?<strong>Chapter 399:</strong>


    “Mr. Miller, could you help me out with this Lego set? The instructions are a bit confusing.”


    “Sure thing,” Adrian responded, aware that Dunn likely understood the manual but was looking for a distraction. Dunn had been devouring rather sophisticated bookstely, so a Lego manual shouldn’t have posed a real challenge.


    Dunn led Adrian through the house to the garden, where the delicate sound of a piano solo floated through the air.


    “That’s my aunt ying. She’s just won a prestigious international prize and hase back to celebrate. She’s quite gifted.”


    “Uh-huh.” Adrian wasn’t particrly interested.


    They continued to a yroom where Dunn handed Adrian the manual, and he dove into assembling the set.


    “Dunn?” a woman’s voice called from the doorway.


    Dunn looked up and addressed her politely.


    “Auntie.”


    M, the woman in a chic dress, studied Adrian. It had been years since herst visit home, and though Adrian seemed vaguely familiar, she couldn’t ce him.


    “And who might this be?” she asked, expecting Adrian to introduce himself.


    But before he could speak, Dunn chimed in,


    “This is Mr. Miller, Aurora and Rnd’s dad.”


    M was already familiar with Aurora and Rnd.


    “Oh, you must be Joelle’s husband, right?”


    Adrian detected a hint of hostility in her tone, unsure if it was directed at him or Joelle.


    He decided to let it slide for the moment. With Dunn there, he felt it wasn’t the right time to engage in a deep conversation with M.


    “I need to go get Aurora and the others,” Adrian said to Dunn.


    “Alright, Mr. Miller.”


    As Adrian brushed past M, she let out a sharp gasp and stumbled slightly towards him.


    He instinctively reached out to steady her but then remembered Joelle’s previous advice. He quickly pulled his hand back and stepped away instead.


    M grabbed her calf, thrown off bnce by her own theatrics.


    “Would it really be so hard to lend a hand?” she snapped at him.


    “If you’ve hurt your leg, you might want to see a doctor about that,” Adrian replied indifferently, then walked away without another word.


    M was taken aback. She wasn’t used to being dismissed so abruptly.


    “Auntie,” Dunn said, approaching her with concern, not realizing M’s act. “What’s wrong with your leg?”


    “It’s nothing.” M brushed him off and crouched down to his level. “Tell me, how are Joelle and Adrian doing? I’ve heard that Adrian is rather distant and hardly everes home since they got married.”


    With a shake of his head, Dunn responded,


    “No, they have a good rtionship.”


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