Chapter 80: This Is the Ford Family’s House

The moment the thought popped into her head, she couldn’t help but laugh at herself. ’What am I thinking? There’s only one Jean in the world.’

Shaking her head, she quickly put everything away, leaving out the vegetables she needed for dinner. They didn’t eat much for dinner, so she kept it simple, making one meat dish and one vegetable dish—both his favorites.

But when she saw the boy picking only at the vegetables, she grew puzzled. "Jean, why aren’t you eating any meat?"

’Hasn’t he been loving meat lately?’

Jean’s hand paused. Without a second thought, he immediately realized this was Felix Ford’s preference. In the blink of an eye, he looked up and smiled. "My stomach feels a little upset today. I’m worried meat will be hard to digest, so I’ll just eat a little less of it."

He didn’t actually like meat.

Hearing this, Amanda grew anxious again. "Why is your stomach upset?"

As she spoke, she was already taking his wrist to check his pulse, but she found nothing out of the ordinary.

Jean’s expression remained unchanged as he said, "It’s probably because of the heat. I just don’t have much of an appetite."

The weather had indeed been unseasonably hot the past few days. It had already started to cool down, but then another heatwave had struck.

Amanda didn’t dwell on it. "Then eat more vegetables. They’re lighter."

"Okay."

After the mother and son finished their meal, Amanda went to her room to unpack the things they had brought from home. Jean found his room and went inside.

Like the rest of the house, the room was decorated in an extremely austere style, dominated by a black-and-white color scheme.

’It looks a bit familiar.’

He pursed his lips, telling himself he was probably just overthinking things.

However, the design here was so similar to the Ford family’s estate that it was difficult for him not to be suspicious.

Seeing that Amanda was still busy unpacking in her room, he opened his door and began to wander around the house. Before long, he came to a room with a desk, bookshelves, and a computer on the desk. It must be the study.

’The books a person loves to read are the best reflection of their character.’

He looked up and saw that most of the books were classics. There was also a calligraphy set with a brush, ink, paper, and an inkstone. Paintings and calligraphy scrolls hung on the walls. They weren’t famous works; they all seemed to be by the same person, likely the owner of the house.

In short, everything here suggested a person who loved traditional arts. By the floor-to-ceiling window, there was a recliner and a teapot, with a large cattail-leaf fan resting beside it.

’It looks like the kind of things an elderly person would use, leisurely enjoying their retirement.’

Jean breathed a sigh of relief. ’If that’s the case, then this has nothing to do with Samuel Ford. I really was overthinking it.’

Just as he was about to leave, his gaze suddenly fell on something, and his breath caught in his throat.

He had been standing at the entrance and hadn’t walked further in. Only upon getting closer did he discover a photo wall. It was covered with pictures of Felix Ford from infancy to the present, at every stage of his life. Some were solo photos, while others were group shots with Samuel Ford and two older people whose features vaguely resembled Samuel’s. They must be his parents, which meant they were Felix Ford’s grandparents.

So this place did belong to the Ford family. It was probably Felix Ford’s grandfather’s house.

’If Mom sees this...’

"Jean, what are you doing in here?"

Just as he was thinking this, a voice came from the doorway. Amanda was walking toward him.

Jean’s eyes widened slightly. Watching her get closer and closer, he slowly clenched his fists at his sides. He hurried over and grabbed her hand. "I’m sorry, Mom. I went into the wrong room. Let’s go."

Amanda noticed his expression was a little off. He tried his best to hide it, but she could still tell.

She took his small hand and found that his palm was sweaty.

Amanda’s gaze sharpened. ’Is he scared?’

Giving him an impassive glance, Amanda simply nodded. Without saying more, she led him out. "This is someone else’s house. Other than our bedrooms, you should try not to go into the other rooms."

"Okay."

Jean smiled as he agreed, but his heart sank bit by bit.

’Mom knows something’s up.’

"Good boy. Go wash up and get to bed. Do you want Mom to tell you a bedtime story tonight?"

Jean shook his head, his expression back to normal. "No, that’s okay. I want to go to sleep early."

"Alright. Good night, then."

"Good night."

Only after watching him lie down and close his eyes did Amanda leave the room.

Hearing the door close, Jean lay perfectly still. The hand hidden under the covers clenched into a tight fist, then slowly relaxed as he tried to even out his breathing.

A moment later, the door creaked open a tiny crack. Amanda peered in at the child still lying obediently in bed, then closed the door again.

Her gaze fell on the study, and her brow furrowed slightly. ’Was there something in there that scared Jean?’

She slowly walked to the door and placed her hand on the doorknob, but in the end, she let it go.

’This is someone else’s house.’

’I shouldn’t be snooping around.’

She pinched the bridge of her nose. He was still just a child; it was normal for him to be afraid of certain things.

Searching someone else’s room because of it wasn’t appropriate.

With that thought, she turned and went back to her own room.

’Jean seemed to have been frightened by something before. It was probably related to that missing surveillance footage.’

’But as for what exactly happened during that time, she had no way of finding out.’

Inside the room, Jean heard her door close, and the heart that had been lodged in his throat finally settled. He lay in bed staring at the ceiling, feeling for the first time a sense of powerlessness, as if things were spiraling out of his control.

He had thought that by leaving the Ford family, he could cut ties with them forever and return to his former peaceful life. He never expected that in the blink of an eye, he’d end up back in a house owned by the Fords. Even if Samuel Ford wasn’t here right now, this place was a landmine. There was no telling when they might run into him.

Whether it was running into Samuel, or letting his mother get more entangled with him, neither was a good thing.

’Whatever happens then will likely be even messier than the current situation.’

’No, we can’t live here anymore.’

Gritting his teeth, Jean made a silent resolution. He mulled over a plan and slowly drifted off to sleep.

The next day, Felix Ford didn’t go to school again.

He had originally wanted to find Jean and ask about his mother’s other child—to find out if that child was him. He had been full of hope, but instead, he received a heavy blow that completely crushed his spirits, making him not even want to go to school.

That place held too many sad memories for him.

He wasn’t throwing a tantrum like he did yesterday. Instead, his little face was full of sorrow and sadness. He dragged his feet as he walked, completely listless.

Samuel Ford said something about it, but the boy showed no intention of changing. He just gave his father a gloomy look, snorted softly, and huffily turned his head away.

Looking at him like this, Samuel Ford pinched the bridge of his nose. "If you don’t want to go to school, then don’t go."

As the words fell, Felix Ford pursed his lips. ’Even if you hadn’t agreed, I still wouldn’t have gone.’

After breakfast, he slid silently from his chair and ran upstairs without a word.

Samuel Ford glanced at him, his eyes landing on the small doll half-visible in the boy’s hand. ’No wonder he kept one hand under the table during the meal. He wouldn’t even let go of it to eat?’

’Who gave him that doll?’

Samuel Ford suddenly realized that many things seemed to have happened to his son that he knew nothing about.