Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

”So, we can’t get Dorothy out of there right now?”

”Of course not. If it were anyone else, this would have been resolved long ago, but his status is different,” Quentin Grant said. ”Here’s the plan: take this paternity report and go back to our country. We’ll return together and handle this. The hope is that next time, our government will have authorized us to negotiate. After all, Chloe’s current status is too significant for our country to ignore. If the higher-ups give you the green light to expose this, do it immediately. We need to give Lillian Bancroft a warning shot first!”

”That works. But I want to see her again with my own eyes.”

Nora Ainsworth knew he was talking about Dorothy.

”Alright, let’s give it a try and see if it works.”

Nora Ainsworth brought Ethan Ellsworth to the kindergarten entrance. A teacher came over. ”Dylan’s mom?”

Nora Ainsworth said, ”Teacher, here’s the situation. This is Ethan Ellsworth, the star from Fravia. He’d like to make a donation here.”

Hearing this, the kindergarten teacher immediately opened the gate. ”For charity? Please, come in, quickly.”

”Yes.”

The teacher hurried to get the director. Ethan Ellsworth gave the director 200,000 and said he hoped the kindergarten could provide more nutritious and varied lunches, set up a dormitory for the children’s afternoon naps, and buy some more interesting toys.

The director was beaming. She never imagined that Dylan’s mom would know the famous star Ethan Ellsworth.

”Dylan’s mom, how do you know him?” the kindergarten teacher asked, quietly pulling her aside.

Nora Ainsworth chuckled. ”Well, I’m a little-known actress myself, aren’t I? I heard Ethan Ellsworth was preparing for a comeback in the country and wanted to do some charity work first, so I took the opportunity to suggest our kindergarten to him.”

The teacher nodded gratefully. ”That’s truly wonderful. Our kindergarten’s facilities are lacking in so many areas. This is a great help.”

”Teacher, there are still two hours until school lets out. Would it be possible for Ethan Ellsworth to teach a short class for the little ones? I have my camera, so I’ll just snap a few pictures. It’ll only take a moment.”

”Of course, that would be wonderful,” the teacher said immediately. ”We can wait for him by the door. You can let him go in, and you can take pictures from the window.”

”Okay.”

’Two hundred thousand for a single meeting... Nora, this has to be worth it, right?’

And just like that, Ethan Ellsworth walked up to the front of the preschool classroom.

To be honest, he’d never been this nervous, not even when facing a massive concert audience.

His gaze fell directly on Dorothy Bancroft, as if he were looking through her to see her mother.

When Dorothy Bancroft saw him, her eyes lit up. ”It’s you!”

Ethan Ellsworth smiled and put a finger to his lips, shushing her. Then, suppressing his excitement, he announced, ”Everyone can have free play time now.”

The moment he finished speaking, the children began to chatter excitedly.

He, however, walked slowly to Dorothy Bancroft’s desk and knelt down. Dorothy seemed especially excited and whispered, ”Mister, how did you get out of the Imperial Palace?”

Ethan Ellsworth whispered in her ear, ”I just walked out.”

Dorothy Bancroft’s eyes sparkled. ”Have you seen my mommy these past two days?”

The smile on Ethan Ellsworth’s face instantly faded into sorrow. He reached out and slowly placed his hand on her little face, which was ninety-five percent identical to Chloe’s. He gazed at her with a heavy heart, his fingertips lingering on her eggshell-smooth skin, his own heart feeling as if it were riddled with a thousand holes.

”No.”

She looked very unhappy. Being a child, she spoke without reservation. ”Daddy is too mean. Daddy won’t let me see her. I don’t want to play with him anymore. He doesn’t like Dorothy anymore.”

For some reason, hearing her call another man ”Daddy” sent a tidal wave of emotions crashing into Ethan Ellsworth’s heart, churning within him until he could barely stand the pain.

”No,” he began, his eyes filled with pain. ”Daddy loves you very much. From the moment he knew you existed, he has loved you. He wants to be with you and Mommy. Dorothy, you have to believe me. Your daddy could never dislike you. He loves you more than anyone else, even more than your mommy.”

Dorothy Bancroft’s voice was tinged with tears. ”Then why won’t he let me see Mommy? I’ve never been away from Mommy for this many days before. I miss Mommy. I want to see her. Dorothy is worried about her.”

Ethan Ellsworth didn’t know how to answer her. Seeing her cry, his own vision grew misty.

”Mister, why are you crying?”

”Because our Dorothy is just too adorable.”

She reached out a chubby little hand to wipe his tears. ”Don’t cry, Mister. Dorothy won’t cry either. Crying too much makes you look ugly, not pretty anymore. Dorothy has to wait for Mommy. One day, Dorothy will see her.”

’My daughter is so sensible. A two-and-a-half-year-old child, and she’s this understanding. It just makes an adult’s heart ache even more to see it.’

”Mm-hmm, our Dorothy has to be strong. You have to be Mommy’s guardian angel. Only if you’re safe and sound can Mommy rest easy.”

”Mister, look. All my classmates are watching us.”

Ethan Ellsworth turned his head. Several pairs of children’s eyes were indeed watching them.

Ethan Ellsworth couldn’t bear to move his hand from her cheek. He gave her a deep look and said, ”Dorothy, can you give me a kiss?”

He leaned his face closer.

She gave him a peck on the cheek.

Then, he pulled her small body into his arms. ”Dorothy, I’ll miss you. I think... we should be seeing each other again very soon.”

Then, he let her go, stood up, and walked straight out the door without a single look back.

Nora Ainsworth stood by the window, lowering her camera. And then she saw it!

Her own little man had run up to Dorothy and said angrily,

”Why did you kiss another man?”

”That was a mister,” Dorothy explained.

”It doesn’t matter if he’s a mister or a grandpa, he’s still a man.” ’Is my son actually jealous?’

Dorothy Bancroft fell silent.

Seeing this, Dylan Grant took the initiative and added, ”Well, don’t kiss anyone else from now on, and I’ll forgive you this time.”

”Okay, okay. Except for my Daddy,” she readily agreed.

Nora Ainsworth looked away and realized Ethan Ellsworth was standing beside her. Clearly, he had seen that last exchange too.

”He’s jealous.”

Nora Ainsworth laughed. ”He’s just a little kid. He doesn’t know anything.”

Ethan Ellsworth disagreed. ”Don’t say that. Children are often the purest and most innocent. Their inner worlds are also less complicated. Sure, there are plenty of smart kids out there, but kids like these two are truly rare. I have a feeling they’ll grow up to be extraordinary. I’ve read scripts before with roles for genius sons, and they always cast these blankly adorable kids to play them. But those kids are more than twice as exaggerated as yours. All I can say is, your kids have ridiculously good genes. I remember my mom telling me that when Young Master Grant was little, he was just like your Dylan. He’d put on this stern little face at a very young age, as if he could scare anyone, but it actually just made you want to laugh. To say they don’t understand anything is just a foolish assumption on our part as adults.”