CHAPTER 202: DIVERSION

Oliver’s parents were reeling from the shock of having one revelation after another thrust upon them when he walked into the living room.

Everyone paused and looked at Oliver as if he were a zoo animal.

Oliver felt a little bit embarrassed by their fiery gaze. So, he scratched his cheeks and said reassuringly.

"It’s true. I did indeed leave behind food for all of us."

Although he was a glutton, he was not that kind of an ingrate to leave nothing for his parents.

"Brother, did you really go to the Kim family and threaten them?"

Arin didn’t mind Oliver’s usual antics. He prayed in his mind that everything Jiah said was a big, elaborate lie and asked his brother.

’Hm? Were they talking about that?’

Oliver nodded, finally grasping what they were really conversing about.

"Not, really." He said evenly. "I went there and had a great talk. The Kim family was very welcoming. Jiah’s father and brother were particularly welcoming." He added.

Immediately, everyone squinted their eyes together.

Who was he trying to fool?

Jiah had already told them everything that happened there.

Oliver was not welcomed, nor was he treated nicely. Jiah’s father had scowled at his presence, and supposedly her brother had tried to poison him.

Can that be called treating nicely?

"Brother, we know..."

"Hm."

Everyone nodded again.

"...We know that you threatened them and turned her brother into a vegetable."

Arin’s words made Oliver avoid their gaze. He knew he would be caught someday, but didn’t think it would be today. At least, he was hoping to get a day or two.

"Oh..." Shrugged his shoulders and began to explain. "It was an accident. I didn’t mean to do that."

"Can you accidentally sever tendons of all four limbs?"

"Well, it could happen if you are not careful."

"..."

None of them bought his bullshit. They kept looking at him with squinty eyes to force him to explain the truth.

However, there was no way he was going to do that. Oliver began to speak calmly.

"Anyway, it’s not a big deal. The Kim family is rich enough to provide him with stem cell therapy. In a week or two, he would be fine."

Through his explanation, he was trying to convey the idea that it was no big deal.

This made Oliver’s mother stand up.

Immediately, Oliver stepped back.

He could feel his mother’s rage bubbling outwards.

"Mom. You should sit and speak..." Oliver was about to continue when his mother glared at him.

"Son, I thought you wanted to be a hero." She asked.

Her voice was crystal clear, but a bone-chilling coldness was hidden in it.

She really didn’t like what her son had done.

Oliver was supposed to become a hero, but he went to the Kim family and did what any common thug would do.

How reprehensible!

Oliver’s mother frowned.

Meanwhile, Oliver was thinking of a way to evade all responsibility. He didn’t notice her frown nor the thought churning inside her.

Even if Oliver had heard her thoughts, he would have said there were no thugs or villains alive who dared to do what he did, quite proudly.

Unfortunately or perhaps fortunately, he could not hear her.

Thus, he said nothing like that.

Instead, he smiled and said, "Mom, of course I want to be a hero. Who doesn’t?"

"Then, why did you do what you did?"

"I didn’t really have a choice."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Very."

Oliver said confidently.

He was absolutely sure that there was no better way. Unlike his mother, he didn’t believe in the kindness of the human heart, nor did he expect them to follow rules, laws and regulations.

So, he had to take the initiative and quickly solve the problem.

There was no better way to solve it than by using a straightforward and heavy-handed method. And today, he didn’t have to work that hard to keep the Kim family at bay.

Fortunately, he had planned for this day and made many connections. The formidable backing of the Thunder Emperor was what helped this time immensely.

He noted down in his mind to help the old man for the favour he received.

’All things considered, it was indeed the best outcome.’ He silently said in his mind.

However, Oliver’s mother didn’t grasp the whole picture. With the limited information she had, she couldn’t come to the same conclusion as he did.

So, she began to speak with strong disapproval.

"You could have informed us first..."

However, just the first few words made Oliver ignore it completely.

’Then what? What if I allowed you to meet them first—Wait for them to kick you out before you go there, or get poisoned like me?

If they really want to, they could bury our little family alive, and no one would dare to question them. It was never an option.’ Oliver said firmly in his mind.

However, he didn’t dare speak it aloud.

He didn’t want to scare his family.

Peace of mind was something hard to get. Why should he destroy his parents’ peace of mind by speaking his true thoughts?

With that decision made, he apologised as Maya stopped speaking.

"Sorry about that. It was my mistake. Arin didn’t want you to know it yet. So, I thought I was helping him by trying to meet them myself." Oliver showed a pitiful expression. He was deliberately garnering their sympathy.

"That’s why I went there to meet Jiah. And who knew the outcome of that would be disastrous."

As he spoke, he also threw all the blame on Arin’s head. It was the only way he could think of to avoid all responsibility.

Arin was exasperated.

It was true that he was fearful of revealing it to his parents, but he didn’t ask Oliver to do what he did. In fact, he was planning to slowly meet Jiah and her family after informing his own.

"I didn’t say that?" Quickly, he stood up to defend.

"You didn’t exactly do that...but it looked like that." Oliver countered.

’Little brother, big brother helped you once. I got your wifey and child back. So, you won’t blame me for this, right? Oliver thought and continued to speak.

"Mom, it was my mistake. And it seems like Arin really didn’t mean it like that. Sorry."

Oliver tried to push out some tears to improve the visual effect. But it was damn difficult.

So, he gave up.

If he tried more, he would probably push out blood.

That wouldn’t look good.

Oliver’s mother finally began to sympathise with her son.

After all, everything Oliver did was for the family.

How could she have the heart to blame him for everything?

On the other hand, her second son was the source of all the problems.

She hasn’t even scolded him yet, so how could she admonish the first one for trying to help?