CHAPTER 378: CHAPTER 378: CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS

On Saturday, Ruby took the little ones to the mall to buy a Christmas tree.

The mall had a special section for Christmas, and the two little ones were overwhelmed by the countless Christmas trees.

In the end, Honey convinced her brother to pick a giant pink Christmas tree, but the decorations on the tree had to follow Seth’s preferences.

Although it was agreed upon, when her brother heard his sister whispering beside him, saying that it actually looked nice and she quite liked it, he still fulfilled all her wishes.

Seth wasn’t particularly interested in Christmas. Last year, the time spent with his parents in Meridia was lively, but before that... it was always Rhonda who wanted to celebrate at home, only to be disliked by their dad.

He’s not a Christian, and in his eyes, this day isn’t as important as New Year’s Eve, but Honey grew up in Bellaza, and she went to Meridia just before last year’s New Year, so she doesn’t really know what New Year is.

For her, Christmas is the most important holiday of the year, and she’s been wondering why it’s already Christmas when holiday break hasn’t started yet.

So he’s happy to see his sister enjoy herself, but he doesn’t want her to get her way without reason; he doesn’t want Honey to become a spoiled child.

After ordering the Christmas tree, Ruby took the two kids to shop for children’s clothes. It had been a while since she got them new clothes, and while they don’t lack clothes, there doesn’t need to be a reason like having nothing to wear to buy new ones.

Honey looked around and liked dresses, eventually settling on a light pink princess dress.

Seth felt her dress clashed with the Christmas tree at home, "It won’t look good in photos if you’re standing next to it."

Honey thought her brother had a point and changed into a light blue one, "How about this? I’ll become Princess Elsa when I wear it!" she said, making a hand gesture as if releasing snow.

Seth smiled, "Not bad."

"And Seth, what do you want? A suit, casual wear, or sportswear?"

"I have a school uniform," Seth replied coolly, then added, "If I have to choose... I guess a suit would be fine."

Yes, the daughter wants to be a princess and the son loves being a gentleman, which is nice.

Ruby smiled and, after buying the princess dress for her daughter, took her son to choose a suit.

Seth, with his well-built frame, really looked good in a suit, inheriting his father’s handsomeness. He tried on one burgundy and one navy blue suit, both of which Ruby found very appealing, so she decisively took both. She subtly asked the salesperson to pack them in one bag, worried Honey might get jealous.

She actually didn’t mind buying another dress for her daughter, but she also wanted to get clothes for Owen and Mama Bennett. With limited time and feeling a bit tired, she chose not to.

She shared the idea with Mama Bennett and Owen, and they both promptly refused.

Owen smiled embarrassedly and said, "Miss Ruby, the clothes here are so expensive. For this amount of money, I could buy several outfits online."

Mama Bennett insisted she had plenty of clothes and didn’t need any more.

"Oh, come on, don’t be polite with me. It’s rare for us all to come out together, and I said it’s a New Year’s gift for you, so no more declining."

"Yes, yes, Mama Bennett, Owen, since it’s a gift, just accept it," Honey chimed in cheerfully. She was so happy today that she wanted to smile at everyone.

Mama Bennett and Owen exchanged a glance and smiled as they agreed this time.

Although the salary came from Ethan, Ruby would always give the two a red envelope as a holiday bonus during festivals. Today was a good opportunity to give them an additional gift. Without their meticulous care for the kids, she wouldn’t have peace of mind to focus on her work outside.

The five of them were in a women’s clothing store picking out clothes for Owen when Honey suddenly exclaimed joyfully, "Brother Leo!"

She ran out of the store and hugged Skylar Aldrin’s leg, and then she paused, seeing the girl next to him was also smiling, "Mr. Yates?"

Though she knew Mr. Yates didn’t appear anymore because he wasn’t good, she never actually saw any of his faults, and the things he lied about, she had long forgotten. Honey’s mind wasn’t good at retaining unhappy memories.

Skylar picked Honey up, "Sweetie, what are you doing here?"

"We’re here picking out Christmas gifts for Owen."

Gwen smiled at her as well, "Honey, long time no see." Then she spotted Ruby who had come out of the store, and felt extremely awkward, muttering to Skylar, "I’ll wait for you up ahead."

"Alright." Skylar nodded, carrying Honey to Ruby, "Sis."

Ruby was genuinely surprised to see Gwen but thought about how thick-headed Skylar could be and found it not so surprising.

She smiled, pretending not to have seen Gwen, "How’s work at The Sterling Group going?"

"Well, it was hard to adapt at first, but now I’m one of Don’s trusted aides."

Ruby didn’t feel Skylar was bragging too much, though she did wonder if he misunderstood what "trusted aide" meant.

"That’s good," she replied casually.

Skylar put Honey down, "Well, I’ll be off then."

Ruby nodded.

Honey happily waved at Skylar and caught Gwen’s gaze in the distance, waving at her too, "Oh, so Mr. Yates is Brother Leo’s girlfriend. Mom, did we wrong Mr. Yates in the past?"

"No," Ruby patiently explained, "but people change. Maybe Mr. Yates now likes your Brother Leo." Still, the thought amused her, making her realize how silly she sounded.

On the way home, Ruby was a bit uneasy, wondering if Ethan knew about Skylar and Gwen’s relationship. She had a feeling that Gwen wasn’t with Skylar out of affection.

But then she thought again and felt that even if they were together, it didn’t seem related to Skylar working at The Sterling Group. She didn’t want Ethan to think she was finding excuses to call him, so she decided to brush it off.

On Sunday, Old Black came to take the little ones to the family villa, and Ruby went to work overtime at the office.

She really wished she could make one minute turn into eight to use for everything.

The progress with Ronan was surprisingly smooth, resolving Ruby’s most pressing issues and even exceeding the target. Ruby immediately placed additional orders with him and expressed hope for a long-standing partnership.

As Christmas Eve approached, after work, Ruby went to the physical store to help with preparations, and before she knew it, it was after nine.

When she heard about a countdown event happening in a nearby plaza, she took the store staff to grab some food at the night market first and then joined the crowd for the countdown.

At home, the two little ones were quite down as they waited for their mother to return. Honey couldn’t resist video calling her dad to complain.

Ethan looked at the time, "If Dad heads over now, I can still make it in time to count down with you and your brother. Can you wait for me?"

Honey was instantly overjoyed, promising she’d wait for Dad to come over and even reminding him to drive safely. She assured him that even if he was a little late, Santa wouldn’t mind such small matters.

Ethan packed the gifts for the kids and the gear for the kindergarten parent-child event tomorrow, then headed downstairs to set off. As he went down, he noticed Leon wasn’t asleep yet and reminded him, "Don’t forget about Seth’s parent-child event tomorrow."

"Got it," Leon replied, taking a sip of water, "Are you going to celebrate Christmas with her?"

"Going to be there for my daughter," Ethan said as he opened the door to leave.