When Lilian said "no," she clearly meant she didn’t want to go back to her apartment. But he deliberately twisted it into something else—
Lilian didn’t even know what word could describe his shamelessness. With him being that shameless, how could she ever stand a chance?
Seeing her flustered and annoyed but completely powerless to resist, Morrison felt ridiculously pleased with himself. He couldn’t help leaning down to steal another kiss.
Lilian slapped her hand over her lips in frustration,
"You only know how to act like a pervert and bully me. What else can you do?"
The grin on Morrison’s face grew wider. He knew she was right — he really was just like that — but he couldn’t stop himself. He’d just keep shamelessly teasing her.
"After I drop your parents off, I’ll find a reason to come over to your place. Otherwise—"
He leaned in with a mischievous smirk,
"During dinner, I have plenty of ways to make you squirm."
Lilian was speechless with anger.
Morrison kept up the pressure,
"Promise me you’ll go back to your place nicely, and I’ll behave and keep my hands to myself at dinner. You can enjoy your meal."
What choice did Lilian have?
Could she do anything but agree?
With so many people eating together, the dinner wouldn’t end anytime soon. If he kept pulling dangerous stunts or saying risky things, her parents would definitely notice something was off between them.
He really only knew how to bully her!
After making their little deal outside, the two returned to the private room—Karl followed right behind Lilian.
The moment they entered, all eyes zeroed in on Lilian and Karl, trying to guess if the two had reconciled.
Morrison relaxed, happily settling back into his seat like it was all a fun game.
Lilian still had a faint blush on her lips and cheeks from Morrison’s kiss, shy but sweet. Karl kept his usual innocent, smiling expression, making everyone think they had made up.
Linda leaned over and whispered to Karl,
"Did you two get back together?"
Linda looked disappointed.
"Then why do you two seem to be getting along so well?"
Karl shrugged it off.
"Just because we broke up doesn’t mean we have to be enemies. We can still have a good chat, can’t we?"
Linda was left speechless.
Only those who never loved each other can really stay friends after breaking up!
Dinner officially began.
Linda, still not giving up, kept trying to set up Lilian and Karl. When the shrimp arrived, she even nudged Karl to put on gloves and peel the shrimp for Lilian. Karl had no choice but to comply.
Karl expected Morrison to glare at him or shoot him cold looks the whole time, but surprisingly, Morrison stayed calm and just ate.
Curious, Karl leaned over and whispered to Lilian as he handed her a peeled shrimp,
"Hey, what trick did you use to get my brother to behave ?"
Lilian had no answer and didn’t want to give one. She certainly wasn’t about to say, I promised him I’d go back to my apartment with him later.
Linda watched the two sitting close and whispering to each other, and couldn’t help but say to Tiffany,
"Look at them, whispering like that. Seems like they haven’t completely cut ties after all."
Tiffany just smiled quietly, glancing at the pair.
Morrison definitely didn’t like hearing that—what "not completely cut ties"? They were done for good, thank you very much.
So he elegantly wiped the corner of his mouth, casually grabbed his phone, and sent a message as if nothing was happening, then continued eating like a gentleman.
At the other end, Karl’s phone buzzed with a message:
Finish eating soon and you can leave.
Followed by a long string of numbers—an amount of money—along with a note: This will be in your account tomorrow. Consider it a gift for your trip home.
Only after Karl left would Linda and the others stop fantasizing about Lilian and Karl’s relationship.
Karl frowned. This feels like they’re kicking me out.
But when he looked at the amount carefully, counting the zeros, he silently grabbed his things and said goodbye,
"Uncle Washington, Aunt, Dad, Mom—I have an urgent work matter. A colleague needs me back at school quickly. Please continue your meal."
Linda nearly lost it and grabbed him,
"What’s going on? You’re leaving just as we’re starting? What about Lilian?"
Lilian awkwardly spoke up,
"Linda, Karl’s work is important."
Lilian had no idea this was all Morrison’s doing. She just thought Karl really had something urgent at school. She had heard Karl mention he was a key researcher and often had to tackle tough problems.
As for what exactly Karl researched, he had told her once—but she didn’t understand a word and never remembered it.
Karl didn’t linger either. After saying goodbye, he took his things and left.
So the dinner ended up being just Lilian and her parents, and Morrison with his parents — six people in total.
The parents on both sides probably didn’t feel much, but Lilian was inwardly uncomfortable. It felt like she and Morrison were the ones introducing each other to their parents.
When Karl left, Lilian secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that now Linda and her mom would stop trying to push them back together. But the atmosphere only got more awkward.
Of course, that awkwardness was all in her head. Morrison didn’t seem bothered at all; in fact, he was enjoying himself. He chatted happily with both fathers and took great care to serve everyone, constantly offering dishes and making sure no one was left out.
That just made Lilian feel even more awkward.
What was going on? His behavior was starting to look like they were the couple meeting each other’s parents — so attentive and courteous!
And every dish that came to her side was something she loved. She was so scared to eat it properly that she even pretended not to like certain dishes, afraid her parents would catch on to something.
When the meal finally ended, Lilian felt like she was suffocating.
The six said their goodbyes at the restaurant entrance and each drove off in their own cars.
Lilian drove her parents back to Tiffany’s place. Daniel wasn’t planning to leave just yet.
Nowadays, Daniel sometimes stayed over at Tiffany’s, as long as Tiffany allowed it.
After seeing her parents inside, Lilian didn’t enter the house but stood at the doorway to say goodbye,
"Mom, um... I think I’ll go back to my place. It’s easier for work tomorrow..."
Lilian wasn’t good at lying and felt terribly guilty as she said it. Luckily, her mother wasn’t paying much attention because Daniel, who’d had a little too much to drink, had gone straight to the bathroom after entering.
"Okay, go ahead then. When you get there, text me so I know you arrived safely."
Tiffany just responded with a nod and followed Daniel into the bathroom.
Lilian quietly closed the door behind them and left.
On the way home, she deliberately drove slowly. If he kept being so shameless, using every trick to force her back, well... just thinking about his shameless intentions made her heart tremble uncontrollably.