Chapter 741: Chapter 712: Love in a Parallel Universe [034]
After a while, a sophisticatedly dressed lady emerged from the inner hall. Her sharp, exquisite eyes swept over Sienna a few times, and she asked coldly without a smile, "Here you are." Then she sat opposite Sienna.
Sienna realized that Simon’s mother didn’t like her; the first impression must have been poor.
She felt a bit uncomfortable but still smiled and nodded at Sylvia sitting opposite, "Hello Auntie, I’m Sienna."
Old Master Forrester was surprised and said, "Annie, is your surname ’Thorne’? Which ’Thorne’ is it?"
"Yes, grandpa, it’s the ’Thorne’ from ’Thorne Pavilion’."
Old Master Forrester’s expression slightly changed, as his gaze shifted to the gray wall of the neighboring Grant Family outside the door.
At this time, Simon brought the tea leaves and fruit basket to the coffee table, asking the servant to wash the fruit basket and occupying himself with examining the tea’s packaging.
"White Silver Needle from 2000, aged white tea."
Simon chuckled and leaned down to whisper in Sienna’s ear, "Where did you buy this tea? It’s hard to find White Silver Needle from this year on the market."
Sienna blushed, hesitated for a moment, and softly said, "My dad gave it to me."
Though their voices were neither loud nor soft, Sylvia and Old Master Forrester heard everything clearly.
Old Master Forrester’s eyes glowed behind his glasses, and he asked with a smile, "Annie, how old are you this year? I heard you’re a lawyer at Vantage?"
Sienna looked at the old man and smiled sweetly, "Grandpa, I’ll be twenty-six in four months. I just joined Vantage as a lawyer this July."
"Oh," Sylvia chuckled, "What did you do before joining Vantage?"
"I studied in the United States, graduating this May."
Perhaps preconceiving that Vantage’s lawyer qualifications were average and seeing that the Thorne family casually took out decades-old white tea, Sylvia assumed Sienna was just a rich family’s daughter, who went to a subpar university in the United States after graduating. She intended to make Sienna embarrassed, so she asked sarcastically, "Is that so? Which American university did you graduate from? Did you pass the domestic bar exam?"
"I passed," Sienna replied confidently, "I passed the domestic bar exam before I graduated with a degree in law from Braden University in 2010; from late 2011 to mid-2016, I was studying for a Master’s and PhD in Law at Harvard; I obtained the California attorney license in 2013 and passed the British lawyer qualification conversion exam in 2014."
Sylvia was taken aback.
Sienna had said a lot just now, and although Sylvia didn’t catch everything, she clearly heard that Sienna was a PhD graduate from Harvard and had a British lawyer’s license.
She thought to herself, certainly better than that Nina girl, not even twenty-six yet, a PhD in law from Harvard, with three attorney licenses.
Simon was equally surprised.
Simon chuckled, "I only found out today that my girlfriend holds a Harvard Law PhD."
Sienna blushed and spoke softly, "You asked me in London, didn’t you? You already knew I was a JSD."
Simon smiled and said nothing.
At this point, Sylvia’s expression softened a bit, and her gaze towards Sienna was a bit more friendly.
Although she studied fashion design back in the day, she understood that Sienna’s young age and educational background showed both high intelligence and strong self-discipline, able to endure the boring grind of studying.
Many girls start dating in college or even high school and neglect their studies. Young and beautiful girls like Sienna surely faced many temptations during their studies, but her ability to earn a PhD from Harvard proved she could bear loneliness, and despite other qualities, her upbringing and character were surely excellent.
With this thought, Sylvia suddenly found herself admiring Sienna.
At this moment, the servant brought in a fruit platter, washed and prepared, and Sylvia quickly handed a cherry to Sienna, "Here, Annie, have some cherries."
Sienna was flattered and took it quickly, saying, "Thank you, Auntie."
Old Master Forrester was also quite satisfied, smiling at his future granddaughter-in-law and casually asked, "Annie, who else is in your family?"
"I have my mom, dad, and grandma at home."
"Are you an only child?"
"Yes, an only child."
Upon hearing this, Sylvia asked, "Annie, are your parents government employees? So back in the day, they could only have one child because of work?"
Sienna nodded, "My dad is a government employee. My mom’s just a regular housewife."
Old Master Forrester asked, "What department does your dad work in?"
For a moment, Sienna didn’t answer, she hesitated, pondering whether to tell them, but seeing the expectation in Old Master Forrester’s eyes, she took a deep breath and replied, "My dad works at the court."
As soon as she said this, the three members of the Forrester family were all stunned.
A Thorne at the court, could it be him?
Old Master Forrester glanced at his grandson, then at his daughter-in-law, and finally at Sienna, carefully asking, "Annie, is your dad Dean Quentin Thorne?"
Sienna nodded shyly.
Simon was also quite shocked, searching his mind for the image of Quentin Thorne whom he had met a while ago.
No wonder he found Sienna’s father so familiar but couldn’t recall who he was for a moment.
The atmosphere suddenly fell quiet for a few seconds.
It made Sienna feel nervous again.
Just as she was about to signal Simon with a little wink, Sylvia suddenly stood up and handed her another piece of sugar apple, warmly inviting, "Here, Annie, have some sugar apple. It’s sweet and has a texture like ice cream, something young girls like you enjoy."
Sienna quickly took it, "Thank you, Auntie."
Then she passed a piece of wax apple to Sylvia, "Auntie, have some too."
Sylvia didn’t move her hands, instead using her mouth to take it, and after eating, exaggeratedly praised, "The fruit Annie buys is just so sweet! It truly sweetens my heart!"
Sitting beside, Simon shook his head speechlessly.
After a while, the servant came to inform that the meal was ready, and Sylvia eagerly linked arms with Sienna to lead her to the dining room, complimenting her nonstop along the way, showering her with all sorts of praises, saying she’s tall, slim, fair, beautiful, the perfect match for Simon, hoping to arrange their wedding by the New Year, even saying that once they have a child, she’d abandon her career in Franland to return home and help take care of them.
In the end, it was Simon who felt it was too embarrassing and subtly signaled Sylvia to stop. Only then did Sylvia smile and close her mouth, switching to help and care for Sienna, shelling shrimp and serving soup.
Old Master Forrester was extremely satisfied with his future granddaughter-in-law, but unlike Sylvia, he wasn’t so materialistic. He already liked her before knowing Sienna’s background, and after finding out, his attitude didn’t change as drastically as Sylvia’s.
After lunch, Sylvia tugged Sienna along to tour the old house, showing her Simon’s childhood photos, telling all sorts of funny stories from his youth, delighting Sienna so much that she, who originally planned to go home late in the afternoon, ended up staying for dinner.
