Chapter 769: Peel well

Standing in front of Dean, Mildred smiled nervously. "Young Master Dean, what brought you here to the kitchen? Is there something wrong with the food?"

"No." Dean shook his head, his eyes scanning the kitchen. "I’m looking for... a sneaky rat."

"A rat?" Mildred furrowed her brows. "Young Master, I don’t think I’ve seen a rat in here. Even if there was, it couldn’t get in. This place has been sanitized for the past few days in preparation for the family gathering. So, it’s impossible."

Dean didn’t listen to Mildred and continued to look around. Deep lines appeared between his brows as he checked each woman in the kitchen, but there wasn’t the person he was searching for. Meanwhile, Mildred couldn’t help but tilt her head to the side.

"Young Master?" she called carefully, wondering why Dean was looking around instead of checking the lower parts of the kitchen since he was supposedly looking for a rat.

"Never mind." After a minute, Dean breathed out and looked back at Mildred. Without saying anything further, he turned his back on her.

"Young Master, don’t worry. If I see a rat, I’ll definitely let you know!" Mildred called after him sweetly, almost making those she had been bossing around look at her in dismay. She wasn’t nearly as sweet to them.

Dean only glanced over his shoulder before nodding. Without a word, he walked away quietly.

Mildred stayed in the same spot, still wearing the same smile on her face. Even when Dean was out of sight, she kept smiling until that smile slowly disappeared.

"For a second, I thought there was something wrong with the food," she grumbled to herself, holding on to the wall as her knees wobbled. "Oh, my goodness. My heart..."

While Mildred was trying to recover, a few people in the kitchen couldn’t help but start buzzing around. Others just didn’t care and continued with their tasks.

"For a second, I thought he came here to ask us all to join them."

"Seriously? That’s Dean Pierson from the First Branch. What do you expect from them?"

"I’m more surprised you thought those people would come down here to invite us," the other woman quietly remarked. "I thought you had more dignity, but it seems you think being here is that bad."

"You—"

"Just let her be," the second speaker stopped the first, shaking her head. "There’s no point in fighting. If anyone hears about a fight here, we might as well forget about all of this."

The first woman clenched her teeth, glaring at the other nonchalant woman. "If you don’t want to join the gathering, that’s fine. But don’t think everyone feels the same way. Tsk."

The other woman slowed down for a bit, raising her brows. However, she didn’t bother acknowledging the glare she was receiving and quietly resumed her work.

Meanwhile...

"That’s Dean Pierson," the woman in Penny’s group sighed. "I’ve always just seen him from afar."

"This is the closest I’ve seen him, to be honest," the guy who had hung up on his mother blurted out. "Surely, the first branch has a different allure than everyone else."

The depressed guy nodded and sighed. "From what I’ve heard, he’s likely to become the next head if... ahem. Never mind."

"Good that you remember that whatever you were going to say is terrible," the woman cast him a sharp look. "If anyone heard what I think you were about to say, you’d be saying goodbye to this family. Your wife would surely divorce you."

The depressed man frowned but didn’t refute it. Even though he and his wife shared love, that love wasn’t as indestructible as the romances in novels and dramas.

’Why did I even try to say that Dean Pierson is going to be the next head if the head of the family dies?’ His face turned sour at the thought. ’The main branch would’ve killed me for jinxing the patriarch.’

"Let’s just finish this so we can relax," the other guy suggested, his energy starting to dwindle again. However, just as he spoke, his brows rose as he darted his gaze between the two. "Huh? Where did she go?"

"Who?" the depressed guy asked, and the woman quickly turned her head, knowing who the other guy was referring to.

"She was just here a second ago..." she trailed off, leaning back and looking down at the table they were using. Her face twitched when she saw Penny smiling at her from under the table. "What are you doing there?"

"Heh... hehehe."

The other two guys looked down at the table, only to see Penny underneath it. Their faces twisted in confusion.

"What the — are you okay?" the man who had lied to his mother offered his hand to Penny. "Here. Let me help you out."

"Hehe. Thanks." Penny reached out to his hand, letting him help her up. When she finally stood, she sighed and checked her dress.

"Are you okay?" asked the other woman. "Look at your dress. It’s stained now."

Penny gazed down at the stain. "Geez," she hissed, brushing at it, but it wouldn’t come off. She had no choice but to try to hide it. The stain wasn’t big, so it was fine.

"Why would you hide in there?" the woman asked again.

"Hehe. Just... because." Penny looked back, stretching her neck to make sure Dean was no longer around. "He didn’t see me, did he?"

"Who didn’t see you?" The three of them followed where Penny was looking, only to furrow their brows. The woman then asked, "Do you mean Dean Pierson?"

"Huh?"

"Do you know him?" she quickly followed up, gasping. "Don’t tell me you offended him? That’s why you’re hiding? What did you do?"

Penny opened and closed her mouth, thinking of all the things she had done to humiliate Dean during their past encounters. Even going back to their earlier interactions.

"That’s not it," Penny sighed, denying it because she was afraid they wouldn’t talk to her anymore. "He’s not the one I was referring to."

"Then who?"

Penny’s face stiffened, asking herself if giving them the most ridiculous answer would even work at this moment. Thankfully, before she could answer, Mildred called.

"Hey, new girl, come here."

"Yes~!" Penny would’ve never guessed she’d be thanking Mildred tonight. She then flashed the three a sweet smile. "The boss is calling for me, so I gotta go! Bye~ and peel well. Fighting!"

After cheering them on, Penny quickly rushed away to Mildred, only to get an errand from her to throw out the trash.

What an eventful night, indeed.