Mrs. Hunt became angry the moment Raymond said that. She snapped, "Pete isn’t autistic, Raymond! Don’t you dare spout nonsense!"
Raymond curled his lip disdainfully. "Yeah, yeah, Pete isn’t autistic. He just doesn’t like talking to people, that’s all. Sigh, he can’t just keep avoiding talking to people when he takes over the company in the future, right?"
Roger said, "Don’t say that, Dad. Who knows, he may recover after he grows up."
Chester couldn’t tell that they were mocking Pete. Neither did he recognize that the child was his leader, and thought she was his quiet and reticent little nephew, so he echoed them and said, "Yeah, it’ll be fine once he grows up!"
Raymond, however, scoffed and said, "That’s what everyone said when he was a baby, but you don’t see his condition getting any better the last few years, either... But I’m just worrying over nothing, of course, because Justin will definitely have everything all nicely planned out for the company in the future, right?"
He then looked at Fatty and reprimanded him. "And you, too, Fatty. Don’t just study all the time. What’s the use of being so academic? All that studying has made you stupid instead. What matters the most as a leader is eloquence! How can you make people trust and believe in you if you’re not eloquent?"
He was both overtly and secretly demeaning Pete.
All the other Hunts looked at Pete when they heard what he said.
Indeed, what was the use of a genius if he was autistic?
Seeing that his words were showing effect, Raymond immediately became rather smug.
Roger, however, narrowed his eyes.
During past family dinners, Pete had either skipped it altogether and if he did attend, Justin would always lose his temper whenever someone mentioned the words ’mild autism’.
Why was he keeping quiet this time, though?
He was still wondering about it when the little fellow in Justin’s arms called out sweetly, "Hi, Great-Grandma!"
Raymond was also dumbfounded. He stared at the child in Justin’s arms in disbelief and said, "Were you the one talking just now, Pete?"
Cherry rolled her eyes and looked at Justin. Then, in her young but clear voice, she asked, "Is that grandpa deaf or blind, Daddy? Why are his ears and eyes so bad? Since our family is so rich, you have to get the doctor to take a look at him!"
The corners of Justin’s lips curled into a smile. His usually standoffish countenance looked rather relaxed. He glanced at Raymond and replied leisurely, "He’s very old, so he can neither see nor hear anything clearly."
Cherry replied adorably, "Oh, I see!"
As for Mrs. Hunt, she was so excited upon hearing Cherry’s voice that her eyes reddened. She wanted to reach out and take her into her arms, but when she thought of how the little fellow loathed physical contact with others the most, she retracted her arms and asked with a smile, "Is Pete talking now? Has he recovered?"
Justin cast his eyes down dispassionately and kept quiet. Instead, he put his daughter down.
As soon as Cherry’s feet touched the floor, she ran toward Mrs. Hunt. The little figure dived into the elderly lady’s arms and she called out adorably and tenderly, "Great-Grandma!"
Not only was the little fellow sweet-smelling and tender, but ’he’ was finally willing to let her hug ’him’ now.
Mrs. Hunt became even more excited, so much so that her hands even started to shake. She let out an excited sound of acknowledgment and then, without a second thought, took off a ring she was wearing and stuffed it into Cherry’s hands. She said, "Here, this is for you, Pete!"
Everyone present was shocked at the sight.
Mrs. Hunt’s ring was made of top-quality jadeite that formed only in hundreds of thousands of years, and was worth over ten million dollars! The elderly Mr. Hunt had given it to her when they got married back then!
At that time, they had said that it was to be passed on to future generations as a family heirloom!
The elderly lady had also been urging Justin to get married all this time, so that she could gift the ring to her daughter-in-law. It was a symbol of one’s status as the female master of the Hunts!
Why had she instead given the ring to Pete in a moment of excitement today?
Raymond panicked. He stepped forward and said with a smile, "Look at how muddleheaded you are, Mom. This is a woman’s ring; why would you give it to Pete?"
The old lady glanced at him and replied with a smile, "Pete can keep it and give it to his wife in the future, then!"
In other words, she was saying that Pete’s wife would be the female master of the Hunts in the future. In that case, Pete’s position as the head of the family was not to be doubted!
The elderly lady was backing Pete up!
Raymond frowned and looked at Fatty with dissatisfaction. Then, he said, "You mustn’t be biased, Mom. Since you’ve given that to Pete, what are you going to give Fatty?"
The fat little boy also looked at her expectantly.
Mrs. Hunt glanced at him and said with a smile, "Fatty can ask his Uncle Justin if there’s anything he wants! Justin is rich! And he’s also the head of the family!"
Raymond’s expression darkened even further.
Roger also lowered his gaze.
Seeing that the two of them were no longer creating any more trouble, Mrs. Hunt finally looked at Cherry and said, "Put the ring away properly, Pete."
Cherry hastily said, "This is too precious, Great-Grandma. I can’t accept it!"
"One shouldn’t reject gifts from their elders. Just take it."
Cherry subconsciously wanted to look for Nora, but she suddenly realized that Mommy wasn’t here, so she looked at Justin instead.
Justin cast his eyes down and smiled. Then, he stepped forward, took the ring from Cherry, and said, "Since Great-Grandma has given it to you, then just accept it. But you’re still young, so you can’t wear it yet. We’ll let your Mommy wear it first."
Mrs. Hunt’s eyes lit up the moment he said that. She asked, "What Mommy?"
The others also looked at him.
Was that man, who had made up his mind to remain single for his entire life, finally getting married?
Raymond and Roger instantly felt a sense of crisis.
Should Justin get married and have another two sons, wouldn’t Fatty have even less of a chance?!
The two of them frowned.
All of a sudden, Raymond said, "Alright, the grownups are going to talk. Why don’t you kids go to the side and play some games?"
He gave Fatty a look after he spoke.
Fatty immediately understood what he meant. He took a step forward, grabbed Cherry’s hand, and said, "C’mon Pete, why don’t we play some games? This mobile game is very popular now. Anyone can play it as long as they are not too stupid. Surely you know how to play it, right?"
It was common knowledge that Pete was a nerd whose only hobby was studying. This meant that he would definitely suck at playing games!
Before she could even speak, Mrs. Hunt panicked and said, "Children shouldn’t play games too much!"
Roger smiled and said, "That’s a rather misguided statement, Grandma. Games can also reflect a person’s intelligence. Besides, people who only know how to memorize their books and fail to exercise practical application in their studies tend to have one-track minds."
He looked at Justin and said, "Isn’t Justin himself someone who excels in every aspect? I’m sure Pete is also someone like that, so let’s just let him play!"
The way he spoke sounded as if people who were bad at games were very stupid!
Justin’ lip corners curled into a smile when he heard what he said.
Wasn’t that game that Fatty mentioned exactly the one that Cherry live-streamed herself playing?
He had already found out a long time ago that Cherry was the local server’s top player in that game!
Over at the other side, Fatty had already taken out his cell phone. He asked, "Do you have an account? Come on, let’s play a round! I can carry you in the game as long as you’re not particularly stupid! This game is the best at reflecting whether someone is clever or not!"