Chapter 58 Can't Be Friends with Them

Chloe had just intended to make a phone call to the research institute, telling them that she would be late. But it happened that the one who answered the phone was Gu Yunchuan. Before she could speak, Gu Yunchuan began talking to her about a project he had been working on these past few days, which involved some data that he didn't quite understand. Chloe started discussing it with him. Unexpectedly, once they started talking about work, they forgot about the time. It wasn't until she vaguely heard the sound of Quintus downstairs that she remembered to hang up the phone. In a hurry to come to a conclusion, she immediately hung up the phone and hurried downstairs. She almost forgot that Quintus was coming later, and the two little ones were still downstairs with Grace. If Quintus were to meet them... Thinking about the possible consequences, Chloe panicked. But when she came down, it was obviously too late to stop them from meeting. Chloe had just turned the corner of the staircase when she spotted the man standing beside the carpet. In front of him, the three little ones were huddled together, tidying up the Lego scattered on the carpet. They had almost finished cleaning up. As if hearing her footsteps coming down the stairs, the man turned to look at her, his expression indifferent. Meeting his gaze, Chloe's expression stiffened involuntarily. She pinched her palm to calm herself down before greeting the man casually, "Hi." Quintus said "hi" back coldly, but his gaze remained fixed on her, his emotions murky and unclear. Chloe couldn't help but feel guilty at the thought of the two little ones being exposed in front of Quintus. "So... will you take Grace home now, or..." She was afraid that Quintus had discovered the true identities of the two little ones and would sit down to talk to her about it. However, Quintus thought she was politely giving him the hint to leave. His expression turned slightly colder. "Let's go now. Don't worry, I won't stay at your place for too long." With that said, he turned to look at Grace, who was still leisurely packing up the Lego. He asked, "Are you done? It's time to go back." Grace didn't want to leave in the first place, so he deliberately slowed down his actions. But under the promptings of his daddy, she reluctantly stood up, her watery eyes filled with reluctance as he looked at Chloe not far away. Meeting the little girl's gaze, Chloe felt a slight pang of guilt, but with Quintus present and considering what had happened yesterday, she couldn't bring herself to offer any words of comfort. "Say thank you to them, then come back with me," Quintus's tone was stern. At his words, Grace's expression softened even more. She looked at Chloe expectantly, hoping the pretty lady would invite her to come again next time. But after waiting for a while, she didn't hear a single word. She lowered her gaze in disappointment. "She has to go to work, we shouldn't bother her," Quintus urged. Grace sluggishly picked up a small notebook and started writing on it. A "thank you" took her quite a while to write. When she finally finished writing, she held it up towards Quintus. "Can I come play with them again next time? I want to be friends with the boys." Everyone saw this line of text. A hint of reluctance crossed Chloe's and the two little ones' eyes, but because of Quintus's expression, none of them spoke up. Quintus glanced at their reactions, then at his daughter's reliance on them, his teeth gritted. "No." As soon as the words were spoken, Grace's expression immediately fell. Her eyes welled up with tears, her mouth quivering silently as she sobbed, looking utterly heartbroken.