Chapter 10 Rough Diamond


    Gripping her hand tightly, Terence leaned close to Ca and whispered in her ear,"I''ll pay you back in


    the future. It''ll be my treat. I promise that I won''t take advantage of you."


    Even though he said it sincerely, Ca didn''t have it in her to believe his words.


    It was not her first time to hear promises such as these. From her experience, this kind of promise was


    nothing but empty words. She raised her head and gave Terence the most menacing re that she


    could manage. Pulling her hand from his, she sped up and tried to catch up with Sean who was walking


    ahead of her.


    Terence shook his head, arched an eyebrow and smiled. His offer was well meant, and he was very


    serious when he made that promise. However, it seemed as if Ca did not appreciate his suggestion.


    He felt that she was angry at Nina. How could she not? She had been ring at Nina since they ran


    into each other. That was why he suggested that they had lunch at a fancy restaurant. Everyone knew


    that revenge was a dish best served cold, and where better to serve it than in a very fancy restaurant?


    Besides, it was always best to deal with the problem now rather than prolong it.


    At the fancy Michelin-starred restaurant.


    It was Sean''s first time to eat in a restaurant as fancy as this. Hell, it was even his first time to enter a


    ce so luxurious as this! The decoration was so beautiful he couldn''t help but look around. He saw


    marble statues strewn around the room and giant crystal chandelier was hanging in the center of the


    ceiling! Everything was so new to him that he couldn''t help butment about the decoration.


    He tugged at Ca''s sleeve, and whispered,"Ca, look up! Look at the circr chandelier. It''s so


    beautiful. I''ve never seen such a unique chandelier. I bet it''s made of diamonds! l wonder how much it


    must have cost the owner to buy that. I bet that it''s really expensive."


    "Hey! Look over there! The fish tank is so big. It''s as high as the wall. At first nce I thought it was a


    wall, but then I saw the fishes move. Look at all the different fishes they have inside. They even have


    corals! I bet that fish tank can rival an aquarium. I already feel as if we really are in one!" he continued.


    Ca looked at Sean and smiled bitterly. She knew that he was just excited to be in a ce like this but


    she couldn''t help but feel a bit sad. Their parents died a long time ago and since then, money had been


    scarce and difficult toe by. They were always having a hard time, sometimes, they even struggled


    to put food on the table. It was the first time for both of them to enter such a fancy restaurant. Sean


    found everything interesting but she couldn''t help but feel as if they didn''t belong here.


    Nina was holding Evan''s arm and was walking ahead of them. She heard Sean''s words and found it


    very ridiculous. "Such a country bumpkin! Pathetic," she sneered in a low voice.


    Terence had been walking in the back and was following them. There was a tender look in his eyes that


    even he wasn''t aware of. He couldn''t help but smile. He lengthened his stride, and decided that he


    should keep up with them.


    They approached their table and Terence stepped forward and pulled the beautiful blue fabric chair for


    Ca, then he helped Sean to properly be seated at the table.


    Evan and Nina sat down by themselves. They couldn''t help but notice how Terence meticulously


    attended to Ca and Sean. They exchanged a nce with each other.


    Terence had been taking good care of Ca and Sean, and he behaved decently around them. He was


    nothing but aplete gentleman. They wondered how Ca managed to get a man like him.


    "You said your name is Terence An. Am I right? Are you in any way rted to the famous An family in


    JA City?" asked Evan.


    Evan had been wanting to ask this question ever since Terence said that hisst name was An.N?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content.


    Terence didn''t answer his question right away. He ced Sean''s napkin on hisp carefully and made


    sure that Sean was properly seated first before answering the question.


    "No," he replied curtly.


    "No" was the answer that Nina had expected. She turned to Evan, who was sitting next to her and


    said,"Evan, the An Family is a very famous family. It is a great n respected by many. Even though


    hisst name is An, it doesn''t mean that he is rted to the An Family."


    "Even though your family is merely distantly rted to the An Family, your family is also a very notable


    family. If he is a rtive, don''t you think that you would be able to recognize him? You''re so silly. How


    can you think that he is in any way rted to you? You don''t even know the man," she added.


    Nina was arrogant, but what she said was undeniably the truth. The An Family was a noble n.


    Majority of the family members were senior politicians or sessful businessmen. Even though he was


    merely a distant rtive, he was already pretty popr. It seemed almost impossible to meet a rtive


    that he did not know or a rtive that did not know him.


    Evan knew that Nina had a point, but Terence looked oddly familiar, so he kept wondering if he had


    seen him somewhere before.


    Evan kept on thinking that he might have met Terence before, but he wasn''t entirely sure.


    After looking at the strange looks on Evan''s and Nina''s faces, Ca began to wonder about Terence


    and his real identity. Terence had already finished cing their order and already handed back the


    menu to the waiter. Ca nced at him curiously.


    "I''m sure that there are a lot of families that are even richer than the An family. Money is not everything.


    Besides, ''An'' is a verymonst name. Not everyone whosest name is An wants to be linked with


    the An family you''re talking about. It''s not that big of a deal," Ca retorted.


    She hated to see Nina looking down on Terence. The An family they had been talking about might be


    rich people, but it didn''t mean that they were better people than Terence.


    She believed that whether or not Terence was a good person did not depend on hisst name.


    Not everyone with thest name An was rich. It might be true that Terence was poor, but....... when she


    first met him, he seemed like a good person.


    After speaking her mind, she prodded Terence on the side with her elbow.


    Terence smiled softly at her, with tenderness in his eyes.


    "No, I don''t think the An family is a big deal. Everything in the world is a drop in the ocean after all," he


    added.


    Hearing their opinions about the notable An family, Nina found it all a little ridiculous. She suspected


    that Terence and Ca were being defensive because they were poor.


    "If you haven''t heard of the An family, you really are country bumpkins. The An Group owns a lot of


    business, including real estate, hotels, and fancy restaurants, and many more! Most of their business is


    global. If you think the An family is no big deal, I don''t think anything else is worth mentioning," She


    sneered at them.


    "Nina stop it, please," interrupted Evan. He patted her on the back of her hand, which prompted her to


    stop talking.


    Sean, was already a ten-year-old boy who was old enough to understand what they were talking about.


    He got angry at them for talking to Terence like that. "Terence is the best person I''ve ever met. No one


    in the whole world is better than my Terence! No one!" he shouted.


    "He is an amazing person. He knows how to y basketball. He helps me with my studies, and he can


    speak very good English!" he said while looking proudly at Terence.


    Everything he told them was true. He sincerely worshipped Terrence.


    Terence chuckled. He raised his hand and gave Sean a high five. "I think of you as my little brother,


    and I believe that you are an amazing person as well. I''m d to have you too."


    They clearly just ttered each other.


    Ca couldn''t help it. She smiled at them sweetly. She gave Sean''s ear a gentle tweak and said,"Why


    do you keep ttering Terence? What about me? I''m your big sister! Who has been raising you for all


    these years? Are you giving all the credit to someone else?"


    She felt a little upset because they had only known Terence for several days, but it seemed that her


    little brother adored him so much already.


    "No, no, Terence is practically a family member to me, sister. We are going to be one big happy family


    sooner orter. Am I right?" he grinned. Sean knew that Ca was a little jealous at what he had said,


    so he tried to soften her up immediately.


    Sean was being very funny. Both Terence and Caughed when they heard the word "family" from


    him. But having lunch together like this made them feel as if they really were a family.


    The waiter served the dishes while they were chatting andughing with each other.


    In the middle of lunch, Ca took Sean to watch the fish swimming inside the giant fish tank.


    A few momentster, Evan stood up to answer a phone call. Since Nina and Terence were left alone at


    the table, she couldn''t help but ask Terence a few questions again.


    "Mr. An, you''re such a gentleman. I bet your family is well off. Howe you''ve ended up with a girl


    like Ca?" she said after quickly ncing at Ca. Terence clearly heard a strain of bitterness in her


    voice.


    He raised his head and nced at Nina. He never once looked at her in the face since they met.


    She was such a snobby woman, and he was reluctant to even spare a look at her.


    "What do you mean by someone like Ca?" he asked her gently.


    He didn''t even bother to stop eating as he gave his reply to her.


    "Mr. An, aren''t you bothered that she has a younger brother who is only ten years old? It''s like she''s


    practically raising a son. Your family might not be as rich as Evan''s, but I''m sure that you can do better


    than someone like Ca. Come on, let us be realistic here. If you marry Ca, for sure that one day,


    you''ll have to provide for her brother as well. Don''t you see it? It''s not worth it," she said mockingly.


    Taking a sip of her tea, she continued her lecture.


    "Her brother is a burden, and so is she. A wise man will never involve himself in such a mess. I advise


    you to think twice before deciding to take a step further in your rtionship. Do you really want to build


    a family with someone like them?"


    Nina thought it made so much more sense if Terence wasn''t serious about his rtionship with Ca.


    Nina hated to admit that Ca was a pretty girl. If he was nning on dumping her after he was tired of


    her, then it would justify why he was still sticking around. It was totally something a normal guy would


    do.


    Terrence''s eyes gleamed menacingly. He ced his fork and knife down and began to speak with a


    faint smile on his lips.


    "Yes, I did think it through. Thank you for your advice, Miss Nina. But I think you should think twice


    before saying something like that to other people next time. Most men don''t like gossips. You might find


    it hard to believe, but men would rather dump girls who always stick their noses in ces that is none


    of their business. Nosy girls are annoying."


    He was good at judging people.


    He could see that Evan would never marry someone like Nina.


    Nina''s face darkened when she heard his words. She knew that he was talking about her.


    Ignoring Nina''s livid face, he continued,"My Ca is like a piece of rough diamond. She might not seem


    like it now but I''m sure that one day, after carving carefully, she is going to be one of the most precious


    gems there is in the whole world. Sean is still a very young boy. He has a great deal of potential. Who


    knows? He might surprise us both by bing a big shot."


    "I''m d that I met them. I think that God gave them to me as gifts. Thank you for your concern, but I


    think they are great people and I''m not ashamed of them. I am a lucky man."


    After speaking, He raised his head and looked toward the direction of the fish tank.


    Ca was walking back to their table.