“You silly girl, Little Thompson is here to tutor you, how can you trouble him to prepare lunch for you?” Hannah Summers reproached, though it was clear from her tone that she was secretly a little hopeful. After all, her daughter was home alone during the summer break, eating fast food and instant noodles every day, which made her feel both distressed and helpless—especially since this was still her growing years.

If only Little Thompson could help cook a few dishes at noon and eat together with Lily, that would be great, Hannah Summers thought to herself.

“Why not? The tutoring time is from 8:30 to 11:00. Anyway, Mr. Thompson has to eat lunch when he goes back to school, so he might as well eat at our place, right?”

As she spoke, Lucy Spencer pitifully shook Peter Thompson’s arm and said, “Mr. Thompson, is that okay? Please?”

Hannah Summers and Mr. Spencer saw Lucy Spencer shaking Peter Thompson’s arm nonstop, and suddenly felt a pang of sadness.

If only she had a brother like this! Maybe then she wouldn’t be so willful, wouldn’t always want to go out and play because she felt lonely, the two of them sighed inwardly.

Alas, the one-child policy may have saved China, but it also made the generation of the 1980s a lonely one, lacking siblings.

Mr. Spencer wanted to scold Lucy Spencer, but opened his mouth and then closed it again.

Peter Thompson once again sensed a whiff of conspiracy, but he had a very good impression of Mr. Spencer and his wife. And although Lucy Spencer was a bit willful and scheming, Peter Thompson couldn’t bring himself to dislike her. Even though he knew full well that the pitiful look in Lucy Spencer’s beautiful eyes was just a ploy to turn him, Peter Thompson, into a servant, he still couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for her!

“No problem, but if it doesn’t taste good, you can’t blame me!” Peter Thompson said to Lucy Spencer.

A triumphant smile of success appeared on Lucy Spencer’s face again. Heh, I don’t care if it tastes good or not, I just like watching you wash and cook for me! But she said aloud, “Of course not, I won’t blame you!”

“Little Thompson, this is really too much trouble for you!” Hannah Summers said a little embarrassedly, after all, Peter Thompson’s other identity was as Professor Harris’s prized student.

“Hehe, Auntie, you’re too polite. This way, not only can I practice my cooking in your kitchen, but I also get to freeload meals every day!” Peter Thompson joked half-seriously.

Lucy Spencer’s eyes rolled, and she said, “Mom, if you’re really worried about troubling him, just pay Mr. Thompson for it!”

Heh, if we pay him, and the food isn’t good, I’ll make him redo it until I’m satisfied. Let’s see if you can stand it or not, Lucy Spencer thought smugly to herself.

Peter Thompson’s expression changed slightly. Although he was short of money, he kept favors and work very separate. The tutoring fee was what he deserved, but preparing lunch was him doing a favor for Mr. Spencer’s family.

Mr. Spencer didn’t notice Peter Thompson’s change in expression. Having a graduate student like Peter Thompson cook for his daughter already made him feel a bit uneasy, and he knew Peter Thompson came from a poor family, so he thought his daughter’s suggestion was a good one. So he said, “Lily is right, we should pay for it!”

Just as Mr. Spencer was about to name a price, Hannah Summers kicked him, and he realized that Peter Thompson didn’t look too happy.

“If Uncle insists on paying, then I’ll just go back to school for lunch!” Peter Thompson said.

“Little Thompson, don’t mind your uncle, his official brain is all rusted up. You’re not an outsider!” Hannah Summers shot Mr. Spencer a look.

“Yes, yes, in officialdom it’s all about interests, your uncle got confused!” Mr. Spencer didn’t blame Peter Thompson at all, and instead thought even more highly of him. He also blamed himself for being muddle-headed—if he wanted to pay, he didn’t need to say it out loud, he could just give a little extra when paying for the tutoring.

Seeing how much Mr. Spencer and his wife cared about him, Peter Thompson’s displeasure vanished instantly.

Because of a few extra words, Peter Thompson was now set to become the main man in the kitchen for the family’s lunches over the summer.

Hypocrite, fake high-mindedness!

Lucy Spencer was quite unhappy that her suggestion to pay was rejected. After all, paying and not paying are two completely different things! If she paid, she could boss Peter Thompson around and treat him like a male servant, but if not, she could only get him to do more kitchen chores, but would lose the air of a commanding mistress.

Still, at least she managed to rope Peter Thompson in. Not only would she no longer have to eat unpalatable fast food and hated instant noodles, but she could also sit back and watch her tutor, a grown man, running around the kitchen. Just thinking about it made her happy, so overall, Lucy Spencer was quite pleased.

Chapter 11: The Secret of Immortality

Dinner ended in a pleasant atmosphere.

“Little Thompson, these are supermarket electronic gift cards. Take them, and you two can buy whatever you want for lunch!” After dinner, Mr. Spencer handed two cards to Peter Thompson, each with a five-hundred-yuan spending limit.

Mr. Spencer wasn’t a corrupt official—he never took big bribes—but during holidays, he would still accept some gift cards and such from people, otherwise he’d offend them.

Since he’d agreed to prepare lunch, the cost of ingredients naturally had to be covered by Mr. Spencer, so Peter Thompson accepted the cards without hesitation and said, “If there’s any left after using them, I’ll return it to you, Uncle.”

Mr. Spencer found himself liking Peter Thompson more and more—he wasn’t pretentious, and he handled things cleanly and efficiently.