Chapter 209: Returning Home
Jack blinked slightly, caught off guard by the question, before he started laughing.
"Yes."
"Then why do you talk like someone in his forties?"
Jack answered with a helpless smile. "Well, I just have to... if not, they would use the absence of my parents to take advantage of me."
Lorraine couldn’t help but nod her head in understanding. She glanced towards the remaining gift boxes.
"What’s inside the others?"
Jack opened them one by one. The third box contained a complete health monitoring device that even ordinary people could use. It was extremely simple to operate—one only needed to place a hand upon it to check heart rate, blood pressure, and several common illnesses.
The fourth box was the smallest of all.
Inside lay a simple black card that looked like a credit card. The moment Leon saw it, he frowned once again.
Jack immediately explained, seeing the reaction.
"This isn’t a money card. It doesn’t contain any assets. It’s simply a permanent access pass to the Green Medical Centre."
"No matter what health problems either of you encounter in the future, you’ll always be able to visit any medical facility under the Green Group for examinations."
Leon was about to refuse, but Jack spoke first.
"Because I want to become his friend," Jack spoke calmly. "If someone truly wishes to build a lasting relationship with another person, the very least they should do is respect the people that person treasures most. Not simply appear when they’re standing at their brightest."
After a long while of silence, Leon picked up the Grey Pattern Steel engraving knife once again.
"I’ll accept this."
Jack smiled faintly.
"Thank you."
"No, thank you," Lorraine said, and because she was much taller, she ruffled his head, causing Jack, who had maintained a serious expression, to redden.
"Alright then." Jack coughed. "In that case, I won’t disturb you any longer."
Lorraine stood up as well.
"You’re leaving already?"
"Today was only a visit." Jack straightened his sleeves. "And Zich should be home very soon. I don’t want his first day back to be spent sitting here discussing cooperation."
Looking at the impeccably polite young man before her, Lorraine found herself feeling a growing sense of affection.
"Have you eaten breakfast yet?"
Jack was visibly caught off guard.
Even the middle-aged man standing behind him hesitated briefly.
Clearly, neither the Green Group’s carefully arranged itinerary nor any formal etiquette manual had ever included such a question.
"Not yet," Jack answered truthfully.
"Then eat before you leave."
Lorraine had already turned towards the kitchen.
"We don’t have anything special. Just last night’s beef stew and some freshly baked bread."
Jack instinctively looked towards Leon.
Leon said nothing. He simply picked up his new engraving knife, returned to his seat, and continued repairing his old iron shovel.
But this time, he no longer told his guest to leave.
Jack quickly understood what that meant.
"Then I’ll gladly accept your hospitality."
Half an hour later, around the modest dining table, Jack sat upon a rather short wooden stool.
Before him sat a steaming bowl of beef stew along with two thick slices of freshly cut wholemeal bread.
The middle-aged man had originally insisted on standing nearby.
In the end, however, Lorraine forcibly seated him in another chair.
"If you’ve come into our home, then you’re our guest. What kind of sense does it make for guests to stand there watching others eat?"
The middle-aged man had clearly never encountered such hospitality before.
He looked towards Jack. Only after Jack gave a slight nod did he awkwardly pick up his spoon.
Jack took a bite of the stew.
His movements suddenly paused.
Lorraine immediately became nervous.
"Is it not good?"
"No." Jack shook his head. "It’s delicious."
That wasn’t politeness. Jack had never lacked the finest chefs or the rarest ingredients.
But this bowl, made from ordinary meat, potatoes, and a few common herbs, possessed a flavour he had rarely experienced before.
It wasn’t refined. Nor was it expensive.
But it carried such warmth that it made him unwilling to eat too quickly.
"Zich loved this when he was little."
Lorraine smiled as she added another spoonful to his bowl.
"Every time he came back from the cemetery, he’d eat two huge bowls. When he got older, he refused to admit he still liked it."
"When he comes back, I’ll help you confirm that." Jack smiled.
Lorraine’s eyes brightened.
"So you’ll come again?"
"As long as the two of you don’t find me troublesome."
"Then let us know beforehand next time."
Lorraine smiled.
"I’ll prepare a little more."
Jack nodded.
"Alright."
Leon sat on the opposite side of the table the entire time, never joining the conversation.
Only after Jack finished the last piece of bread and prepared to leave did he finally speak.
"Young man."
Jack turned around.
"Yes?"
"Zich isn’t very good at getting along with people." Leon looked at him calmly. "He’s been used to being alone ever since he was little."
"There are many things he simply won’t say. If you truly want to become his friend, then stop thinking about business, cooperation, or the future all the time."
Jack listened carefully.
Leon continued, "Sometimes, sharing a meal with him or simply doing something meaningless together might be far more useful than any of those things."
Jack remained silent for a moment. Then he nodded solemnly.
"I’ll remember that."
He stood up, but before leaving, he gestured to the last box.
"Oh, that one is for Zich. I think it’s best he opens it by himself."
After that, Jack bade farewell to the couple before leaving the little house on the outskirts of Stoneheart City together with the middle-aged man.
Outside, an unmarked black vehicle had long been waiting at the end of the road.
The middle-aged man opened the rear door for Jack, but just as he was about to get inside, he couldn’t help asking quietly,
"Young Master, you seemed to have had a very good time."
"Yes." Jack smiled, then his expression darkened a little.
"She reminds me a lot of Mum."
Some time later, the two left the scene, returning to the inner ring of Stoneheart City.
At the same time, at the opposite end of the road, a long-distance vehicle bearing the Players Association emblem slowly approached.
Inside was a white-haired boy stroking a small blue slime.