Cole stared at Ethan deeply, not saying a word. The offer rang repeatedly in his mind, but his whole body was screaming no. It seemed even angels and demons didn’t support him taking Ethan’s help.
Yet...
’Can he...?’
Backed into a corner, he was desperate. Ethan seemed to know what he was doing, and judging by the confident look in his eyes...
’If I submit this, it won’t be useful anyway. Might as well go a little crazier.’
Sighing, he nodded and settled back into his seat.
Ethan smiled and erased everything he had written, causing the man’s heart to skip a beat. Still, Cole didn’t say anything.
He watched as Ethan typed furiously, and in less than ten minutes, he pushed the laptop back to him.
Cole caught it and began reading. He started with narrowed eyes, then his expression began to change.
After half an hour of rereading just to be sure he wasn’t making mistakes, he looked at Ethan with pure astonishment.
"You... how did you come up with this?"
Ethan shrugged. "It’s pretty simple, you know? Don’t treat it like a big deal. You just have to think about a sustainable profit instead of short-term benefits."
Cole’s lips parted, and he wanted to argue that he had thought that way too. However, he shut himself up.
Ethan’s proposal was beyond what he could think of, and he was still struggling to comprehend it fully.
’This... this will surely get the boss’s attention,’ He thought, turning back to Ethan.
"What do you want, though?" He asked, his eyes narrowed. "You didn’t do this for free, right? How much do you want from me?"
Ethan quietly massaged his temples, frustrated by how many times his intentions had been misunderstood that day.
Was it so hard to believe that he was just being nice?
He sighed and said, "I’m not trying to exploit you or anything. I’m only doing you a favor because you genuinely care for Evelyn. That’s all."
In her seat, Evelyn stiffened and looked at him in surprise. He agreed to help... because of her? She couldn’t believe it.
Ethan ignored the look she was giving him and focused on Cole.
"That said, If you ever come to me for advice again, you should bring tea and some souvenirs."
Cole rolled his eyes. "As if I’d come again. Don’t get cocky yet. My boss might still see this as trash."
Ethan chuckled but said no more. Cole also hardened his heart and sent the proposal, immediately shutting down the laptop and returning it to his bag.
"I should sleep early. Goodnight to you all."
Ethan gave him a nod while Evelyn escorted him to the guest room before returning to the dining room.
"Ethan..." She called, drawing his attention.
He turned to her and found her bowing to him.
"Thank you for agreeing to help my brother. I... thank you."
Ethan looked at her in amusement, then walked over.
Using a finger, he touched her chin and raised her head.
"Why are you thanking me, though? He’s my brother-in-law."
Evelyn opened her mouth to speak, but fell silent again. She couldn’t exactly say ’you never treated him as your brother-in-law’, right?
Ethan understood and pulled back, ruffling her hair.
"You shouldn’t think too much about that. It’s just a little help. Nothing serious. We’re going to the shop tomorrow, so we should sleep early too."
Evelyn had several other things she wanted to say, but Ethan already walked past her and moved into the bedroom. She followed not long after.
Ethan lay on the bed and quickly fell asleep. Evelyn laid beside him, pulling her daughter into her arms as the family of three slept peacefully.
Ethan didn’t wake up until the next morning. When he did, it was 6:30 a.m again, and he got out of bed quickly.
The first thing he did was to check his system notifications, and he quickly found today’s task.
[Host: Ethan Hale]
[Patriarch Qualification: F-]
[Current Family Status: Broken]
[Family Happiness: 7.63%]
[Daily Task: Make your daughter laugh three times today]
[Reward: Increased Stamina]
’Increased stamina...? Does that mean I can train for longer before I get tired?’
He flexed his muscles—nothing out of the ordinary. ’Should be a good reward, then. Not like I wouldn’t want to do the task anyway.’
It would be difficult, though. He didn’t know what could make Nora laugh. However, that was fine. He could always pay special attention to her today.
In order not to disturb the mother-daughter pair, he headed to the living room to do some familiar exercises.
In less than ten minutes, he was covered in sweat, and he felt incredibly weak. His sore muscles protested with every movement like children being dragged out of bed.
Still tired, he managed to drag himself to the bathroom and take a relaxing bath. When he came out again, Evelyn was already awake and preparing tea for him in the kitchen.
Ethan greeted her with a smile, then quietly began to assist her.
After handing her the sugar cubes, he leaned against the kitchen counter and asked, "Did you sleep well?"
Evelyn was surprised by the question and nodded, sneaking glances at him.
Ethan noticed and smiled. Then, he suddenly said, "I am not your husband."
The woman froze, then turned to him in confusion.
Ethan continued, an amused smile on his face. "I’m actually an angel sent to help your family. What do you think?"
Evelyn’s lips twitched, and she muttered, "Ethan, you..."
Although his words were strange, they reminded her of how he used to be before they married. Ethan had always been fond of making silly jokes, so she didn’t think much of it.
"Sigh, this is the part where you’re supposed to laugh," He complained. "Unfortunately, you’re looking at me with a speechless expression like I suddenly recited the national anthem in Japanese."
At this point, Evelyn really couldn’t hold it back anymore. Her lips parted, and a soft laugh escaped them.
She quickly covered her mouth, an instinctive habit as she had learned not to laugh around him. At least, the him of two days ago.
Ethan smiled and picked up the teacup.
"You should make one for yourself too. I’ll go wake Nora."