After returning from abroad, life went on as usual. Everything was going smoothly.
For instance, Silas Grant was still in Portia, Felix Sinclair would travel back and forth every so often, and Yates Donovan was also frequently abroad. Kian Keller had to go overseas for regular check-ups, Hayes Hughes remained busy at the hospital, and Ian Sinclair seemed to be making frequent trips to Englaria lately, saying he wanted to buy a property there in advance—the closer to the school she planned to apply to, the better...
Everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion. Mia Grant had been feeling particularly at ease during this time.
The calendar pages turned, one after another, until they stopped on a familiar date.
Mia Grant’s anxiety had started a week ago. Although she hadn’t had a nightmare in a long time, her sleep quality had plummeted this past week.
The reason was that Serena Grant’s twentieth birthday was just around the corner.
In contrast, she hadn’t even looked forward to her own twentieth birthday this much.
Even though Silas Grant had sent Serena Grant along with Mr. and Mrs. Grant abroad long ago, Mia was still uneasy.
Of course, she didn’t care if Serena lived or died. What she cared about was their final fate and... whether something unexpected would happen to her.
Even though the system had promised her that everything would be fine before it left, Mia still took two days off from school in advance.
The day before Serena Grant’s birthday, she sent a message in the group chat, asking them to have dinner together the next evening.
A few of them were abroad or out of town and couldn’t make it back in time, promising to return on the weekend instead.
Seeing the replies, Mia Grant frowned.
She typed forcefully: [Absolutely not.]
Just two words, like a queen issuing an irrefutable command.
The group chat fell into a tacit silence for a few seconds before everyone replied that they would definitely be there tomorrow.
Only then did Mia Grant let out a sigh of relief. She exited the group chat and found Simon Adler to ask about Serena Grant’s movements.
Simon had his people keeping a close watch on Serena.
Simon: [Don’t worry. With Silas Grant around, they can’t return to the country.]
[I know. I’m just always worried about an accident.]
’You can never be too careful.’
’Who knows if the plot’s self-correcting ability will kick in again.’
’I just hope the system is reliable this time.’
Meanwhile, Simon Adler stared at her message for a moment before taking a screenshot and sending it to Yates Donovan.
Logically, he should have sent it to Silas Grant. But he didn’t want to.
He and Yates weren’t close initially, but after chatting last time, they both realized the other was a little nuts, so now they were considered friends.
All things considered, Simon felt it was better to send it to Yates.
After receiving the screenshot, Yates Donovan finally understood why Mia Grant insisted on seeing them tomorrow.
He was still abroad; even if he grew a pair of wings, he couldn’t fly to her side instantly. After some thought, he contacted Hayes Hughes and asked him to go find Mia after work.
The only fortunate thing was that among their group, Hayes Hughes’s job was exceptionally stable. Barring any surprises, he was almost always in Jynsia.
Ian Sinclair would take trips out of town or abroad with friends at a moment’s notice.
Hayes Hughes’s sphere of activity was always Jynsia. Although he had business trips, they were rare.
So at a time like this, finding Hayes was the right call.
At nine in the evening, Mia Grant was studying a menu.
She had to make sure none of them could leave this room until Serena Grant’s birthday was over.
Therefore, she planned to go on a major grocery run at the supermarket the next day.
She wrote out a shopping list but then crossed part of it out.
She had to be wary of any potential accidents, including the unlikely possibility of "food poisoning."
As she was deep in thought, the doorbell rang.
She subconsciously glanced at the door but didn’t get up.
Sure enough, a few seconds later, she heard the sound of the door unlocking.
The guys had the code to her place.
Mia Grant assumed it was Ian Sinclair, and the name had just left her lips when the figure in the entryway paused and quickly responded, "Mia, it’s me."
Mia Grant froze, watching him come in. "Hayes?"
Hayes Hughes smiled and set down the things in his hands. "Was dinner not to your liking?"
He had noticed the unfinished food on the dining table.
From the packaging, he could tell it had been sent over from the Sinclair family.
Mia Grant shook her head. "It was too much. I couldn’t finish it."
"What did you buy?"
"It’s late, so most of the bakeries were already closed. It took me a while to find one that was still open. I picked out a couple of small cakes for you."
"Perfect for a late-night snack later," Mia Grant said, not refusing the offer.
She saw that Hayes Hughes had also bought some groceries. ’He must be planning to stay the night and cook breakfast tomorrow morning,’ she thought.
Watching him disinfect the grocery packaging and put everything in the fridge, Mia Grant told him to come sit and poured him a glass of water.
Hayes Hughes sat down on the sofa behind her. Mia, who was kneeling on the rug, handed him the water and picked up her pen again.
"What are you writing?"
"Homework?" Hayes Hughes asked curiously.
Mia Grant fluttered the paper in her hand. "Nope. It’s a menu."
"And a shopping list."
Hayes Hughes took it and had a look. She had written it out in great detail—three meals a day with almost no repeated dishes. A closer look revealed that she had noted everyone’s individual tastes.
It was precisely because everyone had different preferences and dietary restrictions that she had scribbled all over the menu, revising it again and again, trying her best to accommodate them all.
They rarely cooked together at home; they either went out to restaurants or had a team of chefs come over. So they’d never had to consider this problem before.
Now that they were cooking themselves, if she had to make two dishes for each person’s preferences, Mia Grant would definitely go on strike.
Hayes Hughes helped her revise it one more time. "You be the head chef tomorrow. I’ll help you."
Among the group, Hayes was the only one with any real experience. The next best option was Felix Sinclair, who was just a dabbler.
Mia Grant thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
—
The next day at noon, Hayes Hughes went out with Mia Grant.
She was clearly not fully awake yet.
Hayes pushed the shopping cart while she stood beside him, holding onto his arm and yawning as they walked.
Thinking about last night, Hayes Hughes’s brow furrowed slightly, a flash of regret in his eyes, but he was quickly interrupted by Mia.
She was picking out ingredients, marveling at how absurdly expensive the green vegetables were this season.
"Tsk, tsk. Maybe I should buy a little less. It’s not like they eat much of this anyway."
"Ah, forget it. They’re all young masters."
She grumbled to herself while grabbing the pre-packaged vegetables and putting them in the cart.
Though she said she’d buy less, she still grabbed four or five boxes of each type of vegetable.
By her calculations, they had one meal tonight and three meals tomorrow.
At a glance, it didn’t seem like she had enough vegetables. Then again, the menu had no repeated dishes, and one dish wouldn’t use that much of a single ingredient.
But Hayes Hughes didn’t say anything, silently acting as the pack mule.
He would occasionally agree with her complaints and soothe her minor frustrations.
After they finished shopping, the two of them just ate a meal out.
It was already afternoon by the time they got home.
Mia Grant went back to her room to catch up on sleep. When she woke up again, she found that the Sinclair brothers had already arrived.
At that moment, the two of them were harmoniously accompanying Hayes Hughes in the kitchen—plucking, washing, and prepping vegetables for that evening’s dinner.
She winced.
Mia Grant rubbed her eyes, momentarily thinking she was still dreaming.
In the end, she simply folded her arms, leaned against the kitchen doorway, and silently admired the harmonious scene.