Ch. 861..870

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 861

After Sophia came back, Michael immediately invited her to go to the movies.

‘The National Treasury Action’ was in theaters for two months. With its superb production and spectacular acting, plus Michael’s beer belly, it achieved a global box office of 7 billion, breaking the record set by Michael himself.

After watching the movie, Sophia immediately started her own business. Previously, Pourl’s reputation was affected because of Barney eating Faye. So, the business had stayed low for these two months. Now that the chaos had gradually settled down, Pourl prepared itself for another round of new product releases.

Sophia took her pair of alpacas and the prairie cat to the store. In addition to customizing outfits, she also had to shoot a series of new promotional videos.

The pair of alpacas were selected by Sophia at the largest alpaca breeding center in America and made for the best pets. They had been cultivated for several generations to have a gentle personality, an elegant posture, a beautiful appearance, and no slobbering. Thus, they were very photogenic and camera-friendly as well. They were truly an aristocratic pair of alpacas, so the videos would surely be great.

The quality of the models would also have a huge impact on sales. Judge used to be the top dog model, but now it was disfigured. It was estimated that it would have to retire for a period of time. Hopefully, this pair of alpacas could support the sales of new products this fall.

It was September now, and the kindergartens had begun to enroll new students. A few days in advance, Michael printed out a batch of test papers and came to Sophia to practice the interviews.

“These are all internal information that I have found out from my acquaintances. It’s regarding the possible topics of this kindergarten’s interview with the parents. Let’s take a look at it so that we have some idea of what to expect.”

Sophia frowned as she looked at the stack of test papers. Raising a child is really not easy! This is almost as hard as the college entrance examinations. Flipping to the first page, she glanced at the questions.

‘Parents, please introduce yourselves.’

‘Parents, please briefly analyze the differences and similarities between family education versus school education. Also, briefly outline your views on family education, as well as the factors that affect the cultivation of children’s characters through family education.’

‘Parents, please tell us about your thoughts of an equal and friendly family relationship with your children and suggest ways to properly guide and help your children through life.’

After reading the topics, Sophia’s face turned pale.

Sure enough, it was an international metropolis. Even the topics for the kindergarten admission were so difficult. Africa was better, for children were just directly admitted after the parents paid the fees.

This stack of topics really gave Sophia and Michael a headache, but the kindergarten was one of the best in Bayside City. If Carmen could get in, they would feel better as parents.

When Cooper came back, he saw Sophia and Michael doing papers in the living room. He peered at the topics curiously and then fell into deep thought.

When Linus returned and saw the test papers, he frowned and then picked up the pen to write his answers as well.

The family spent a few days before finally completing several sets of test questions. Then, they began to memorize the answers.

Each question was harder and trickier than the last, and the topics were all quite strange. There were even questions on the size of the baby’s diapers and the brand of formula milk used. Besides, the parents were even required to list the advantages and disadvantages of the major brands of diapers and formula milk!

Moreover, the kindergarten also needed to know how many sets of matching pajamas there were in the family and how many hours the parents spent with their child per week.

Forming an opinion on the topic, Michael explained, “The current educational philosophy believes that children’s growth should be accompanied by their parents throughout the process and not like how we were raised before. By asking what diapers and formula milk the baby had used before, it was in fact a disguised way of asking how much the parents care about their children.”

He continued, “Children go to school, but parents take the opportunity to go and have fun on their own. The family environment has a great influence on the cultivation of children’s acquired character. I mean, look at Nate… Well, that was all my fault, so I must bring Carmen up well.”

At the mention of Nathan Fletcher, Sophia also sighed. The boy was too cold and did not behave like a little boy at all. A child should act according to their age. Come on, look at Carmen. She’s laughing and running around every day.

After sighing, Sophia hurriedly asked about the diapers and formula milk used by Carmen as well as what Carmen liked to eat, which cat and dog she liked most, and what were the similarities between her ex-boyfriend and her current boyfriend. All of it was written on a booklet and memorized thoroughly.

In order to improve the harmony of the family and to reflect the importance of Carmen within the whole family, Cooper also went to the kindergarten interview. The family of four was dressed in the same matching outfits. The interviews were separated into two. There was a place for the child interview and another place for the parent interview.

Everyone sat in the waiting area, queuing up for the interview.

Sophia was very nervous, mulling over the questions and answers she had memorized these days.

“Michael, look at me. Do you think I look okay?”

In order to show that the family was peaceful, she had deliberately put on her previous wedding ring, wore a matching family outfit, and slathered some baby lotion on herself, trying to pretend to have a happy marriage and a harmonious family.

Michael looked at her and said, “Yeah, you look great. Relax, we’ll be able to pass this.”

“Number 18! Carmen Fletcher’s parents, please enter the interview room for the interview,” the staff called out for Sophia and Michael, who hurriedly went to the interview room.

The interviewer looked at the people before him and was taken aback slightly. Then, he began to write on the booklet in front of him. The interview had begun.

“Parents, please introduce yourselves.”

Michael could completely finish the introduction with his face alone, but still, he introduced himself. He was the two-time Oscar actor whose movies sold so many tickets that the tickets could wind around Earth several times. He was fluent in three languages, born into a prestigious family, graduated from Bayside City University, and had a perfect resume.

Sophia, too, worked hard to be calm as she bragged about how she was an international socialite who was proficient in five languages ​​and was a young but successful entrepreneur.

After the introduction, the interviewer’s eyes bore into theirs as he asked, “So… Mr. Fletcher and Ms. Edwards, your highest education are only bachelor’s degrees from Bayside City University?”

Michael and Sophia were at a loss for words. Michael went to university after retiring from the military and then started his business right after graduating. However, Sophia fared even worse. She was kidnapped after she received her university degree and had forgotten to engage in further studies these years.

Nervously, Sophia replied, “Y-Yes.”

Under the table, Michael took Sophia’s hand and squeezed it, giving her strength in an instant. She tried to take a deep breath and calm herself down.

The interviewer lifted his glasses and asked sharply, “The fathers and mothers who are here for the interview today all hold postgraduate degrees. I wonder where the two of you think your advantages lie compared to the other parents?”

Sophia became even more anxious. Trembling, she tried hard to stay composed.

This was a question that was not on the test papers. Sophia took a deep breath and started to answer, “Society is the best school. Although I left school, I did not stop there. My achievements are no worse than other highly educated parents. I can bring more resources to my child and let her enjoy a better education.” If we’re not good enough, let’s bring out Carmen’s grandpa!

She added, “My father and uncle, that is, Carmen’s grandfather and granduncle, have 7 doctorate degrees between the two of them, which is surely enough. As far as our whole family is concerned, there is no pressure in terms of academic qualifications.” Carmen’s grandpa is still useful at critical moments.

There were only a few people in their family. With seven doctorate degrees, it was equivalent to each of them having a doctorate. Surely that was enough.

After passing the academic qualifications, the interviewer continued to ask some other questions, all of which were memorized before and were answered perfectly by Sophia and Michael. In the end, the interviewer asked the last question.

“Now, parents, please kiss each other affectionately to end today’s interview!”

 

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 862

The interviewer’s request was totally out of Sophia’s expectation. She wants me to kiss Michael in public?! How could she make such an embarrassing request? Sophia’s face instantly flushed as red as an apple.

Her requests aroused Cooper’s suspicion as well. Could it be that this kindergarten is run by Michael, and he is using this opportunity to take advantage of Sophia?

Seeing that Sophia and Michael did not respond after a while, the interviewer darted them a look in suspicion before asking, “When was the last time both of you had sex?”

S-Sex? Sophia was dumbfounded. The kindergarten’s interview nowadays asks about this sort of topic? “H-How is this related to my baby attending kindergarten?”

Upon seeing Sophia behaving like an ignorant bumpkin, the interviewer explained, “The family environment is one of our assessment criteria for the child’s quality. A good family environment and education is crucial to raise an excellent individual. If the parents have a bad relationship, this will affect the child’s growth. Therefore, are both of you not getting along well and have been living separately for a long time? So is Carmen currently living in a single-parent family?”

As Sophia was afraid that this would affect Carmen’s admission into the kindergarten, she immediately denied. “No, no.”

Michael frankly replied, “That’s not true. The last time we had sex was this morning, and we have a strong relationship.”

Hearing that, Sophia’s face turned redder. I don’t even have a sex life, let alone had sex this morning. Did he mean that we had sex as morning workout before coming over to attend the interview? However, all she could do now was to swallow up the embarrassment. “Yes, this morning, several positions in fact…” In her mind, she was still a virgin, though she somehow had a daughter.

Michael placed his arm over Sophia’s shoulder and turned her face over to him. “Dear, come on. Relax, although this is the first time we’re doing this outside. Don’t worry.” After he said that, he leaned his body forward and kissed her. His lips lightly wrapped around her pink, soft lips, gently taking in her taste.

Sophia gave in for the sake of Carmen’s future as well. She closed her eyes while experiencing his kiss. It felt gentle and real, like flakes of rainbow falling onto her lips from the sky. It was soft and sweet. But… aren’t we only acting? Why is he sticking his tongue into my mouth?

However, Sophia could not push him away when they were under the interviewer’s watchful eyes. Hence, she had no choice but to allow Michael to embrace her and kiss for 30 seconds until the interviewer felt shy to continue watching. The interviewer then ticked the last item—whether the student had loving parents—with a red pen.

They kissed each other so affectionately in public, as if they were alone. Anyone could tell with one glance that they were a loving couple. Only families with harmonious relationships between the family members and loving parents would be able to raise children into optimistic and hardworking individuals.

“Cough!” As Cooper could no longer continue to watch them being affectionate with each other, he coldly coughed, which made the couple, who were immersed in the kiss, return to their senses.

Sophia lowered her head and dared not say anything, her face as red as blood. Michael looked radiant—even the breath he exhaled was filled with content and bliss. He asked, “Are there any other questions?”

The interviewer beamed at them. “Please wait for our notice. We will notify you of the results in 3 days’ time.”

Michael replied, “Thank you.”

After the interview, Cooper wore a dark expression while Michael held Sophia’s little hand when they waited for Carmen to be done with her interview. Although Cooper’s expression was dark, he did not voice out and stop Michael, which made the latter feel that he had made some progress and was getting closer to having their second child. He felt that he had been testing Cooper’s limits every day.

When they were waiting outside, they bumped into some familiar faces—for instance, Harry and Sarah. Their child, Hope, was younger than Carmen by only a couple of days. They applied for him to attend this kindergarten as well, and they were here today to attend the interview. Besides, Hale and Gwen were here as well. They had been married for a few years and had given birth to a chubby son. They, too, had gotten the notice to attend the interview, and they were now waiting for their son to come out after the interview. Everyone was very nervous. Cold sweat appeared on their palms as they wondered if their children could impress the interviewer.

Soon, Carmen came out after she was done with her interview. Upon seeing her parents and grandfather from afar, she dashed at them like a little butterfly. She was even dolled up to ensure that the interview today could go smoothly. “Daddy, Mommy, Grandpa!”

Sophia embraced Carmen and asked, “Darling, how was your interview?”

Carmen was brimming with confidence. “I’ve passed!”

Sophia asked her the details, “How did you pass? What questions did the interviewer ask? Quickly tell me.”

Carmen seemed delighted. “I showed them the Bear Dance. The lady interviewer praised that I can dance well and I have acted in movies before. Daddy is also the major hairholder of the kindergarten! So they allowed me to pass.”

Upon hearing Carmen’s words from the side, the smile that the high-spirited Michael had on his face instantly froze.

“Major hairholder? What’s that?” Sophia contemplated the word and understood the meaning in three seconds—Michael was the major shareholder of this kindergarten! Why do we need to attend the interview if he is the major shareholder?! She understood the whole situation in that instant. She looked at Michael, feeling mad yet embarrassed. “Michael, y-you… jerk!”

After saying that, she turned around and left in rage and embarrassment, while Cooper’s expression instantly became dark as well. I can’t believe that my daughter was taken advantage of right under my nose! He held her hands and kissed her! I even made an exception and allowed Sophia to go to Michael’s house by herself to memorize the interview questions! Cooper left in a huff as well.

Michael rose to his feet and glanced at the innocent Carmen before going after Sophia. “Sophia… dear! Let me explain…” He left to chase after Sophia just like that. After he left, the two women, Sarah and Gwen, could not hold back themselves and burst into laughter. Even Hale, who was usually taciturn, could not suppress his smile.

Harry covered his face with his hand, unsure of whether he should be laughing or not right now. He lived in the same neighborhood as Michael. When he saw Michael went to look for Sophia with a stack of questions, he knew that the latter was plotting something. As expected, he was indeed trying to pull something off. Using the kindergarten interview as an excuse, he had plenty of chances to spend time alone with her—it was the golden period to develop their relationship! However, Carmen’s words unexpectedly made his efforts go in vain.

Looking at her parents leaving, Carmen gazed innocently at Harry with her little hands on the latter’s knees while childishly asking, “Godfather, why did Daddy and Mommy run away?”

Harry replied, “It’s nothing important. They had a little disagreement. They will make peace again in a while.”

Sophia, who had fallen into Michael’s trap, felt enraged yet mortified. She locked herself in her room when she reached home. I’m utterly furious! Utterly embarrassed! He actually kissed me! In public!

She could feel her face burning in embarrassment, but her heart was pounding wildly. The kiss made her heart skip a beat and caused her to feel as sweet as honey whenever she recalled the feeling. I’m absolutely mortified!

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 863

Michael followed Sophia to her house but was locked outside. The two alpacas, which seemed to have received certain orders from Cooper, spat saliva at his face when they saw him. Ptooey!

Ugh, it stinks! Michael nearly passed out from that stench. He stood under her room and yelled, “Sophia, dear… I was wrong! Please hear me out…”

Since the truth had been revealed, any sophistry would be useless—the most important thing to do now was to admit his mistake and apologize.

However, no matter how hard he shouted or called, the person upstairs refused to respond to him. Only three silly dogs appeared on the first-floor balcony, sticking their heads out to look at him, as if he was a clown.

Michael currently regretted his actions a lot. I shouldn’t have done that this time. I’m screwed. All my efforts have gone in vain, and I’ll have to start all over again…

Not only did the flustered Michael not receive any response from Sophia, Cooper even forbade him from entering the house and ordered Shae to wallop him if he barged in, so he had no choice but to go home.

At night, Carmen reached home. Michael wrote an official apology letter and asked her to pass it to her mother in secret.

Carmen was put on a spot. “Daddy, Grandpa said that he wanted to teach you a lesson. Otherwise, you won’t remember it and won’t learn to appreciate Mommy. Therefore, I can’t help you!”

Since Carmen refused to help him, Michael came up with another plan, which was to have Sarah pass Sophia the letter. However, she dared not help him as well. “Taylor, you know how grim Mr. Cooper’s expression can be. He dislikes me because my father and step-mother have offended him, so I cannot help you with this…”

Nevertheless, Michael still had plenty of opportunities.

“Come, Snowball, my darling, come here. I’m giving you this treasure. Give it to your Mommy.”

“Bubbles, you are my good baby. You must send this to your Mommy!”

“Silly dog, I’ll give you 5 bucks if you give this to Sophia! Huh? You think that it’s not enough? How about 50? That’s the most I can offer! Alright, alright, 500! 500!

Looking at the few dogs—which he had been taking care of with blood, sweat, and tears on behalf of Sophia—carrying his gifts to her in their mouths, he inwardly exclaimed, All my hard work has finally paid off!

However, what he did not expect was that the few silly dogs were stopped by Cooper in the living room as soon as they entered the house—the large bags in their mouths exposed their ‘mission’.

Everything that they brought was confiscated, so was the 500 that Judge had just earned!

Disgruntled, Judge bared its sharp teeth and started to carry out its ‘5-million renovation plan’ in Cooper’s house on the spot. It chewed on the couch, table, carpet, and even its own bed, refusing to stop unless it destroyed enough furniture that amounted to 5 million.

Cooper gave in and returned the 500 to it, but Judge was dissatisfied. Only when Cooper gave it another 500 as compensation for its mental anguish that it finally stopped destroying his furniture. There was chaos in the house while Michael was outside feeling anxious.

“Tsk…” Knowing that the few silly dogs might be unreliable, Michael took the opportunity to use his old trick when Cooper was busy dealing with Judge—he took out his drone and controller. Nonetheless, the drone was unexpectedly mercilessly shot down after flying for only 2 seconds.

Unwilling to give up, Michael carried Chrysanthemum over to Cooper’s house and pointed at the balcony. “Chrysanthemum, you are a cat, so you can climb up to the first floor, right? Go, climb up there! I know you can do this. I have faith in you!”

Entrusted with this mission in such a critical moment, Chrysanthemum tried its best to climb up to the first floor while carrying Michael’s gift for Sophia in its mouth, only to realize that… it had failed—its fat body was simply a burden!

After trying different cats, none of them managed to climb up because they were too chubby—there were more than twenty orange cats, but one was fatter than the other.

Sitting amidst the pile of fat cats, Michael had run out of ideas. All he could do was to pet the cats while he waited for Sophia to come out to meet him. He refused to believe that she would not leave the house.

As a matter of fact, Sophia found out what happened outside by watching the security recordings from her room. She started watching when Judge was making a commotion by destroying the furniture downstairs and kept watching as Michael tried his luck with the bunch of fat cats. He looked like a helpless little kid or like a regretful teenager who had had a quarrel with his girlfriend.

Looking at him, Sophia could no longer hold back her smiles, but it did not mean that she was not mad—Michael had gone overboard this time.

Downstairs, Michael tried to use another orange cat, attempting to initiate the next wave of attack. However, he then realized that the outcome was still the same—the cats just could not climb up to the first floor. When he was in despair, he saw the grassland cat that was recently bought by Sophia. The cat silently picked up the gift and nimbly climbed up a tree. It sat on a branch before leaping into the air with the force from its hips, drawing a swift arc through the air. It then made a perfect landing on the balcony with a light and agile movement before disappearing into Sophia’s room.

Michael almost gave the cat a standing ovation. The grassland cat named ‘Leapy’ was a crossbreed between a serval and a domestic cat. It had the ability to jump 2 meters high from the ground and was an excellent climber.

As expected from Leapy—it can jump up to 8 feet high.

Sophia was frustrated. When she was feeling mad and embarrassed in her room, she saw Leapy coming into her room through the cat door from the balcony. It then jumped onto Sophia’s table, put down the thing in its mouth, and left.

“What’s this?”

Leapy brought her a small pouch. She opened it and found a tiny MP3 inside.

She found her earphone and plugged it into the earphone jack before turning on the MP3. She could hear a clear male voice from the device.

“Sophia, I’m sorry. I just hope for us to spend more time together. I didn’t mean to lie to you, and I didn’t want Carmen to be accepted into the kindergarten using my influence. I just wished to prove to everyone that we are good parents. Let me sing you a song.”

She could hear the guitar playing and Michael’s sexy, charming voice singing.

“You are the light in my life. Not only did you dispel the gloom of my life, you’ve also alleviated the melancholy of my mundane life. Your warm light blends into my blood and flesh, your gentleness coursing through my veins with my blood. You’ve immersed into my whole body, like an invisible hand caressing my bones and flesh…”

It was a simple tune coupled with cliché lyrics—it gave her the vibes of a young teenage girl in school uniform secretly writing childish verses in the textbook during class under the noisy electric fan.

Michael anxiously waited for a long time downstairs without any idea if Sophia saw the thing that he gave.

After some time, he saw a paper plane flying down from the balcony, which Chrysanthemum obediently brought to him. He unfolded the paper plane and saw a few words on it. ‘Who wrote the lyrics? It made me cringe.’

Seeing that, he was overjoyed. Sophia is finally willing to talk to me—this means that she is not that mad anymore. He quickly took a pen to reply to her message and asked Leapy to send it upstairs.

She soon saw his reply, which was only one sentence. ‘It was from the love letter you wrote to me back then.’

The message made her feel abashed. I can’t believe that I actually wrote that before, but Michael composing music for it and singing it is something even more unexpected. How embarrassing! However, I can’t believe that he still remembers the love letter I wrote. Wasn’t that something from ages ago?

The paper plane flew out from the first floor again. Michael caught the paper plane and unfolded it—on it was her beautiful and bold handwriting. ‘You lied to me.’

The paper plane flew out from the room, and a while later, Michael asked Leapy to send it back upstairs, and the process repeated. One of them was in the room while the other was downstairs outside the house, and just like that, they communicated via the paper plane.

Michael replied, ‘Please hear me out. I just hope for us to spend more time together.”

Sophia replied, ‘I’m not going to listen to you!’

He was speechless for a moment, but he then wrote, ‘I was wrong. I promise you that I won’t do this next time.’

She asked, ‘You’re saying that there will be a next time?’

He was rendered speechless again.

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 864

After the two of them had a quarrel through the paper plane and small note, Sophia did not leave home for two days because she refused to meet Michael.

Whenever Michael had free time, he would sit under the balcony of her room and patiently wait for her. He would write notes on a small notebook, tear out the paper, and have Leapy send it up to her.

In contrast, the bunch of fat cats were absolutely useless. “It’s a waste of effort rearing all of you. All my efforts had gone down the drain! All you do is eat, and you even shed fur! You guys keep shedding fur!” Michael complained while pinching the fats on Chrysanthemum. He grabbed a handful of its fur and blew it away like dandelion seeds. “I will put you up for adoption in a few days.”

When Harry was walking his dog, he passed by and saw Michael sitting under Sophia’s balcony with the hope of meeting Sophia but to no avail. It was quite sad, but he could only blame himself for being too greedy. Cooper had acquiesced in him holding her hand, but he wished to take another step further by kissing her, which then caused all his earlier efforts to go in vain.

He basically dug his own grave! The kindergarten interview was real, but the questions were altered because he had someone to intervene with the interview through the kindergarten board meeting after he became the major shareholder. The reason he did all that was for the kiss at the final part of the interview! Serves him right!

Michael regretted plotting this as well. Regardless of how perfect his plan was, it unexpectedly completely crumbled with Carmen’s one sentence—‘Daddy is the kindergarten’s major hairholder’.

He petted the cat twice and growled, “All you do is eat. Look at yourself—do you know how fat you are right now?”

Hold on… Eat? An idea came to him in a flash of inspiration.

The weather was very cool in one fine evening after a downpour. Michael set up a barbeque pit at Cooper’s front yard, and the aroma of the food spread into Cooper’s house.

A soft mat was spread out on the lawn, and sitting on it was Carmen, who was drinking milk while talking to Michael. “Daddy, will Mommy really come out?”

Michael was busy grilling food with a chef when he replied, “She will come out. Your mommy used to love barbequing on the rooftop.”

Harry came with his wife as well. As it was a weekend, Nathan was back home, while Stanley, who had come to visit his cats and dogs, brought Sean along with him too. The few of them were having a great time at the barbeque party in front of Cooper’s house, making a lot of noise.

Sophia was reading documents in her study when she found out that Michael was having a barbeque party in front of their house. The fragrance was so strong that it seemed to be able to penetrate through walls—she could still smell the aroma everywhere even though she had shut all the doors and windows.

On top of that, the smell became more fragrant as time passed—so fragrant that it made her drool. I wonder what delicacies they are grilling…

She peeked at the security recordings and saw that all the cats and dogs in their neighborhood were there, watching them as they enjoyed their barbeque party. Even the two alpacas were there.

It smells wonderful… There is seafood, lamb and chicken wings. It’s so fragrant, and I think I can hear the sound of oil sizzling.

A couple of chefs were diligently grilling the food, while the few people took the food to the tables on the yard and enjoyed them with relish.

Leapy went over, took a piece of ham, and ate it in front of Sophia. It enjoyed the food very much, which caused Sophia to be unable to concentrate on reading her documents.

Stanley yelled at her from downstairs, “Sophia, come on down. We are having a barbecue! You used to love barbecue! Come down now. Your favorite chicken wings grilled with a secret recipe is ready. If you are not going to eat them, I’ll feed them all to Judge!”

As expected, Sophia was seen coming down in her pyjamas. She sat down and immediately started eating without greeting anyone.

Stanley admonished her. “Why are you so shy? It was only a kiss with my uncle! You used to kiss him in front of me every day. It made me cringe…”

Sophia continued eating with her head bowed without saying anything. Michael slowly nudged himself toward her with intention to please her. “Dear, here. Eat this. It’s your favorite.”

He had prepared her favorite food—she might not have her past memories, but her taste preference would never change.

She treated him coldly without giving him any response; she even moved away from him but accepted the food.

He inched closer to her and kept trying to please her.

She said, “Stay away from me.”

He replied, “Alright, I’ll stay further away.” And by staying further away, he meant to have a dog sitting between them.

With a dog between them, Michael handed her some beverages while uttering, “Tomorrow is Carmen’s first day at the kindergarten. Other kids will have both parents accompanying them to school…” He implied that Sophia should go as well.

Sophia coldly refuted, “Is this the kindergarten’s major hairholder’s new rule?”

The thick-skinned Michael smiled without any hint of awkwardness. “They’d had this rule before the major hairholder joined the board.”

Hearing that, she did not reply to him as she was aware that even African kids would have both parents sending them to school during their first day at kindergarten.

He took her silence as an acquiesce to his request. Delighted, he announced, “I’ll come to pick you up at 7.00AM tomorrow.”

She just remained quiet without either agreeing or disagreeing.

The delicious barbecued food probably made her happy and caused her to be willing to talk to the people around.

Michael grabbed the opportunity and approached her again. “Dear, I’m going away to shoot for a movie with Harry. Carmen will be in your care for the time being.”

Although Sophia did not reply, her ears were kept open. He is going away to shoot for a movie? That’s not a surprise at all since he is an actor. He tends to spend more time at the filming set than at home. Carmen is going to be fatherless for some time again.

After the barbecue, Sophia went home after filling her stomach. She did not talk much to Michael, which indicated that she was still mad.

The next day, Michael came over to pick Sophia and Carmen up early in the morning.

Carmen was well-prepared today. Carrying a bag, she was wearing a new dress with a water bottle strapped across her shoulder. She happily got into the car after Sophia with the intention to behave like a good girl in the kindergarten.

As her grandfather, Cooper took her kindergarten’s entrance ceremony seriously, so he tagged along as well.

Sophia had always thought that Cooper doted on Carmen more since her own existence as his daughter came too suddenly to him. When he thought that he was a bachelor, a grown-up daughter in her twenties suddenly appeared out of nowhere and completely caught him off guard. He was still stuck in the impression that a daughter, if he had one, should be small and adorable like Carmen. Therefore, he doted on and pampered Carmen to no end.

Upon arriving at the kindergarten, they encountered a few familiar faces. Harry and Sarah brought their son, Hope, while Hale and Gwen brought their son, Ashton. Besides, there was also… Sandra.

Unexpectedly, Sandra and Ian were here as well. They brought along a two or three-year-old child, who was about the same age as Carmen.

Seeing that Sophia seemed to be puzzled, Michael explained, “That’s Albert, Alex’s second son and Sandra’s younger brother.”

Albert… This name kind of matches the chubby little kid.

Sandra naturally spotted Sophia as well. She let out a scoff, as if she was confident that she had something on her.

It turns out that she really is Sophia. Sophia’s face had become a model for the girls who wished to undergo plastic surgery, which resulted in plenty of online influencers having similar faces. Therefore, when she previously had plastic surgeries on her whole face, Sandra had a preconceived thought that Scarlett had undergone plastic surgeries to look like Sophia, but it turned out that she was actually Sophia herself. How did she survive years ago? And how did she become Cooper’s daughter?

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 865

She has a child with her. Is that her and Michael’s daughter? Although all of this seems uncanny, I will figure it all out one day.

The entrance ceremony went on smoothly. After the ceremony, the parents had to leave their children to attend the Parent Association meeting organized by the kindergarten at another place. They had to select a president for the association and form a chat group with all the parents in it. On the other hand, the kids had to follow the teacher to the classroom to familiarize themselves with the environment and begin their first class.

Sophia and Michael arrived at the place where the parents gathered and began their first Parent Association meeting. Sophia glanced around and found that the kindergarten was quite high-end while the parents were all wealthy and powerful with extraordinary backgrounds. There were also plenty of celebrities and politicians. In other words, the children studying here could be described as accompanying the royalties.

The meeting started off by playing the security recordings of the classroom. There were 15 children in the class. As it was their first-time attending kindergarten away from their parents, the children were crying their eyes out, filling the classroom with their cries.

Those who were initially not crying were almost affected by their companions’ cries.

Luckily, the kindergarten teachers were all very experienced. They managed to stop the children from continuing to cry by coaxing them one by one.

The parents repetitively nodded upon seeing the teachers’ professional skills.

Michael spotted his baby at first glance—she was the most beautiful child. As soon as she entered the classroom, she put down her Husky backpack and took a sip of water while she watched other children crying.

“Look, our baby is not crying.” He sounded proud.

Sophia felt proud for her as well. Even Hope and Ashton were crying, but Carmen sat meekly in a corner by herself and drank water.

Finally, the children stopped crying, and the classroom became quiet. When the teachers were going to start the class, Carmen suddenly blurted out, “I want to be the class representative!”

Seeing that, the parents were speechless.

The teachers were taken aback by her proactiveness as well because it was extremely rare for a kid to be so brave and not cry. One of them smiled and said gently, “Sure, Carmen. You will be the class representative, then!”

Therefore, Carmen became the class representative on her first day at kindergarten.

After school, Sophia rushed from her office to pick Carmen up from the kindergarten.

“Baby, how was your first day at kindergarten?”

Carmen was confident. “I’m the most beautiful girl in the whole class!”

Such a narcissist… She must have inherited it from her father!

As a celebrity, as well as a star who had made a successful comeback, Michael could not simply appear in front of the kindergarten to pick up his child, so he sat in the car and waited for her instead. He embraced Carmen and said, “I’m going away to shoot for a movie some time later. You need to be a good girl. Stay at home and listen to your Mommy!”

“Sure, Daddy, I will behave myself.” She nodded.

Carmen, who had just spent her first day in school, was excited; she kept sharing about the new friends she made in the kindergarten with her parents along the journey.

“Hope is so handsome, and all the girls in the class like him! Mel’s dress is the most pretty! Flo cried for the whole day. I hate Al the most. I don’t like him!”

Carmen entering kindergarten probably put Sophia in a good mood today, so she finally treated Michael slightly better. When they arrived home together, he entered her house under Cooper’s cold eyes and dark expression; he even managed to have dinner together with them. I have to be thick-skinned in whatever I do… If I don’t have skin as thick as a wall, it would be impossible to make my lady come to me!

Michael went home after dinner.

After Sophia took a shower and changed her clothes, she thought for a while and decided to go look for Michael. When Cooper saw her heading in that direction, he coldly asked, “Darling, where are you going?”

Sophia answered, “I am going to find Michael to discuss something. I can’t just let this matter slide easily.”

Hearing that, he had no choice but to let her go.

Sophia reached Michael’s house, and the latter warmly invited her in although her visit was sudden and unexpected. “Come on in and have a seat.”

As it was the cats’ dinner time, over twenty cats gathered up at a place in the house to eat together. It was so packed that there was almost no room to place their feet. Besides, cats would shed a lot of fur, so rearing cats and dogs was no different from planting dandelions—it might be easier to relate by imagining planting over twenty pots of dandelions in a house…

“Why are there so many cats at home?”

Sophia took a seat and saw that there was cat fur everywhere—on the couch, floor, and even on Michael’s trousers. Having a couple of robotic vacuum cleaners was totally insufficient, and Nicholas nearly broke down from excessively sweeping the cat fur. On top of that, the orange cats had strong destructive power. The couch at home was replaced weekly. In fact, the one that Sophia was sitting on had been replaced yesterday although it was now already covered with scratches.

Michael replied, “These are all your cats. You didn’t tell me what to do with them, so I didn’t put them up for adoption or send them for neutering. Therefore, they kept breeding.”

Sophia felt a tingling sensation on her scalp. She found the cats adorable when a few of them occasionally went to her house. However, when she saw that the house was full of orange cats today, she was a little shocked at the imposing view. No wonder Carmen keeps complaining that her house is full of cat fur. Come to think of it, Michael may be stressed out as well. But since they are my cats, he was unwilling to put them up for adoption and so he continued keeping them. After some time, the cats filled his house.

She uttered, “Let’s put the cats up for adoption.”

Since she had said so, Michael would definitely listen to her. He had long been wanting to put this bunch of orange cats for adoption. Now that his wife gave the orders, it would only be natural for him to do so willingly.

The two of them discussed the adoption matter and Carmen’s performance in school today. Without them noticing, it was already 10.00PM. It was only when Cooper came over to urge her to go home that she finally left reluctantly.

She walked all the way home but suddenly realized something. What was I going to talk to Michael about? Forget it; I’ll just let that matter slide!

In fact, after asking the parents of other children, she was told that all the parents who went for the interview had to kiss each other in public. Refusing to do so would show that the parents were not getting along well, and an inharmonious relationship between family members would cause the child’s assessment score to be deducted.

On top of that, if Michael were to use his identity as the major shareholder and force the school to make an exception for Carmen, it would have been simply an insult to her.

It would not be nice if words got out that her daughter had to make use of her father’s influence to be accepted into a mere kindergarten.

Due to time constraints as Michael was going away to shoot for a movie soon, he asked the bodyguards to send Carmen to kindergarten the next day while he brought a booklet with him to Sophia’s house to discuss with her about the matter of putting the cats up for adoption.

“This is the booklet I had asked people to prepare over the night. The names listed on it belong to people who are interested in adopting our cats. You can have a look.”

The freshly prepared booklet, which Michael had had someone to prepare over the night, was sent to Sophia just like that. She glanced at the names listed on it. Every single adopter had their respective resumes attached, which clearly displayed their identities and backgrounds. They were all people from reliable backgrounds; many of Sophia’s old classmates and friends were included in it too.

The adopters were introduced in a concise manner. Everything about them was stated in the booklet, including their phone numbers and Messenger account.

It made her wonder if his high efficiency was due to his eagerness to get rid of the cats, or if he cared too much about this matter which was related to her that he managed to gather so much information in just one night.

 

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 866

After reading the booklet, Sophia said, “Michael, do you have any time lately? If you do, can you come along with me to send the cats away? I would like to visit all the adopters.”

Michael instantly understood what she meant—she had forgiven him!

He would be going away for a few months for filming soon, so she would like him to spend his last few days here with her!

Therefore, he replied, “Sure. I’ll take you out to meet your old schoolmates and friends too. The network you built during your time in Bayside University can be useful to you now, so it’s time for you to regain them.”

It was indeed easier to talk to someone with high emotional intelligence. In fact, to Sophia, sending away the cats was just an excuse. More importantly, she would like to take this opportunity to visit her acquaintances from the past since she had been lacking the opportunity to do so.

Michael had been helping her to maintain her network while she was away. He had been protecting all of her belongings on her behalf, and now, it was time for her to take over.

When Sophia returned home from Michael’s place, she noticed that she had a guest.

“Sophia, you are back!” Sitting in the living room was a young man with a childish yet handsome face in his twenties. She knew him as Derek, who was Sandra’s younger brother and Alex’s illegitimate son. He had recently graduated from Bayside University this year and had been interning in Stanley’s office.

“Derek, why are you here?” Sophia asked in surprise.

He seemed shy. “Sophia, you hadn’t come to the company lately. Our company is collaborating with Mr. Cooper for a case, so I’m here to discuss the case with him.”

“Okay.” Come to think of it, it had been a long time since she last went to Plum Technology. With Stanley and Sean managing the company, as well as Sarah in the marketing department, not only was the company in order during her absence, it had been listed too. Now, she had become a major shareholder who was excused from all management duties, so she was now focusing on her career in luxury brands.

“It’s late. You don’t have to go home tonight; you can stay over.”

Derek scratched his head, feeling a little shy. “Alright!”

However, he still drove home that night since he had to go for work the next day.

Derek was taken in by Sophia. He could be considered an orphan as he had no home to return to, and both his mother and uncle had passed away. His sister refused to acknowledge his identity, while his father, Alex, might have even forgotten about his existence. Sophia took him in and gave him the opportunity to study in Bayside University. Therefore, he had been studying while working in Plum Technology all these years. Although he had just graduated, he was quite capable.

After Derek had left, Cooper even praised him. “Derek is a talented young man. His head is filled with creative ideas, and he has inherited his father’s strengths. Unfortunately, he is very loyal to Stan, so I can’t get him to work for me. I am planning to take him back into the Mitchell Family so that he can take our last name.”

Now that Cooper had returned, he claimed himself as the Head of Mitchell Family. Although the elders refused to acknowledge him, he was certain that they would have to get on their knees and acknowledge him someday in the future. Therefore, his decision to allow Derek to return to the Mitchell Family was not a joke.

“But Dad, Derek is an illegitimate son. Isn’t this against the Mitchell Family’s rule?”

Cooper was dismissive of the rule. “The Mitchell Family has no such silly rules. We will accept any talent.”

Nevertheless, he is still Alex’s son… but since dad wants to take Derek back into the family, why not?

The next day, after Carmen went to the kindergarten, Michael came over in his car to pick Sophia up to send away the cats. Although Cooper was still disgruntled about the incident of the kindergarten interview, he did not stop her.

She got in the car and saw seven or eight cats in it.

Only Chrysanthemum and a few older cats were neutered and left at home; all the other kittens would be given away, except for one, which would be kept for breeding. On the other hand, she had decided not to give away any of the dogs for the moment since she did not have many of them to begin with. She only had the Cerebrus—Judge and its two sons, Bubbles and Snowball, which were all kept as models.

Michael took Sophia to go and visit the adopters. He had selected a few adopters together with Sophia years ago when they intended to give away the kittens once they were born, but the adoption matter had to be put on hold when the incident that involved Sophia unexpectedly happened.

A whole day went by, and they managed to visit seven or eight houses in total. They hung out in each house to look around and get to know the people or recover their lost relationships.

Words had started to spread in Bayside City that Scarlett was actually Sophia. After she spilled the beans, she had long expected that it would only be a matter of time before the truth was exposed. She was also slowly preparing herself to accept her past and make contact with her past acquaintance as Sophia.

Michael stayed together with Sophia for the whole day to accompany her to give away the cats. After a few days, the cats were all given away; only a few ‘retired’ old cats that lacked the energy to make a mess were left at home to bask in the sun.

It felt like the house had suddenly become spacious.

After giving the cats away, Michael and Sophia’s relationship again returned to the stage where they could only hold each other’s hands, which was still quite a distance away from kissing. Although she had let that incident slide, it must have left a deep impression on her.

As someone who was good at managing his relationship, Michael knew that it would only be a matter of time before she got sick of him if he kept appearing before her every day. Therefore, the better choice would be to maintain a little distance between them since absence made the heart grow fonder.

Just when he was making preparations to go to the film studio, which was located thousands of miles away from here in the south, something happened.

Plans could never keep up with the changes in life. Michael suddenly received a call from the kindergarten teacher when he was packing his stuff.

“Mr. Fletcher, please come over to the kindergarten now. Carmen brought her dogs to the kindergarten in secret, and the dogs bit one of the kids. This is a serious matter!”

At the same time, Sophia received a call about the incident as well. What’s going on? Carmen brought the dogs to the kindergarten, and the dogs bit her classmate?

She turned and looked around. As expected, Judge and its two sons—the Cereberus—were nowhere to be found! Crap! Carmen really brought Judge to the kindergarten, and the latter actually bit someone? Judge had a history of biting, and on top of that, it had titanium fangs implants. The child would sustain serious injuries if they were bitten!

Harry and Sarah received similar calls as well, so they called Michael to understand the situation. Both of them said that they were told that Carmen had been leading Hope and Ashton, and together, they behaved in an overbearing and intractable manner—they bullied other students and even ordered the dog to bite others!

Sophia and Michael immediately drove to the kindergarten. When Cooper found out about this, he rushed over to check out the situation as well.

Upon arriving at the kindergarten, a lot of parents had arrived at the entrance. They blocked the entrance as they discussed the matter; they even pointed at Michael and the others when they arrived.

Looks like this matter is a little serious…

The first thing that Sophia saw the moment they entered the kindergarten was a bunch of bodyguards wearing Alex’s lineage’s family crest.

Why are Alex’s people here?

His bodyguards were confronting the workers of the kindergarten. The scene was quite intense.

A child’s cries and a woman’s angry shrill echoed throughout the hall of the kindergarten. “The Mitchell Family is one of the shareholders of the company behind the kindergarten. Now that my younger brother was bitten, you need to hand us the culprit behind this! Otherwise, I will do it by force!”

As expected, it was Sandra again, and the person who was bitten was her brother, Albert.

The situation gave Sophia a tingling sensation on her scalp. Why is Sandra involved again?

 

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 867

Out of so many people here, why is Sandra the one who’s involved in this? The situation would be much simpler if we were dealing with other parents instead. Sigh, this won’t be easy to resolve.

It was Sophia and Michael who had sent Carmen to the kindergarten this morning, and they went home after that. When they reached home, the Cereberus were still making a mess in the house. It is true that we couldn’t pay attention to them for the whole time, but how did they manage to go to the kindergarten to bite children? The kindergarten is located miles away from our house—even if one were to take a subway here from home, they would have to pass by three or four stations. Therefore, who brought the Cereberus over here?

However, this was not a good time for her to contemplate this when Sandra was crying her eyes out while yelling to take revenge for her younger brother. She demanded for the dogs to be beaten to death and the kids to be handed over to her for punishment.

Currently, her men were trying to snatch the kids and dogs, but they were stopped by the kindergarten administrators. The security guards were confronting the people of the Mitchell Family.

“Sophia!” Upon noticing her presence, Sandra called her name so loudly that everyone in the hall could hear it clearly, which made them subconsciously look in the direction of Sophia and Michael.

The rumors that Scarlett is actually Sophia is surprisingly true, but didn’t she die three years ago?

When Sophia and Cooper hurriedly arrived at the scene, Cooper and Michael’s subordinates had already rushed into the kindergarten. At that moment, the kindergarten was full of people. The other parents were taken aback by the situation and moved to the side.

Sandra confidently strode over to Sophia, her face filled with anger with a hint of pleasure. After all, she finally had something on Sophia and her daughter!

“You should come at me if you want anything, but why did you stoop so low by targeting a child? What’s the point in doing that? You can’t inherit the Mitchell Family even if your dogs had bitten my brother to death!”

The more she yelled, the louder her voice became, which made her sound more intimidating and aggressive. With just a few sentences, her accusations turned Sophia into a person who would harm a child to gain power. After all, Albert was the eldest young master of the Mitchell Family and Alex’s only legitimate son, so there were many people who wanted him dead.

Sophia glanced at the little boy sobbing at the side. His thighs were bitten a few times and were now bandaged.

She frowned. “Your younger brother was so badly bitten—why are you keeping him here? You should send him to the hospital now.”

Sandra scoffed, “Haha, I’m keeping him here to question you, of course! What if you guys shift the blame after I send him away?”

Sophia did not bother to talk to her and asked the kindergarten teacher instead, “What happened with the dogs? How did they run in and bite a child?”

As she was speaking, she hurriedly went into the kindergarten. The teacher, who had no idea how it happened as well, replied, “There were no dogs in the kindergarten, and we had security guards stationed at the main entrance. Therefore, it was impossible for three large dogs to come in. However, during recess time today, I heard children crying and then saw the three large dogs biting Al.”

Al was Albert’s nickname.

Sophia seemed to have heard Carmen saying that she hated Albert. She wondered if she had sneaked the dogs into the kindergarten and asked them to bite him because she hated him. Since Judge and its two sons did not know how to take the subway, they couldn’t have entered the kindergarten without the help from someone inside. The question now was—how did they get in? On top of that, this situation seemed complicated as it involved the internal conflicts of the Mitchell Family. Judge had also been accused of eating humans before this. Why do they keep raising issues using dogs?

Michael approached the teacher and asked, “Where’s my daughter?”

Harry chimed in anxiously, “How about Hope and Ashton?”

Hale and Gwen arrived in a hurry as well. The three pairs of parents dashed into the kindergarten.

The teacher seemed to be put on the spot. “After the incident, the three kids were afraid that we would hit her dogs, so they took the dogs and hid in the sports equipment room. They are still inside now, and we dare not break the door for fear that we may injure the kids. Mr. Fletcher, please go and take a look. The dogs had just bitten a kid, so we are worried that they will bite again.”

Hearing that, Michael’s expression turned stern. The few of them then quickly rushed to the sports equipment room mentioned by the teacher.

Sophia immediately went after them. Sandra quickly brought her brother and went along as well, for fear that Sophia and Michael would refuse to bear responsibility after taking away the kids and the dogs. She even brought along a few nosy parents so that everyone could witness how Michael and Sophia condoned the dogs that bit a child after biting a person to death.

A large group of people arrived at the sports equipment room on the ground floor. The bodyguards blocked the crowd to avoid them from getting too close and only allowed the three fathers to knock on the door.

The kids, who had been hiding inside, were probably terrified. When the three anxious fathers reached the door, Michael first tried to call out to them gently.

“Carmen, my baby, I’m here. Are you inside?”

After a while, there was some movement inside. He heard the sound of footsteps as Carmen walked to the door. She did not immediately open the door but worriedly said, “Daddy, Judgey bit someone again. They are going to beat Judgey to death.”

Michael consoled her. “Don’t worry. I’ve brought many people here. I won’t allow them to beat Judgey. Can you open the door?”

She was vigilant. “Let’s make a pinky promise, then. You cannot hit Judgey.”

He promised. “Okay, but you have to open the door for us to make a pinky promise.”

The door was finally opened. He saw six pairs of eyes staring intently at him when the door was opened.

She reached out her little hand. “Daddy, pinky promise.”

Seeing that his baby was fine, he heaved a sigh of relief. He was afraid that Judge might lose control and bite them.

He reached out his hand and made a pinky promise with the pink, little hand. After that, he pushed open the door widely and saw the scene inside.

The three kids and the Cereberus were inside. Judge and its two kids seemed to have realized that they had made a mistake. Their ears lay flat while they kept quiet, but when they saw Michael coming in, they wagged their tails at him.

This was the third time.

He did not know what happened, but this was the third time Judge had gotten itself into trouble under Michael’s care. Although the cause for this incident had yet to be known, Michael was a little tired from dealing with all the troubles caused by a mere dog. Therefore, he decided to send it away after this incident to prevent having to deal with future trouble. After Judge was beaten at that time, its hair was shaved off to treat its injuries, but it actually got itself into another trouble even before its hair had fully grown…

“Come on. Let’s go home first.”

The three fathers found their respective child. Looking at the three children, Sophia felt relieved that they were fine.

Judge, who knew that it seemed to have landed itself in trouble, approached Sophia with its ears laying flat while shaking its head and wagging its tail. It then bowed its head, waiting for Sophia to pet it.

“Silly dog, how much more trouble are you going to give me?” She gently patted its head, determined to send Judge to Stanley since the latter lived in a villa by the beach, which had plenty of space for Judge to run wild.

“Someone please come over and beat these three dogs to death!” Sandra roared, and the bodyguards of the Mitchell Family surrounded them.

Judge barked at them. Sophia asked someone to grab on the dogs’ leashes before saying to her, “I won’t let you do as you please. This is my dog. I’ll pay for Al’s medical fees!”

Upon hearing that Sophia would pay for the fees, Sandra knew that the former was afraid of escalating the matter, so she barked, “Pay? How are you going to pay? My brother is the eldest young master of the Mitchell Family; your child and dogs are insignificant compared to him. Hand over your child and dogs to me! Otherwise, I won’t let this matter slide!”

Though Sandra was spewing nonsense, Sophia, who was at a disadvantage, did not bother to find fault in what she said since it was her dogs who were in the wrong in the first place for biting another person.

However, Ashton suddenly chimed in, “But Judgey bit Al because he tried to take off Carmen’s pants…”

 

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 868

Michael was holding Carmen’s hand as they were about to leave when he stopped dead in his tracks upon hearing it. He turned his head back and stared at Ashton, his eyes welled with raging fury.

He was still a gentle, loving father two seconds ago before his raw furor got the better of him.

“Ashton… what did you just say?”

Ashton was taken aback by the sudden outburst of Michael’s rage, but he hugged his father’s leg and summoned the courage to speak the truth. “Al had lifted Mel and Lulu’s skirts before, and this time, he tried to take off Carmen’s pants!”

Hope, who was in Harry’s arms, suddenly blurted out, “Judgey was right to bite Al. Mommy said those who lift girls’ skirts are bad people, and bad people deserve to be bitten!”

After both toddlers spoke their minds, the room was momentarily silent. A sudden realization hit Sophia as her face turned pale and tears streamed down her face beyond control.

Michael felt his body trembling before he quietly carried Carmen into the sports equipment room, leaving everyone outside. No one was allowed to enter except Sophia and Sarah.

In the equipment room, Sophia held Carmen softly and asked, “Baby, about what Ashton and Hope said earlier, was it true? Did Al try to take off your pants?”

Carmen was still in shock over what happened earlier today. With a face filled with pity, she looked at her mother and nodded as she answered, “He even took off other kids’ pants and skirts. He tried to do the same to me yesterday, but I didn’t let him, and then Hope and Ashton beat him up. Daddy said not to let others take off my skirt. Only bad people do that. I went home and told Judgey, so it brought its puppies to bite Al.”

Sophia listened to Carmen with sighs between her breaths. She felt as if her body had frozen from the disturbing realization of what had happened. Michael, who was standing next to her, grimaced in silence.

“Come, Carmen. Let me see,” whispered Sophia as she carefully lifted Carmen’s skirt with her pale, trembling hands and saw a white-colored shorts with bear prints.

Carmen then raised her skirt further and revealed her stomach. She pointed at two scratch marks on her tummy and thighs, which was thankfully not deep, and said, “Here, look at this, and this. Al and Daryl kept wanting me to take my pants off, but I wouldn’t let them. So they kept forcing me, and I got scratched. Judgey then came in and bit Al.”

Michael also observed the two scratch marks on Carmen’s tummy and thigh. They looked shallow and were probably made by children.

He kept gazing at them, not realizing that the veins on his forehead were popping out.

No one had any idea how a trivial matter like this drove him to his wit’s end.

It might have been an innocent prank among children who did not know better, but on a serious note, it was an immoral act of perversion!

Sophia shared a dark past similar to this when she was younger. The pain and trauma never left her until her adulthood. Such a painful experience sent her spiralling into a depressive episode, which took her a long time to recover from.

She was this close to going back out to clobber that little monster there and then.

However, she held her composure and planted a kiss on Carmen’s cheeks. She then turned to Michael and uttered, “Michael, please bring Carmen to get checked at the hospital. As for those that are outside… I’ll take care of them.”

Michael paused for several seconds before moving over to carry Carmen from Sophia’s arms. He took a couple of steps toward the door before he turned back abruptly and gave his wife a hug as he said, “Wait for me to come home.” After that, he continued his way out as his vision got blurred by his tears.

Carmen was leaning on her father’s shoulders when she waved at Sophia. “Bye-bye, Mommy.”

Sophia let out a forced smile and replied, “I will see you in a bit, baby.”

The father and daughter strolled off as they chatted.

“Daddy, are you still angry at Judgey for biting Al?”

“No, not at all. Next time, if someone ever bullies you again, don’t send Judgey—tell me instead. I will come and bite them myself.”

Outside the sports equipment room, Sandra was causing a commotion. She spoke aloud to the crowd. “Scarlett Mitchell is Sophia Edwards! She faked her death three years ago to scam her insurance company, and now, she’s come back with another identity! She weaseled her way into the Mitchell Family and took over Old Master Mitchell’s fortune. She even tried to put her name into our family tree! After my father exposed both her and her father’s plot, they’ve started to lay their hands on my brother now!”

Although the other parents had no idea what had happened between both families, what remained everyone’s concern was the fact that Sophia’s dog had injured Albert. This incident had made it worse for Cooper in the midst of the civil rivalry within the Mitchell Family.

Cooper stood quietly outside the sports equipment room. He no longer paid attention to all the words that Sandra was spewing to the crowd for he had seen his fair share of pointless provocations in his life. All he cared about at that moment was his beloved granddaughter.

Soon after, the door from the equipment room opened, whereupon Michael walked out with Carmen in his arms. Carmen gently called out to Cooper. “Grandpa.”

Even a stoic man like Cooper could not resist Carmen’s tender voice. He instantly turned in her direction and said, “Carmen, baby, how are you feeling? Do you feel pain anywhere? If you do, you have to tell me, Daddy, or Mommy!”

Carmen lay on Michael’s shoulder and replied, “I don’t feel pain anymore, but I’m hungry.”

Michael, whose face was still stone-cold, said to Cooper, “Hey, Cooper, I’ll leave this matter here to you. I’m bringing Carmen to the hospital for a check-up.”

Cooper never said another word and nodded before he ordered someone to escort Michael out.

Sandra saw Michael leaving and hurriedly caught up with him. “Stop right there. Hand me the child!”

Michael sped up his steps and headed right out of the kindergarten to get into his car, which headed to the hospital without further delay. Sandra stomped her heels and cried out, “Do you think you all can get away with this? You’ve hurt my brother, and our family will not let this pass!”

Sophia stood aimlessly in the equipment room. All that was in her mind was the two scratch marks on her poor baby’s tummy and thighs. She could feel the pain from those scratch marks in her very own heart.

Her daughter was barely three years old. How could they hurt her like that?!

Sarah tried to console her and said, “It’s okay. Don’t worry. Hope said he’d beaten up that kid!”

But she knew for a fact that she was unsure of how best to make her friend feel better.

It was a good thing that Sophia had forgotten everything in the past.

The Sophia she knew back then might have looked happy and cheerful every day, but only Sarah knew that she had been relying on antidepressants to keep herself going.

Her childhood trauma had affected her life for the most part. Those who had depression always kept to themselves and battled their pain quietly on their own up until the day they could no longer keep up and would eventually break into pieces all of a sudden.

Cooper rushed in and saw Sophia still in a trance. He quickly asked, “Darling, are you okay?”

His greatest fear was to see both his babies get hurt.

His baby daughter had suffered greatly since childhood, and he was worried that she would recall those miserable memories and suffer everything in one go.

Sophia let out a smile and reassured her father. “Daddy, I’m fine. Don’t you worry.”

She walked out of the equipment room with Sarah and saw Sandra still yelling and shouting at the entrance.

“Sophia, Sarah, look at what your kids have done to my brother! You owe me an explanation today!”

Her brother was still crying beside her. He was in his summer shorts due to the warm weather, so one could see several wounds on his thighs and arms, which were bandaged. On his face, there were a few light imprints of a hand, which suggested he had gotten slaps on the cheek.

He was evidently frightened and wished to return home, but Sandra insisted that he stayed put. He continued to cry in fear as his sister screamed at the crowd.

This time, it was Sophia’s turn to direct her tear-filled eyes back at Sandra, her stare red with a beastly wrath.

“An explanation? I will give you an explanation now!”

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 869

You want an explanation?! I’ll give you one!

Sophia strode toward Sandra.

Sandra saw Sophia walking in her direction. The latter’s blue eyes were stone cold and filled with a murderous intent that was so strong that Sandra could sense it even before she got close. Sandra apprehensively retreated and ordered both her security guards to step in between Sophia and her to ensure her safety.

But Sandra’s sense of security was short-lived. Sophia gestured her hand, and the Mitchell family’s henchmen pushed Sandra’s guards aside before forming a human wall, covering both women in a circle.

Intimidated and lost for words, Sandra kept stepping back as Sophia closed in on her.

“What, now? Are you scared? Didn’t you ask for an explanation or compensation? Here I am now, so come and get your explanation!”

Sophia’s voice echoed over Sandra’s. Her presence was overpowering as she marched closer toward Sandra, emanating a threatening sense of bloodthirsty rage.

At this moment, Cooper stayed still as he observed how his daughter confronted Sandra.

The Mitchell family would have to be reunited eventually, and Sophia, being the firstborn daughter of her generation in the family, would have to face Sandra one day. That day had now arrived.

Realizing she was cornered, Sandra held on to the belief that she was the rightful heir to the throne and summoned the courage to face Sophia by straightening her back and doubling down on her dominating presence.

She knew better than anyone else who she was facing within that man-made circle.

“Sophia, my brother’s injury report will be out very soon. Take my advice and hand over those little sh*ts, or else…”

Sophia crossed her arms as she took a step forward and said, “My child was not in the wrong, and neither was my dog. Your brother deserved every single bit of it! According to the Mitchell’s family tree, my daughter is two generations ahead of you and your brother in seniority. Her beating your brother up was just her teaching him a lesson in basic manners as a grandaunt!”

Sophia threw a glance at Sandra’s brother, who had dog bites all over his limbs and a swollen face. He had lost his voice from all the crying.

All children were born innocent and uncorrupted. This child was almost the same age as her daughter, so Sophia found it hard to believe that a young human being could be capable of such a malicious act.

Unless it was taught to him by someone…

Sophia reverted her gaze back at Sandra and raised her voice.

“Your brother went around in the kindergarten lifting other girls’ skirts and forcing them to remove their pants for him. Shouldn’t he be taught a lesson? He’s doing such a terrible thing at such a young age; he even has the cheek to intrude on other girls’ dignity. Imagine what he would do when he grows up! Since you are doing such a poor job as a sister to educate your brother on how to be a decent human being, don’t blame others for doing a better job for you!”

Upon hearing Sophia’s words, all the parents at the kindergarten were startled. Those with daughters immediately held their children tight within their arms.

Al was taking off girls’ skirts?!

Sandra let out a scoff and said nonchalantly, “My brother’s only three. Do you expect a three-year-old to understand these things? He can’t even tell if he’s a boy or a girl. So what if the kids were playing and lifting each others’ skirts? Kids aren’t aware of these things; so what if he lifted your daughter’s skirt? She probably wasn’t aware of it either! Sophia, don’t you try to change the topic. Tell me—how are you going to compensate us for my brother’s injury?”

At this moment, Sophia was more than certain that the child’s unacceptable behaviour was condoned.

Every time Carmen returned from school, she would tell Sophia about all the new friends she had made in the kindergarten. Yet whenever Albert’s name came up, Hope and Ashton had nothing but negative things to say about him.

It might be common for a child to dislike another, but what if the entire class expressed the same dislike for Albert?

Sophia seemed to have connected the dots. She glared at Sandra and uttered, “Seems to me… you’re doing this on purpose.” Everything made sense under all that guise. “Deep down, you know what you are and where you stand in your family. We both know how you were able to take up the position of the eldest daughter in the Mitchell family. But I know your ambitions do not stop there, not just as the eldest daughter. No—you want more than that, and this brother of yours is your biggest threat!”

Sandra felt as if someone had dug out her little black book and read her deepest, darkest secrets aloud to everyone. Her breath staggered as her heart raced, but she maintained a steady look and retorted, “What nonsense are you spewing?! Threat? I don’t even know what the hell you’re going on about!”

Sophia’s deep, knowing gaze from her bright, blue eyes saw through her act instantly.

Albert was Sandra’s younger stepbrother. He was born after Sandra replaced the late Natasha as Alex’s daughter.

Alex had spent much effort to groom and nurture Natasha, but she fell short of his expectations. When he managed to bear a younger son, Natasha strangled him to death. Even though he later brought Sandra in, he still needed an heir.

Even if Alex had no qualms with an illegitimate child, his wife was unwilling to accept him. That was why they had to bear another son as soon as they could.

Rumor had it that both Alex and his wife almost lost their lives to safely have Albert through surrogacy.

When Albert was grown, Sandra would lose everything that she had and return to square one. She was just a replacement after all, and everything that she was supposed to have would naturally be taken away by her stepbrother, the legitimate heir of the family.

But what if this legitimate heir grew up unfit to lead the family?

What if he was ‘groomed and nurtured’ from a young age to become like his sister, who was notorious for getting into constant trouble?

“Deny it all you want, but I think you know very well what’s going on, Sandra!” Sophia spat as she advanced toward Sandra with a cold crooked smile. “Let me tell you this—I don’t care how you educate your brother, but if the way you bring him up results in him harming my daughter in any way, I will come after you.”

Sandra was exasperated. She had spent all these years climbing up the ranks in the family, but she knew how she got this opportunity handed to her in the first place. She felt all sense of guilt when facing Sophia until a sudden thought struck her. Upon that, she let out a hysterical laugh to overcome her guilt earlier and retaliated with a snide remark.

“Your daughter accused my brother of lifting her skirt. Who is to say that she wasn’t the one who shamelessly flaunted what’s beneath her skirt in front of him?” She then stepped up to Sophia with a vicious smile. “After all, children mimic their parents, especially since she’s a three-year-old. She’s probably a shameless wh*re, taking after her mother.”

This set off a fatal trigger in Cooper, who was observing quietly among the crowd. She had been testing his patience, and this was the final straw that broke the camel’s back.

Sophia did not need to look back to know that her father was infuriated.

She hastily turned around and stopped her father, who was about to charge into the circle, with the raise of her hand. She uttered calmly, “Daddy, there are some things that I need to face on my own. You cannot protect me forever. Let me handle it this time, okay?”

The seething anger in Cooper’s eyes died down, and he silently adhered. His daughter had grown strong enough to stand up for herself. His heart ached for her.

With her father’s nod as a blessing, Sophia smiled and drew in a deep breath before heading back to face Sandra.

Sandra thought her verbal attack had hit Sophia where it hurt most, so she gleefully amped up her provocation by saying, “Sophia, do you think that, just by feigning your death, everyone would forget about your scandalous past? Everyone here knows what you are made of and what you have under all that.”

Her eyebrows danced with amusement as everyone recalled that controversial moment when Sophia’s nude photos were discovered and shared all over the internet.

Everyone in Cethos could clearly ‘see’ what she was made of.

Sandra was probably still the same as she ever was, but Sophia was no longer the timid little girl she once was.

Step by step, she marched up to Sandra with a stoic expression, while the tension surrounding her reached an all-time high.

“Sandra, I know very well what I’m made of, without a doubt. As for what you’re made of, everyone shall soon see it too!”

Barely a second after she was done talking, Sophia darted toward Sandra in a couple of steps and grabbed her skirt by the waist. Before Sandra realized what was to ensue, Sophia pulled her skirt together with her underwear down in public!

“Didn’t you just say there’s nothing wrong with looking underneath skirts? What if I show everyone what’s underneath your skirt too?”

My Dreamy Old Husband Chapter 870

What Sophia had done was something no one saw coming.

Scarlett, the daughter of Cooper Mitchell, actually pulled the skirt of Sandra in public!

Sandra was wearing a top to match her skirt that day. The thin fabric hugged closely to her athletic body, complementing her graceful figure. With an unexpected downward yank from Sophia, both the skirt and underwear slid down below her knees.

“Ahhhh!”

Sandra’s shriek broke the silence that once filled the hall moments before that. She frantically reached for her skirt and pulled it up. Alas, that undue sight was already etched in the minds of everyone in the crowd.

Be it tanned or fair, au natural or shaved, that marked the eventful day where everyone found out what Sandra of the Mitchell family was made of—under her skirt, for that matter.

Sufficient to say, she had ‘tended her garden’ quite immaculately.

Sandra pulled her skirt up as she charged toward Sophia while bellowing, “I’m going to kill you! You’re so dead!”

As she pulled her skirt back onto her waist, she pounced at Sophia with clenched fists. Sophia had shamefully exposed both the front and rear of her groin and robbed her of her rational mind at that very instant. Her dignity, pride, and self-esteem were all shredded to bits in a matter of seconds. The sudden reveal of the most sacred part of her body left nothing to the imagination for the crowd.

Having expected Sandra to fight back, Sophia rolled her sleeves up and lunged at her, lifting her skirt whenever it was within her reach. Michael used to remark that she never resorted to disrobing her opponent back when she engaged in a catfight with the mistress. Today, she had outdone herself.

Sandra used to be an athlete, but she had retired for quite some time. The following years living under the care of the Mitchell family had been a bed of roses for her. Naturally, she no longer continued her training for competitions, for her choice of profession as an athlete was merely a stepping stone for her to marry into a wealthy family. Since bearing the Mitchell family name, she no longer saw the need to slog her guts out at the training pool.

On the other hand, Sophia had been living in a war-torn area for several recent years. She was forced to keep her vitality and physique in its best form, or she could lose her life anytime.

The scale of the catfight was obviously tipped. Sophia had Sandra pinned down on the ground with her foot on her back while she yanked Sandra’s skirt and tore it, including her underwear.

All the parents at the scene were at a loss for words. They could do nothing except to bear witness to one of the most unusual catfights between two ladies from the Mitchell family; they were rolling and tumbling on the floor while tearing clothes off of each other.

In the midst of Sandra’s painful and angry screams, Sophia’s merciless roar cut through the commotion.

“Didn’t you say that lifting skirts was just a small matter for girls? Your brother lifted my daughter’s skirt, so why shouldn’t I let you have a taste of it?! Why are you crying? What are you shouting for? Look at how pathetic you are right now! Come on, Sandra Oak. Let everyone see what you’re made of. We didn’t have a clear picture the first time around, so let’s have a rerun!” Sophia roared at the top of her lungs.

The parents who had daughters felt vindicated. Who said little girls were naive and clueless? Who said little girls wouldn’t feel bad when their skirts were lifted?

Sandra’s men intended to step in to rescue her from the humiliation, but they were up against a barricade of men twice their numbers from Cooper and Michael’s gang. None of them were able to move in to interfere, so they could only watch the tussle helplessly.

After having attempted to struggle and free herself, Sandra was gassed out to the point she could barely fight back. Her skirt was nearly destroyed as she howled while still clinging on to it for dear life. Sophia grabbed Sandra’s hair and dragged her toward Albert.

The three-year-old Albert was already stunned as he stared blankly at his own sister being pinned on the floor and having her skirt yanked and torn.

Sophia shoved Sandra, who was crying hysterically with her face drenched in tears, in front of Albert. She grabbed the skirt which Sandra was still grasping on and gave it one final tug. Sandra then let out one last scream and descended into helpless cries of despair.

“You little sh*t, did you see that? Girls in skirts and dresses do not like themselves being exposed! I’ll let you off this time, but you’d better remember this. If you ever dare to do anything indecent like that again, I promise you I’ll come over and beat you up just like how I beat your sister!”

Albert shut his mouth in fear and stopped his crying at once while nodding profusely. Since the day he was born, he had been doted on by Alex and condoned by Sandra for his spoiled behavior. That was his first taste of reality, and the incident had left him scarred for life.

This was a life-changing event for Albert, for it resulted in him feeling traumatized for life when it came to removing girls’ skirts. He then discovered his newfound interest in taking off mens’ pants instead…

After she was finally done with Sandra, Sophia exhaled lightly and elegantly before she stood up to tidy her ruffled clothing. Luckily, she wore jeans that day.

Sandra lay on the floor as she held whatever was left of her skirt and yelled in between sobs, “Sophia Edwards, the Mitchell family will not forgive you for this! I will kill you! I will bury you six feet under with my own bare hands!”

Sophia took out her mirror and checked her messy hair above her ears and noticed some sweat on her face. She glanced at Sandra, who was lying on the floor in the sorriest state one could ever be in, while mockingly imitating her tone and arching her eyebrows as she said, “Had you not shamelessly flaunted what’s beneath your skirt in front of me earlier, why would I have took off your skirt?”

Sandra raised her head and glared at her.

At this moment, Sandra’s men finally managed to rush to her rescue. They took off their suits and wrapped them around her.

As she was taken away, Sandra could be heard yelling from afar, “I’ll kill you! You’re so, so dead!”

Sophia scoffed and heaved. “Sorry, but you cannot kill me. I’ve only given you a few slaps, which is nothing close to harming your vital organs. You can sue me for compensation, though. Go ahead and sue me; I’ve got all the money. Tell me how much to pay you, and I’ll do it. But if you ever say something to disrespect me again, this won’t be the last time you get hit by me!”

After Sandra was out of sight, Sophia turned back and gazed at Albert.

Albert was Alex’s boy. Having only been born when Alex was nearing the age of fifty, he was undoubtedly the apple of his eye. Upon taking a closer look, she noticed how he shared quite some resemblance with Derek. They were both Alex’s sons after all.

Seeing her switching her gaze into a fierce glare, Albert felt his knees shaking violently as his bodyguards escorted him away.

The dust had settled and the crowd had dispersed, yet they were all still discussing what had happened earlier.

The event was reiterated as a domestic affair within the Mitchell family. A scoundrel of a grandniece condoned the bad behavior of another scoundrel of a grandnephew, resulting in him assaulting the modesty of his grandaunt. Consequently, the grandaunt’s mother got so mad she taught said grandniece a lesson by giving her a taste of her own medicine. One would argue that it was an entertaining performance, to say the least.

Since the kindergarten administration decided not to pursue this matter, Sophia strutted out of the premises scot-free.

On the way to the hospital, Michael called to inform her that Carmen was fine, except for the minor scratches on her tummy and thigh. They then headed home for food as she was hungry.

Sophia exhaled a sigh of relief and headed back home. Just then, Cooper picked up a phone call from Alex.

From the sound of it, Alex was furious.

Cooper waited for his rant to end and replied flatly, “Oh, it’s just a trivial matter. Little kids playing with each other’s clothes—nothing serious really. The kids didn’t know better. Your son lifted my granddaughter’s skirt, so my daughter lifted your daughter’s skirt. We’re even now. Goodbye.”

Sophia covered her mouth as she chuckled.

She then studied the Cereberus in front of her.

Judge and its two puppies were covered in grass and mud. They had probably crawled through a hole to get into the kindergarten.

She could not explain how the three of them, who were stationed at home, managed to travel all the way to the kindergarten to bite Albert.

Did they learn how to take the public bus? They’d have to ride for at least three to four stations to get there!

Even the slightest distraction would throw these three hounds from hell out of their focus. How were they able to get specifically to the kindergarten? Not to mention, the security at the establishment is quite tight.

This matter had been temporarily filed as a cold case until the next day when Stanley heard about it and insisted on finding out the truth by retrieving the video playback from the camera on Judge’s collar, which held the truth to all the suspense…