After they finished watching the singing competition and found out that Chester was the champion, Stanley held onto Michael and anxiously asked, âUncle, why donât you get on reality shows? You know how to sing and dance. If you get on reality shows, youâll definitely overshine them. Youâll even get to earn high appearance fees!â
Sophia also looked forward to seeing Michael on a reality or variety show. He made his debut as a leader of a young group more than ten years ago and he was the lead singer and the lead dancer.
Unfortunately, many of the videos from that period couldnât be found.
Michael hadnât sang or danced in more than ten years. These days, in order to succeed in the entertainment industry, not only did the stars have to have beautiful looks, but they also had to look exquisite.
Stars with exquisite looks can get on big screens while stars with more ordinary looks can only appear in variety shows and have small roles in TV series. However, that shouldnât stop Michael from getting on variety shows! Sophia was a huge fan of Michaelâs and when she quarreled with other fan groups, the other fan groups usual replies were, âyour idol doesnât have any endorsementsâ, âyour idol has never appeared on variety showsâ, âyour idol is bad at making friends and nobody talks to him on Twitterâ.
Whenever she was faced with their insults, she didnât know how to fight back because Michael indeed didnât have endorsements and never got on variety shows. He didnât have friends to talk with on Twitter eitherâ¦
Unfortunately, Michael only acted in movies and wouldnât accept any commercial endorsements or get on variety or reality shows. He only made a few public service advertisements. Michael waved his hand and replied, âNo way. Iâm getting old and canât stand overworking anymore.â
Not long after, dinner was served and Michael generously picked out some fine wine from his cellar to treat his guest of the day, Linus.
Tonightâs dinner was roast mutton and Stanley was overjoyed. Stuffing food into his mouth, he said, âWow, uncle! Did you specially prepare a whole roasted lamb because you knew that I was coming today?â
Michael replied, âDonât flatter yourself. Today is my 800-day marriage anniversary with your aunt.â
Hearing this, Stanley was rendered speechless.
Meanwhile, Sophia silently counted with her fingers and realized that they really had been married for 800 days. She saw a large lamb being kept in the backyard of the kitchen two days ago and didnât expect that it was part of Michaelâs preparation for the celebration.
The roasted mutton was burnt and fragrant, and it was great enjoyment to eat some roasted lamb in the winter. Before Sophia reached for the lamb, a pile of torn mutton appeared in her bowl. Michael had torn off pieces of mutton with gloves on and carefully tore it into small pieces before placing them in Sophiaâs bowl as he chatted with Linus.
âMr. Michel, since youâre good friends with my wife, can I call you Linus instead?â Michael said courteously. He had maintained a formulaic tone as he spoke to Linus all this while.
Hearing this, Linus replied, âMr. Murray, there is no need to be so formal. Just call me Linus.â
When Linus and Michael ate together, it was obvious that they were maintaining their posture and every move they made were the exact movements of a gentleman. Michael wiped his mouth with a napkin before he said, âWell then, you donât have to call me Mr. Murray either. Taylor Murray is just my stage name. My surname is Fletcher and my first name is Michael. If youâre willing, you can call me by my first name.â
Linus gave it some thought before he replied, âOkay, Michael.â
After Michael heard this, he grinned in satisfaction.
Linus was Sophiaâs twin brother. Sooner or later, this truth would be exposed but Michael hadnât found the right opportunity to tell Linus yet. He always had the idea to find the appropriate timing to tell Linus his relationship with Sophia. When that happened, Linus would definitely investigate Sophiaâs background and he would spread some rumors to guide Linus to find out about Annabelâs relationship with Cooper.
However, it was too risky. After all, he didnât know about Linusâs background or character, and he had no clue of the Michel familyâs attitude toward Linus. He didnât know Linusâs position in the Michel family either. If he took the risk and told Linus, he might put Sophia and Linus himself in danger, which was why he decided to give up on the thought.
The matter of Sophiaâs reunion with her family must be seriously considered.
After hearing Linus and Michael call each other by their first names, Stanley was the first to show his dissatisfaction. âUncle, how can you do that? Doesnât that make me the youngest?â
Sean chuckled as he teased him. âStan, youâve always been the youngest among them!â
With a cheerful person like Stanley, the atmosphere around the table was lively.
Linus sat on Michaelâs left side while Sophia sat on his right. Michael looked to the left for a while before he turned to the right to compare the looks of the two siblings.
What a huge difference! They even look like they are from different races! Sophia is simply a replica of Annabel and she has inherited some of her fatherâs characteristics such as having fair skin, straight nose, and her eyes are big like a European. However, her hair and eyes are black. As for Linus, he looks entirely like a European. He has blond hair and blue eyes. Although he looks a little mixed, it isnât really obvious. If I didnât see the DNA results myself, no one would suspect that they are both twin brother and sister! Itâs amazing!
As the atmosphere became more lively, Michael started probing Linus. âLinus, I heard that you were born on the same year, month and day with my wife.â
Linus replied, âThatâs right.â
In a surprised tone, Michael said, âWhat a coincidence. In which time zone were you born? Let me see whether you or my wife is older.â
After thinking about it for a while, Linus replied, âI was born in Eastern Europe and Cethos is only three hours ahead of Europe. Weâre in the same time zone with Cethos so we canât really tell whoâs older.â
Michael continued to ask. âMy wife was born at 6:15 pm, Cethos time. What about you, Linus?â
6:15 pm?
It was the first time Sophia heard about the exact time she was born. I didnât even know when I was born. I didnât expect Michael to find outâ¦
Linus counted for a while and replied, âIf I calculate my birth time according to Cethos time, I was born around 6:00 pm.â
Hearing this, Michael cheerfully toasted with Linus before he said, âI must learn more about you when we have the time. This really is fate!â
According to the information that Michael found, Sophiaâs brother was indeed born at 6:00pm, 15 minutes earlier than Sophia. He didnât cry when he was born and the nurse who delivered him had secretly taken him away. 15 minutes later, Sophia was born. Even though they were from the same mother and born on the same day, their lives were completely different.
Michael sneakily asked Linus about information about his family. The Michel family was so mysterious that he couldnât plant any of his men inside, and neither could he find any inside information about this family either, which was why Linus was his only breakthrough point. Instead of asking Abel to go to Africa and squatting outside Fassâs castle, it was better to start from Linus.
Speaking of his father, Linus pursed his lips and said, âMy father has been enjoying his retirement in his hometown in Eastern Europe. If I have the chance, Iâll definitely ask him to come and visit Bayside City.â
After taking a few bites of his meal, Michael directed the topic to Fass again. âBy the way, I didnât get to meet Mr. Fass during my previous visit to Africa. What a shame. I wonder if Mr. Fass has any plans to come to Bayside City. Iâve heard many things about him and if I get to meet him, it would be an honor!â
As soon as he finished speaking, everybody immediately started paying attention and anticipated to hear the answer.
If they could meet Fass in person, all their questions could be answered.