Chapter 674: Chapter 645: Really! Good! Looking!

(October Monthly Ticket Extra 13.5/16)

An ordinary family’s first birthday celebration might just involve a small ceremony at home with the baby, sending out some birthday gift boxes, and inviting relatives and friends for a meal. But not the Forrester Family. Old Master Forrester had been eagerly preparing for the first birthday ever since his great-grandson was born, anticipating this joyous occasion for nearly a year. How could he not make it a grand affair?

Not long after the great-grandson was born and before the month-old banquet had even been held, he went to the Zenith Tower Hotel to book the biggest Hall of Sages, already planning a hundred-table feast for the great-grandson’s first birthday. But when he called Quentin Thorne to ask how many guests there would be, Quentin objected, citing the same reason as for the month-old celebration. Sienna Thornton is a public official, and it’s not appropriate to make a grand affair.

The old man was so upset that he said over the phone, "Annie’s job is in the way! She should just quit! My family doesn’t need her to work!"

He was thinking about the great-grandson’s tenth birthday, sixteenth birthday, eighteenth coming-of-age ceremony, and marriage in his twenties or thirties. All these events could not be grand affairs because of the child’s mother’s job. People might think that the Forrester Family has fallen on hard times and can’t even afford a proper birthday celebration for the child.

Thinking of these things made the old man furious, and he criticized Sienna’s job from start to finish, implying that Sienna’s current salary isn’t even enough to buy her son a branded baby electric car. She’s not taking care of the child properly, leaving it to the nanny, and she herself is going out early and coming back late every day, and now she’s even delaying the child’s first birthday celebration.

After the old man finished speaking, there was a silence on the other end of the phone that made him feel uneasy.

Old Master Forrester had a hunch that Quentin Thorne was about to make a sarcastic comment, but just as he was about to hang up, he heard Quentin Thorne sigh from the other end: "What Annie is doing now is laying the groundwork for the future. I can’t protect her for many more years, and once I retire, she can only rely on herself."

After saying these words, Quentin Thorne hung up the phone. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

The old man pondered Quentin Thorne’s words, wondering if someone was waiting for Quentin to retire to bully Sienna Thornton—did that mean his grandson and great-grandson would also suffer?

Realizing this, the old man dared not mention even once more that Sienna should quit her job and stay home to take care of the child.

Victor’s first birthday was finally held at The Imperial Court Club, with about twenty tables opened privately, inviting only close relatives and friends.

The birthday gift boxes were still specially customized by The Imperial Court Club. The luxurious regal yellow gift box was filled with exquisite items like precious dried goods, palace pastries, bird’s nest, and abalone, all elegantly stacked in five layers.

A week before the birthday celebration, the old man called Sienna to insist that she must take the day off, unlike the month-old banquet where she left the child with Simon Forrester during the day and only showed her face at night.

Even though Old Master Forrester used to support and appreciate her, the direct criticism made Sienna feel quite uncomfortable. Not wanting to talk to Simon about it for fear of damaging their grandfather-grandson relationship, she had to call Aurora to vent, saying others have mother-in-law issues but she has grandfather-in-law issues.

After complaining, she didn’t forget to invite Rhonda Wagner and Aurora to Victor’s first birthday celebration. She asked Aurora to inform Rochelle, saying the three of them could come together that night. Aurora chuckled over the phone, "Just invite Rhonda directly; he’ll surely bring Rochelle along."

Sienna and Rochelle are usually busy and rarely meet, so she was completely unaware of Rochelle’s current relationship status. Upon hearing Aurora’s words, she was immediately surprised, "They’re together?"

"They’ve been together for over half a year now, you didn’t know?"

Sienna exclaimed, "Huh? How did they end up together? I never would have guessed!"

In her impression, Rhonda had been deeply devoted to his first love for many years, even changing careers for her, moving from design to law. After becoming a lawyer, he met a former girlfriend who was also a criminal lawyer but broke up with her due to moving north for development. And he ended up with a rookie lawyer?

Sienna laughed, "I never would have thought, I never would have thought; I could never imagine how those two got together."

Aurora laughed on the other end of the phone, "Come by the firm someday, and I’ll fill you in."

Sienna was very curious about how her protégé managed to hook up with Rhonda, but she was too busy, even delegating the gift boxes and invitations to Harrison Rowe, so she naturally didn’t get a chance to chat with Aurora.

Before long, it was the day before Victor’s birthday celebration.

That evening, after putting her son to sleep, Sienna went to the walk-in closet to choose a dress for the next day.

There were three dresses in total, brought back by Sylvia Langley from Franland. Before they were made, Sylvia called her to ask for her current measurements.

At that time, she was about to shower, so she stripped and took her measurements to send to Sylvia before hopping into the shower.

When she came out, in the small living room outside, Simon Forrester was blow-drying her hair, and she saw a voice message from Sylvia and played it on speaker.

In the voice message, Sylvia sounded very amused, "Wow, other than a bigger bust, nothing’s changed! Your waist is still so slim! No wonder Jules refuses to sleep alone..."

She didn’t hear what the mother-in-law said next because she swiftly turned off the voice message, realizing some dangerous content was about to emerge.

Sitting behind her blow-drying her hair, Simon Forrester suddenly sneered, "You measured your waist while holding your breath, right?" then glanced at her waist under the nightdress.

Recognizing that he was teasing her, Sienna playfully smacked him: "It’s all for having a baby; my waist used to be so slim!"

"You’ve only had one, and your tummy’s already like this. What if you have another? It won’t be a pretty sight..."

Even knowing he was joking, Sienna was still annoyed, tackling him onto the sofa and playfully hitting him.

He whimpered, "Domestic violence," as they roughhoused, and that night, the two ended up having a playful tussle on the sofa...

Sienna, in mock anger, refused to let him have his way. "Said my tummy’s no good to look at? Get lost! Don’t touch me!"

"Very! Nice! Look!"

"Go away!"

"A bit later, sweetheart, let me kiss you first..."

Remembering Simon Forrester’s roguish behavior that night, Sienna felt both exasperated and sweetly amused.

She compared the long dress against her body in the mirror, her cheeks flushed with an unusual blush, lips curving slightly upwards.

"What are you smiling at?" Simon Forrester appeared out of nowhere, picking out a watch from the display cabinet nearby.

Sienna was startled: "When did you come in?"

"Just came in." He looked at her in the mirror, bewildered, "I just saw you smiling at the mirror, muttering ’not letting you kiss me.’"

——

This was yesterday’s extra Chapter sponsored by monthly tickets.

And today, there are still three base updates. Since I have to go out tonight, if I have the energy, I’ll add another update. If not, I’ll add more tomorrow.