
He frowned and put away his phone.
Nathan and Sophie saw him and the two approached him.
"Why are you two here?" Christopher asked.
"Why didn’t you tell me when your grandfather was hospitalized?" Nathan said in an accusatory tone.
Christopher did not answer. He frowned and said, "Grandpa needs to rest. You don’t need to be here."
Nathan was used to Christopher’s attitude, so he ignored him. After a pause, he stepped forward and asked, "Haven’t you connected with the hospital director? If they can’t do anything, go abroad for treatment."
"Grandpa said that he didn’t want to go anywhere," Christopher said begrudgingly.
Nathan didn’t continue the line of questioning. Instead, he asked, "Does your mother know?"
Christopher replied, "I’ve already called her. Do you have any other questions? Ask them all at once. If not, you can go back."
As he spoke, he turned around and made to return to the ward.
"Christopher."
Nathan called out to him.
Christopher stopped and looked back.
Nathan’s eyes darkened. "Take good care of your grandfather."
"I will do it even if you don’t tell me to."
Christopher sneered, turned around, and walked into the ward.
Sophie watched anxiously from the side. She had secretly peeked into the ward and found that Janice was inside.
She didn’t even know when Janice had been released from the detention center.
No matter what, she had to go in and take a look. Thinking of this, she said to Nathan, "Dad, why aren’t you going in?"
Sophie asked.
A trace of complex emotions flashed through Nathan’s eyes.
"Sophie, we shouldn’t agitate an elderly person at a time like this. Let’s not go in and disturb him."
Hearing this, Sophie grew anxious. "How would we be disturbing them? Grandpa needs attention from his family, even more so at a time like this. Auntie isn’t here. If you don’t go in, what would Grandpa think?"
Nathan was slightly hesitant when he heard what Sophie had said.
Seeing this, Sophie took the opportunity to pull Nathan to the door of the ward and indicated for him to look inside.
....
Meanwhile, in the ward, Janice was sitting by Old Mr. Allson’s bed. No one knew what they were talking about, but the old man was grinning from ear to ear.
Nathan’s face fell when he saw that.
Seeing this, Sophie continued. "Dad, look, everyone is here, but you are not. If this gets out, what will people think of you?"
Sophie continued to fan the flames.
Sure enough, Nathan was becoming convinced. He stood at the door and hesitated for a moment before pushing the door open and walking in.
Seeing this, the corners of Sophie’s mouth curled into a victorious smile and she hurriedly followed.
"Dad."
In the ward, Old Mr. Allson was laughing happily because of a joke that Janice had just told him. Nathan’s sudden entrance caused the cheery atmosphere in the room to be ruined.
Christopher frowned and stared at Nathan. Hadn’t he already told him to go home?
Why did he still come in?
Old Mr. Allson’s expression darkened immediately. "What are you doing here?"
"Dad, are you feeling better now?" Nathan was unperturbed about his father-in-law’s attitude.
Old Mr. Allson was annoyed. "I’m fine. Why? Do you want me to die early or what?"
"Dad, that’s not what I meant."
Nathan felt slightly helpless.
Seeing the situation, Sophie hurried forward and said, "Grandpa, Dad found out this morning that you were hospitalized and was very worried. He rushed over without even having breakfast."
As Sophie spoke, she put down the fruit basket in her hand.
Old Mr. Allson snorted coldly, "What? Are you blaming me because he didn’t have breakfast? Am I the one who didn’t allow him to eat?"
Sophie did not expect that he would say something like that.
Embarrassment flashed across her face as she hurriedly explained, "Grandpa, that’s not what I meant. Please don’t be angry."
Sophie was just a young girl and Old Mr. Allson could not really scold her. He turned to Nathan and said impatiently, "You can leave now. I’m tired."
Old Mr. Allson turned around and lay down.
It was obvious that the man did not want Nathan around. Nathan felt embarrassed as well, so he only said, "Please take care of yourself. I will come and visit another day."
Then, he turned around and walked towards the door.
Seeing this, Sophie also said to Old Mr. Allson, "Grandpa, we’ll make a move first then."
Then, she turned around and followed Nathan out of the room. However, she gave Janice a look right before leaving.
"Grandpa, please calm down."
After the two left, Janice comforted Old Mr. Allson who was in a bad mood.
Old Mr. Allson then turned to look at Janice and said, "Janice, I am tired and want to rest a little. You and Christopher can go ahead with your business."
The exhaustion on Old Mr. Allson was difficult to hide.
Janice nodded. "We’ll be right outside. Call us if you need anything."
With that, she pulled Christopher out of the room.
When the door of the ward closed, Janice asked, "Is there something troubling your grandpa?"
Christopher frowned and did not answer.
Fearing that he might be worried, Janice comforted him, saying, "But you don’t have to worry about it. I’ll go in and comfort Grandpa later."
Christopher reached out and patted her head. "Thank you for your hard work."
"You don’t have to thank me."
Glancing at him, Janice suddenly recalled something and asked, "Oh, right. Grandpa seems to have something against..."
Christopher naturally knew that she was referring to his father, Nathan Bateman.
He didn’t answer and leaned against the wall. Then, he said, "Back then, Grandpa had personally chosen him for my mother. Grandpa had never thought that he would let her down."
...
His tone sounded rather sarcastic.
"Grandpa has always been bothered by this matter, probably because he felt guilty about it."
Christopher spoke with his head lowered and Janice could not see his expression.
But she could understand how he was feeling. In fact, this was not much different from the situation her parents were in.
She understood the feeling of being stuck between one’s parents and being unable to get complete love.
She stepped forward and held his hand, trying to comfort him.
Christopher held her hand and said, "I’m fine."
Only then did Janice relax slightly.
"Does your mom know about his illness?" she asked.
Christopher nodded. "I’ve already called her. She should be back soon."
Janice didn’t say anything when she heard this. However, she felt slightly anxious. She had never met this mother-in-law of hers, and she wondered how it would be like getting along with her.
Christopher seemed to have seen through her worry. He stretched out his hand and put it on her shoulder, saying, "Don’t worry, my mother is easy to get along with."
Upon hearing his words, Janice nodded in relief.
Outside the hospital.
Nathan and Sophie walked out of the hospital one after another.
Nathan walked in front, followed by Sophie. Thinking of the awkward scene in the ward just now, she quickly caught up to him and said, "Dad, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said those things just now. I made things worse."
Holding the door in his hand, Nathan paused for a while and said, "Sophie, it’s not your fault. But we shouldn’t have gone in just now."
He opened the car door and got in.
Sophie pursed her lips and got into the car as well.
"Dad, I was just concerned about Grandpa..." she explained.
Nathan said, "I know, but don’t go to his place for the time being."
"Why?" Sophie didn’t understand.
Shouldn’t they go and make their presence known at a time like this?
Nathan was silent for a moment. Then, he took out a beautifully packaged gift box from the glove compartment.
"You... should recognize this, right?"
Sophie took the box and took a closer look at it. She nodded. "I know, isn’t this the Swiss army knife I gave Grandpa?"
Sophie was slightly surprised.
Nathan nodded.
"Grandpa asked me to return it to you."
Sophie was stunned when she heard this. How could he treat her like this?
The returning of the gift was equivalent to the dissolution of their relationship.
Although she had nothing to do with Old Mr. Allson, he had doted on her since she was a child.
This sudden turn of events caused Sophie to feel embarrassed. She bit her lips and tried her best to endure it.
However, Nathan did not miss that. He comforted her and said, "Grandpa is a righteous man. It’s my fault, so don’t take it to heart."
Sophie knew that Nathan was consoling her. After all, Old Mr. Allson had held a grudge against him for a long time. If she was being implicated because of this, her gift would probably have been rejected on the spot.
However, Old Mr. Allson hadn’t done so. He’d accepted it first and then returned it afterward. It was obvious that he’d been displeased afterward.
Thinking of this, she could not help but associate it with the incident with the clothes.
Sophie finally understood when she recalled that.
Nathan didn’t know what she was thinking, so he just reminded her, "So, don’t go to the hospital and meet Christopher for the time being in case something that might aggravate Grandpa’s condition happens again."
"But, Dad, don’t you think Grandpa has already been won over by Janice?" Sophie hurriedly asked.
