CHAPTER 506

After sundown, the family settled in for the night at a hotel.

The next day, they fulfilled Joel's wishes and went hiking.

The bodyguards brought all the camping necessities, for they would be camping at the top of the mountain at night.

Before they set out, Sebastian bought two polaroid cameras as per Joel's request—one for him and another for Quincy.

On the way uphill, Joel walked with a spring in his step as he led the way while Quincy followed behind. Although Quincy did not express it verbally, Sebastian could see that he was discreetly keeping an eye on his little brother, fearing that Joel might trip and fall.

Sebastian lamented, "Quincy is so considerate. He acts like an older brother."

A grinning Madeline replied, "Just like you."

Sebastian also acted very much like an older brother. His younger brothers all respected and admired him, and they saw him as an example to follow.

Tilting his head, Sebastian smiled at her. "Not bad. You're getting sweeter with your words."

"Am I?" Madeline asked before she said, "I'm just speaking the truth." She was about to say more when Joel called to them, "Daddy, Mommy, look here!"

The two simultaneously glanced at him. Subsequently, Joel raised his polaroid camera and aimed it at them, the shutter clicking away as he pressed it repeatedly.

Seeing his adorable and lively behavior, paired with his excited countenance, the already smiling couple was beaming even wider now. They were content enough to see their child happy. This was probably one of the fun aspects of raising a child, right?

From the way they captured photos, the two children's differences in personality were obvious as day and night. Joel liked to take photos of his parents and his brother, whereas Quincy preferred to take photos of the scenery.

The mountain in the distance was captured in juxtaposition to the flowers in his near field, while the birds perched on tree branches were hovering over the composition.

Fatigued from all the running, Joel dashed back to Sebastian and Madeline before tugging on his daddy and mommy's hands with each of his. Then, he tilted his little head as he looked at Sebastian. "Daddy, after we go back, can you buy an album for me and another one for Aldo? I want a huge and pretty album so I can put lots of photos inside!"

"Alright," said Sebastian, "I'll bring you along so that you can choose them yourselves. I'll get you whatever you want!"

Madeline fell silent.

Her younger son truly knew how to appeal to Sebastian. Whatever he wanted to buy, or whatever requests he had, he would go straight to Sebastian instead of asking her. According to past

experiences, Sebastian had obliged all of his requests and there was never an exception!

"Yay! You're the best, Daddy! I love you so much!" After having his wishes fulfilled, Joel praised Sebastian in the sweetest way possible as if there were honey on his lips.

Meanwhile, Sebastian smiled as if he had just had a taste of that honey. He gazed lovingly at Joel, seemingly never having enough of this child.

At that, Madeline shook her head chuckling as she could not help but tease her younger son, "What about Mommy?"

"Mommy is very nice too, and I love Mommy a lot as well!" Joel tilted his head as he glanced at her. "I love both Daddy and Mommy! Daddy and Mommy are like my eyes; Daddy is my right eye, and Mommy is my right eye. I cannot lose either of you, and both of you are the most precious people to me!"

"What about Aldo?" Surprisingly, Quincy asked as well.

"You're my limbs, Aldo!" Joel looked at Quincy, his large watery eyes gleaming. "You're like my hands and legs, and we're connected, so it hurts a lot even if it's just a scratch! So, I love Aldo a lot too."

"Mm-hmm." Quincy seemed to be very satisfied with his answer. "You're my limbs as well, Buddy."

Madeline was speechless.

Her younger son was definitely an expert at winning hearts! His social skills were top-notch too.

When he grew up, he could probably navigate through life smoothly regardless of his career paths or any circumstances. That's not a bad thing. At the very least, he would have nothing to do with social anxiety.

The family paused for breaks in between the hiking. When it was noon, they were only halfway up the mountain.

"Mr. Hart, there's forest up ahead, and there's also a brook and some turf beside the forest. Shall we head over there to rest?" Ramiel Hart, who was scouting at the front, returned and asked for Sebastian's instructions.

"Nice! I wanna go." Joel grasped Sebastian's hand and swung it a little. "Daddy, for lunch, let's have a picnic at the spot Ramiel mentioned, okay?"

He held Sebastian's hand as he asked Ramiel excitedly, "Are there fishies in the brook?"

"Yes," Ramiel answered smilingly, "Lots of them, and very big too."

"Awesome!" His eyes were glittering in excitement as he raised his little head while looking at Sebastian in anticipation. "Daddy, we can grill our own fish just like the people on TV! That sounds so fun!"

Of course, Sebastian could not possibly decline. As such, he ordered Ramiel, "Take some men with you and make the preparations, then do as Joel said."

"Yay! You're the best, Daddy! I love you so much!" After having his wishes fulfilled, Joel praised Sebastian in the sweetest way possible as if there were honey on his lips.

"Understood, Mr. Hart!" Ramiel immediately turned back and began preparations with his colleagues.

The family of four walked slowly, so when they arrived at the forest Ramiel mentioned, the bodyguards had already laid out the picnic mat and lit the bonfire.

Joel was elated as he ran joyously over to them. Stretching his neck, he peered into the pot positioned on top of the bonfire. "Ramiel, what are you going to cook inside?"

At the moment, the pot only contained plain water that had yet to boil.

"Some mushrooms." Ramiel smiled as he answered, "There are many mushrooms in the forest as well as some wild chickens. We'll be having mushroom and chicken stew for lunch."

"Wow!" Joel was beaming in joy. "That's how they cook it on TV! There's also grilled fish, and since we're out in the open, there are also the mountains and a brook to admire. How romantic!"

Ramiel could not stop smiling at his antics. A little boy like him actually knows a thing or two about romance! Just as expected of Mr. Hart's child, he's so wise at such a young age!

Smiling, he continued, "Yes, we have grilled fish as well. When our makeshift harpoon is ready, we can go into the brook to catch fish."

"Harpoon? Where is it?" Joel looked all around him and spotted a few bodyguards gathered together, sharpening some wooden sticks with knives. He understood immediately, then ran over to them. "Desmond, is this a harpoon?"

"Yes." Desmond freed a hand with which he patted Joel's little head. "We'll be ready soon. Wait for us, little young master. We'll catch the biggest and freshest fish for you!"

"Yay!" Joel nodded furiously. "Right after you catch the fish from the brook, you have to kill it and eat it straight away. That's the freshest way, and it'll definitely be super yummy!"

Madeline was taken aback. For some reason, she thought that those words were a little cruel. Then, she remembered a saying, 'The bunny is so cute. Of course, we have to eat it. Shall we have it braised or steamed?' Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

A silent Madeline could not help but laugh at her imagination.

"What are you so happy about?" Sebastian held her by the waist.

"Just nonsense," she replied while smiling. "I've read a story before. It's about a very kind-hearted girl who scolded someone for eating a rabbit. She said, 'The bunny is so cute, how could you eat it?' If there's someone like the girl in the story with us right now, they will scold Joel for being too cruel. He's so young, but he's already talking about catching fish and eating them straight away."