CHAPTER 195: CHAPTER 195: HAPPY NEW YEAR

On New Year’s Eve, there was light snow falling from the sky, and the bustling, lively scene on the streets added some warmth to the cold winter.

Because Catherine Yardley was working on Shannon Quinn’s side, for convenience during the New Year, Sheila Yardley and Julian Yardley came to Shannon Quinn’s residence together.

Shannon Quinn knew Susan Wilde wasn’t spending the New Year with Owen Bellamy, and was aware of her family situation, so she invited Susan Wilde and her sister to spend the New Year together.

Her sister’s name was Claire Wilde, who was still in high school; both sisters were quite cheerful, and Susan Wilde was especially fond of her younger sister.

Usually, when Susan Wilde was unable to look after Claire Wilde due to work, Shannon Quinn would help take care of her, and after several meals at the house, they became familiar.

Sheila Yardley and Julian Yardley had arrived a few days prior, and luckily, the rooms Aidan Lockwood had arranged earlier were spacious enough, with three rooms being sufficient to accommodate them.

Susan Wilde and Claire Wilde arrived on the night of New Year’s Eve.

"Julian Yardley." Shannon Quinn walked out from the kitchen and called out to Julian Yardley, who was playing with Leo and his toy race cars.

With a somewhat impatient tone, he asked, "What is it now?"

"My friend is downstairs, saying there are a lot of things. Could you come down and help me carry them up?"

Being the only other man besides Leo in the house, tasks involving physical effort naturally fell on him.

"I’m a guest too, you really don’t stand on ceremony." Julian Yardley grumbled but got up to fetch his coat and head for the door.

When Shannon Quinn and Julian Yardley got downstairs, Susan Wilde’s car was already parked at the entrance, and the sisters were taking things out of the trunk.

"I told you not to bring anything, yet you brought so much."

"I bought some stuff for Leo and some snacks too."

"Hey?" Claire Wilde suddenly paused, scrutinizing Julian Yardley with surprise, and said, "Ms. Yardley?! Why are you here?"

Julian Yardley frowned, looking at Claire Wilde, seemingly without any impression of her.

Hearing Claire Wilde call Julian Yardley that, Shannon Quinn guessed she must have met Julian Yardley when he substituted at school the other day.

"Don’t you remember me? I helped you move things during the computer class, I’m the class president of Class Five. Do you recall now?"

"Oh...I have a bit of an impression." Julian Yardley responded but clearly still couldn’t remember this person, only recognizing her as a student he had taught during his substitute teaching.

"Your teacher? Is this the handsome substitute teacher you mentioned earlier?" Susan Wilde asked.

Upon hearing Susan Wilde’s words, Claire Wilde immediately became embarrassed, blushing and denying, "When did I say that?!"

Shannon Quinn laughed and said, "Alright, let’s bring the things upstairs to chat. It’s so cold outside."

"Shannon, are you and Ms. Yardley relatives?" Claire Wilde asked while waiting for the elevator at the door.

Shannon Quinn glanced at Julian Yardley and nodded, saying, "He’s my brother."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Julian Yardley rolled his eyes in dissatisfaction, "Who’s your brother?"

Shannon Quinn and Susan Wilde laughed without speaking, while Claire Wilde looked puzzled, and Julian Yardley clearly didn’t want to stay with this group of annoying women any longer.

This year probably marked Shannon Quinn’s most lively New Year celebration.

Before marrying Vincent Rhodes, she would usually look for New Year jobs without holidays, choosing not to return to the Quinn family, who weren’t concerned about her whereabouts.

After marrying Vincent Rhodes, although the Rhodes family gathered annually, she was never truly considered part of the Rhodes family. Shane Royale didn’t particularly care for her, and only Simon Rhodes looked after her.

Perhaps because Catherine Yardley and the others were around this year, she felt quite warm and cozy, even though they hadn’t officially recognized each other. In truth, she already considered them her family.

The clock struck midnight over the city skies, with the family standing on the home’s balcony, looking out at the thousands of lights, and the drifting snow adding a touch of beauty to such a night.

Sheila Yardley’s phone was ringing loudly on the coffee table in the living room, but she hadn’t heard it.

Returning to her room to rest, she opened her phone and saw a missed call from Caleb Grant marked at twelve o’clock sharp.

Uttering a silent curse, she promptly called Caleb Grant back, remembering the scolding she received last time for missing his call.

Once the call connected, she quickly explained, "I didn’t hear it just now, sorry...uh, have you already gone to bed? Am I bothering you?"

Sheila Yardley explained in a rush, but there was complete silence on the other end.

She took the phone away to check if the call had connected, and just then, Caleb Grant’s voice sounded, "Are you doing okay over there?"

"Hmm...it’s pretty good."

"When will you come back?"

Sheila Yardley thought for a moment and said, "Probably around the fifth or sixth. What about you?"

As someone employed as a nanny, it was nice enough of him to give her time off to celebrate the New Year; if he planned to return early, she’d naturally come back early to tidy things up.

However, Caleb Grant didn’t specify when he’d be back, only saying, "I’ll come to pick you up then. My place isn’t far from there."

Without hesitation, Sheila Yardley declined, "No need. I might come back with my brother."

Though unsure of his exact location, unsure if his place was really nearby, imagining him personally picking her up and spending time in the car was overwhelming—she might go crazy.

There was a pause on the other end before he said, "Okay, rest early."

"Oh."

After a couple of seconds, when the other end was silent, Sheila Yardley was ready to hang up, but he suddenly said, "Happy New Year."

Sheila Yardley froze for a moment, then replied without thinking, "Happy New Year."

She hadn’t expected Caleb Grant to call and wish her a Happy New Year, nor that the missed call was made exactly at midnight. Guessing that he called while listening to the cross-year bell ring.

Maybe he wasn’t as difficult to get along with as she thought. After interacting for so long, Sheila Yardley felt that apart from sometimes speaking with a severe tone and a tendency to show a stern face, he didn’t impose excessively strict demands.

Sometimes she even wondered if...he liked her.

But then she dismissed such thoughts, considering she had neither background nor skills. Appearance-wise, she might be okay, but among the beautiful women around him, there were plenty. How could he possibly like her?

At most, it was a rich person’s game; once he got bored, lost the novelty, he might let her go ahead of time.

In the days that followed, Claire Wilde almost came to Shannon Quinn’s place daily because Julian Yardley was there.

Yet Julian Yardley would rather play with Leo, not particularly interested in hanging out with Claire Wilde.

Claire Wilde was quite chatty, and Julian Yardley, due to the teacher-student bond, restrained from expressing displeasure towards Claire Wilde.