The Apple of My Eye

Chapter 545 Mr. Lu's Son

"Please look after Chris while I'm gone. I have some matters to attend to."

Remembering that he had promised to take Charlie to learn chess, Charles excused himself with a

promise to come back later. Now that Autumn was gone, Charlie was his only motivation to live in this

world.

On his way to Leila's house, Charles passed by a well-known restaurant to buy an assortment of

breakfast for Charlie. He didn't know yet what food he liked so he bought different kinds.

Arriving at the front door of the house, Charles rang the bell. Still in his pajamas, Charlie opened the

door for him.

"Dad!" Charlie called excitedly, throwing himself in Charles' arms. Putting down the bags of food on the

floor, Charles gave Charlie an exuberant hug. His heart was filled with elation as he hugged the little

boy.

Charles was very pleased that Charlie had accepted him as his father without reservation. "I bought

breakfast for you. Go and wash yourself," Charles said, ruffling his son's head playfully.

Almost skipping with joy, Charlie went to the bathroom to wash himself. He came out a few minutes

later impeccably dressed. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw the table spread with a variety of

breakfast dishes.

"Why did you buy so much, Dad?" he asked, looking puzzled. Approaching the table, Charlie seated

himself opposite to Charles.

"I didn't know what food you like so I bought different kinds, just to be sure. After today, I will know what

I should buy next time," Charles said, smiling ruefully.

The sound coming from the dining room woke Leila up. She came out of her room only to find Charlie

sitting at the breakfast table with Charles. Not quite believing it, she rubbed her eyes to make sure that

she was seeing correctly. Looking up, Charles noticed Leila and said briefly,"I'll take Charlie out with me

after breakfast."

"Hmm, alright," Leila said, secretly happy that things were working out as she planned. Knowing that

Charles was getting attached to Charlie, she couldn't be happier. The more they grew closer, the more

she liked it.

She knew that Charles wouldn't be able to turn his back on his own son. That meant that as long as

Charles believed that she was Charlie's mother, their lives would be intertwined. Sooner or later, he

would have no choice but to accept her. Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

"Wait," Leila said, remembering something. "You can take him out today, but you should pay attention

to the food he would eat. He is allergic to potatoes so don't let him eat anything with potatoes in them."

"Potatoes?" Charles asked sharply. Frowning, Charles distinctly remembered that Autumn was also

allergic to potatoes. 'What kind of coincidence is that?' he wondered.

Turning to Charlie, he saw the boy wiping his mouth with his napkin.

"I'm full, Dad," Charlie said, smiling happily. Because of his excitement, he ate quickly and with less

decorum than he was accustomed. He couldn't control himself since he was very interested in chess.

Throwing his napkin on the table, he turned to Charles excitedly. "Let's go now!"

"Alright!" Charles answered with a grin. His momentary thought about Autumn was discarded as he

looked at Charlie's excited face.

"There are some of Charlie's things in this bag. There's a change of clothes and a pot. Just don't forget

to let him drink some water with it when he gets thirsty," Leila said, proffering a small bag to Charles.

"Okay," Charles nodded, accepting the bag from Leila. It was the first time for Charles to take care of a

child and he felt a little anxious. However, his anxiety left him as he looked at Charlie's trusting face.

Suddenly, he felt happy and proud to go out with his son. 'We're like two peas in a pod, ' he thought,

smiling to himself.

Charles took him to the Children's Palace for the chess class. After a few hours, Charlie went out of the

classroom, rushing excitedly to where Charles sat waiting for him. "Dad, the teacher praised me for my

intelligence," he gushed out excitedly.

"Oh, really? That's great!" Charles said, lifting Charlie up in his arms and giving him a light hug. "You

are smart because you took after me," Charles told his son proudly.

"I think so," Charlie concurred happily. He always thought that he had no similarities with his mother.

His appearance, character and IQ were far removed from Leila as night is different from day. Since

reuniting with his father, he finally knew whom he took after.

"Are you hungry? Do you want to go for lunch, now?"

Charles asked, staring mesmerized at the little boy in his arms. Kissing Charlie on the cheeks, he felt a

sudden peacefulness in his soul. No matter who this boy's mother was, he was prepared to love him

with all his heart.

"OK, Dad. I want to eat meat."

His son's innocent words made him freeze. It reminded him of a familiar voice that was so dear to his

memory, a shy voice saying,"I want to eat meat." Goosebumps exploded all over his body.

The way Charlie said it sounded eerily the same as the voice from his memory.

Noticing Charles' stillness, Charlie asked,"What's wrong with you, Dad?"

Charlie had never called Leila "Mom", but the word "Dad" rolled off his tongue easily. When he was with

Charles, he was just like any normal kid, innocent and cute.

"OK, Dad will take you to eat meat," Charles said, shaking off his nostalgia. Charles took Charlie to a

nice restaurant to eat barbecue. Normally, he didn't like serving others, but now he was very pleased to

roast the meat for his son. He filled up Charlie's plate and let him eat until he was satisfied. Putting

down the tools for barbecue, Charles looked at his son with affection.

"Are you full, son?" Charles asked. Handing the juice to Charlie, he felt sorry that he couldn't spend the

whole day with his son as he planned. He just received a call from his staff asking him to come back to

the office for an important meeting.

He had planned to take Charlie to the library, but now he had to go back to his office.

Since it was his first time to go out with Charlie, he felt guilty to cut their time together short. But there

was an important matter he had to settle in the company and he couldn't ignore his commitments.

"Charlie, Dad wants to discuss something with you," he said, not really knowing how to tell him in such

a way so as not to disappoint him. "You must have heard me on the phone just now. It was a call from

the company. I have to go back for an important meeting right now. I have planned to go to the library

with you after lunch, but…"

"Dad, can I go with you?" Charlie asked excitedly. He wanted to see where his father worked. "I want to

see your office," he added, looking expectantly at his father.

"You want to go there?" Charles asked, surprised at Charlie's request. He frowned, looking doubtfully at

Charlie. He was thinking to send Charlie home early and then proceed to his office after dropping him

off. But now, hearing his request, Charles explored the possibilities in his mind.

He knew his staff would be shocked if he showed up with Charlie in tow.

Looking at his son's expectant eyes, Charles didn't have the heart to refuse him. Finally, he nodded

and said to Charlie,"Fine. But it's boring to stay in my office. Are you sure you want to go?"

"Yes, I want to go. I have my books with me if I get bored," he assured Charles. The truth was, Charlie

didn't want to go home. He liked being with his father and enjoyed his company even if they were just

sitting together quietly.

Nodding, Charles knew there was no excuse to refuse Charlie's request.

'Besides, the people in my company are bound to find out about Charlie eventually, so what's wrong

with bringing him now?' Charles thought.

As expected, the moment that Charles entered the lobby with Charlie by his side, news started to

spread like wildfire. Everybody was speculating about the identity of the little boy. To everyone's

surprise, once they got a closer look, they saw that the boy was the spitting image of Mr. Lu!