Chapter 430
Shi Yao, well-versed in the tactic of scolding then offering a date, softened his voice: “Besides, am I really that embarrassing? Come on, sweet Alarieka. Take me with you.”
Ultimately, Shi Yao followed Alarieka to meet her old friend, thoroughly pleased. They trailed a waiter into the restaurant. Shi Yao leaned close, whispering: “What friend are we meeting? Man or woman?”
He was on high alert—not just toward Kieran Argent, but every male creature near Alarieka. Secretly, he prayed this wasn’t some ex-lover or former boyfriend. Otherwise, he’d throw a fit.
While asking, Shi Yao studied his reflection in the restaurant’s floor-to-ceiling windows: his perfectly parted hair revealing sharp brows, the tailored charcoal suit and burgundy tie impeccable. Every detail screamed superiority, ready to blind any rival.
Satisfied, he strode beside Alaricka, chest puffed out. Scanning the room, Alaricka answered: “A woman. My teacher. Be polite later. No nonsense.”
Her gaze snagged on a figure ahead. She told the waiter: “Found her. Thanks for guiding us.”
The waiter nodded, leaving.
“Your teacher?” Shi Yao’s chin lifted higher, smile oozing smugness. “Then I’ll definitely make a good impression.”
Alaricka shot him a skeptical look: “Impress how? Just keep your mouth shut.”
“Relax. I know my limits.”
Alarieka scoffed. She feared his “limits” differed wildly from hers. Shaking her head, she approached, calling out: “Ms. Wyatt…”
“Ms. Wyatt.”
Another voice overlapped hers perfectly. Alarieka’s softer call drowned under the other. Paloma Wyatt likely missed it, turning toward the sound. Alarieka paused, then followed Paloma’s gaze—landing on a trio across the room.
A strikingly elegant couple stood together, their hands clasping an exquisitely beautiful young boy between them. The scene magnetized every eye, especially after Roschelle Whitaker’s call drew collective gasps of awe.
Roschelle Whitaker. Alaricka repeated the name silently. Her eyes drifted down, settling on the boy’s face between Kieran Argent and Roschelle Whitaker.
Her pupils contracted violently, her heartbeat nearly stopped, blood rushed backward, and her body temperature plummeted. Alaricka had thought—and remained certain—that no matter how many years passed, she’d never forget what Qiyuan Argent, Roschelle’s son, looked like. His features were etched into her bones, unforgettable and indelible.
Those eyes mirroring Roschelle’s, that nose and forehead identical to Kieran’s childhood features—the boy had inherited his parents’ most exquisite traits. He appeared adorably refined, playing the well-mannered gentleman when parents or others were present.
Perhaps only Alarieka, beyond the Argent family, knew how malicious and unruly this five-year-old truly was. The scar on her daughter’s arm—requiring surgery to remove—was Qiyuan’s handiwork.
Since birth, Qiyuan had been drenched in adoration. As Wallace Argent’s sole great-grandson and Kieran and Roschelle’s only child, not only did Wallace indulge him without limits, but outsiders also treated him like royalty upon learning his parentage.
The center of attention, elevated above all. Such an environment breeds neither patience nor virtue. At times, he displayed outright arrogance, only minding his manners when Kieran was present.
Believing himself the Argent family’s exclusive heir, he couldn’t tolerate another child’s existence.
Alarieka had been cast out by the Argents before her daughter’s birth. For years afterward, her child and Qiyuan never crossed paths. Neither the Argents nor Kieran acknowledged her daughter as family.
Though some knew the truth, none dared enlighten the young prince, Qiyuan Argent. Until the day Qiyuan overheard household staff whisper about his most revered father, Kieran, fathering an illegitimate daughter his age. He erupted, smashing porcelain and electronics throughout the Argent’s villa. The gossiping maid was struck unconscious by a floor lamp, blood streaming from her forehead.
None intervened—Qiyuan was too cherished. Wallace watched indifferently, disregarding property damage or the maid’s safety, letting his great-grandson unleash chaos.