CHAPTER 539: CHAPTER 539: IS THIS YOUR FIRST TIME?

Upon hearing these words, Crystal raised her big, watery eyes, showing a hint of wariness, and stared at Evelyn Clayton intently.

After a moment, her gaze shifted and landed behind Evelyn Clayton.

Evelyn knew who was in that direction—Isabella Garrison.

Her heart stirred slightly, and Evelyn lowered her voice, "Don’t worry, no matter what you tell me today, I won’t say a word to the Director Mama. It’s our secret, okay?"

Seeing that Crystal still looked extremely hesitant, Evelyn smiled and extended her pinky finger, "Let’s make a pinky promise, alright?"

After a long while, Crystal finally reached out her hand, her expression firming up, "Then it’s a promise! Pinky promise, hang it high, never change for a hundred years!"

Evelyn chuckled, "Never change for a hundred years!"

After speaking, Evelyn held Crystal’s hand and stood up, looking towards where James Grant and Isabella Garrison were.

James still appeared calm and composed, while Isabella’s smile was rather forced.

Evelyn didn’t know what had happened, but naturally, it wasn’t very important.

She led the little girl down the steps, smiling warmly at Isabella Garrison, "Director Garrison, my husband and I would like to spend some time alone with Crystal, would that be okay?"

"Of course, of course!" Isabella quickly nodded, as if afraid Evelyn would change her mind, and led the two into the bungalow.

They arrived at one of the classrooms, where Isabella watched the two adults and one child enter, her face bursting with a smile.

"Feel free to chat, just chat, if you need anything, call me!"

Just as Isabella was about to turn and leave, she suddenly heard James Grant asking with a faint smile, "Director Garrison, you don’t have any monitoring equipment installed here, do you?"

Isabella’s steps suddenly stopped, she turned her head, her smile somewhat stiff, "Wh-why would there be?"

"Hopefully not," James replied with a half-smile, "if I find anything wrong, you might not be able to continue as the director of this welfare institute."

Isabella’s face turned quite unsightly, standing there, she seemed somewhat at a loss.

At this moment, James Grant spoke leisurely, "Otherwise, why don’t we go for a walk outside in the yard and take a look at the scenery around Ardendale District."

"But, but that’s against regulations..." Isabella looked quite troubled, "Without proper procedures, it’s not allowed to take the child out of the welfare institute."

James remained silent, but the coldness in his eyes became more apparent.

Seeing the coldness in James Grant’s eyes, Isabella bit her lip and said, "Mr. Grant, please don’t make it difficult for me—"

"How about this," Evelyn said with a smile, "let my husband stay here while I talk to Crystal alone, Director Garrison, would that be alright?"

Evelyn took a step back, and the smile on James’s face completely faded. Isabella knew she had no choice but to agree.

Holding Crystal’s hand, Evelyn walked out of the welfare institute and looked back at James Grant, who had escorted her to the door, her eyes flickering slightly.

"Don’t worry, I’ll find out everything I need to know." James raised his hand to tuck a loose strand of hair behind Evelyn’s ear, "Go ahead."

Evelyn nodded, and reached out to straighten James’s collar, making them look like an extremely affectionate and respectable couple.

After doing all this, Evelyn finally led Crystal away from the main entrance of the welfare institute.

Watching Crystal’s intense curiosity about everything around, Evelyn smiled with kindness in her eyes and asked softly.

"Crystal, is this your first time outside?"