She Outshines 106
Athena caressed Maria’s head again,forting her. “You did very well
If I had been at home, I would have supported your decision to adopt Josie”
Hearing this, Maria felt relieved
Although Maria was honest andcked confidence, she was not someone without opinions and
courage. At the very least, when faced with crossroads in life, Maria could follow her heart and
bravely choose the path she wanted to take. Maria did not need excessive worry from anyone.
Maria scratched her head in embarrassment and continued, “Josie has no memory of what
happened before she entered the orphanage, and she can’t clearly remember her experiences
there. She only vaguely recalls that the other childrenined about herme leg and did not
y with her.”
“In her memory, she just got lost by ident, spent a few days at the orphanage, and then her
sister and parents found her and brought her home. So, she is terrified of going out alone.”
“In her view. Mom and Dad are her biological parents, and we are her biological siblings.”
“That’s why the family never said Josie was adopted; they always said Josie is a biological child”
Athena nodded. “That’s good.
Maria took the towel from Athena’s hand and covered her face, feeling embarrassed. “I feel like
telling you this is such a big deal I’m panicking inside, but it is not that important for you.”
“Ah, it’s myck of breadth and vision. I always tend to get stuck in small details.”
yand
Athena chuckled and gently touched Maria’s head. “Let me give you a suggestion. You can think
more about the enemy the bad guys, but keep it simpler for your family members.”
Maria could not help butugh. “What you said makes sense. Il remember it.”
Seeing that Maria was okay, Athena stood up. “You still need to wake up early tomorrow, so go to
bed now. I’ll drive you to work in the morning”
Maria nodded obediently. “Yes”
Athena heard Josie’s singing from downstairs as she left Maria’s room.
“You’re my little apple. No matter how much I love you, it’s never too much” She sang.
Looking down, Athena saw Josie bouncing upstairs with a Hello Kitty in her arms, beaming like a
twinkling star.
Athena could not help but smile. It truly felt like there was an angel in this family,
That night, the entire family slept very well and woke up early.
After enjoying a delicious breakfast together, Wesley went to work, driving his wife and son to the
market to buy groceries.
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Athena helped Maria with her makeup, selected her outfit, and drove her to the studio.
By the time Athena returned to the vi, ire and Arthur were already preparing the dishes for the
guest of honor.
They had worked until 12:30 pm when the doorbell rang.
t E
ire had changed into a light blue one–piece dress and opened the door to wee the guests.
“Wee, wee.”
sor Whitlock. Pleasee in. The
The four of you must be Mr. Freeman, Professor Barlowe, Professor Katz, and Professor food is
ready.”
Arthur was secretly impressed. Athena was truly remarkable, everyone around her had a PhD.
“Mrs. Donovan, you are too kind.” Mr. Freeman, holding arge bouquet of fresh flowers, handed
them over generously. “Athena always spoke highly of how beautiful her mother is and how
delicious her cooking is. You truly live up to your reputation!”
ire did not expect the tall man before her to be so polite. Relixing her tense nerves, she took the
flowers and smiled, “I hope my dishes will meet everyone’s expectations so Athena will not be
used of exaggerating.”
Josie stood on her tiptoes, hiding behind her mother. She peeked out with her big curious eyes,
continuing to observe the
guests
Mr. Freeman immediately noticed the little head and was charmed by the sight. Squatting down, he
said in a gentle tone, “Oh, whose little one is this? She is so cute, like an angel.”
Josie covered her face with one hand and shrank back, leaving only the top of her fluffy head
visible.
Mr. Freeman, still squatting, took a few steps forward and asked “Can I shake your hand and be
your friend?”
Josie revealed half her head and said, “You are Athena’s good friend. I can shake your hand.
After saying that, she carefully extended a hand.
When they shook hands, Mr. Freeman cupped his face and eximed, “Why does Athena have
such a cute sister while I do not? It is so unfair!”
Knowing he was praising her, Josie shyly used her Hello Kiny to cover her face. Her cheeks turned
red.
ire smiled and said, “Josie, could you show the guests to the dining room?”
“Alright.” Josie stepped out from behind her mother, waving the Hello Kitty in her hand. ‘Dear
guests, the dining room is this. way. Please follow me
The other three guests nodded at ire and the others. They apologized with a brief “Sorry to
bother you” and then. followed Josie.
Arthur observed Rufus, who was at least 6 feet 3 inches tall and had a powerful and impressive
presence. His buzz cut resembled a hedgehog’s spikes, giving him a rugged and formidable look as
though he were from the underworld. Yet, he was extremely polite and seemed fond of children.
The other three were all dressed in white coats and lookedpletely different from Rufus.
One was an elderly man in his sixties with thick, neatlybed white hair and sses, appearing
wise and schrly.
Another was a skinny young man with long bangs nearly covering his eyes. He worerge ck–
framed sses and had a somewhat gloomy and nk expression as if he was not fond of
interacting with others. Upon entering, he immediately gazed in the direction of the dining room with
a keen interest in his eyes
Arthur muttered to himself. “Frankenstein.”
Thest person was a woman in her forties. She was dressed simply and did not wear any makeup.
Her expression was somewhat stern and old–fashioned, resembling the kind of low–empathy
female leaders one often encountered in the office.
Arthur felt a bit intimidated by her and did not dare to approach Fortunately, she did not seem
inclined to speak much.
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Athena weed them into the dining room, It’s not often that you visit us. Please don’t worry
about any formalities. Just help yourselves and enjoy the meal.”
Rufus and the others did not stand on ceremony and took their seats.
Since they were here to taste the food, the family specially prepared a circr rotating table with
only four seats.
ire stood by the table and served soup. This is Green Gazpacho. A soup,”
Three of them thanked her politely.
Only the skinny and small “Frankenstein” did not and picked up the spoon to take a sip. His eyes
immediately brightened, and he seemed toe alive like a fish just entering the water.
He then focused on drinking the soup and relished the taste of the exquisite soup.
After finishing, he picked up a fork and, without waiting for the others to start eating or for the dishes
to be introduced, began to eat a piece of macaroni and cheese in front of him.
Everyone could see that his eyes widened and glistened, a smile spread across his face, and he
began chewing more quickly.
“It seems like the dishes are quite delicious. He’s enjoying his meal!” The three others thought.
Observing this, they, too, picked up their forks.
Rufus smiled and said, “Mrs. Donovan, we can serve ourselves. Please, go ahead and have your
meal.”
In the dining room, a small table with a few dishes was set aside for the family’s meal.
ire sat down facing the guests and quietly asked Athena, “Athena, do you think they like the
food?”
Athena smiled and responded, “They absolutely do.”
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