The Sweet Rival (Mango Shen and Nathaniel Ye)

Chapter 419

Zion saw Nathaniel's impatience and he said on purpose, "Actually, it's still not quite dark yet. I can accompany Mommy a little longer since Rita isn't awake yet."

Nathaniel's mouth turned upside down into a frown.

"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you? You little brat!"

"Yeah, what's wrong with wanting to spend more time with Mommy? She belongs to us too, you know. Why don't you let us spend time with Mommy?"

Nathaniel had no answer.

"Either way, you better leave soon. She's my wife."

"But she's also my Mommy!"

Zion was right, and Nathaniel had no rebuttal.

He wondered if this little rascal was put here on this earth to irritate him. Then he said, "Grandma has been waiting downstairs for a long time now, won't you be considerate of her?"

When Madam Ye was mentioned, Zion hesitated for a moment.

Grandma did treat them very well indeed. It was her idea to bring Rita and himself over for a visit. Otherwise, if it were up to Nathaniel, who knew how long it would be before they saw their mother?

As he thought about the matter, Zion looked at his father with some disdain and he said, "What a petty man you are to be jealous of your own children."

Nathaniel had not expected his son to be this sassy, and he replied after recovering from his surprise, "So what, kiddo? You gonna do something about it?"

"Pfft!"

Zion got up and he decided to not dignify this man-child with a response.

Zion planted a kiss on Mango's cheek and he spotted Nathaniel glowering at him. If he wasn't Nathaniel's son, Nathaniel might have dragged him out of there by his collar.

It had been a while since Nathaniel looked like this, Zion gleefully thought.

"I love Mommy the most! I heard that I should kiss the person that I love the most on the lips."

Zion lowered himself as he spoke, then suddenly he was stuck as Nathaniel grabbed him from behind while sporting a dangerous look on his face.

"That's enough, Zion! I dare you to try kissing my woman, see what happens to you!"

"That's my Mommy!"

"Even so, you're not allowed to kiss her on her lips! I've already shown you a lot of leniency by allowing you to kiss her cheek. Did you think I wouldn't dare throw you out from the second floor?"

Nathaniel knew Zion was irking him on purpose, but he could not suppress his own jealousy.

This little brat was getting out of hand!

He even dared to kiss Mango on the lips?

Did Zion think that Nathaniel wouldn't give him the thrashing of his life?

Zion giggled and he said, "You wouldn't. If you threw me off the balcony, Mommy will hate you. I'm born from her flesh, so I'm precious to her."

"You..."

Zion had checkmated him now. He huffed angrily before pushing Zion back onto the bed.

"Oh, the hubris of the defeated!"

Zion showed no indication of halting his attacks and he continued provoking his father.

Nathaniel willed himself not to heed the little brat's incensing remarks, as Zion secretly enjoyed every moment of seeing his father ground his teeth.

Nathaniel dragged Zion out with him and he shoved him onto Thomas, then returned to haul a sleeping Rita out as well.

Rita had not noticed that she was no longer in bed, and subconsciously curled up against Nathaniel to continue sleeping soundly.

Her soft warm body wriggled in Nathaniel's embrace, like a feather tickling his heartstrings.

The sayings were true, that daughters were lovers from a past life.

Nathaniel looked at her lovingly and he had second thoughts about sending her away now.

Seeing Nathaniel's expression, Thomas smiled before saying, "Mr. Ye, how about we let Miss Rita stay over for a few more days?"

"Forget it, it's better for her to stay with my mother. Madam Ye can't get enough of this little angel. Moreover, we still have unfinished business to take care of here, it's not appropriate for them to live here just yet."

So Nathaniel carried Rita downstairs. Zion looked at how Nathaniel was carefully escorting his sister and he whispered, "Don't be fooled by her angelic appearance, she's much more cunning

than you think."

"Well, that's still better than dealing with you."

Nathaniel felt more endeared towards Rita now that he saw that Zion was envious.

"My daughter is the best kid around here, unlike some people who go against their elders every day like a little brat."

Zion saw how childish Nathaniel was behaving, and he turned to Thomas beside him to say, "Mr. Song, I heard that eating walnuts will improve one's brain function?" "Yes, if you want some, I will get someone to buy some walnuts for you."

Thomas thought Zion had wanted to eat the nuts.

Zion nodded grimly and he said, "Yes, please get some and feed them to Mr. Ye. Otherwise, I worry that our venture capital company will be taken over by someone else, and then Rita and I will have to depend on Grandma for our living."

He sighed as though his premonition was about to happen.

Nathaniel jaw stiffened.

This little brat just wouldn't let up, wasn't he?

"Zion, are you feeling itchy by any chance?"

"Apart from using violence on me, what else can you do?"

Zion showed no fear as he walked down the stairs to his grandmother. "Grandma, Daddy said he'll see us out the door in a bit," Zion said.

"When did I say that.."

Before Nathaniel finished, he paused suddenly.

He almost fell for the little rogue's trap.

Madam Ye looked at him inquisitively and she prompted him, "So, you were saying...?"

"It's nothing. Rita isn't awake yet. Otherwise I would send you all home. I don't want her to wake up during the journey and get upset."

Nathaniel changed his stance immediately.

"Hypocrite."

Zion said in a low voice, but not low enough to be inaudible to Nathaniel. Nathaniel wanted very badly to show his son who was boss around here.

But, he tried to keep his emotions in check while reminding himself that he was Mr. Ye of Ocean City and he should behave accordingly.

Seeing Zion's roguish face disturbed him, though.

Madam Ye was oblivious to these little father-son interactions and she asked, "Is Mango awake yet?"

"No."

Ever since Mango's miscarriage, she had been very weak physically. It was difficult for her to wake up unless she had enough sleep.

Previously, she would leap to her feet if her children were to leave her side as she was sleeping. But today she did not flinch even when Zion kissed her cheek, and this made Nathaniel worried a little.

According to the doctor, it was because she was still too frail now and she needed time to recuperate.

Madam Ye saw her son brooding, and she sighed, "It will take a while for her to recover, so please practice some self-restraint around your wife. She's been through a lot and the recovery cannot be rushed. The best thing is for her to lie low for a bit, it's just unfortunate that there's a lot going on right now. You need to handle things quickly so that she can get some peace."

"Don't worry, mom. I'll figure it out."

Nathaniel nodded.

Madam Ye said, "Put Rita in the car and let Thomas send us back. You stay here with Mango. You're all that poor girl has now and she can trust only you. It's for the best that you accompany her, leave the rest to us."

Nathaniel nodded and he looked lovingly at Rita one last time for the day before handing her over to Thomas.

"Slowly, she's not that strong yet."

Seeing how cautious Nathaniel was, Thomas felt a little intimidated.

"Mr. Ye, how about you carry her there yourself?"

"That's fine too!"

Nathaniel did not seem to catch his meaning and he carried Rita out the door to the car.

Thomas was astonished by this. This material belongs to NôvelDrama.Org.

Apart from his wife, Rita was probably the only other woman Nathaniel cared so deeply about.

He glanced at Zion expecting to see a jealous brother. But to his amazement, Zion only calmly approached Madam Ye before saying, "Let's go home, Grandma. Mommy is tired now and she needs to rest. I'll hold you steady, let's go."

"Alright, let's go!"

Madam Ye could not help but smile warmly at her sensible and mature grandson.

Nathaniel was already waiting outside as they emerged from the villa. Just then, he had taken off his coat to shield Rita from the wind. Nathaniel did not care at all that his handmade Italian coat might get creased.

Only after Zion and Madam Ye were in the car, Nathaniel then handed over Rita.

"She's still sleeping, but it's fine, right?"

Nathaniel seemed worried.

"Don't fret, I'll be right here for her."

The old lady smiled and she exchanged look with Nathaniel that only they understood amongst themselves, before folding her arms around Rita who was still snoring.

Zion saw his father's worried look and he whispered, "Don't worry, Dad. I'll be sure to take care of your little lover. Just remember to reward me for it later."

"She's your sister! What's going on in that head of yours every day?"

Nathaniel's sentiments had been interrupted by his son's cheeky words.

The brat was annoying him on purpose. Still, Nathaniel could not help but feel a little down that they were leaving now.

"Mom, please take care of my children. I'll get them once all of this mess is resolved."

"No problem. Go back inside now, Mango might wake up all alone."

Madam Ye instructed Thomas to start driving when she finished her sentence.

Nathaniel returned indoors and he found Mango still sound asleep. He quietly snuck into bed while pulling her close for a hug.

Mango curled up to him too, but suddenly looked up as though she had been startled, only to see Nathaniel's face in front of hers.

She pushed Nathaniel away to look around, "Where are the children?"

Nathaniel was hurt by her actions.

"My dear wife, is this the kind of treatment I get?"

Mango ignored him, knowing full well that her husband was dramatic. She asked again, "I said, where are the children?"

Seeing Mango about to lose her mind, Nathaniel explained, "It's getting late, and they've gone home with mom. If you miss them that badly, we can have them visit again in a couple of days."

Upon hearing that, Mango felt forlorn.

"When did they leave? Why didn't you wake me? I've been asleep like a log and I didn't even realize that they've left."

She spoke with a trace of gloom in her voice.

Nathaniel was about to comfort her when the house phone rang suddenly. Its shrill ringtone caused both of them to jump.

For some inexplicable reason, Mango felt ill at ease.