Chapter 91: Late-Night Movie

Ethan and Evelyn teased Cole for a while, then finally let him off after he almost got ragebaited into cutting his own finger.

Smiling, Ethan served the food into each person’s plate, then carried it all to the dining room with Evelyn assisting him.

Drawn by the aroma, Nora quickly appeared, her eyes shining brightly.

"Woah! Thank you, Dad!"

She quickly took her seat beside him, then glanced at Cole. "Uncle Cole, how are you doing?"

The man looked at her with a pale smile. "Not good. Your parents made me rethink my life choices. Ah, right!"

His eyes suddenly lit up.

"My drawing skills have improved! Do you want to see?"

Nora frowned faintly. "Uh... no."

Cole’s expression sank, and he slowly nodded. "Oh... okay."

Evelyn patted her brother’s back, cheering him up a little. "I’m sure it has improved."

Cole chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, drawing a lot of site plans forces the improvement, I guess."

Ethan gave him a dubious glance. He didn’t really believe it, but since Cole seemed to be speaking the truth, he decided to believe him temporarily.

"Are you finally done with the constructions? Has the project started?"

Cole’s gaze turned to him, bright and excited. "Hehe, I was waiting for you to ask. We launched the project today, and I can tell that the weekend results would be sweet."

Ethan nodded. "That’s expected. As long as you stick to what I gave you, then you’ll be fine."

"Hahaha." Cole laughed hard. "Any random person who heard you say that would think you’re prideful."

Ethan rolled his eyes. "Random people are just that—random."

With that, he turned back to his food and started eating. Beside him, Nora was almost halfway through dinner, eating enthusiastically.

Evelyn and Cole ate more moderately, still reserved and gracious. Ethan didn’t care about that.

After eating for a while, he finished his meal right after Nora ate her last spoonful.

"Did you like it?"

He asked, turning to her. Nora nodded as she drank a glass of water.

"I did. Thanks, Dad!"

Seeing her smile, he felt a little refreshed.

[Ding! Family Happiness has surpassed 50%!]

[Congratulations, Ethan. You are making progress!]

[Daily Tasks are no longer needed, hence they are abolished.]

[Personal Missions are now of importance, please complete them to get more rewards.]

[To increase your Patriarch Qualification, complete Personal Missions and increase your influence on the world.]

Ethan stared at the series of messages, his eyes narrowed.

’It reached 50%? I can’t help but remember when it was below 7%...’

Glancing at Evelyn, he smiled. He turned to Nora too and patted her head.

’Now that feels like a better reward.’

His actions were paying off. Curious, he checked his status window.

[Name: Ethan Hale]

[Current Family Status: Thriving.]

[Family Happiness: 57.5%]

[Wife Happiness: 39.1%]

[Daughter Happiness: 18.4%]

[Patriarch Qualification: D]

[Objective: Make your family influential.]

’Hmm... a lot of things have changed. Nora seems to be growing happier by the day, and the family status has changed from broken to thriving.’

He smiled, his gaze dropping to the Patriarch Qualification and the Objective. He was now a D-ranked Patriarch, and his objective was no longer to repair the family but to make it influential.

’Hmm... finally my specialty. But do I need to recreate my business empire again?’

He shook his head internally.

’No, I’ll take a different approach. Instead of making a name for myself and my family by surpassing competitors, I’ll simply bring them all under my control.’

His eyes glinted with a scheming light.

"What are you thinking about?"

Noticing his silence, Evelyn tapped his arm and asked. Ethan turned to her with a faint smile.

"Nothing, really. Just the future."

She blinked in surprise, then nodded. "Alright, but don’t think too much. We can’t decide the future."

Ethan nodded. He didn’t really agree with her last statement, though.

’What if I know the future? Can I still decide it?’

Smiling inwardly, he already knew what to do. He was going to use his knowledge of the future to advance Earth’s technology faster and earlier than it had developed in his past life.

’Well, I don’t really know much but... yeah, that should be enough.’

Soon, Evelyn and Cole finished eating, and they immediately carried the plates to the kitchen and tidied up the house.

"Well, should we watch a movie or...?" Evelyn asked, turning to Ethan.

The young man shrugged, his arms folded. "If you wish. There are a few interesting movies we could watch. Let’s see..."

Browsing through his phone, he quickly found his target. He connected the phone to the TV, and they all sat around to watch the movie.

"Is it really interesting?" Cole asked with a smile on his face.

Ethan nodded confidently. "Do you want to bet fifty dollars that you will cry at the end of the movie?"

Cole’s expression changed. "No way. I’m not betting anything with you."

Ethan sighed dramatically and hugged Nora, who was sitting on his lap. "Well, your loss."

Cole snorted and turned away, unfazed by the bait. Evelyn smiled in anticipation, leaning against her husband. Soon, the movie started playing.

Two hours passed in a jiffy.

Ethan stared at the screen, his gaze indifferent. This wasn’t his first time watching the movie, so he wasn’t really affected by it.

Evelyn, on the other hand, was actually crying while burying her face in his shoulder.

Surprisingly, Nora didn’t cry. Instead, she simply closed her eyes as if thinking or meditating about something.

Cole glanced at them, then wiped his eyes.

’Huh...? I’m really crying...’

He felt relieved that he hadn’t agreed to the bet. Still, he could understand why Ethan had been so confident.

The movie was emotionally touching, and it had been made in a way that no one could watch it without feeling sympathy for the characters.

"Really... when was the last time I cried over something?" Cole chuckled as he stood up.

Turning to Ethan, he said, "I will get serious and find my own partner soon. Anyway, goodnight brother-in-law. Evelyn, don’t sulk like a kid. Even your kid isn’t sulking."

Evelyn buried her face deeper into Ethan’s side, embarrassed. Cole waved at them and headed to the guest room Ethan had pointed to him.

After watching him leave, Ethan gently nudged Nora and Evelyn.

"Let’s go to bed. It’s late already."