Ch. 1101..1110

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 1101

The atmosphere suddenly got so serious that even Carmen held her tongue while she was sitting in Anna’s lap. She observed her surroundings wide-eyed, knowing that she wasn’t allowed to interject when the grown-ups were talking about important stuff. On the other hand, Anne didn’t care about that, for she still reached out to hold Anna’s arm while calling out to the latter. “Aunt Anna—”

However, Anna shot her a penetrating glance that was devoid of all her earlier gentleness. Now, the look in her eyes was one of frostiness, and she made it clear to Anne to keep silent while she said in a hushed voice, “Shut up and hear what Mr. Fletcher has to say.” However, her sternness melted away into tenderness as soon as she turned back to Carmen. Still holding onto Carmen, she allowed Carmen to lean into her embrace, whereas Carmen sat there in silent compliance while observing her surroundings.

Although Anne said nothing, she was in fact feeling aggrieved. She bit on her lip, her eyes reddening as stole glances at Carmen, who had taken Anna’s bracelet. It was handed over to Sophia, who put it into her bag after wrapping it using her handkerchief.

The situation left Anne feeling resentful. She didn’t understand why Anna would give the bracelet to that child, nor did she understand why Carmen seemed to be liked by everyone, so much so that both Louis and Anna would present her with such expensive gifts. However, she dared not vocalize any of her intense hatred. Indeed, she could throw a hissy fit in front of Louis, but she feared Anna. She didn’t have the courage to stand up against Anna, nor did she dare throw a tantrum while in Anna’s presence.

Meanwhile, Mark was observing the younger generation while sitting beside Louis. Although he seemed to have something to say, he eventually decided against it. “Louis, I think you should be the one to divulge this.”

Nodding his head, Louis heaved a sigh while glancing between Michael and Anna before revealing the secret that the Osbornes had kept hidden for decades. “The truth is, I used to be a Yard, but my family took on the surname of Osborne starting from my father’s generation.”

So the rumors are true… The crowd seemed to be anticipating that, as none of them looked too astonished. After all, Xena and Anna’s identical appearance was indicative enough of their identity as twins, whereas it was widely known that the Osbornes used to be vassals to the Yards.

Meanwhile, Louis began telling them the stories of the past. “The whole story is in fact about the consequences of my ancestors’ actions. My grandfather disobeyed the rules that his ancestors set down by colluding with foreigners in his attempt to restore the past glory of the Yards. However, he wound up leading the enemies into Cethos, which the Yards paid for dearly. My grandfather was the head of the clan who made that decision back then. He paid the ultimate price for it, as he was killed on the cruise.”

The Fletchers knew what happened later on. While Louis’ grandfather brought with him the enemies of Cethos in an attempt to return to Lombardi River to revive the Yard Dynasty, they made their way into the country on a cruise. However, Mark’s father caught wind of their return beforehand, so he led the Fletchers in an assault to take over the cruise, killing Louis’ grandfather and countless of his fellow kin in the process. Only children and womenfolk survived the massacre that happened on the open sea.

Before he was even born, Louis’ father lost his own father and all of his uncles, so he would be considered as the last remaining heir of the Yard Family when he was born. The situation meant that he would be threatened by the branch family that had been plotting to overthrow them all the while. Therefore, the Osbornes took him away. They changed his surname in order to protect him, but it also meant that the Yards lost their sole legitimate heir, which left the family in the branch family’s control for decades.

Neither Louis nor his father were twins, so the Yards didn’t perceive them as threats, even forgetting them eventually. However, Louis himself had twin daughters, which quickly painted a target on their backs. It resulted in the Yards sending hitmen after his twin daughters, forcing Louis to flee the country to find refuge all over the world.

The Yards were so powerful back then that no place was safe from them except for Cethos. They couldn’t do anything while in Cethos, as the country itself was intolerant of their presence.

“So, I smuggled both my daughters, namely Anna and Xena, back into Cethos in hopes of surviving the ordeal, only to lose Anna in the process.” Louis teared up at the mention of that particular section, but he quickly changed the topic while looking at Michael. “However, the Yards weren’t about to dawdle while waiting for me to find Anna. I was without money nor connections, whereas Xena was ill, but luckily for us, I was still able to secure my friend’s assistance.”

Louis was full of gratitude when he mentioned his friend. “She brought me home. She treated Xena, as well as provided us with the necessary protection. We spent five years under her protection before returning to our own country.”

Staring at Michael, Louis went on to say, “The friend who offered us her protection was none other than your mother, Elizabeth Murray. Your parents saved Xena and I, which allowed us to reunite with Anna later on. Unfortunately, both your parents died an untimely death, so I never had the chance to repay them for their kindness.”

Following Louis’ story, Mark said, “The Fletchers and Yards have a complicated relationship with each other. Theo decided to protect Louis anyway even after knowing that Louis was a direct descendant of the Yards. He went as far as issuing a warning to the Yards, which served to protect Louis from further harm. Seeking revenge from each other will only result in a vicious cycle without an end in sight, so the Fletchers and Yards decided to come to a truce after all is said and done.”

The story gave the rest of the occupants in the room a lot of clarity on their past. Meanwhile, Mark continued, “Due to the dire circumstances back then, everything was done in secret without leaving behind any form of written documentation. Everyone who was involved was also sworn to secrecy. After all those years, I almost forgot about what happened, but now that Louis has found both his daughters and returned them to the Yard Family, it’s time to make things official.”

Anna didn’t shy away from the mention of the history of the Yards. “After being exiled from Cethos, the Yards settled down in a foreign land, but they never tried to regain their status in Cethos with the help of foreigners. A hundred years ago, my ancestors broke the commandment, so we were destined to suffer such a fate. Therefore, the Fletchers shouldn’t be blamed for our downfall. In order to atone for my ancestors’ past mistakes, I had been collecting the artefacts that were lost due to the war back then. Every small step is a worthwhile effort in our atonement.”

Now that Anna was back in Cethos, she donated all of the artefacts to the country unconditionally. Upon hearing Anna’s story, Sophia admired her even more for her righteousness. Meanwhile, Anna looked at Mark with gratitude. “I only came to know fairly recently that it was Theo and Elizabeth who saved my family. I am grateful for their efforts, as well as yours, Mr. Fletcher.”

With a wave of his hand, Mark said, “It’s nothing.”

It wasn’t until then that Sophia knew about the shared history between the Yards and the Fletchers. Seeing how righteous of a person Anna was gave Sophia an even better impression of her. On the other hand, both Michael and Cooper fell silent after that, as none of them ever knew the full extent of the story.

However, there were certain parts that Cooper already knew about, so the story served to fill in some missing details, whereas Michael had made his own deductions based on what little he knew. Without a doubt, the baby whom Annabel’s mother brought home from the train station was none other than Anna.

After the full story was relayed, Mark had the Yards and Sophia’s family stay for a meal. On the other hand, Anna seemed to have taken a great liking to Carmen as she had been holding Carmen throughout the meal, and even Sophia had to move to sit beside Anna.

In the meantime, Cooper kept his silence throughout the meal, but his sharp gaze never left Anna, as he was observing her tastes and preferences, only to find them to be exactly the same as Annabel’s. Even if a person were to lose their memories, their tastes and habits would be retained in their subconscious, much like Sophia who retained hers even after suffering from amnesia.

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 1102

Although the woman’s identity, as well as her face and temperament, had changed, Cooper knew that she was Annabel Johnson. Anna, what have you gone through all these years?

After the meal, the Yards decided to go home. As a centenarian, Mark did not have much energy to keep his guests company.

Before they left, Mark grabbed Cooper’s sleeve and said, “Cooper, I think the lady from the Yard Family is a good match for you. Why don’t you discuss it with Sophia? It’s time for you to look for a new partner.”

His eyes still fixed on Anna, Cooper nodded. “Alright.” She’s indeed a good lady, but…

Then, Cade rose from the couch and asked, “Mom, are you going to the Imperial Palace?”

Seeing the twins, Cooper was heartbroken, for they were Anna’s sons with another man. However, the twins’ faces reminded him of a man he knew. They are that man’s sons! At the thought of this, he clenched his fists.

Anna replied, “I’m going to fetch General at Sophia’s shop and stay there for a while.”

After taking a look at his wristwatch, Cade said, “I need to talk to Miss Edwards about something as well. Why don’t we go there together?”

Since they had nothing else to do for the day, he decided to visit Sophia’s shop. Currently, they were in partnership with Sophia’s Pourl to develop a series of luxurious items for pets. The products would be equipped with Michel Group’s latest technology, so they would be both functional and luxurious. It was said that the prototypes were ready, but he hadn’t had the time to take a look for the past few days.

Pourl had been expanding aggressively in recent years, which was why Cade saw the potential in her brand.

Hearing that they were going to Sophia’s shop, Anne immediately said, “I’m going as well.” Then, she grabbed Anna’s arm and pleaded, “Please, I want to go with you.”

Seeing this, Sophia felt disgusted because instead of talking to her own mother, Anne kept pestering Anna, as though she would rather be Anna’s child. What a snob.

Sophia had wanted to tell her father to go home first so that Anne wouldn’t have the chance to pester him, but he was already reaching for the door.

“Since Corrado is in your shop as well, I’m tagging along.”

After all of them left the house, Michael carried Carmen in his arms and followed them as he talked to Louis.

Eager to prove his innocence, Louis said, “Taylor, I didn’t mean to hide this from you, but it wasn’t the right time to reveal this to you. Now that Anna has taken full control of the Yard Family, some of the secrets can be revealed.”

With Carmen snoozing in his arms, Michael replied in a hushed voice, “It’s a miracle that Mrs. Yard could return to your family. Perhaps it’s destined that you would meet your daughter again.”

Thinking about his daughter, Louis sighed. As they were taking a stroll around the residence, he started relating his family history in a despondent voice. “At that time, I gave Anna away intentionally.”

Hearing that, Michael was stunned.

Appearing to be dejected, Louis continued, “The Yards had found out about the existence of Xena and Anna, who were a threat to them. They would never stop pursuing this matter if my daughters were not killed. Therefore, I had to give up one of them so that the other could be saved.”

His eyes reddened as he talked about the past. “After I got off the train, I passed Anna to a local farmer. She promised that she would take good care of my daughter. At that time, I was left with no choice because the Yards were trying to hunt us down. Even if I sought refuge from your parents, it would only be temporary. The only solution for us to survive was to give Anna away. Then, I told the Yards that I only had one child left, so we were not qualified to compete with them for the position as the leader of the Yard Family anymore. Thanks to the help from your parents, Xena and I managed to survive.”

Michael’s heart sank after he heard his story. Worriedly, he asked, “Does Mrs. Yard know the truth behind this?” If she knew, she probably would be resentful.

His eyes teary, Louis replied, “She does. By the time she was discovered by a servant from the Yard Family, she was already twenty. After she was brought home, she looked like a lunatic as she couldn’t even speak, nor did she know who she was. We had to teach her how to eat and drink properly from scratch. From there, she slowly overcame all the difficulties and eventually became the leader of the Yard Family. However, as her father, I couldn’t help her one bit in the process. She understood the situation I was in when I gave her up, so she wasn’t resentful of me. Instead, she killed all the Yards who had tried to hunt us down. But still… I was wrong to have given her away!”

Despite the heavy feeling in his heart, Michael now had a clearer picture of what had happened in the past. Then, he took out a piece of tissue and helped Louis wipe off his tears. He was in a difficult situation as well.

…

When all of them reached Pourl, they took a liking to the beautiful interior. Over the past few years, Sophia managed to expand her business and became an icon in the pet fashion industry. After showing them around, she asked the brand’s chief designer Ivan Snowden to come out and boasted about his achievements.

All this while, Anne had been holding Anna’s arm and talking incessantly beside her. On the other hand, Anna only gave her short and perfunctory replies.

While walking alongside Anna, Sophia introduced her shop to her. Although Anna didn’t utter a word, she kept nodding in approval. Following them, Cooper remained silent as he observed Anna secretly.

Meanwhile, Anne thought that Cooper had tagged along because of her, so she was in a jolly mood.

The prototypes of the luxurious items, which were made in collaboration with Ronney Group, were ready. On this day, many dogs had been sent to the shop as models that would try on the new products. After the photoshoot, the photos would be compiled as magazines, which would then be sent to targeted households.

As the chief model, Judge had arrived at the shop pretty early. After they were done with a set of photos, Judge could take a rest and be groomed at the same time. Wearing the latest dog chain and clothes, the dog sat still to let others watch it.

“These are the luxurious pet accessories we’ve made in collaboration with Ronney Group. We have matching sets for the owners as well. This item over here is for pets, which costs about a million. It’s embedded with Michel Group’s latest chip, which could be used for identifying the pet’s location and repelling fleas.”

Standing beside Anna, Anne asked, “Aunt Anna, can you bring me to Longbeach Fort tomorrow? I heard that Princess Cemetery over there is a beautiful place. I’ve always wanted to visit those places in Bayside. Aunt Anna, please…”

Anna was annoyed because Anne was such a troublesome young lady. In contrast, she loved how mature and intelligent Sophia was.

After the tour around the shop was over, Anna had to leave with General. Seeing this, Sophia hurriedly offered to bring her to Audistin for a cup of coffee and talk about the possible collaboration between Plum Technology and Ronney Group so that they could make more money together.

“Dad, you have to come as well.” Sophia wanted her father to have a discussion with Anna on the possible partnership between the two families.

Upon hearing that, Cooper was elated. Even if Sophia never told him to do so, he would still tag along no matter what.

However, as soon as they stepped out of Pourl, they saw a man in his fifties who was clad in a black shirt. Despite his age, he still looked elegant and handsome. By just standing outside the shop, he could attract the attention of many young ladies.

Seeing the man, Cooper stopped in his tracks.

“Dad, why are you here?” Cade was shocked to see the man outside the shop.

Sophia turned to look at that man, whose handsomeness hadn’t been weathered by age, and his hooked nose was as pointed as ever. The real Jordan Edwards has appeared!

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 1103

“Anna, how was the talk?” Jordan came over and asked Anna in a hushed voice. His expressions and manner of speaking were that of a young man, who walked over and asked her how her day was upon seeing that his girlfriend was getting off work.

Seeing Jordan, Sophia turned pale in an instant. His hooked nose! He’s the real Jordan Edwards!

After taking over General, Jordan flashed a gentle smile at Anna, who didn’t appear to be joyful, but her gaze had apparently become more relaxed.

She replied, “The talk isn’t over yet. Why are you here?”

Keeping the smile on his face, Jordan said, “Because you’re here.”

Anna chuckled. “Let’s go.”

After that, all of them headed for Audistin. Sophia, who was still talkative moments ago, kept her mouth shut the moment Jordan appeared.

“Dad!” Linus shook Cooper, who was in a dazed state.

Coming to his senses, Cooper followed the rest of them to Audistin, but his legs became as heavy as lead. Although his expression remained impassive, fury was rising within him. Jordan Edwards!

While walking alongside Anna, Jordan turned his head around and shot Cooper a look and a smug smile.

Cooper did not utter a word, but his eyes were icy-cold.

After stepping into a private room in Audistin, all of them took a seat on the sectional couches in four groups: Sophia, Michael and their daughter; Linus and Cooper; Cade and Callum; Anna and Jordan. Anne sat in the middle of the last group to emphasize her special identity. On the other hand, Louis and Xena did not come with them.

After wine and food were served—Carmen had gotten her milk in a bottle—Anna introduced Jordan to all of them. “This is—”

Jordan interrupted her. “There’s no need for an introduction. We’re close friends.” Raising his glass of wine at Cooper, he said, “Cooper, we haven’t met for decades. How are you doing?”

Cooper replied dispassionately, “I’m alright.” He did not want to speak to Jordan.

Meanwhile, Linus and Michael kept staring at Jordan, for they hadn’t forgotten that the latter had tried to harm Sophia before.

Recently, Linus had uncovered many undercovers who were sent to work for the Michel Family, and he realized that Jordan had been secretly doing so for many years. The businesses of Michel Group and Ronney Group did not clash, but due to the fact that the Michels and the Yards were equally powerful, Jordan had been on high alert. Although Linus wasn’t certain whether this was Jordan’s decision, or if the Yards were involved in this as well, he had decided to keep an eye on both parties.

Meanwhile, Sophia did not seem to notice the invisible warfare between the men as she was talking about Anna’s umbrella and clothes. “Mrs. Yard, your umbrella is beautiful. Is it hand-made? Your clothes look exquisite as well. The fabric and stitching are impeccable. Where did you buy them?”

After warming up to Anna, Sophia started talking about business with her. Since the Yards were expected to stay in Bayside for some time, she had to get more projects from them.

Halfway through the discussion, Anne suddenly disrupted their flow. “Aunt Anna, can you go to the washroom with me?” She did not like how Sophia seemed so close to Anna. So what if Aunt Anna is willing to talk to her? I’m her only niece! She doesn’t have a daughter, so I’m like her daughter as well!

As Sophia was displeased by the disruption, her eyes darkened. What the heck! Not only does she want to pursue my dad, but she’s also trying to disrupt my business discussion!

Since Anna intended to use the washroom as well, she left the room with Anne.

“I’m going too.” Seeing that Anna was stepping out of the room, Cooper rose from the couch and followed them.

Anne was delighted, for she thought that Cooper was coming for her. Cooper and I love each other. If it weren’t because of Sophia’s interference, we would have gotten engaged by now.

“Excuse me. I need to use the washroom as well.” Jordan got up from the couch as well.

Seeing this, Linus decided to go with them.

Michael’s expression turned glum, but he did not follow them. Recently, he had been investigating the background of Jordan, and he found out that the current leader of the Edwards Family was actually Jordan’s illegitimate brother. Basically, the Edwards Family was run by Lucy, Ian, Sam and the substitute brother. On the other hand, the real Jordan Edwards had stayed out of the family business for a long time. So, why did he decide to appear at this point in time?

Since only the men were in the male washroom, they decided to stop beating around the bush.

Glaring at Jordan, who kept a smug smile on his face, Cooper declared, “Anna Yard is Annabel Johnson.” It was a statement rather than a question.

Looking at his own reflection in the mirror, Jordan combed his dark hair and raised his eyebrow. “Cooper, you’ve only discovered this fact three decades later. Aren’t you a little obtuse?”

Looking triumphant, Jordan started relating the past. “After I came across Anna, I started training her to be my secret agent. Initially, I had wanted her to deal with my stupid brother, Sam, but I did not expect that you would fall for her.”

Although Cooper had already found out about this secret, it was still unbearable to hear it from Jordan himself. Anna was really sent to me by Jordan. At this moment, their thirty years of love had ended in the cruelest way.

“Dad!” Seeing that Cooper was about to fall, Linus hurriedly supported his father’s weight.

Coming to his senses, Cooper laughed in self-mockery. I’ve known this fact for a long time. Why did I still ask Jordan about it?

Seeing how dispirited Cooper was through the mirror, Jordan grinned as he washed his hands and said, “What a shame. She failed in her attempt and almost lost her life. After I saved her, I discovered that she was an eligible heir to the Yard Family. Therefore, I helped her take control of her family. Now that our twin sons have grown up, the Yard Family fully belongs to us now.”

Yeah… They have a pair of twins… Cooper thought. Despite being enraged by the victorious smile on Jordan’s face, he remained silent and turned to leave, his expression glacial.

After shooting Jordan a glare, Linus left the washroom as well. Jordan has to be killed. It is for the sake of my sister as well as my father!

A moment later, Sophia was surprised to see that Linus had returned without their father. “Where’s Dad?” she hurriedly asked.

Linus replied, “He’s gone home.”

Upon hearing the answer, Sophia quickly fished out her phone. “Then I’ll tell the housekeeper to start preparing dinner for him.”

Soon, Anna and Jordan came back to the room as well, but Anne was nowhere in sight.

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 1104

After Sophia called her father and made sure that he had left without being held up by Anne, she heaved a sigh of relief and went on discussing business with Anna to see if they could cooperate in other areas.

Anna had been looking for a new building to be the headquarters for Ronney Group in Cethos. Also, she donated some artefacts to the museums, met the Cethosian president and went on the television show ‘Focal Point’. Now that her f

 

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 1105

In the past, Anna was just one of the many secret agents Jordan had trained. After he discovered that she was an eligible heir to the Yard Family, he helped her return to her family, protected her and even assisted her in taking control of her family business.

She was infertile, so he found her a surrogate mother, who then gave birth to their twins, Cade and Callum. The twins, who were part of the Yard Family, strengthened Anna’s position within the family.

Then, she started to change.

Initially, she had to rely on him for her own survival, so she would do whatever she was told to do.

At that time, Jordan had countless women to sleep with every night, so Anna was just one of his bedmates. She couldn’t even be regarded as his woman because she was just a lowly servant who could be kicked away at any moment.

After taking over the Yard Family, she remained respectful of him and never dared to disobey his orders. On the other hand, he made every business decision behind the scenes and assisted their sons to rise to power.

His twin sons inherited his good genes, so they grew up to be successful businessmen as well. With Anna, Cade and Callum in place, the Yard Family was well within his control.

Then, Anna began to change. She transformed from a timid and insignificant person into the brightest star the world had ever seen.

The process was long and gradual. When Jordan noticed her transformation, she was already out of his grip.

Nevertheless, he was unresigned because he firmly believed that both the Yard Family and Anna belonged to him. Not only did he want her to stay by his side, but her heart, which Cooper could only long for, was also supposed to belong to him.

…

When Sophia returned home with bags in her hands, dinner was ready to be served. After taking a shower in Villa No. 2, Linus, who had brought his fur kids along, came to have dinner with them.

After Linus moved into Villa No. 2, Michael discovered that he had taken in more dogs, whose names were Blessing, Lucky, Happy, Cutie, Bobby and so on.

Linus had never given any serious thought when naming his dogs, and his fur kids, which were mostly rescued from the streets, looked identical. Therefore, Michael seriously thought that Linus only had one dog all this while, and that he just called the same dog different names from time to time.

Also, he didn’t like the fact that Linus came to have free meals with his fur kids. With so many dogs with him, he should just open a pet shop! Even if we’re rich, we are not supposed to spend so much money on dog food!

However, he then recalled that his family had purchased some diamond mines in Africa, so they could totally spend lavishly on dog food.

Meanwhile, even the night-shift security guard and the cats from the Imperial Palace were here to enjoy free meals. After examining the bracelet, the rolls of silk and the umbrella, which were all gifted by Anna, with the help of a flashlight, the security guard commented, “We have the same kind of bracelet at the museum, which was discovered when the archeologists were unearthing the royal tomb. Given its historical significance, the bracelet is worth about a few million. These rolls of silk are ‘The Fragrant Silk’ as recorded in ancient books, which was a kind of fabric exclusive to the imperial family. The weaving technique has been lost to time. Smell it and you’ll discover that there’s a special aroma coming from the fabric. No one knows how it was made or what ingredients were used. It’s stated in the ancient books that the aroma of the silk will not wear off no matter how many times you wash it. We once discovered this kind of silk from a tomb years ago, but as soon as the tomb was opened, the silk decomposed within a few minutes. Until now, we haven’t had any real samples of it. On the other hand, there’s nothing special with this umbrella. It’s made using a traditional technique and modern materials. However, it’s still valuable because Louis Osborne has painted on it.”

…

Sophia asked the security guard to stay for dinner because he was a knowledgeable man. Even Linus decided to bring over his collection of antiques for him to have a look.

After what happened earlier, Linus had thought that Cooper would throw a tantrum just like what he previously did. However, to his surprise, Cooper didn’t seem to be different from his usual self. He didn’t only come downstairs for dinner on time, but he also stayed in the living room to watch television.

Worried about his father-in-law, Michael went over and asked, “Dad, are you really okay? You can tell us about it.”

Cooper shot him a stern look. “Do you expect something to happen to me?”

Stunned by his grim expression, Michael hurriedly replied, “No…”

Feeling that something was definitely wrong with her father, Sophia asked, “Dad, are you upset because of Anne? Don’t worry. I won’t let her pester you again.”

When he heard his daughter speak, Cooper immediately changed his stern expression to a mild one. While clasping her hands, he replied, “Don’t worry. I’m not upset about anything. After all, I have experienced countless difficulties in life.”

Yeah, I’m Cooper Mitchell, who has gone through the vicissitudes of life. Maybe I’m just reading too much into this.

Just like what he usually did, after watching television for a while, he washed up and went to bed.

Meanwhile, Sophia returned to her bedroom and tried to coax Carmen to sleep.

Carmen had to go to bed early recently because she was going to join the reality show ‘Where Are We Going, Dad?’ soon.

After that, Sophia took a seat in Carmen’s Treasure Nook and wiped the bracelet clean before placing it in the drawer.

Inside Carmen’s spacious bedroom, there were a closet and a training room. She also had a secret space where she stored her secrets.

Well, kids do have their own secrets, don’t they? Sophia thought.

This secret space was Carmen’s Treasure Nook, where she stored the money she made from playing walk-ons and endorsing brands.

The rewards given by her kindergarten and the allowances given by her family members were also kept here. For the larger chunks of money, she would keep them in her bank account. If it was a small pile of cash, she would tie it up with a rubber band until she had accumulated enough cash to be stashed away in her bank account.

The bowl given by Louis and the bracelet she received from Anna on this day were also deposited in this secret space.

Also, Carmen had been selling autographed photos of her father and godfather at her kindergarten. Recently, the price of a photo had risen from ten to twenty. Moreover, if anyone wanted to go home with her and hug Michael, she would charge the person one hundred. In addition, she also rented out her alpacas to be stroked, and the fee for this service spiked up from time to time.

This was perhaps because of Carmen’s improvement in her arithmetic skills. When she could only count to ten, she would just charge ten for her products or services. Now that she could count to one hundred, she started charging her customers one hundred.

For the past few days, she had earned some extra cash and placed the piles of cash in the drawer. It was Sophia who helped her sort out the cash and placed it neatly.

Just then, Michael came into the room and saw Sophia counting cash. In the past, she was the champion of counting cash at her school, and she knew a multitude of cash-counting techniques. Even though she had lost her memory, she could learn it quickly upon seeing how other people did it.

At the moment, she was counting Carmen’s cash in a skillful manner.

Then, Michael wrapped his arms around her and recalled that when he gave her some money during the New Year celebration years ago, she would be overjoyed and start counting the cash, just like what she was doing currently.

No matter how quickly time goes by, she will never change.

 

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 1106

Carmen’s secret space was small but beautifully decorated. However, it was a rather cramped space for Sophia and Michael to be seated together. Currently, the room was so quiet that the sound of Sophia counting the cash could be heard clearly. Since she had nothing else to do, she decided to count all the cash for Carmen.

While Michael wrapped one hand around Sophia’s shoulder, he flipped through Carmen’s account book with his other hand to read the daily record of her income.

‘16th June – Two autographed photos of Daddy. 100.’

‘17th June – Stroking the alpacas two times. 100.’

…

Oh wow, she’s such a hardworking kid. It’s really commendable that even though her family has some diamond mines, she’s still trying to make money on her own.

After going through the account book, Michael put it back and turned his head, only to see that Sophia was nodding repeatedly, and the cash was still in her hands. It seemed that she was about to fall asleep.

Clasping her hands, he said, “Go to sleep if you’re tired. You have to go to work tomorrow.”

Sophia had wanted to rub her eyes, but Michael hurriedly stopped her. “Wipe your hands first.”

There was a drawer that was filled with packets of disinfectant wet tissues. Since there were lots of bacteria on cash, Michael told the nanny to put some packets of disinfectant wipes in Carmen’s bag and made sure that she would wipe her hands clean after counting cash.

At the moment, Michael was helping to clean Sophia’s hands, which were slender and beautiful. Sophia opened her eyes slightly and watched his attentive expression.

He’s the most handsome man I’ve ever seen. His eyes are as bright as the stars, and his temperament is as warm as summer. What have I done to deserve his love? He’s like a mythical god who has descended into the human world to enchant us.

Even though they had been married for a long time, Sophia was still mesmerized by just looking at his profile. Unable to hold it in anymore, Sophia pounced on him and climbed on top of him.

Michael was still cleaning her hands when he was pushed to the ground, which caught him off guard.

Fortunately, a rug was placed on the floor of this secret space, and there were pillows as well. It was because sometimes Carmen would fall asleep here while she was keeping her secrets in this place.

Lying on the rug, Michael rested the back of his head on his hands and tipped his head back. He gave Sophia a charming smile, and as he watched her, his Adam’s apple visibly bobbed.

Seeing his smile, Sophia blushed, but she immediately tried to compose herself. Why would I still blush when we’ve been married for such a long time? But he’s looking straight into my eyes, which is quite embarrassing…

Then, she got on her feet and turned off the light. After that, she lowered her body and started touching her husband. Oh well, it’s so much better with the lights off. Now, I’m bolder to do anything I want…

After the intimate session, Sophia tried to retrieve Michael’s pants and put them on for him before turning on the light again.

Then, Michael got up and wore his pants properly. Seeing how bashful Sophia was, he was puzzled. “Why are you still so shy when we already have a daughter?”

Sophia looked away from him and put on her own clothes. Even though she was joyful, she still retorted, “I was just worried that you’d feel bashful!”

Hearing her reply, Michael wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. “I’ll be leaving with Carmen in two days. I will miss you.”

Two days later, Michael and Carmen had to go to the filming site of ‘Where Are We Going, Dad?’.

According to the contract, they had to participate in five episodes, and every episode would take three days to film. There were ten episodes in total for one season, so it would take them about one month to finish filming the show. After that, the show would be aired every Friday until the last episode for two months.

For these two months, Carmen had to stay with Michael on the filming site of the show.

‘Where Are We Going, Dad?’ was a reality show with challenging themes. For every episode, the dads had to stay with their kids outdoors for three days, and they would be filmed by countless cameras. Since the moms couldn’t tag along, the dads had to take care of their kids on their own.

Not only would Michael have to keep watch on his daughter, but he also had to complete missions like catching fish, herding sheep, cooking and so on. Moreover, the filming locations would be different for every episode; fishing villages, mountain villages, deserts, snowfields were all possible locations.

When Sophia learned that Carmen wanted to join the show, she objected to the idea. It was because Carmen was still too young, and she was worried that Michael wouldn’t be able to take good care of her. However, she gave in eventually because Carmen kept pleading with her to join the show. Since she had agreed to it, she couldn’t go back on her word.

“Are you sure you can take good care of Carmen? Can you help her put on her clothes, comb her hair and wash her face for her?” Sophia was extremely worried because all their actions would be filmed, and no assistant was allowed. Can Michael really do it?

Michael frowned. “Don’t you have trust in me? I was the one who took care of Carmen when she was a toddler.”

However, Sophia was still reluctant to see them go, even though they would come back three days later to take a rest before going back to the filming site for the next episode. They had to film for a few episodes before the first episode would be ready for broadcast.

Despite his assurance, Sophia was still worried because this was no laughing matter. They can’t bring an assistant with them. What if Carmen comes down with an illness and starts crying? How will he handle this?

To set her mind at ease, Michael explained that they would be followed by general practitioners and even pediatricians in case of emergencies. In fact, the pediatricians were hired by Michael.

At the age of four, Carmen had already worked as a walk-on for quite many times. So, she was able to control her emotions and wouldn’t throw tantrums for no reason.

Although there were only a few participants in ‘Where Are We Going, Dad?’, they were supported by more than a hundred behind-the-scenes staff members, who would ensure the kids’ safety. Furthermore, Michael was experienced in raising his own kid, so there was nothing to worry about.

On the first day of the filming, Michael and Carmen got into their private jet to get to the filming site. This time, they were heading for a village in the Central Cethosian Plains.

The fact that Taylor Murray was joining the show had got his fans feeling excited. On the way to the airport, Sophia kept reading related news on her phone, and she was left more worried.

Hopefully, Carmen will be able to do well in this season.

Before the departure, Sophia asked again, “Do you really not need me to go with you? Can you do this alone?”

Before Michael could speak, Carmen said in a serious and impatient manner, “Mommy, I’ve said countless times that moms are not allowed to tag along! It’s because moms will affect the kids’ emotions and slow down the filming progress!”

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 1107

After Carmen gave Sophia advice like an adult, the latter fell silent and merely watched the father-daughter duo as they got on the plane together. However, a moment later, she rushed up and touched Carmen’s little husky-shaped bag.

“Have you brought everything you’re supposed to bring? Where are your snacks and the usual food you eat? Everything Carmen has always eaten was prepared by the chef using the finest ingredients. Will she adapt to the countryside life when she arrives there? Will she get used to the food there? Where will you guys eat? What will you eat every day? What if Carmen doesn’t like to eat the food provided?”

Her hands were digging around inside Carmen’s bag, which was full of the little girl’s things, such as her toothpaste and toothbrush, slippers, pajamas, toys, and so on. Upon checking what Carmen had brought with her, Sophia insisted, “Why don’t you bring along two more bags that you like?”

The bags that Carmen usually used were also customized. They were all shaped like animals, and there were ones that were realistically shaped like a husky’s head, while others were shaped like orange cats, alpacas, and black dogs. After Carmen felt bored with those bags, she would sell them to her kindergarten classmates at a low price.

Carmen looked at Sophia very seriously and said, “Mommy, I’m going to work this time. I’m not going on a tour, so one bag is fine.”

Sophia was really anxious. Her daughter was the apple of her eye, and she had always raised her carefully in the urban city. Carmen had never been to the rural countryside, so Sophia was in a state of agitation and wished she could follow along.

Michael patted Sophia’s shoulder, gesturing to her to calm down. “We’ll only be gone for three days, so we’ll be back very soon. The tasks won’t be difficult either. Besides, it’s a village that’s centralized and very developed. It’s not like we’re going to the western mountains and having to eat grass for the next three days. Besides, I will take care of Carmen. Our kid is not as she was when she was younger. Her immunity is much stronger than before, and she’s no longer as delicate and fragile as you make her out to be!”

But Sophia was still extremely nervous. “But…”

She felt like one of those mothers who couldn’t stop nagging and worrying.

Michael brought Carmen over and said, “Come, give your mommy a goodbye dance.”

Wiggling her bum, Carmen gave Sophia a goodbye dance. Then, she said, “Mommy, hurry up and go home! In a few days, you’ll be able to see me and Daddy on TV. I’ll perform well and earn a lot of money for you!”

Sophia was amused by her words. With a smile, she hugged Carmen and reluctantly watched them get on the plane.

The plane lifted off and took the father and daughter to another city. Sophia went home sullen and unhappy. At that moment, she wasn’t in the mood to do anything, and her appetite had vanished too.

Although Michael had taken Carmen out for filming in the past, either Cooper or herself would follow along, and the living conditions were not as bad as this.

Truth be told, she was most worried about Carmen’s food. The little girl suffered from diarrhea for half a month after eating the expired jelly that the fake Annabel had sent her. In the countryside, fruits and vegetables could be found everywhere on the ground. Surely the child would not be able to control herself from picking up and eating something rotten!

There were also snakes, dogs, centipedes, and poisonous insects in the countryside. What would she do if they bit her daughter?

On the first day that Michael and Carmen left Sophia, she missed them very much.

The next day after that, she still missed them to bits…

There was a rule set by the crew that during these three days of filming, the mothers were disallowed from contacting the kids. During the first season, a mother had suddenly gone to the set to see her kid, which caused the kid to cry and insist on going home. Because of this, the filming was halted for half a day, and the post-production team had to do a lot of work to salvage what was left of the filming material. Therefore, even calls were prohibited as well.

Since she was banned from talking to Carmen, she refused to go to work and lay on the sofa all day. Other than playing on her phone and checking the news, she also noticed that the news of Taylor Murray joining the reality show ‘Where Are We Going, Dad?’ with his daughter had caused a national sensation. After all, he was the most famous father to ever appear on the show.

Harry also went along with Michael.

He had wanted to bring Hope along to try out, but his son was really unsuitable to go on this kind of reality show. Hope’s face was too dark, and he wasn’t outgoing enough. As Carmen insisted on dragging Ashton along, Michael had asked Harry to help out since he could not take care of two kids on his own.

So, Harry also went along. Anyway, it was just for three days, and he was now the father of three. With that came all the expenses of raising three kids, so he should earn some money from this and experience how caring for a kid was like as well.

So, Harry took Ashton onto the show.

Today was the first day of filming. The official blog website of ‘Where Are We Going, Dad?’ had released a behind-the-scenes clip to attract fans.

In the footage, Carmen appeared wearing a small red dress and a pair of black rain boots worn by children in rural areas. She was carrying her own husky bag and looking left and right, seemingly very excited.

The father and daughter duo seemed to have just arrived on set. Michael was wiping his sweat as he carried a hiking bag with three days’ worth of supplies for them both.

Out of the five pairs of fathers and daughters, only three pairs showed up. Everyone was still waiting for the others to arrive at the entrance of the village.

In addition to the five pairs, there was also a well-known host filling the role of the ‘village chief’. This role was similar to an NPC in games. His job was to issue tasks for everyone and to select the best pair of father and daughter.

The village chief took the opportunity to go up and ask Carmen, “Little girl, who is your daddy?”

Looking into the camera, Carmen was completely at ease as she answered in an adorable voice, “Taylor Murray!”

The village chief asked again, “And who are you?”

Carmen grinned. “I’m the world’s best Carmen Fletcher!”

As laughter erupted from around them, Michael could not help but smile next to her, and the camera even cut toward him in order to capture a handsome and gentle shot of him.

Although the behind-the-scenes clip was very short and only lasted ten seconds or so, the number of views was extremely high.

After watching the clip, Sophia rolled around on the sofa and screamed in delight, “Oh, how could my darling be so cute!”

She replayed the clip seven or eight more times, and Carmen looked cuter and cuter to her.

My daughter is such a natural cutie!

As soon as that clip was posted, the much-anticipated second season of ‘Where Are We Going, Dad?’ immediately got into the top searches, and the popularity of the term ‘World’s Best Carmen Fletcher’ shot upward.

As Sophia watched the clip again, she continued crying out in joy.

Then, she looked at the few seconds of the shot on Michael’s handsome and gentle face and cried out again.

“Oh! How could my husband be so handsome?”

Cereberus came over, and after looking at the clip in Sophia’s phone, it also started howling.

When Cooper heard the noise from the third floor, he went downstairs and said, “Hey, stop screaming. If you really want to go, just borrow your brother’s plane and go. It’s still parked in…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Sophia was long gone.

After packing her bags as fast as she could, she applied for a flight route, borrowed Linus’s plane, and flew to the set at once.

When she arrived, she learned that the village had closed off the road, so she found a guest house in town to stay for the night.

It was almost night by the time she arrived. After dinner, she slipped out toward the village with a pair of binoculars, trying to see what was going on.

The whole village was closed off just for the filming of ‘Where Are We Going, Dad?’ Even with her binoculars, she couldn’t see a thing other than many people milling about.

After obtaining a map of the village, she went back to the guest house to study it for a while. The map showed that the village was quite big and there was even a street with a mobile phone store, a café, a few clothing stores and so on.

Sophia suddenly pointed to a store and said seriously to Dimon, who had accompanied her as a bodyguard, “I want to see this mobile phone store turned into a licensed distributor of Dragon Eye mobile phones by tomorrow morning at nine. I’ll go in as a saleswoman.”

Dimon was speechless at her plan.

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 1108

The next day, the only mobile phone store in the village had quietly changed hands. All of the store’s mobile phones had been replaced with the Dragon Eye mobile phones. Although the store employee was still the same as before, there was an addition of a saleswoman.

Sophia wore a rustic floral dress for work. She had come over very early in the morning and even ate breakfast in the store. Her face was bare without any makeup, and there were even dark circles under her eyes. While eating, her eyes swiveled around as she took in her surroundings.

The village was not that huge, so the film crew wouldn’t be far away. Sophia heard that they would be filming on this street later.

Dimon came in holding a rustic signboard. He had someone change the store’s signboard to the new signboard with Dragon Eye’s logo on it. With this, the store instantly became a distributor of Dragon Eye mobile phones.

After eating, Sophia looked around outside the entrance while waiting for the film crew to come over.

By nine, there were more and more people on the street. Sophia heard everyone discussing the five kids on ‘Where Are We Going, Dad?’

The five fathers in this season were all popular superstars. There were Harry Winston and Taylor Murray, and as for the remaining three fathers, they were either rising stars or retired celebrities. So, there were all types of dads and all kinds of cute kids for the viewers to enjoy watching.

The villagers were not hardcore fans as they didn’t know much about those celebrities. Even if the fathers were standing in front of them, they could barely recognize them, so they didn’t even know who was present.

However, even if they did not recognize the man himself, they could still recognize a face. Among those five fathers, there was a very familiar face that stood out to them.

“Huh? Didn’t Miles die a few years ago?”

“He’s not dead! He’s just retired.”

“Miles’ daughter is extremely smart. She’s living with the uncle of my sister-in-law! Most kids like her are very arrogant, but she’s one sweet girl!”

“This is Miles’ break! If he’s on such a big show, he’s going to rise to the top, right? I heard that everyone who is appearing on this show will make it big!”

“Hey, Miles is already a big star! He’s the winner of the Academy Award for Best Actor! Also, he’s been on the New Year Dinner Gala, and he’s been in a lot of movies! For example, he acted in the movie ‘War Dragon’ in which he fought in the war and stole the Imperial Jade Seal! All of you should stop talking nonsense; you don’t know what you’re talking about! He is very much popular!”

“What award?”

“Excuse me, are you sure it’s about the Imperial Jade Seal? The ‘War Dragon’ movie was about fighting human traffickers in Africa! ‘The National Treasury Action’ is the one that was about stealing the Imperial Jade Seal!”

Although the villagers did not know much about the celebrities, the village had a small cineplex where people usually went to watch dramas and movies. They just couldn’t remember the actors’ names and only knew some of the main characters in TV dramas, such as Miles.

Soon, they started moving the topic from the actor ‘Miles’ to the character Miles.

“Say, May was so beautiful, yet why didn’t Miles want to live with her in the countryside? It’s a pity that the contractor took advantage of the situation and got her instead.”

“What do you know? The contractor was wealthy! If I were May, I would choose the contractor too.”

“Miles was just sour grapes! He looked down on us villagers! Yuck, he was an ungrateful one.”

In ‘I Am The Village Chief’, Miles was Michael’s cameo as the heroine’s ex-boyfriend. He only appeared in a few episodes in the first and second part of the series, but his superb acting had literally brought the series to never-before-seen fame, especially in the rural parts of the country where its popularity was extremely high.

Now that there was a third part to the series, the filmmakers strongly requested Michael to go back and make a guest appearance.

After the filming of ‘Where Are We Going, Dad?’, he still needed to take Carmen to the ‘I Am The Village Chief 3’ set.

As ‘I Am The Village Chief 2’ was currently being aired, the ratings had shot up, and the rerun rate was strikingly high. Previously, the crew was just a grass-roots team where the actors were either from the local drama troupe or students who had just graduated from art colleges. After the film’s popularity soared, the director became full of himself and even dared to invite popular big-name stars to make a cameo. What was even more important was that a large number of celebrities couldn’t join even if they wanted to.

Listening to everyone discussing the plot of ‘I Am The Village Chief 2’, Sophia couldn’t help but interject, “How could you say he’s sour grapes? Miles’ family did not agree to him moving to the countryside, and May did not want to move to the city, so it is not their fault! Besides, when May asked him to come back to help, he came back too! So how could you criticize him?”

A pair of villagers sat on benches with Sophia in front of the mobile phone store and started to discuss the plot of the film while snacking at the same time.

A moment later, they heard someone on the street excitedly cry out, “Ethan Winston is here! Peter Lee is here too!”

Peter Lee was a biracial male celebrity. He was also very popular, and so a group of young girls and boys immediately rushed after him. However, the group of older villagers snorted at the sight as they snacked and pointed at the youngsters.

“Look at these girls nowadays! How crazy they are when they see their idol!”

“What a shame! How are they going to get married in the future?”

But unexpectedly, another cry rang out a moment later, “Miles is here!”

In an instant, those older villagers threw away the snacks in their hands and aggressively swarmed around the entrance.

“Here he comes! Miles is here!”

“Let’s go and take a look!”

The street in front where the filming of ‘Where Are We Going, Dad?’ would occur was blocked off, so the huge group of villagers pushed and yelled outside the cordon. All of the villagers had run out of their houses to watch the filming of the reality show. Among a mob of older women, Sophia was squeezed and pushed around by them. She couldn’t even see anyone from the crew, let alone Michael. All she could see were the backs of the other women.

“Wow, look! It’s Miles himself in the flesh! That’s Miles’ daughter. Oh my God, she looks so pretty!”

“Tsk, beautiful, she’s really beautiful. Look at her! Her eyes and her mouth look so much like her father’s!”

“She’s too far away. I can’t see clearly!”

“Miles is really handsome. Look at that nose and those eyes! If I were a few years younger, I would have married him!”

“Dream on! He’s never gonna be interested in you.”

Sophia was almost squeezed to death. No matter how she tried to look, she could only see the back of the heads of a bunch of women. Highly anxious, she tried to shove her way forward more aggressively.

Unfortunately, the group of star-struck women was too strong for her. She was stuck with no way forward or backward, and the worst part was that she couldn’t see a thing.

Holding a selfie stick, she stretched it out haphazardly to capture a few photos. She could see in the distance that someone was filming, and a large team of people was escorting five pairs of fathers and daughters as they completed their tasks.

Coincidentally, she saw Carmen’s super adorable side profile.

If only I can get just a little further ahead!

In the end, it was Gwen and Dimon who, with their combined efforts, dug her out of the mob of village women. Gwen had accompanied Sophia here to see Ashton because she was anxious to be away from her son too.

When Sophia came out, she instantly saw Danny. He wore a rainbow-colored suit and had also dyed his hair rainbow-colored. When he saw Sophia wearing the rustic floral clothing and her appearance that was disheveled from all that pushing and shoving, he remarked in disgust, “Did you really need to do this?”

Sophia was delighted at the sight of him. Great! He will certainly find a way to get me in.

Danny said to Sophia, “Keep a low profile and stay inside the store. They’re going to do a task where the five kids will take a hundred and buy things in the market. They’ll definitely come to your store for change later.”

Sophia hurriedly nodded, then went back to the store and waited for Carmen to come for the change.

After waiting for a while, she saw some security guards clearing the street and the crew coming this way. The five fathers brought their kids along to the market. Their task today was to buy vegetables at the market with a hundred each and then go back to their living quarters, where the five fathers would cook today’s dinner.

Sophia went back to the store and sat down, waiting for Carmen to come over. After some thought, she put on a face mask, as it would be awkward if they recognized her later.

She wondered how her husband would react when he saw her in the store…

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 1109

A ‘Where Are We Going, Dad?’ season lasted for three days and two nights, and it would be edited into three episodes to be broadcasted across three weeks. Generally, the first day’s task was allocating the living quarters, and then they were to go to the villagers’ homes to borrow cooking utensils and buy ingredients so that the five fathers could make dinner.

The fathers also had to take care of their kids at night. They had to feed them, bathe them and put them to sleep. Those with daughters even had to brush the girls’ hair, and in order to make everything appear realistic, the film crew must not intervene unless necessary.

So, the ability of the father could be seen just by judging from the kid’s appearance and energy level.

This season consisted of three boys and two girls. Carmen was taken care of by Michael very well. Her hair was brushed neatly, and she had gotten up early in the morning in an upbeat mood when other kids were still sleeping.

After waking up, she even rushed over to wake Harry and Ashton, who were sleeping next door.

The breakfast was placed at a designated location, and each father had to get it personally. Those who came early would get meat, but the late arrivals could only get some watery congee.

Harry scratched his blond hair and followed Michael sleepily to get his breakfast. Fortunately for them, they were the first to arrive and so got the meat.

When eating breakfast, everyone also received the task for today. Each father would receive one hundred, and they had to bring their own kid to the market to buy food ingredients. The money was to buy the rest of their food for the next two days, so they had to calculate their food costs properly.

But because it was a rural area after all, the prices were not particularly high, so one hundred was still enough to buy food alone. But they still needed to calculate the costs carefully and take the kid’s taste buds into account. Besides, they had to cook for their kid as well. For many celebrity dads who never had to lift a finger to do house chores, this was a big challenge indeed.

There were two kids who began to cry as soon as they arrived yesterday. Having cried the whole day, the kids and their fathers were not in the best of condition. The village was much too rural for them, and their living quarters were small farmhouses borrowed from the villagers. They had to sleep in the dirt, and the toilet was just a hole beside the pigpen, not to mention the large number of mosquitoes buzzing about.

After breakfast, Carmen held the money in one hand and dragged her father’s hand with the other, then went to the market with great enthusiasm.

She was always the most energetic one.

The air in the village was very fresh, and the people were nice. When they arrived here, Michael felt that every pore of his body was enjoying the fresh air, and his whole body felt refreshed and very comfortable.

The morning breeze was gentle as the sun emerged from the horizon. At this time, the villagers were starting to herd cattle and sheep to the fields. Carrying Carmen’s husky bag, Michael sang while walking, “Ee-ya…”

Carmen mimicked him with her adorable voice. “Ee-ah…”

Ashton tugged hard on his godfather Harry’s hand. “Daddy, Carmen has gone far away!”

Harry lazily yawned and tried to keep up. Holding the money in his hand, he thought to himself that he could not cook anyway, so he might as well go and buy ten packets of instant noodles, which would be enough for days. But looking at that chubby little Ashton, he felt that it would be hard to explain to Hale if the boy became thinner when he returned. So, he hurriedly took the boy to find Michael.

I’ll partner up with Michael!

But the show doesn’t seem to allow the dads to partner up.

Whatever. I’ll buy everything Michael buys later and then put them all together in a pot. Everything will be fine as long as it’s edible.

After walking for a few minutes, they arrived on the main street. Michael immediately noticed the Dragon Eye mobile phone store.

Sophia’s business is really booming, isn’t it?

Dragon Eye was the exclusive sponsor of this season’s show, and this caused not only the entire crew to use the Dragon Eye mobile phones, but there were also advertisements and flyers everywhere in the village. Now, there was even a store selling those phones.

“Carmen, go get some change from that store so that it’s more convenient for us to buy food later.” Michael pointed to the Dragon Eye mobile phone store. Since the store allowed phone credit purchases, there must be a change there.

Most of the farmers sold their own vegetables in baskets they brought with them at the market they would be going to later. Since the participants’ phones were taken away, they couldn’t make any mobile payment, so they needed small change to buy food.

“Okay!” Carmen sweetly replied before she pushed the door to enter the store. After locating the cash register, she asked in her best voice, “Madam, may I get some change?”

Sophia, who had been waiting at the cashier’s desk for a long time, was energized.

Here she is! My darling daughter is here!

Wearing a large face mask, she lowered her head and nodded repeatedly. “Sure, sure.”

She opened the cash register to give Carmen the change. As she did so, she peeked at the little girl.

Oh my God! My girl is the cutest in the world!

Michael had also entered and was silently looking at Carmen.

The child had to grow up sooner or later, so he needed to let her do some things on her own.

Since arriving at the set, the father was not allowed to participate in any of the child’s tasks, such as going to other people’s homes to borrow utensils or to plough other people’s fields for potatoes. Those were the kids’ hands-on tasks that could train them to interact with others and get to know the real world.

Now that Carmen was going to get the change, Michael did not help her but silently watched from the side.

It was hard to move his gaze away from his daughter, but Michael finally took a glance at the cashier lady in the store who was wearing a rustic floral work dress.

At that moment, he was completely dumbfounded.

On the other hand, Sophia was so excited that her hands shook. She kept avoiding Carmen’s gaze as she lowered her head and put together a hundred in change for the little girl.

Standing on tiptoe, Carmen put the money on the glass counter, then counted it over and over again. After counting twice, she pouted in an aggrieved manner. “Madam, why did you give me less money? Look, look here, it’s missing…”

She recounted the money, and there was indeed less than a hundred in change. There were so many videographers and staff watching, and Sophia was afraid of being recognized by someone. Lowering her head, she hurriedly grabbed a few notes and whispered, “Sorry, here you go.”

When she got nervous, the tip of her nose became full of sweat, and her movements became even more harried. She quickly got a handful of small change for Carmen to choose herself.

Carmen took the exact amount she needed. Although the encounter wasn’t as smooth as she hoped, she still said very politely, “Thank you, Madam!”

Michael squatted down for Carmen to stuff all the change into her husky bag. Delighted at her success, Carmen squealed, “Daddy, I got the change!”

Michael nodded approvingly. “Did you say thank you to the lady?”

Carmen nodded. “Yes, I did.”

“And did you say goodbye to her?”

Carmen quickly turned around and waved at Sophia. “Bye Madam!”

The salespeople were all mesmerized by Carmen as they watched her leave with Michael.

Sophia kept her head down to avoid being recognized, but luckily no one seemed to recognize her.

However, the truth was that Michael had long recognized her. Even if she wore a face mask, she was still his own wife, and so even if she only revealed her foot, he was sure to recognize her.

But he did not expose her, as it would be bad for the entire filming session. He had heard that during the filming of the previous season, a mother suddenly came to the set, and the five kids had all started bawling their eyes out on seeing her. In the end, the filming was forced to halt for half a day.

When they arrived yesterday, two of the kids had also cried all day, causing the filming to be exceptionally difficult. Fortunately, Carmen was there to support the crew. Due to her not being camera-shy and also possessing a good performing spirit, the videographer gave her more screen time.

Michael thought that once Sophia had seen them, she would leave and not interfere further with the filming. Therefore, he did not expect that when they reached the market, he would immediately notice her squatting on the ground, wearing a face mask and selling sacks of potatoes.

He was completely speechless at the sight.

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 1110

We’ve only been gone for two days! Does she really need to do this?

Sophia saw the filming crew arriving, so she quickly put on a straw hat to cover even more of her face as her dark eyes swiveled around. After she changed out of the clothes she had on just now, she rode the motorcycle over. She was garbed in a dirty apron, and below her work pants that were caked with mud were her bare feet. She was pretending that she had just dug up the potatoes, and to make things even more realistic, she even swiped mud on her cheeks.

The village was a producer of large and mild-flavored potatoes. It was potato-harvesting season now, so more than half of the market was filled with those colorful tubers. Blending in with the other farmers, Sophia remained hidden in plain sight.

There were many different types of potatoes, ranging from the round and golden ones to the oblong and reddish ones. The earthy smell from them wafted into the air, and most of them were still caked with mud, having just been freshly dug up from the potato fields early this morning.

“So many potatoes!” Carmen exclaimed and rushed into the vegetable market to choose them.

Michael followed closely behind, carrying her small husky bag for her.

Carmen made her way toward Sophia, who was extremely nervous as she was afraid of being recognized. Thus, she kept her head bowed.

Michael walked over and squatted down next to Sophia’s stall. Although he pretended to choose the potatoes in her stall very carefully, he was in fact secretly looking at his wife.

Looking at the potatoes, he asked his daughter, “Carmen, would you like to eat potatoes?”

Carmen nodded. “Yes!”

Michael continued, “But potatoes make one look ugly. Carmen, aren’t you afraid of becoming ugly?”

The little girl became a little hesitant. Staring at the potatoes, she felt herself drooling at the thought of eating them, but she was also deathly afraid of turning ugly. After swallowing back her saliva, she decided to give up her food cravings for the sake of beauty. Tugging at Michael’s sleeve, she said pitifully, “Daddy, we’d better go. I don’t want to turn ugly.”

Michael said, “It’s okay, you can eat less while I’ll eat more. If we turn ugly, I’ll be uglier than you.”

Sophia, who was in disguise, could not help but laugh. However, in the next second, she heard Michael say, “Ma’am, give me two pounds of potatoes.”

Ma’am?

Sophia was surprised by this form of address, but she immediately got into her role and weighed the potatoes for them.

Carmen squatted and watched very carefully as Sophia took out a small scale to weigh their vegetables.

“Daddy, look! What is this?”

Carmen was seeing this kind of scale for the first time, which thrilled her to no end. She looked at Sophia in adoration.

Sophia secretly felt elated in her heart. She deliberately took a long time to weigh the potatoes and thought to herself how fortunate it was that she had practiced using this scale before.

In the past, she had often gone to the farmhouses outside the city for vacation, and during her trips, she would occasionally visit the nearby towns to buy food. On one of those trips, she had learned how to use the scale. Although she was slightly rusty at using it right now, she could still do it.

Michael took the opportunity to explain how the scale worked to Carmen, who listened with amazement.

The two pounds of potatoes were quickly weighed out. Then, Sophia told them how much it cost.

Michael looked at Sophia, who was trying hard to look professional, and couldn’t help but laugh. However, he did not expose her but let Carmen pay for the potatoes by herself.

“Here, Carmen, pay the lady yourself.”

Carmen took a note out and looked at Sophia pitifully, saying, “Ma’am, do you mind charging me less?”

Upon looking at her soft and tiny face, Sophia felt enraptured by her cuteness.

I’ll even give them to you for free!

But several videographers were staring at them, and the director was also watching intently. So, she had to keep her act together and pretended to be unhappy. “We are a small business trying to make ends meet. How about I give you a few more potatoes to make up the full amount of that note in your hand?”

Carmen calculated the cost of the ingredients and fell silent. Wiping sweat from his forehead, Michael said, “Just charge us a little bit less. It’s not a big deal, and you don’t have to keep so many coins.”

Even Michael himself had started to bargain with her. Sophia pretended to mull over it for a while, then agreed. “Okay, okay, here you go.”

She quickly wrapped up the potatoes, took the note, and gave some change to Carmen.

Carmen squeezed the change in her hands and looked overjoyed.

Despite only saving a few coins, it was as satisfying as saving a few million.

Michael left holding the potatoes while Carmen skipped along behind him, followed by the film crew.

Carrying the potatoes, Michael thought to himself that Sophia probably was done by this time. He did not want to see her again later as he felt awkward negotiating prices with her.

A moment later, Michael had bought everything he needed without spending too much. The place the film crew had arranged for them to live in was without a refrigerator, so he had to eat however much he bought. The potatoes and beans could last until tomorrow, but the leafy vegetables, tomatoes, and meat had to be finished by today, or they would spoil.

Without Sophia there, he could finally feel bold enough to negotiate prices with the other sellers.

Michael had decided to make a spicy stew for Carmen but using less chili.

But to his surprise, when he finally went to buy the chili, he saw Sophia again.

She had changed her clothes and washed her face, but she still had that large face mask on. Right now, she was working as a cashier in a snack cum grocery shop, and she still thought she was perfectly camouflaged.

Michael was at a loss for words.

Even if she only showed a toe, Michael could recognize her, let alone showing her whole self.

As the only snack cum grocery shop in the village, it was well stocked. From pistachios to sanitary napkins and from ice cream to cumin powder, it had everything one would need. As soon as Carmen entered, she had her gaze fixated on a large rainbow-colored lollipop.

I want that…

But Michael glanced at the price of the lollipop and touched his pocket. It’s too expensive!

If we buy the lollipop today, we’ll have to go hungry tomorrow.

Carmen turned to look at Michael, who pretended not to notice.

“Daddy, I want that lollipop.”

She tugged on him so that he faced the lollipop. Staring at the big, round, rainbow-colored lollipop, it was the first time Michael felt that he couldn’t afford to buy such a common item.

Besides, the lollipop was so big that it would not be easy to hide it from the other kids. If they saw it, chaos would probably descend upon the entire filming team.

Left with no choice, he gritted his teeth and said, “You can’t have the lollipop now. I’ll get it for you when we go home later.”

Pouting, Carmen put on a sad expression as she continued to stare at the lollipop stubbornly.

Sophia’s heart immediately softened at that, so she hurriedly told them, “It’s not expensive! Only one coin per piece! Come and have one!”

A bright smile instantly broke out on Carmen’s face. Rushing over, she grabbed the candy and quickly unwrapped it. In the end, Michael had no choice but to take out a coin and said, “Here, for the lollipop.”

Carmen had successfully bought the candy with a single coin even though it actually cost much more. Michael turned his head to the videographer and said, “Discard this footage later.”

The videographer had no response to that.

Because it was the only grocery store in the village, other fathers would also come in to buy ingredients. While Carmen was unwrapping the lollipop, another pair of father and son came in the door with a videographer following behind them.

Seeing Carmen unwrapping the lollipop, the boy immediately jumped up and down. “Daddy, I want the candy too!”

The father was a younger man. This was probably his first time taking care of the kid by himself, and he had been so tormented by the ordeal that he had huge dark circles under his eyes. Pinching the money in between his fingers, he went up and asked, “How much is the lollipop?”

Sophia said arrogantly, “Ten for a piece. No bargaining.”

The young father gritted his teeth and turned to his son. “We’ll buy one when we get home. This lollipop is not for sale.”

They only had a hundred to spend over two more days. So, they had to carefully budget for their expenses. It was way too much to spend ten percent of their total just to buy a lollipop.

There were only a few seconds of silence before Sophia heard the loudest wail ever.

“Boo hoo…”

The wailing from the boy was so loud that the glass almost shattered.

His cries attracted the attention of the other three pairs of fathers and kids. When the other three kids entered and saw Carmen clutching a huge lollipop in her hand and was about to eat it, their emotions spiraled out of control on the spot.

“I want Mommy!”

“I want to go home!”

“I want the lollipop!”

The whole crew was plunged into a frenzy instantly. One of the boys even dropped to the ground and rolled around, screaming. Nobody could persuade him to stop, and the director and film crew were so anxious that they were literally like cats on a hot tin roof.

Upon hearing the cries and seeing the boy rolling around on the ground, his head almost exploded.

The situation that they had feared the most was happening right before their eyes!