Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

Dorothy Ellsworth had actually been awake for a while. This little girl was quite the schemer. Unlike the last few times, she didn’t deliberately make a sound to let her parents know she was up. She just faced the wall, her back to them, and kept wondering, ’What on earth did Mommy mean?’

Until a very, very quiet sound reached her ears, Dorothy found it even harder to fall asleep.

After thinking it over and over, she decided to peek out.

In the moonlight, she glanced toward her mommy and daddy’s spot and her eyes instantly widened. They were at it again...

The blanket was moving, shaking and shuddering.

Her cheeks started to flush, though she didn’t know why.

Dorothy Ellsworth didn’t sleep a wink all night.

The next morning, she lingered in bed, not wanting to get up.

Chloe Marshall coaxed her, "Dorothy, hurry and get up. Mommy brought your big rooster alarm clock. Listen, it’s trying to hurry you along..."

Dorothy Ellsworth sat up, threw off the covers, and slipped on her little slippers. "I’m never sleeping with Mommy and Daddy again."

Chloe Marshall immediately asked, "Why’s that?"

"Because you and my daddy were like a pair of fighting cocks all night, squawking nonstop. Mommy, why are your cheeks so red?"

"Mommy’s fine."

"Mommy, I’m supposed to go for a run with Dylan and Elmer at their house later. I’m really sleepy, so I want to go over and tell them myself that I can’t."

"Well, you should go after breakfast, then..."

After breakfast, a crimson glow appeared in the east as the sun began to rise.

Dorothy Ellsworth skipped happily over to the Grants’ house.

When she got there, the two boys were already running. They were slow, but they kept a steady pace.

When they saw her arrive, both boys stopped.

"Have you eaten yet?"

"I have."

"Dorothy, come run with us," Elmer said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Dorothy plopped down on the hanging chair and waved her hands. "No way. I’m too sleepy. I just came to tell you guys to go on without me. I’m too tired to run."

"Why?" Dylan asked, sitting down beside her.

"My mommy and daddy were making a racket all night, so I didn’t sleep well. And it’s all Elmer’s fault! He told that stupid ghost story yesterday and scared me half to death, so I had to sleep with them."

"Hahaha, were you really that scared?"

"Of course I was!" Dorothy said, puffing out her cheeks. "I’m a girl. I’m not like you."

"Okay, okay. So your mommy and daddy didn’t sleep at all? They were just... making a fuss all night?"

Dorothy said listlessly, "Yeah. Do you think grown-ups have way more energy than kids? My daddy was on top of my mommy the whole time and wouldn’t get off. It was so annoying for some reason."

At her words, the two boys burst out laughing.

Even Dylan couldn’t help but chuckle, saying two words: "Silly girl."

Dorothy huffed. "Who are you calling silly? I’m several months older than you two, you know."

Elmer laughed so hard his stomach ached. "Who’s calling you silly, you silly goose? So what if you’re a few months older? You used to call me ’big brother’ all the time."

Dorothy was so mad she could have spit. "That was... I... I didn’t know back then..."

"What do you mean you didn’t know? I bet you just didn’t want to be the older one in the relationship."

Dylan frowned. "Elmer."

Elmer stuck his tongue out but didn’t say anything else.

Dorothy’s eyes lit up as she thought of something, and her anger vanished. "So what if I’m the older one? That’s what’s popular these days! You wish you could be in a relationship like that, but you can’t get one! How dare you make fun of me when you’re still single."

Elmer stuck his nose in the air. "I’m only a little over two! When I’m in my twenties, I won’t be single, I’ll have a huge line of girls chasing me. If you don’t believe me, just wait until we’re older!"

Dorothy was still too young to understand the full picture. She only knew that Elmer would definitely have a girlfriend when he grew up because he and Dylan were handsome identical twins, so he naturally wouldn’t have to worry. What she didn’t know was just how powerful the Grant Family was in Fravia. How could a descendant of the Grants ever lack for female attention?

"Hmph..." Dorothy sniffed, drawing out the sound. "Fine. In the future, when you find yourself a pretty wife, I’m going to tell her all about how you wet the bed."

Elmer’s face finally turned red. He looked at Dylan. "Bro, you need to get your wife under control!"

Dylan threw up his hands. "Can’t do it. She’s got me wrapped around her finger..."

Elmer turned away. "I’m going back to my run."

Seeing him stomp off in a huff, Dorothy’s mood improved considerably. She sat there, her eyes growing heavy with sleep. "I’m so sleepy."

"Are you going to sleep here?"

"Where else? Your bed? Hmm, I should probably just go home to sleep." But just as Dorothy stood up, Dylan said, "You can sleep in my bed. We have class this afternoon anyway, so don’t bother going back."

Dorothy grinned and puckered her lips. "I was guessing you’d say that. Okay..."

Dylan took her small hand and led her to his room.

"Elmer and I share a bed." He picked her up, sat her on the edge of the bed, untied her shoelaces, and took off her shoes. Only then did he stand up straight. "You sleep tight. I’m going back downstairs to run."

"Okay."

Zoe Ellsworth was really starting to feel like a mother.

Her belly was only just starting to show, but she couldn’t help but touch it from time to time. Every time she stroked her still-small bump, she felt a vibrant little life growing slowly inside her, developing with every passing second.

It was a feeling that could only truly be appreciated as each day passed.

For the past two days, her morning sickness had started. She’d wake up feeling nauseous, with an indescribable discomfort spreading through her entire body.

She would end up throwing up some of what she ate. Because of this, Zoe Ellsworth now only went to her shop once a day. It had security cameras installed, so she wasn’t worried about her employees doing anything out of the ordinary.

After leaving the shop, Zoe Ellsworth put on a hat and went to the library at Herman Hawthorne’s university.

She, who had never enjoyed reading, could now surprisingly settle down with a book—even if they were all romance novels.

The university had a rule that students could only check out two romance novels per month. But things were different for Zoe Ellsworth. The library staff knew who she was, so they let her read as many as she liked. She would finish one a day, or sometimes two if she was reading quickly. An especially long book might take her two or three days.

After his class ended, Herman Hawthorne followed his usual routine: he bought a savory crepe and a can of milk tea before heading to the library.

He spotted her right away.

He walked over, and just as he sat down, Zoe Ellsworth began to sip her milk tea and eat the crepe, her eyes still fixed on her book.

Herman said, displeased, "Am I less interesting than that novel?"

Zoe glanced at him. "I’m doing prenatal education. Is looking at you considered prenatal education?"

Herman glanced at the book’s title, skeptical. "Prenatal education with a romance novel?"

"This is the part you don’t get. As I read, I’m silently reciting all the sentences in my mind. When I do that, the baby can feel it, and by feeling it, the baby learns. By reading these, our child is learning from inside my womb how to handle men, how to deal with in-laws, how to defeat a mistress, and how to be a powerful woman."

Herman broke out in a cold sweat. "What if it’s a boy?"

"That works too. If it’s a boy, then it’s even more important for him to learn how to dote on his wife, how to handle ex-girlfriends, how to manage the relationship between his wife and his mother, and so on."

"Why don’t you read more about our ancient history, then?"

Zoe sized him up. "Like what?"

"Stories about the imperial palace."

"You mean I should teach our child in advance? If it’s a son, should I teach him how to be an emperor, commanding a harem of three thousand, dominating the world, saving the common folk... or being a debauched and immoral tyrant? And if it’s a daughter, should I teach her to be a cunning, scheming woman, a submissive puppet, or a long-suffering maidservant?"

"Er..."

Zoe’s face broke into a smile. "So, which of those options do you think is better...?"

"Maybe just... stick with the romance novels...?" Herman said sheepishly. "It’s just, I don’t think reading those is effective prenatal education. Isn’t it supposed to be about listening to gentle music and talking to the baby?"

"I do the music and talking, too. This is to make sure our baby starts developing a wide range of talents and strong moral character right from the womb. Haven’t you seen me reading books on education in my spare time?"

Herman nodded. Just as he was about to say something, a sweet-looking female student sat down across from them. She chuckled softly and said in a low voice, "Professor Hawthorne, fancy seeing you here."

Herman simply nodded in response.

By the time they left the library, a light rain had begun to fall outside.

Herman Hawthorne looked at Zoe Ellsworth beside him. "Wait here and don’t move, okay? I’m going to buy an umbrella."

"Okay."

She watched him dash out in his suit, and the rain gradually grew heavier.

A moment later, he returned, holding a black umbrella. Zoe Ellsworth walked toward him, and he put one arm around her shoulder, using his other hand to tilt the umbrella almost completely over her.

It wasn’t until they were in the car that Zoe Ellsworth realized his suit was soaked through.

"Why didn’t you buy two umbrellas?"

He took off his suit jacket. "If I had two umbrellas, I wouldn’t be able to hold on to you, would I? What if... you fell? After all, you’ve never been one to watch where you’re going..."

"..." He wasn’t wrong. Zoe Ellsworth had to admit he was right. Things like that had happened several times. Once, while going down a flight of stairs, she had tried to leap from the third step to the floor. The result was predictable. She had taken a nasty fall.

"Are you full? If you’re still hungry, I can take you to get something to eat..." Seeing her silence, he decided to change the subject.

"Go get me a hamburger..."

"Absolutely not. That’s high-calorie junk food. You complain all day about gaining weight, do you really want to balloon up to two hundred pounds?"

"No," Zoe Ellsworth said, shaking her head. "Well then, how about you take me for some big plate chicken?"

"Too spicy," he rejected flatly. "I have a better idea. How about I take you for some seafood?"

"I only eat shrimp."

"Deal. Let’s go."

The two of them arrived at a hotel. Just as they were getting out of the car, Zoe Ellsworth pointed to the entrance and said, "Isn’t that Nicholas Ainsworth? And who’s that androgynous-looking person with him?"

Herman squinted for a better look. "He’s a well-known gay man in certain circles. The hair is a wig."

"No wonder. He has a man’s face but he’s wearing women’s clothes. The person on his right is a woman, though. What are the three of them doing at a hotel?"

"What else does one do at a hotel?" Herman Hawthorne said nonchalantly. "Get a room, have a meal."