Chapter 742: How strange

"Are you sure you don’t want me to drop you off?" Zoren asked as Penny re-entered the house and joined him. He gently placed his hand on her back, almost hugging her. "I have plenty of time to share with you."

Penny smiled, rolling her eyes as she lightly tapped his chest with her fist. "You have a long day, and I have things to do. It’s okay. I can go to the office on my own. I’m a big girl."

"I know you are, but it won’t hurt to ask." He smiled, cupping her face gently. "I’ll go for my check-up since they’ll be asking about that in the family meeting. Let’s hope for a good result."

"There will be good results," she grinned. "You’re getting better. Look at your complexion—only the blind wouldn’t see that you’ve started to regain some color."

A soft laugh escaped him at Penny’s remark. It wasn’t just his complexion that had started to brighten, but his life as well. Back then, his only visitor had been his grandmother, and even that was rare since he preferred visiting Old Mrs. Pierson himself.

But now, there were quite a few surprises in his life. Not that he minded; he would welcome her brothers any time. They could even live with them if they wanted. There were so many plenty of spaces for her family.

"You should go," Penny urged with a smile.

"Mhm." Yet, he didn’t move an inch.

Penny pursed her lips and hummed. "Renren, are you sure you don’t want me at the family meeting?"

"It’s not that I don’t want you there; I just don’t require you to be there," he clarified. "Besides, they’d only bring you up to question the legality of our marriage. But it won’t last long. It’s not like my marriage is a weakness."

"Goodness, you!"

"So don’t worry about it. Don’t burden yourself." This time, Zoren held her waist with both hands. "Okay?"

"Yes, yes, I understand," she grinned, letting him cup her face before he leaned in. She smacked her lips as he drew back, smiling brightly after a soft kiss. "I’ll call you later."

"Mhm." Zoren planted another soft kiss on her lips, then one on her cheeks, until she giggled, finally giving him a light punch on the chest to stop. "I’ll see you later."

"Okay."

With that, Penny reluctantly let him go and walked him to the door, waving as Angel opened the backseat door for Zoren. He paused for a second, looked back at her with a smile, and then got in.

"Goodness," Penny mumbled, chuckling as she watched the vehicle pull away, followed by a few escort cars. "He didn’t have to make me blush so much. I’ll probably never get used to seeing him off."

Even though Penny and Zoren had been living together, she had to admit she couldn’t get used to parting with him. They parted every day, yet there was always a faint sadness when they did.

As Penny took a deep breath and started to turn back inside, she furrowed her brows, looking around. "Where’s Slater?" she asked, snapping her gaze to a nearby bodyguard.

"The Third Brother?" The bodyguard furrowed his brows. "I think I saw him here earlier."

"Then where is he? I don’t see his car too."

The other bodyguard on the opposite side spoke up. "The Third Brother left already minutes after you sent off the First Brother."

"He left?" Penny tilted her head to the side. "That’s strange. He didn’t even tell me he was going."

Penny shrugged, deciding not to dwell on it. But just as she re-entered the residence, Mark approached her.

"Miss Penny," Mark called, making her stop and look at him. "Earlier, I promised Slater not to tell you, but I saw him trying to eavesdrop on your conversation in the drawing room."

"My Third Brother?"

"Yes."

Penny crossed her arms under her chest, reminded of Atlas’s earlier remarks. "Mark, you promised him, but then you’re snitching."

Mark lowered his head. "It’s with a heavy heart, but I thought you needed to know."

"Are you worried my brother will start poking his nose where it doesn’t belong?"

"I’m worried it could put him in danger."

Penny’s eyes softened as she smiled at Mark, who had always looked out for Slater. Although she didn’t know the whole story of how Mark and Slater became good friends in this lifetime — aside from being classmates — she appreciated Mark in both this life and the previous one.

After all, Mark had been expelled once for standing up for Slater against a bully. Although some of what Mark and Hugo did to Slater’s bullies had been questionable, they acted with good intentions.

’Right...’ Penny squinted, tilting her head slightly as she studied Mark. ’In my first lifetime, he was expelled for defending Slater. But didn’t Zoren and Grandma Pierson support him? How did he get expelled?’

Not that she was saying the school was corrupt, but with Old Mrs. Pierson’s influence, Mark should have gotten away with a light disciplinary action. There was no way the school would expel the student, who also brought the highest donation in school without considering Mark’s role in the fight.

"How strange," she muttered quietly.

"What’s strange, Miss Penny?" Mark looked confused. "Don’t you want me to report things like this?"

"I wasn’t talking about that." Penny shook her head, smiling. "Thank you for letting me know. I guess First Brother’s worry about Slater’s boredom wasn’t unfounded."

"What should we do?"

"Do you think he heard our conversation?"

"I doubt it."

"Then we... err... how do I keep him busy?" she wondered, rubbing her chin thoughtfully before she grinned. "I think I have an idea."

Mark blinked, waiting for her to share her idea. But after a few seconds, he realized she didn’t plan to tell him. If that was the case, he didn’t need to know since he had this ominous feeling it wasn’t a good idea.

"Good luck," he said.

Penny chuckled. "Well, anyway..." She cleared her throat, smirking. "Where are they?"

"In the theater room."

"Tell them to join me in the living room," she ordered confidently. "Let’s see what kind of dress I should wear tonight that would fit the matriarch of the Pierson Family."