Chapter 1009: I guess you do have a soft spot for him.

"Angel, have you seen Benjamin?" Mark jogged up the steps of the porch where Angel was standing. "He told me he’s coming today, and we have some matters to discuss before the shareholder meeting."

"Oh, yeah! I think I just saw him go inside not long ago," Angel pointed his thumb over to the front door. "He was bringing some gifts, so I guess he went to see the master first."

"You told him about what happened?"

"He called last night, and no one picked up," Angel shrugged. "I didn’t want him adding more tension to the residence if I didn’t tell him."

Mark rocked his head and sighed heavily. "Makes sense."

Just then, the two of them turned toward the front door when they heard it fly open from the inside.

"Oh, Sir Ben!" Angel called, while Mark turned to face Benjamin.

"Benjamin, about the share—"

"Don’t talk to me!" Benjamin yelled, running past the two of them.

Mark and Angel cocked their heads to the side, question marks hovering over their heads. They watched Benjamin jog down the steps, but instead of heading to his car, he went straight toward the greenhouse.

"Is he... is he crying?" Angel asked in disbelief. "I don’t question what I see most of the time, but with him... I’m not too sure. But I think I just saw some tears falling."

Mark didn’t answer immediately, keeping his eyes on Benjamin’s figure as it moved farther away from them. "What is it this time?"

"I think you should go after him..." Angel trailed off, realizing Mark had already left the second he grasped what Angel was about to say. His face twitched as he watched Mark head in the opposite direction Benjamin had gone.

"Seriously," Angel sighed. "They’ve been working together for a long time now. He should at least comfort him."

Another deep sigh escaped Angel as he shifted his eyes to where Benjamin went. He pondered for a moment and, in the end, clicked his tongue and jogged toward the steps to follow Benjamin. Even though Benjamin was like... that,

Surprisingly, Benjamin was more efficient and useful when he was serious. Even Angel couldn’t believe it.

******

One hour later...

"Come on..." Using a stick, Penny poked Benjamin’s back. "... Why are you being like this? Don’t be so difficult now."

She pouted, staring at Benjamin, who was sulking in the corner with his back facing her. He was squatting, hugging his knees, not wanting to talk to anyone. After another attempt to coax him, Penny turned to her side, where Zoren was standing.

"Renren, why don’t you try?" she asked quietly. "I think if you coax him, he’ll eventually get out of here — it’s full of mosquitoes. He might get a low blood count if he stays here."

"Okay." Zoren nodded, his eyes sharp, his gaze falling on Benjamin’s back. "Ben, stop that now. Let’s go. We still have to talk about the shareholder meeting."

Benjamin didn’t answer, but they could all hear his muffled sniffles.

"Ben." This time, Zoren’s tone was firmer, as if he were giving a warning.

"Renren!" Penny tugged at her husband’s arm, shaking her head. "Don’t be like that. Do you think he’d listen if you try to intimidate him?"

Zoren pressed his mouth together. "You’re right. I’m sorry."

"Let me try again." Penny cleared her throat, lifting the stick in her hand to poke Benjamin’s back. Her voice was soothing and persuasive, exercising maximum tolerance and patience.

Angel, who was standing in the corner, leaning on a pillar with his side, shook his head. He had his arms crossed, his under eye twitching as he watched Penny poke Benjamin’s back with a stick.

’Why is she treating him like an animal?’he wondered to himself, thinking how painful it was to watch.

When Angel went after Benjamin, he had been thinking of consoling him. However, Benjamin was inconsolable. All Angel knew was that Benjamin was upset with Penny and Zoren... for a reason that was Benjamin’s fault.

’Why would he even walk into a couple’s room without knocking?’ Angel felt more dismal the more he thought about it. ’Obviously, when a married couple is alone in a room, that’s a given. Not to mention, these two just got married — though, technically, their marriage certificate says otherwise.’

The main point was that it was Benjamin’s fault!

Moreover, why would he get upset if Zoren and Penny were being sweet?! If this were a normal reaction, everyone in this house would be upset! After all, they were the first to get hit by the couple’s sweetness and cheesiness as they all lived in the same lot!

Wasn’t that why everyone was making their coffee in the separate dirty kitchen instead of the main one? To avoid getting fed dog food by the couple before their morning fuel?!

"This is crazy..." Angel mumbled, shaking his head. "I can already see no progress on this."

"It’ll take time."

Much to Angel’s surprise, Mark’s voice caressed his ears. Turning his head, he saw Mark approaching from his side and stopping a few steps beside him.

"I thought you wouldn’t console him?" asked Angel out of curiosity. "I guess you do have a soft spot for him."

Mark snorted quietly. "I didn’t come here to console him, but to drag him out when the last resort is on the table." He then tipped his head to where he came from, only for Angel to catch a few members of Zoren’s original security team standing in the corner.

"Haha..." Angel laughed awkwardly, refocusing his attention on Mark. "This isn’t the first time this has happened, is it?"

"It is the first time, but we saw this coming."

"How come?"

"Some time ago, didn’t he mention that he was dating?"

"Oh..."

"But then, a few days prior, he didn’t even want to talk about the girl he kept bragging about." Mark slowly set his eyes on the couple poking Benjamin’s back. "He finally opened up to the master a couple of days ago. So, in his mind, the master isn’t being mindful."

"..." Angel was rendered speechless at this childish reasoning. He set his eyes back on Benjamin’s figure. "Sometimes, I admire him... I think it’s best if I just meet him in the office. This is why people say not to meet your heroes; though he isn’t my hero, his reputation is much better if I don’t know him personally."

In the end, Mark and the gang didn’t have to resort to dragging Benjamin out of there because, somehow, Penny and Zoren were able to coax him. How? By telling him about the good news — Zoren’s health progress.

And everything else didn’t matter anymore for Benjamin as he made a happy dance with