Chapter 218


    Orson was jolted awake by a noise, and the grumpiness that clung to him like a second skin in the


    mornings was evident as he squinted up at Matilda, who stood in the doorway. The covers slid off him,


    revealing his torso, shirtless and surprisingly appealing despite his usual hunch over aputer. His


    lean chest bore the subtle testament to a modestmitment to fitness.


    Matilda couldn’t help but see a resemnce to her own brother in Orson’s face. “Did I wake you?“.


    He mumbled an incoherent response, propping himself up with one hand while the other raked through


    his tousled hair. Squinting at Matilda, he asked, “What time is it?”


    She replied, “Nine… Nine in the morning…”


    Before she could finish, Orson copsed back onto his pillow with a thud, surrendering to sleep as if it


    were his natural state.


    Here we go again, the art of instant slumber.


    Logan tiptoed around, whispering, “Is Uncle Orson going back to sleep?”


    “Yes, let’s leave him be,” Matilda suggested, ushering Logan out and gently closing the door behind


    them. In the quiet of his room, Orson’s face softened in sleep, free from his usual icy detachment. The


    bed, evidently chosen to suit his taste, cradled him in undeniablefort.


    That aftemoon, Matilda took Logan to enroll in a prep ss at an exclusive private school. The


    admissions officer was taken aback by Logan’s age. “Five years old? Our program starts at seven…”


    “I can do it!” Logan insisted, clutching Matilda’s hand.


    The officer was charmed both by Logan’s good looks and his politeness. “How about we give you an


    entrance test? If you pass, you can join the older kids at our school. How’s that?”


    “No problem!” Logan was confident, having spent countless hours poring over eclectic books in Yvan’s


    study, his young mind already brimming with knowledge.


    Matilda apanied Logan to the assessment, then reassured him, “Mommy will wait outside for you.


    Go ahead with your test.”


    “Okay.” Logan psyched himself up. “Don’t worry, Mommy, I’ve got this.”


    Half an hourter, the examiner was bbergasted, holding thepleted test. “You did this all by


    yourself?”


    Logan nodded proudly.


    The examiner was astonished. “Solving elementary algebra, using idioms in sentences, quoting famous


    sayings, and your handwriting! Did you learn all this on your own?”


    “Not exactly,” Logan exined. “I picked it up at someone else’s house.” He was referring to the


    influence of Yvan’s elite education during his enforced stay with the Boyd family.


    Matilda nced at Logan’s paper. The script was impossible without practice. She whispered, “Did he


    make you practice it?” “He‘ meant


    Yvan.


    Logan nodded, “He said the font was elegant. Good to start young.”


    It was one of the few positive legacies Yvan had left on Logan.


    The examiner praised Logan’s advanced cognitive development and began the enrollment process.


    “Ms. Thompson,e back the day after tomorrow with all the necessary documents, and we’ll register


    your son as soon as possible.”


    !


    Matilda thanked her profusely. The examiner, still in awe, gently touched Logan’s cheek, marveling at


    his intelligence and beauty.


    “In a few days, you’ll join the first graders. It’s different from pre–school, you know. Will you cry?”


    “No way.”


    Logan’s eyes sparkled with eagerness. “I’ll study hard!”


    The examiner’s impression of the mother and son duo was overwhelmingly positive. As Matilda led


    Logan away, whispers followed


    them.


    “Such a well–behaved child, they’re blessed.”


    “The mother has such poise. Could she be an heiress?”


    “Where’s the father? Could it be one of those arranged marriages?”


    This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?.


    “Poor things, such a lovely mother, and son, their time wasted.”