Wrong Flirt, Right Trouble: His Uncle Pulls Me Close

"Please watch your step, sir." As she opened the door, Ivy glanced at the floor, worried the old man might slip. She had just noticed a small wet patch on the ground.

Sylvia Blackwood quickly put her sunglasses on. Her heart pounded. ’Why is Ivy here? If she sees my eyes, she’ll definitely figure something out.’

’But with Ivy here, I can’t just wear sunglasses through the whole meal, can I? Wouldn’t that be weird?’

"Ivy, you... How are you two together?" Sylvia Blackwood asked.

’Didn’t they say the old master was lost? How did he end up with Ivy?’

’What is wrong with these people? Don’t they know how much I hate Ivy?’

’That woman, Ivy, along with Anna Nash, brought the Blackwood Family to ruin, and now she’s involved with my uncle? It’s outrageous.’

"We just happened to run into each other," Ivy said. She then lifted her gaze to Sylvia, surprised to see she was still wearing sunglasses.

’Is she planning on welding those sunglasses to her face?’

"Sylvia, this is your grandfather—your mother’s father," Miles Mercer explained.

Sylvia looked at the old man, but she couldn’t bring herself to say the word "Grandfather."

She already had a grandfather. Calling a complete stranger "Grandfather" just felt wrong.

"So this is Winter’s daughter?" Old Master Mercer looked at Sylvia, but for some reason, he felt no desire to get closer. Instead, he felt a profound sense of unfamiliarity.

He felt nothing for this Sylvia Blackwood. In fact, he much preferred Ivy.

’If Ivy weren’t his granddaughter, he would genuinely want her as his granddaughter-in-law.’

"Yes, Grandpa. This is our aunt’s daughter. She was found and raised by the Blackwood family. She goes by Sylvia Blackwood now."

Ivy helped Old Master Mercer inside and had him sit at the head of the table.

The seat next to the old master should have gone to the newly found Sylvia, and the seat on his other side should have been for Xavier Mercer.

Ivy was just tagging along for a meal; as a last-minute addition, her seat would naturally be at the far end of the table.

Ivy felt a little awkward about crashing the meal, but she was already here.

Old Master Mercer sat down. Just as she was about to head to the end of the table, he took her by the arm. "Ivy, you sit next to me. The rest of you, move down."

The three Mercer brothers naturally had no objections. They just hadn’t realized how fond their grandfather was of Ivy.

Even after finding their aunt’s daughter, it was clear that the old man preferred Ivy.

Sylvia, who was watching from the side, saw this too and bit her lip.

Ivy said, "Sir, I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to sit here."

"What’s not appropriate? I’m telling you to sit here."

Ivy had no choice but to sit down. Even with the distance between them, she could feel an unfriendly gaze fixed on her.

Sylvia muttered, "The nerve!"

Ivy looked at Sylvia. "Sylvia, you’re not going to take off your sunglasses to eat?"

This was just too strange. It wasn’t like Ivy had never seen Sylvia’s face before. Unless she had something wrong with her eyes, this was completely unnecessary. Besides, the winter sun wasn’t even that bright.

"Why are you so nosy? Ivy, this is a gathering for me and the Mercers. Who invited you?" Sylvia’s tone was hostile.

Ivy didn’t appreciate Sylvia’s attitude. And as it happened, Ivy hadn’t been in a good mood lately. If Sylvia wasn’t going to be respectful, Ivy saw no reason to return the favor.

"The Mercer brothers don’t mind, so why are you making such a big deal out of it?"

"I..." Sylvia was fuming.

Ivy continued, "Or are you wearing sunglasses because you’re hiding something?"

Her eyes darted around in panic behind the sunglasses. "You’re the one who’s hiding something!"

"I was just making a casual comment. Why are you so on edge?"

As if Ivy had struck a nerve, Sylvia shot to her feet.

’She knew that if Ivy kept this up, the Mercers might get suspicious. It would be a disaster if they all started asking her to take off her sunglasses.’

’If Ivy weren’t here, she wouldn’t need to wear them at all. After more than two months of recovery, her eyes had completely healed. You couldn’t even tell she’d had work done.’

"I can’t stand the sight of you! I’m not eating this meal!"

Then she turned to the Mercers. "And you all! You said you were taking me out to eat, but you made me wait forever, talking about someone getting lost. If you’re in an unfamiliar place, shouldn’t you pay more attention? From now on, don’t even think about having a meal with me alone. You can just eat with her!"

With that, Sylvia stormed out, leaving everyone else stunned.

"I’ll go check on her," Xavier Mercer said, standing up.

But by the time he got outside, Sylvia was already gone.

Xavier could only return. To be honest, he didn’t feel any connection to this "sister" either. From their interactions, Sylvia had a terrible temper and looked down her nose at everyone.

’Perhaps it’s just because we don’t know each other well enough yet,’ he thought.

"She’s gone," Xavier said as he returned and sat back down.

They all looked at each other. Miles asked, "So... it’s just us for dinner, then?"

"Grandpa, this..." Miles looked toward Old Master Mercer.

She had put on such airs the moment she arrived, targeted Ivy, and then threw a tantrum, blaming the old master’s disappearance for her long wait. Old Master Mercer’s first impression of Sylvia was not a good one.

"Winter’s daughter would never be like this! She’s not Winter’s daughter!"

"Let’s eat," Xavier added.

Old Master Mercer picked up his chopsticks and immediately started placing food on Ivy’s plate. "Ivy, have some of this."

"And this, and this one too."

The old master piled Ivy’s plate with food, all of which were Winter Mercer’s favorite dishes.

Miles even remarked, "Grandpa, those are all our aunt’s favorites. What if Ivy doesn’t like them?"

Ivy said, "I actually like all of these. Thank you, Grandpa."

The old master beamed and put even more food on her plate.

The meal was incredibly warm and friendly; it didn’t feel at all like Ivy was an outsider.

Ivy was enjoying herself immensely. She truly felt like one of the Mercers. ’It’s probably because everyone in the Mercer family is just so kind,’ she thought. ’The three brothers, the old master... they’re all wonderful people, and they’re so good to me.’

Ivy’s bowl was piled high like a small mountain, but Old Master Mercer kept adding more. Ivy, in turn, used the serving chopsticks to place food in his bowl, recommending local Lustre delicacies. She even promised that if she had the chance, she would cook for him personally so he could taste her cooking.

As they ate and chatted, something suddenly occurred to Ivy. She asked, "When you saw Sylvia at the airport, how did you realize she was your aunt’s daughter?"

Miles recounted what had happened, saying that her eyes were a close match.

Ivy asked, "You think Sylvia’s eyes look like your aunt’s too?"

Miles nodded. "Yes, they’re quite similar."

’That’s not right,’ Ivy thought, frowning. She then asked, "In that case, do you think Sylvia’s eyes look like mine?"

’If my eyes resemble Winter Mercer’s, how could Sylvia’s possibly resemble her too?’

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