Jonathan mulled over that before sighing and turning to leave.
Before Sophia left, she instructed Juan and Kyle to get up if they were feeling tired. It was not good for their kneecaps if they kneeled for too long.
Kyleâs face was expressionless as he knelt there, his back incredibly straight.
Juan snuck a glance at Evan. How long will we have to kneel here? At this rate, weâll miss out on lunch! If I had known that this would happen, I wouldâve eaten two more slices of pizza or maybe two more eggs this morning!
Soon, half an hour had passed.
Juan mentally sighed as he stared at the tightly shut door. He wondered if the door would suddenly swing open, revealing their great-grandfatherâs smiling face. Would he pull us both up and hand us each a delicious pork trotter to chow down on?
Maybe if we kneel for another five or ten minutesâ¦
Suddenly, Evanâs phone rang. It was John calling to inform him that someone from J Group had come to the company. The representative wanted to discuss something important with him.
Hanging up, Evan got ready to depart. However, he did not forget to instruct them, âGet up if you canât stand it anymore, okay?â
Kyle did not move to look at him or make a sound. He merely continued to stare forward blankly.
Juan nodded. He knew that continuing to kneel there was rather pointless. He would have to think hard and come up with another plan.
After their father was gone, Juan turned to Kyle and asked, âDo your legs hurt?â
Kyle shook his head. A little bit of pain was nothing if that would ensure that their great-grandfather forgave their mother.
âWe canât continue to do this. What if Great-grandpa doesnât tell us to get up?â
At this, Kyle glanced at his brother. He had not thought about that. All he had been focusing on was helping their mother.
A thoughtful look crossed Juanâs face. âMommy once told me that we should always remember our purpose. As long as we donât do anything that might harm others, using a little trick or shortcut to get what we want is fine.â
Kyle digested those words, finding that they were very reasonable indeed.
He questioned, âNonetheless, I canât think of any better plans other than kneeling here. What can we do?â
Kyleâs words had glee coursing through Juan. And here I thought that he would have a one-track mind and refuse to cooperate with my plan!
As long as Kyle was willing to work with him, he would come up with a plan immediately!
Russell had always been very nice to them. He clearly loved his great-grandchildren dearly.
This meant that using this love was a viable plan.
He eyed Kyle and suggested, âWhy donât you pretend to faint?â
Kyle thought over it for a moment and queried, âThen what?â
âThen Great-grandpa would be worried. Heâll be sure to open the door!â
âI think that heâll probably have someone carry me back to my room and call a doctor over. We still wonât get a chance to beg him, which means that he wonât forgive Mommy. Then, all the time that weâd spent kneeling here would be in vain!â
Juan had to admit that his brother had a point.
Since this plan would not necessarily work out, he would have to think of another.
His brain whirled with thoughts. Kyle was doing the same beside him. They both agreed that they would have to get inside the room somehow. That way, they would be able to beg their great-grandfather face to face.
So, the most important question now was how to get Russell to open the door and allow them entry?
Even Sophia and Jonathan had not been enough for him to open his door.
This is a tough problem!
Clearing his throat, Juan began to throw compliments at the shut door. He praised Russell to the high heavens, saying how he was the greatest great-grandfather in the world.
Yet, despite his best efforts, there was still no response from the room.
âGreat-grandpa, can you hear us?â
There was no reply.
Kyle leveled a look at his brother. âIt seems like that didnât work. How about we go the opposite direction?â
âWhat do you mean?â
âSince praising him wonât work, letâs be a little more daring and try to make him angry!â
Juanâs eyes widened as he stared at the other boy. âWouldnât that just be adding fuel to the fire? What if that angers him so much that he spanks our butts in punishment?