Teresa thought of Michael waiting at home and withdrew her hand. "I have to go back."

Jonathan gasped. "Whose opening ceremony was I going to when I got hurt? Hiss, that hurts."

Seeing his furrowed brows and pale face, Teresa sighed helplessly. "Fine, fine. I'll take care of you for two days."

Jonathan hummed contentedly. "I'll pay you nursing fees."

"My starting price is three million dollars," Teresa joked.

She called Sherry to explain her absence and ask her to watch Michael. Sherry laughed heartily. "I'll take care of Mike. I was just talking to Christian on the phone."

Teresa chuckled. 'How did these two meet?' she wondered.

"Well, we actually both graduated from Nareigh University of Finance and Economics," Sherry lied. She couldn't tell Teresa that Michael had played matchmaker.

"I see," Teresa said, asking no further questions. "He seems like an honest guy. If you like him, you should go for it."

Sherry's voice turned shy. "I know. Let's see if he confesses."

After hanging up, Teresa considered calling Michael but decided against it. He should be asleep, and she didn't want to disturb him, especially with Jonathan nearby.

"What are you standing there for?" Jonathan asked.

His sudden voice startled her. Teresa turned to see him standing behind her. He'd come looking for her after noticing she'd been on the phone for a while.

Teresa said, "I just told my roommate I won't be going back. By the way, what's your secretary like?"

Jonathan's gaze darkened. "Why are you asking about him? Do you have any ulterior motives?"

Teresa lightly kicked his shin in anger. "Can you talk like a normal person? What motive could I have with him? I'm asking because he seems to be dating my roommate."

"He's a good guy," Jonathan said curtly, taking Teresa's hand. "Let's go. Help me with the toothpaste."

He couldn't brush his teeth with one hand.

Since injuring his arm a few days prior, Jonathan had been working from home, having Christian bring all contracts and paperwork to Luviston Estates.

Christian rang the doorbell, and Teresa opened it, her hair down and a coat draped over her shoulders.

Christian stammered, "Uh, this!"

Teresa quickly waved her hand. "Don't get the wrong idea. I'm just a caregiver looking after your delicate Mr. Lynn."

Christian mumbled "okay" and said nothing more. Teresa was wearing Jonathan's shirt and suit jacket; it was hard not to misunderstand.

Jonathan, on the other hand, was more casually dressed at home in a white shirt and gray pants. Christian almost didn't recognize him in his refreshed outfit.

"Mr. Lynn, I've brought all the documents you requested," he said.

"Mm. Leave them here," Jonathan replied, sitting on the couch with a laptop on his crossed legs.

"Christian, are you in a relationship?" Jonathan asked curiously.

"N-No, Mr. Lynn…" Christian stammered.

Jonathan looked at Teresa, and she asked Christian, "How are things going with my roommate, Sherry?"

Christian's ears turned red. "Sherry's doing well," he answered.

Teresa advised, "That's good then. Young people should seize the chance. Don't wait for the girl to make the first move."

Jonathan chimed in, "He's the same age as you."

Teresa glared at him. "He's single. I'm divorced. Aren't single people the 'young ones' here?"

Jonathan silently thought, 'So, as a divorced man in his thirties, what am I? An old man?'

Christian rubbed his nose and quickly pointed to the coat rack, saying, "Mr. Lynn, I won't bother you any longer. I'll take your coats to the dry cleaners."

"Okay," Jonathan nodded.

Before leaving, Christian discreetly took some of Jonathan's recently worn wool coats. He extracted Jonathan's hair from a coat and placed it in a bag he'd prepared—all for Michael. Christian hadn't anticipated Michael's diligent pronunciation practice for the DNA test. After midnight, Michael had sent him a perfectly articulated recording using Sherry's phone.

The recording said, "Mr. Dunn, I can speak really well now. I don't roll my tongue anymore. Can you give me a strand of Mr. Lime's hair? Pretty please."

Christian was genuinely moved by Michael's determination. He felt it best to be upfront with Michael sooner rather than later about the possibility that he wasn't Jonathan's son.

That evening, Christian took Michael to the hospital for the DNA test, providing both Jonathan's and Michael's hair samples.

The doctor told Christian, "Okay, the test results will be out in about three days. You'll be notified by text so you and your child don't have to worry."

Michael looked up. "But he's not my daddy."

"Huh?" The doctor looked at Christian as if betrayed. "Anyway, the results will be out in three days. Please wait patiently."

The doctor left, and Christian looked at Michael helplessly, ruffling his hair. "We've done the DNA test now. The results will take three days. Let's look at them together then."

"Yay! Mr. Lime's finally my daddy! Hooray!" Michael jumped joyfully.

A pang of guilt hit Christian. Sherry had never told him who Michael's parents were. He said, "Mike, whether Mr. Lynn is your daddy or not, don't feel sad because this world's cruel and ruthless."

Michael frowned. "Google said after the test, Mr. Lime can be my daddy."

Christian sighed, not wanting Michael to get hurt. "No, if the test result shows 99.999, Mr. Lynn's your daddy. If it's not, he's not your daddy, and you should stop asking him to be your daddy. Can you understand what I'm saying, Mike?"

Christian didn't expect Michael to understand. After all, he was just a child.

Unexpectedly, Michael nodded. "I know what 99 is. I know numbers bigger than 99. I know lots of numbers."

Christian chuckled. "Yeah, you're really amazing. Anyway, I'm just giving you a heads-up. In three days, the doctor will give you a paper. If it says '99' on it, congrats, you hit the jackpot."

He continued, "If not, don't be sad. It doesn't matter if Mr. Lynn's your daddy or not. You must live well and stay strong."