It was a big surprise that Ashley was still clingy even in her sleep.
'She must have been truly scared out of her mind in that damned house, ' Andrew thought.
With this thought, he gently patted Ashley on the back to help her relax and sleep well.
"Aaaargh!"
Just as Andrew was about to fall asleep, Ashley suddenly shrieked.
At the same, she suddenly sat up with her hands over her face.
Andrew was a light sleeper, so Ashley's sudden movement on the bed jolted him awake.
"What is it? Ash? Are you okay?" Andrew looked at Ashley with concern.
Ashley opened her eyes and saw nothing but darkness. She felt like the dream was real.
Fear overwhelmed her like a dark sea swallowing her whole.
It wasn't until she heard Andrew's voice then she was a little relieved.
At this time Andrew was like a hero who had saved her.
Immediately, she threw herself into his arms and held on to him like she had never held on to anyone
before.
She buried her head in Andrew's chest and whispered with shaky lips, "I had a nightmare just now."
"It's all right. It's just a dream. I'm with you. It's all right."
Andrew gently patted Ashley's back to comfort her.
"Please turn on the light,"
Ashley begged.
It was pitch dark in their bedroom, which made Ashley very uncomfortable.
Andrew immediately turned on the lamp on the nightstand.
"It's okay now."
Ashley finally dared to raise her head and looked at Andrew.
It was not until then that Andrew noticed the little beads of cold sweat on Ashley's forehead. Whatever
her nightmare was about, the truth was it had really scared her awake.
Then, Andrew drew a piece of tissue from the nightstand and wiped the sweat off Ashley's forehead
gently. "Are you hungry? I'll go get you something to eat."
Ashley just nodded.
Just as Andrew was about to get up, a pair of slender white hands grabbed his sleeve.
--
Ashley tugged on his sleeve and looked at him with pitiful eyes.
"Are you scared?"
Ashley did not say anything, but Andrew knew it.
Otherwise, she would not look at him this way now.
"Let's go downstairs together," Andrew suggested.
However, he underestimated the aftermath of them going into the haunted house at the amusement
park.
Ashley's legs were still too weak to support her own weight.
Andrew had to carry Ashley downstairs. It was around eleven o'clock in the evening, and all the other
people in the villa had already gone to bed.
The living room was pitch dark. Ashley tightened her grip on Andrew, but he only smiled to himself.
Turning on the light in the living room, he lay Ashley on the sofa and said. "Wait for me here. I'll go get
you some food."
Ashley nodded.
Andrew walked into the kitchen where there was still some leftover food. Maybe Chant set it aside for
them.
Andrew warmed the food in the microwave oven and took it out as soon as it was done.
In no time, he returned to Ashley and set the food in front of her. "Here, eat this," he said in a low voice.
Then he also got himself a bowl to eat.
Ashley was confused, "You haven't eaten either?"
"Well, someone fell asleep, grabbed me, and wouldn't let me go. So no, I haven't eaten anything yet."
It was obvious who that "someone" was.
Feeling ashamed, Ashley lowered her head and ate her food in silence.
She was the one who asked Andrew to stay by her side and he was happy to comply.
Looking at Ashley whose head was almost buried in the bowl, Andrew reached out his hands and lifted
her chin.
The food would be spoiled if she kept lowering her head into the bowl.
Everything went well after that. They went back to sleep after dinner.
The next morning...
After breakfast, Ashley bid farewell to Richard and Fabio and left for work.
She asked Chant to drive them to school today.
She had planned to drive the two kids to school herself, but Andrew had turned off the alarm clock.
She missed her alarm and slept in.
"Richard, Fabio, be good and listen to your great-grandpa, okay? I have to go to work now."
"Okay. Bye, Mommy."
"Goodbye, Mommy."
Being a well-behaved and sensible boy at school, Richard was well liked by his classmates and
teachers.
Apart from his reserved nature, he was nice to everyone.
All in all, he got along well with everyone in his class.
Meanwhile, a girl back in M Country, who gave Richard some chocolates in the past, stood in front of
the school with a sad face.
For two whole months during vacation, she had longed for the new semester to begin, hoping she
would see Richard again. Unfortunately, Richard had transferred to another city and naturally, another
school.
Because of this, the little girl had been sad for several days. After all, Richard was the boy she liked
most.
But Richard had no knowledge of the girl's feelings for him at all.
Somewhere in J City, Fabio finally arrived in his kindergarten school. It was the same kind and amiable
teacher whom he had seen the day before, who came to the school gate to accompany him inside.
"Great-grandpa, you can go now. I'll see you later." Fabio waved his hand to Chant.
"Okay. Remember to call me if you need anything."
After Chant took his leave, Fabio followed his teacher into the classroom where there were about thirty
children.
Of course he did not come to school to do some sightseeing. He was here to learn something.
Strictly speaking, kindergarten was a place where kids could study and play as well.
Standing on the platform, the teacher cleared her throat and announced, "Children, let's all welcome a
new student to our class! Welcome, Fabio. Please come up and introduce yourself to everyone!"
The children looked at Fabio curiously and clapped their hands to welcome their new classmate.
Without any fear, Fabio stepped on the platform and introduced himself, "Hello, everyone. My name is
Fabio Lu."
"Wow, he's so beautiful!"
"He is prettier than anyone in our class."
"I want to make friends with him."
"Me, too."
One voice fell as another rose.
They all whispered with one another, but they did not know that Fabio had heard every word of it.
Those words made him frown. His mommy had once told him that boys could not be described as
beautiful.
Only a girl could be described as beautiful.
Damn it.
The teacher stood aside with a smile on her face. For her, it was normal for kids to use the word
"beautiful" to describe someone. After all, they had limited vocabulary.
"We're glad to meet you, Fabio. Thank you so much for your introduction. Where do you want to sit?"
The teacher asked and glanced at Fabio.
Looking around, Fabio found that all the seats were occupied except the one next to a girl who was
probably around three to four years old.
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