Chapter 139: Chapter 139

“If he heard you say that, he’d probably scoff and say I simply did it for my own sake.” He chuckled loudly.

There were too many students.

For a moment, Stella couldn’t identify the boy. Justin had shown her a photo of his son before arriving there. He seemed to be a little boy in the photograph. But now that he was a teen in school uniform, it was difficult for her to tell which one was him. It wasn’t until a tall boy with a backpack casually strolled in front of them that she recognized it was Bryce.

She subconsciously straightened up her body and stood still.

Justin saw him first. “Hey, over here,” he said as he took a step forward. Bryce had spotted them a long time ago. The grin on his face faded gradually. However, he stayed courteous and greeted Stella first.

“Hello, miss.”

Then he turned to face Justin and called out, “Dad.” Justin stroked his head softly and took over his bag. “Get in the car.” Bryce nodded, and without saying much, he climbed into the back seat.

Stella didn’t even get to use any of the conversation topics she had rehearsed beforehand.

She rubbed her nose awkwardly and sat in the passenger seat without saying anything.

Perhaps because Justin noticed the uneasiness between the two, he acted as the go-between for them. “Shouldn’t the two of you introduce yourself since this is your first meeting today?”

Stella was at a loss for words when she heard this. “Do you think that I’m a kid? Only children would introduce themselves when making friends.” Justin ruffled her hair gently and said, “In my eyes, you are no different from a child. After all, I am a lot older than you.”

When Bryce noticed how natural Justin’s touch on Stella’s head was, his lips formed a line, and his face became stiff. But he didn’t say anything.

“My name is Bryce. This year, I’m 12 years old and in middle school.” After a while, he spoke out.

Stella sat up straight away. “Hello, my name is Stella. I’m 22 years old. I’m a teacher, like your father, but your father is a professor at a university, while I instruct children to dance in a training center.”

“I see.” This was Bryce’s only comment as he smiled at her with his lips pursed. In an instant, the mood within the car became uneasy.

They weren’t intentionally making things uncomfortable, but they were both strangers and sort of awkward with one other.

Justin had informed him of Stella’s arrival. The school had a no-phone policy, but they tolerated it so that students could always contact their parents.

Justin had even gone out of his way to get Bryce an old phone, whose sole purpose was to call and text. There were no forms of entertainment on the phone. Many of the students had the same kind of phone. Bryce had mentally prepared himself before this, but when he saw Stella, he felt a little uncomfortable inside his heart.

All of this seemed typical, so Justin didn’t think much about it and drove to the restaurant he had reserved. He expected them to get to know one other better after dinner.

Throughout the journey, Bryce never said a word anymore.

He looked out the window and pulled out his phone before taking his earphones and stuffing them into his ears.

When Justin saw this, he frowned. “Don’t listen to songs inside the car.”

Bryce took off the earphone and shot him a glance before saying, “I’m listening to French recordings.”