Chapter 186: Do You Want to Know What They Said?

Samuel Ford was eating his meal unhurriedly. When he saw his son’s pointing finger, his eyes narrowed dangerously. Felix Ford instantly snatched his hand back, not daring to point anymore, but he still glared at him indignantly.

"Hmph, I’m not eating anymore," he said, throwing a tantrum.

Seeing he had already eaten most of the rice in his bowl and was likely full, Mrs. Ford scooped him up. She pretended to smack Samuel on the arm. "Come on, Grandma will go put some medicine on our Colt’s foot. We’ll just ignore his mean old dad."

"Okay!" Felix Ford nodded solemnly. Seeing his grandma avenge him made him feel much better, and he looked at his father even more smugly.

Knowing it was impossible to discipline his child in front of his parents, Samuel Ford didn’t even lift his gaze. Without sparing him a glance, he kept his head down and focused on his meal.

Seeing that his gloating had no effect, Felix Ford puffed up his cheeks in dissatisfaction.

Afraid the father and son would start bickering again, Mrs. Ford quickly carried her chubby grandson away. She set him down on the edge of the bed. Seeing his pitiful, aggrieved expression, she chuckled and tapped him on the nose. "You little troublemaker. If you hadn’t provoked your dad on purpose, would this have happened?"

Felix Ford sniffed. "It’s still Dad’s fault. He did it on purpose so I’d kick the chair."

"What else was he supposed to do? Your dad’s not an idiot. Was he just going to sit there and let you bully him?"

’That’s true, I guess.’

But Felix Ford couldn’t be bothered with all that. He had it all planned out: as soon as his dad said he didn’t want him anymore, he would immediately pack his schoolbag and go find his mom.

’He was actually hoping his dad would be a little harsher!’

Seeing his eyes darting around, not knowing what mischief he was plotting, Mrs. Ford shook her head helplessly. She applied some ointment for him and said, "You and your father... you must have been enemies in a past life. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be so at odds with each other in this one."

Felix Ford rested his cheek in his hand. "Then it must be because Dad bullied me in our last life, so in this life, he can only be bullied by me."

"So you admit you’re bullying your dad." She poked his cheek. It was plump and felt nice, so Mrs. Ford gave it another two pinches before retracting her hand when she saw the boy wasn’t too happy about it. "You know, you should be a little nicer to your father."

Felix Ford was about to say ’No way!’ when he heard his phone ring. He glanced at the caller ID, his brow twitched, and he quickly covered the screen with his body. "I know, I know! Grandma, you should hurry back and finish your dinner."

Mrs. Ford glanced at the screen, but he was covering it so securely she couldn’t see who was calling. She teased, "Ooh, so our Colt has little secrets now."

"Grandma~" Felix Ford whined, looking at her pleadingly.

"Alright, alright." Mrs. Ford stood up. "Grandma’s going downstairs to eat. You be good now and don’t cause any more trouble. Be careful not to hurt your foot again."

"Okay, okay!"

Once she was gone, Felix Ford quietly opened the door again to make sure she had really gone downstairs. Only then did he lock the door from the inside and call the number back. "Hello, Jean? What’s up?"

"Mom is at your house again."

"Huh?" Felix Ford was stunned for a moment, then asked in confusion, "Why is she here again? Did she find out about me?"

"No, she probably remembered something and has to ask your grandfather about it. You just stay put in your room and don’t come out."

"Oh, okay." Hearing that he hadn’t been discovered, Felix Ford breathed a sigh of relief. His eyes darted around as he whispered, "Jean, do you want to know what Mom and the others are talking about?"

"Of course I do."

"Do you have a way?"

"Of course! I’m a genius. Don’t hang up. I’ll put my phone in the living room in a bit, and then you’ll be able to hear what they’re saying, right? But you can’t say anything, or we’ll be exposed."

"Okay. Hide it well."

"Don’t worry, I’m not stupid."

With that, he started heading downstairs. "I’m going down now. Don’t talk."

"Mm."

After that murmur of assent, Jean Vance obediently went silent. Seeing this, Felix Ford put the phone in his pocket and headed down.

’Ouch,’ he thought. ’My foot really does hurt a little.’

He held onto the railing as he slowly made his way down, discovering that Samuel Ford had also finished his meal and was now sitting on the sofa, reading a magazine.

He circled the living room, scouting for a good spot. It couldn’t be too far, or Jean wouldn’t be able to hear, but it couldn’t be too close, or his dad would find it.

After scanning the room, his gaze landed on the sofa.

Just then, Samuel Ford happened to look over. "What are you up to, sneaking around like that?"

’He was, in fact, up to no good.’

But Felix Ford wouldn’t admit it. He pouted, turned his head, and tattled, "Grandma, Dad’s scolding me!"

Mrs. Ford walked over with a fruit platter. "Is he? Samuel, you should go easy on Colt."

Used to her taking sides, Samuel Ford didn’t say anything. He just glanced at Felix Ford and went back to his magazine.

Felix Ford quietly shuffled over. Mr. Ford was also sitting on a nearby sofa. If his mom came, they would most likely talk right here, so placing the phone somewhere in this area was the best option.

As Mrs. Ford came over, she saw the mischief written all over his eyes and couldn’t help but smile. ’No wonder Samuel said he was sneaking around. I wonder what kind of trouble he’s planning now.’

She waved him over. "Come here, Colt."

She was sitting right in the middle. Felix Ford thought for a moment, then scampered over to her with a PITTER-PATTER and threw himself into her arms. "Grandma."

Mrs. Ford hugged his small body. "Slow down, be careful you don’t hurt your foot again."

"It’s okay, Grandma’s here. Even if I hurt it, it won’t hurt if Grandma’s holding me."

"You little charmer."

Even though she knew he was just saying it to coax her, Mrs. Ford was still delighted. "Such a sweet talker. Come watch some TV with Grandma?"

"Okay." He nodded obediently, glancing over at Samuel Ford and Mr. Ford. As it happened, both of them were reading their magazines, and his grandma was perfectly blocking his dad’s view. ’Perfect!’

He quietly pulled out his phone and stuffed it behind a cushion. After sitting for a moment, worried that Amanda Vance might drive fast and arrive early, he hopped off the sofa. "My foot hurts. I’m going back to my room to lie down."

"Go on, then."

Kids are fickle. Mrs. Ford didn’t think much of it.

Samuel Ford, however, did lift his eyes and glance toward where his son had been sitting. But his mother was blocking his line of sight, so he didn’t see anything and looked away again.

As soon as Felix Ford got back upstairs, he locked the door from the inside to prevent anyone from suddenly walking in.

’This way, they’d be able to find out what Mom’s business was.’

About half an hour later, the doorbell rang. Felix Ford did a somersault off the bed and pressed his ear tightly to the door. Unfortunately, he couldn’t hear a thing, and he didn’t dare open it to look.

’Oh well,’ he thought. ’I’ll just wait for Jean to finish listening and tell me about it.’

He lay back down on the bed, yawned, his eyelids fluttered a few times, and before long, he was asleep.

Downstairs, Mrs. Ford was a little surprised to see Amanda Vance. "Megan?"

’Didn’t she already leave?’

Amanda Vance nodded to her. "Auntie, sorry to bother you."

"Not at all, not at all." Pulling her inside, Mrs. Ford looked at her with a hint of confusion.

Amanda Vance didn’t beat around the bush. She looked directly at Mr. Ford and asked, "Uncle, my apologies for bothering you again. There’s something I need to ask you."

"Go ahead and ask," Mr. Ford nodded. Then, as if remembering something, he added, "Come with me to the study."

With that, he was the first to rise and head for the study, and Amanda Vance followed.

Mrs. Ford and Samuel Ford exchanged a puzzled glance. ’Are there any outsiders in the house? Why do they need to go to the study? It feels like they’re deliberately avoiding us.’

Samuel Ford watched them leave, his gaze deepening.