You Are The Apple of My Eyes
Chapter 711 A Gentle Man

When Michelle received a phone call from her parents, she was so ecstatic that she cried out "I love you." However, these words did not mean what they truly meant.

Leon was still shocked by what Michelle had said. He couldn't fully turn around to see her, just enough to catch a glimpse.

He expected to see Michelle running towards him, but instead saw her staring at her phone.

Her parents must've called her. However, the credit didn't go to him.

He had no time to arrange such a surprise.

"Mom, Dad, I miss you so much!" Michelle cried over the phone. She was doing her best to battle the tears welling in her eyes.

Leon watched from afar and stood still by the door.

"Mom, what are you doing with Dad? Why don't you go to bed? It's so late." Michelle walked into her bedroom and gently closed the door. "We have just finished our work. We wanted to greet our daughter a happy birthday," Adams, Michelle's father, said. "Happy birthday, Michelle!" Elaine, her mother, chimed in. "You're 22 years old now. You're already a grown-up!"

The couple hadn't talked to their daughter for such a long time. Hearing her voice was enough to make their voices crack.

"I'm sorry, Michelle. We can't celebrate your birthday with you this year. Don't be sad, okay? We'll come home soon," Elaine said.

"By the end of the year, we will be transferred back to Lexingport City," Adams added.

"Wow, that's great!" Sitting on the bed with her legs crossed, Michelle wiped the tears flowing from her eyes as her smile grew wider. "Dad, Mom, I'm so glad you called me. You seldom had the chance before. When you had, we'd only talk for like three minutes."

"Don't worry," Elaine said with a smile. "We can chat for an hour. Actually, it must be James and Emma who helped us."

"It must be them. Mr. Shi invested three hundred million dollars in our project," Adams explained.

"Then I guess it's them.

Mom, how are you and Dad? Make sure to eat properly, okay? You don't wanna lose weight. You won't be as pretty if you do."

Adams laughed. "With me around, your mom would never lose weight."

Michelle chuckled too. "Dad, did you make moon cakes for Mom yesterday? I miss the moon cakes you made."

Meanwhile, Leon was still standing on the other side of the door. It was slightly open, enough for some light to spill through the narrow crack, which shone on Leon's shoes and legs.

He was pleased to hear Michelle sounding so happy, so he left with a smile and closed the door for her.

When Michelle woke up the next day, Leon was no longer there. She checked her phone and saw his message. "Sorry, I had to leave early."

Today marked her first day as a 22-year-old woman.

She spent the entire morning replying to birthday wishes from friends. From time to time, couriers would ring her doorbell and hand her gifts.

In the afternoon, Lydia and Debra came. With them, they brought a birthday cake, balloons, and ribbons.

Soon after, Aron and her classmates also arrived. "Austin will be here later. He just had something to deal with," Aron said.

The whole afternoon was filled with infectious laughter as Michelle decorated the house with the others.

When evening came, James, Emma, and Dora arrived. They brought with them an expensive bottle of red wine and ordered take-out food from a high-end restaurant.

It was already time for dinner, and yet someone was missing.

"Leon's not yet here. He's probably busy." Michelle pouted her lips.

"Austin won't make it, either. So will Colby. It seems that both of them are busy with something," Aron said as he put away his phone.

"Mimi, sit down and let's have dinner first. Earlier, I saw Uncle Leon go to the company to meet Uncle John. They probably have something important to discuss," James said to allay Michelle's worries. "Leon went to see Uncle John? Does it have something to do with Nini?" Michelle said as she pulled the chair next to Emma. "When will Nini come back? Is she going to bring the kids with her? Have you seen their photos? Do they look super cute? Who do they look like more? Nini or Uncle John?"

James rubbed his temple and shook his head in resignation. "Why do you have so many questions?"

"She can't stop speaking when it comes to Nina. I've never seen her care about me so much ever," Emma said with jealousy and glanced at Michelle. "Actually we don't know when Nina will come back." "We all want to know, but Uncle John doesn't tell us anything," Dora said.

"Well, let's not talk about her then. Today is Mimi's birthday. Let's focus on the birthday celebrant." Then, James raised his glass for a toast. "Together, let's wish Mimi a happy birthday!"

"Happy Birthday!" Everyone cheered happily as they all raised their glasses.

Michelle was already very happy with her birthday celebration. Little did she know, there was another surprise waiting for her outside the door.

While everyone was enjoying dinner, the doorbell rang twice.

"Who is it? Is it Austin?"

"Maybe it's Colby? Or maybe they came together."

"It must be Leon. I'll open the door." Debra stood up, but Michelle grabbed her shoulder.

"Let me open the door!" Michelle thought it might be Leon, so she wanted to see him first before anyone else. "I'll go. You're all my guests so you should enjoy yourselves."

Lydia and Debra looked at each other and covered their mouths to hide their giggles. They knew what Michelle was thinking of and what she was expecting.

Michelle opened the door and was expecting to see Leon.

However, when she saw her parents, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

"Happy birthday, Michelle." Elaine reached out to hold her daughter.

"Do you still recognize your mom and me?" Adam said as a soft smile formed on his lips.

"Dad! Mom!" Michelle rushed to them and gave them a tight embrace. She was such in a hurry that she knocked over the cake in her father's hand by accident. But that didn't matter. There were still several cakes waiting for them at home.

Everything was so surreal for Michelle that she had a hard time believing if all this was really happening. She never expected her parents to come home for her birthday, and yet now, she was closer to them than she could ever hope to imagine.

Michelle and her parents thought it was all James' idea. They thought that it was because of him that Adams and Elaine could take half the day off, so they thanked him again and again.

James knew it wasn't him. All he did was that her parents could call Michelle while they phone call was monitored.

Only John had the power to make all this possible.

And the only one who could make him do anything was Nina.

'Did Uncle Leon ask help from Uncle John to make this happen?'

The more James thought about it, the more likely he believed it was true. After all, he had personally seen Leon go to the Time Group to meet John.

Leon had been keeping a low profile in Lexingport City. If James hadn't known Bryant had something to do with Leon, he wouldn't have seen through Leon's lies.

He wanted to tell Michelle that Leon wasn't poor at all, but John told him not to get involved. After all, it was Leon's own business.

So James didn't explain, and Michelle's family continued to thank him.

After dinner, Michelle lit the candles and made a wish. Then, she cut the cake evenly and distributed it to everyone present.

Someone stood up and wiped some of the cream on Michelle's face. Then, people fought over the cakes as merry laughter echoed across the four walls.

Soon after, her friends began to leave one by one, and the house grew quiet.

Michelle was so tired. After taking a shower, she fell asleep.

While she was asleep, Adams and Elaine sneaked into their daughter's room. They placed a letter beside her and left reluctantly. There were two cars parked by the curb. Adams and Elaine got in the car at the front, while Leon was sitting in the car behind them. The moon was at its peak, and aside from the chirping of crickets and the rustling of autumn leaves, everything else was quiet.

"Mr. Lu, are we going back now?" Charles, the driver, looked at the car in front of them and waited for his boss's signal.

"No." Leon leaned back and closed his eyes for a while. "Stay here and take a nap. You can leave in the morning and have a good sleep. You'll have the day off tomorrow." "Mr. Lu, I'm fine. But do you really want to stay here in the car for the whole night?"

"Yes." Leon pinched his nose to jolt him back awake. "Michelle had a good time tonight. When she wakes up and replace that there is no one else home, she'll feel lonely." "Mr. Lu, you can go back to have a proper rest and then come back at dawn,"

Charles suggested.

"No. I can't get up early in the morning if I go back to sleep now." He didn't want Michelle to wake up in the morning and realize that she was alone. Charles sigh and looked down. He was ashamed. Both of them were men, yet he could never be as gentle as Leon.