“Granger?”

Thorne and the others, including Moran, paused and looked at him in surprise as he suddenly stood up.

Seeing his unusual expression, Thorne asked, “Is something wrong?”

Granger snapped back to reality, his gaze lingering on Thorne and Vesta before he slowly shook his head. “No, nothing,” he replied, sitting back down. Leah started to say, “Granger, I-”

But Granger seemed not to hear her. Instead, he turned to Daisy with a gentle tone, “Daisy, are you thirsty? Do you want some water?”

“Yes, please,” Daisy replied eagerly.

She scampered over and took a couple of sips from the cup Granger held out before dashing back to chat with Jasmine. They had been discussing a little toy Jasmine had brought for her.

After finishing her drink, Daisy handed a small figurine to Jasmine. “I got this when I went to see a movie over the New Year holiday. It’s for you.”

Jasmine was delighted, accepting it with wide eyes. “You went to the movies on New Year’s too?”

“Yeah! My Uncle and that lady took me,” Daisy said, beaming. “After the movie, we played some games. That lady is really good at them, but we had to leave early because my Uncle had something come up.”

“My Uncle Terence took me to a movie that morning too, but he was in a hurry to meet his friends, so we didn’t have time to look around. I didn’t even know they sold these figurines,” Jasmine said, a hint of disappointment in her voice. Hearing Daisy praise her Aunt’s gaming skills, Jasmine added softly, “My mom is really good at games too.” “Next time, let’s have your mom and my aunt join us for a game day!” Daisy suggested cheerfully.

As they chatted, both girls noticed Thorne watching them.

“Dad, what’s up?” Jasmine asked.

Thorne gave a small smile, “Nothing, just listening to you two.”

“Oh…”

After ordering their food, Moran suddenly turned to Granger. “By the way, Granger, how’s the project with PrimeStar coming along? Everything on track?”

“Pretty smoothly,” Granger replied.

Moran raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “Oh? No hitches or surprises?”

Vesta, who had been reading intently, paused slightly at this.

Having known each other for years, Granger understood that Moran’s “surprises” referred to whether Charlene had made any blunders or mishaps.

He noticed Thorne was also paying attention, seemingly interested in the topic.

Granger lowered his gaze and replied, “Nope.”

“Really?” Moran seemed surprised.

“Yep.” Vesta, hearing this, pursed her lips slightly before turning the page of her book.

Thorne sipped his coffee without joining the conversation.

14.06]

1

Finding the topic dull, Moran quickly moved on.

After about two hours, they finished their meal and left.

Just as they did, Charlene and Kenton w

also heading downstairs to leave.

Once she was back home, Charlene started diving into the materials Kenton had provided her. The documents. included the latest plans in the Al field from various countries-conceptual ideas that hadn’t yet materialized into actual products. Charlene studied them for a long time, losing track of time as the sky outside gradually brightened.

It wasn’t until the sun was high in the sky that her Aunt Maisie gently knocked on her door. “Charlene, breakfast is ready.”

Charlene responded, “Okay, I’ll be down in a minute.”

After brushing her teeth and taking a shower, she picked up the phone to call Stewart.