Luca thought that if she helped Tommy to check his homework, then Luke could sign on the last page of the workbook after he came back.

That could relieve his burden just a little.

Tommy took candy out of his pocket as he watched Luca help him check his homework. He said, "Ms. Luca, this is for you."

Luca looked at the chocolate candy and stroked Tommy's head. “No, thank you. You can keep it for yourself. But don't forget you can only eat this after dinner.”

“Lizzie gave this to me. She told me that yummy candies should be given to our favorite people. So, I'm giving this candy to you, Ms. Luca." Tommy insisted on stuffing the candy into Luca's hands.

Even though Tommy loved eating chocolate candy, he insisted on giving it to Luca.

Luca smiled and asked after listening to Tommy, "Who's Lizzie?"

"She's my classmate. Her nickname is Lizzie," answered Tommy.

"I see. It seems like you're popular among your friends at school." Luca looked at the chocolate candy in her hands. Her child resembled Luke, so it was normal for him to already be popular among the girls at such a young age.

"But I don't like them. They keep following me, and I can't play with the others," said Tommy. He urged Luca, saying, "Ms, Luca, come on. Eat the candy and see if my love tastes sweet."

The kid had poured his affection for Luca into the candy, and Luca thought she would be wasting Tommy's effort if she did not eat it. Luca opened the wrapper and put the candy in her mouth. "It's sweet."

"Really? Love tastes like candy." Tommy was delighted. He smiled so happily that his eyes turned into adorable crescents.

"Yes, that's why Lizzie gave you the candy. Then Lizzie must be..." Luca teased him. Original from .

She was not afraid of exposing her kids to love matters. They were still young, after all.

Besides, it was not good for the kids if parents avoided talking about these things with them.

"Ms. Luca, what are you talking about?" Tommy interrupted Luca. "There's always snot hanging from Lizze's nose. It's ugly. I like pretty, gentle girls like Ms. Luca. And girls who are good at cooking."

Luca smiled and stroked the kid's head. It felt wonderful to be able to stay by her child's side and keep him company.

Yet, times like this would disappear anytime.

Downstairs.

Luke walked into the house with his briefcase. Rainie and Lanie, who were in the living room, saw him and surrounded him immediately. “Daddy, you're back."

Luke nodded. He was surprised to see that Tommy, the naughtiest child, was not with them. He asked the brother and sister, "Where's your younger brother?"

"Tommy's upstairs. He's asking Ms. Luca to help him with his homework," replied Rainie. They saw Luca tutoring Tommy and helping him with his homework when they finished their homework and left their rooms.

"Does he need tutoring?" Luke raised his brows. Although Tommy was not as hardworking and studious as Lanie was, Tommy was not a slow-witted child either. He was able to handle the difficulty of

the homework given.

"He's just playing dumb," Lanie explained to him.

"Playing dumb?" Luke raised his brows. He could not hold back his laughter at the thought of Tommy pretending to be dumb.

"Yes, Daddy," said Lanie. "Tommy came up with the idea of playing dumb. Besides, Daddy doesn't have time to tutor us. He thinks that if he does that, Ms. Luca can't bear to leave us anymore."

Luke listened to his son's explanation and shook his head helplessly.

Tommy was willing to play dumb to make Luca stay...

However, their mother was not dumb either. How could she not see through the trick at a glance?

Yet, Tommy still did such a thing.

"Then why are the two of you here?" Luke looked at the brother and sister.

"Ms. Luca isn't stupid, and we don't want to play dumb," said Lanie while trying to act cool. He told Luke what he was thinking about.

Luke's smile turned into a grin after he heard Lanie say that with contempt.

It was true. Luca was not stupid. How could she not know that Tommy was just playing dumb?

Tommy was so eager to make his mother stay, and that was why he came up with such a quirky idea.

"Well, Daddy, you'll have to play along with us later," said Lanie. Old Master Crawford had assigned the kids a mission when they were staying at Crawford Manor.

"What should I do?" Luke stared at his eldest son. He wanted to know what Lanie was up to.

Lanie was about to tell Luke his plan, but he saw Luca holding Tommy's hand and making her way down the stairs. Lanie had no choice but to say, "You'll know later."

Luke shot a glance at Luca and knew that this had something to do with Luca.

They had only been at Crawford Manor for a night. Why did they become so full of ideas after coming back here?

Luke reckoned that it must be Old Master Crawford who said something to them.

"Have you finished your homework?" Luke asked Tommy.

Tommy was pleased, and it was written all over his face. He smiled at Luke, "Of course. I finished my homework with Ms. Luca's help. Ms. Luca even helped me to check my homework. Daddy, all you have to do is to sign your name on the last page of my homework."

Luke shifted his gaze to Luca and said, "I'll leave it for you to sign next time."

"Mr. Crawford, you're the children's father. It'd be better if you sign it yourself. Besides, I'm not good at imitating your signature." Luca rejected. She thought that the teacher might have noticed that there was something wrong with the signature.

The teachers would probably have asked to meet the parents if it were not for the kids not knowing how to write something like that.

Lanie shook her head helplessly when he heard what Luca said.

Their father told them that there was a reason why their mother was behaving this way, and he asked them to be patient. He had to figure it out before they cleared the air between them.

However, Luke must feel upset too. Their mother was always trying to keep a distance between them.

Aunt Neile came out from the kitchen and reminded them, “Dinner's ready. Mr. Crawford. Would you like to have dinner now?”

"Let's eat,” said Luke as he shot a glance at his son. He would like to know what they wanted him to do later.

Aunt Neile nodded and served the dishes on the dining table.

Tommy was holding Luca's hand. He smiled and said, "Ms. Luca, come on. Let's eat."

Luca nodded and headed to the dining room together with them.

Aunt Neile prepared many dishes for dinner. Tommy could not wait to start eating when he saw them.

Lanie and Rainie exchanged glances with each other. Although they did not manage to tell their father about their plan, they believed in their father. He was smart, so they were sure he would be able to figure out what their plan was later.

Rainie spoke when they were having their dinner, "Daddy, are you available this weekend?"

"Why?" answered Luke. He knew the show that Lanie and Rainie mentioned was about to start.

"Last night, we were having dinner together with Great-grandpa. He told us he's not feeling comfortable these days. But Uncle Clement can't seem to find anything wrong with him. Mr. Griffin also said that Uncle Clement suggested that Great-grandpa should head to the hospital for a medical check-up. But Great-grandpa is stubborn and refuses to go. Daddy, why don't you bring Great-grandpa to the hospital for a check-up?" said Rainie.

Luca, who was sitting beside them, could not help but frown. Was Old Master Crawford feeling uncomfortable?

"I'll bring him there this weekend." Luke played along with Rainie.

"Daddy, Great-grandpa doesn't like going to the hospital. Can you find a better doctor to give him a diagnosis?" Lanie suddenly spoke.