chapter 40 Are you really stupid or pretending to be stupid?

Early the next morning, Ella was evidently in good spirits. The family of three had breakfast in the presidential suite. Ella mentioned she wanted to visit the flower shop, which had been closed for several days. Fernando originally wanted to stop her. With his current capabilities, Ella no longer needed to manage the flower shop. However, he understood what the flower shop meant to Ella—it represented all her hard work and hopes over the past few years. After Ella left, Fernando dressed Zoey in new clothes, preparing to take his daughter to school. "Daddy, do you not like Mommy?" On the way, Zoey looked up at Fernando, blinking her big eyes. "?" Fernando was stunned. "Zoey, why would you say that?" Fernando gently touched his daughter's head and asked. "Daddy, why do you sleep alone on the sofa every night and not sleep with Mommy and Zoey?" Zoey asked. Fernando chuckled, realizing the reason. "Zoey, if Daddy sleeps with Mommy and you, it will be too crowded, and Zoey won't sleep well. If you don't rest well, how will you go to school the next day?" Fernando smiled, looking at his daughter. "Daddy is lying. The bed Mommy and Zoey sleep in is very big, big enough for all three of us. Daddy just doesn't like Mommy." Zoey said, her big eyes gradually moistening, tears streaming down. Fernando bent down, gently wiping away his daughter's tears. In these seven years, his only companions were blood and tens of thousands of corpses. He understood warfare but not love. What is love? Confusion filled Fernando's eyes. At this moment, he only wanted to be with Ella and their daughter, make them happy, and protect them from harm. Was this love? Perhaps, this was love. "Zoey, Daddy loves Mommy very much and loves you very much too. You two are Daddy's everything." Fernando tightly embraced his daughter. "Yeah, Zoey loves Mommy and Daddy very, very much. We are the happiest family." Zoey happily exclaimed. Watching his daughter bounce into school, Fernando hailed a taxi and headed towards the Imperial Scenic Mansion. He wanted to quickly tidy up the villa, so Ella and Zoey could move in, making it more convenient for Zoey to go to school. Meanwhile, in the flower shop, Nora, wearing a smart suit, was talking incessantly with an air of triumph. "Ella, your father and I are now the managers of Villa. Do you know how much our monthly salary is?" "Adding both of ours, it's nearly twenty thousand!" "Ah, after enduring humiliation for so many years, we've finally made it." "No, I need to call them and let those people see that our family is now thriving." Nora was brimming with excitement, pulling out her phone. "Mom, I think there's no need to make that call," Ella knew who her mother was referring to. "No, this call must be made. Moreover, I want to arrange a gathering at the Villa. For so many years, they not only refused to help but also looked down on us at every turn. They never considered how, back when we were still with the Gu Family, we helped them. They are truly ungrateful wolves!" Nora's anger escalated as she spoke. Ella didn't say anything more; she knew her mother's temperament. However, she vaguely felt that her parents' sudden promotion to the position of Villa's manager must be related to Fernando. Since Fernando's return, everything he did seemed strange to her, especially last night. Even Jinghai's wealthiest man, Ian, followed his orders. What had Fernando experienced in these seven years? "By the way, Ella, you and Zoey don't need to live in that old basement anymore. Your dad and I are both managers at Qingteng Mountain Villa now. It would be embarrassing if the news got out. There are vacant dorms in the Villa; you can move into one later," Nora, contrary to her usual meekness, spoke with great confidence. She seemed to have forgotten the humiliation she endured just last night. "Mom, don't worry about the house. Fernando has already bought a house," Ella said softly. "What!?" Nora exclaimed. "How can you still associate with that wretched dog? Have you forgotten who caused our family to end up like this? You! You!" Nora's chest heaved in anger, and she sat down on a nearby bench, struggling to catch her breath. "I'm so infuriated... Hoo... hoo..." Looking at her mother, Ella couldn't help but feel helpless. She didn't mention the house because she knew that once she did, this would be the situation. Her parents had harbored resentment against Fernando for seven long years; it wasn't something that could be resolved overnight. "That wretched dog Fernando. After the Gu Family is gone, he dares to come back. What a useless person. I absolutely won't agree to you being with him!" Nora vehemently expressed her dislike for Fernando. The news of the Gu Family's demise was tightly sealed by the Jinghai Patrol Division. People could only speculate that the Gu Family had offended some powerful clan, leading to its destruction. The Fernando family had suffered the same fate for offending the Gu Family. "Mom, it's not like that..." "Enough, don't make excuses for that useless person," Nora interrupted her daughter. Then she asked, "You said Fernando bought a house. Where did he buy it? Come, take me to see." Without waiting for Ella's response, Nora pulled her daughter toward the door, curious to see what capability this so-called "wretched dog" had to buy a house within Jinghai. Inside the villa, Fernando sat on the spacious sofa. He had just hired twenty professional cleaners to ensure thorough cleanliness. Such specialized tasks needed to be handled by professionals; otherwise, the hygiene wouldn't be properly maintained even after three days. Outside the villa, Nora was stunned by the grandeur of the mansion. "El... Ella, you're saying Fernando bought a house here?" Nora's face showed disbelief. From the moment she entered the residential area, she could tell it was an affluent neighborhood. The houses here were undoubtedly expensive. Considering the large mansion in front of them, it would cost at least hundreds of millions. Where did Fernando, with his financial background, get so much money? Seeing her daughter nod in agreement, Nora became even more furious. "Ella, are you naive, or are you pretending to be? Just because he said he bought it, do you believe him? Have you seen the property deed?" Ella shook her head. She hadn't seen the property deed, but she had never doubted Fernando's claim to buying the house.