Chapter 439: Chapter 439: Scaring Oneself
Renee Jennings turned to look and saw Dalton Jenson, his face flushed and beaming, holding a paper bag.
"Dad, how did you get back?"
"Good evening, Mr. Jenson."
"Oh, Michelleâs here." Dalton Jenson chuckled. "I took a taxi."
Just moments ago, his wife had called and told him not to come home if he got drunk tonight, so he had hailed a cab and rushed home without a second thought.
Dalton Jenson walked over to Rhea Dempsey. Eager to please, he took a box of mung bean cakes from the paper bag, his face wreathed in smiles. "Honey, I bought your favorite mung bean cakes."
"Go on, get away." Rhea Dempsey feigned disgust. "You stink of alcohol. Stay away from me. Didnât I tell you not to come back tonight? Why are you here?"
Dalton Jenson said with a placating smile, "Of course I have to come home. Iâll go take a shower right now, get myself smelling nice."
He opened the box of mung bean cakes and placed it in front of her. "Your mung bean cakes, mâlady. Iâm off to take a shower."
Rhea gave him an exasperated glare. "A greasy old man like you will still stink no matter how much you wash."
"Yes, yes, youâre right." Dalton Jenson chuckled. "It doesnât matter if I stink, as long as my wife smells sweet."
Rhea: "..."
She grumbled affectionately, "Youâre so annoying."
Watching this, Michelle Fuller couldnât help but remark, "Your parents have such a great relationship."
"It is what it is. Heâs a total nuisance." Rhea waved her hand dismissively, then asked, "Do you two want some mung bean cakes?"
"No, no, Michelle and I shouldnât be a third wheel," Renee Jennings said. "Weâre going upstairs to stream."
"Hey, you! What nonsense are you spouting?" Rheaâs face grew warm.
When Renee Jennings went upstairs, she was followed not only by her shadow, Michelle Fuller, but also by several other tiny shadows.
In the study, Renee Jennings turned and asked Michelle Fuller, "Do you want to be on camera?"
Michelle Fuller frowned, thinking for a few seconds. "Do I look ugly without makeup?"
"What silly things are you saying?" Renee touched her face. "Youâre my precious darling, how could you possibly be ugly? Youâre gorgeous."
"Oh, stop." Michelle was getting shy. "Well, maybe Iâll see how it goes? Iâll sit next to you and try to stay off-camera."
"Okay." Renee nodded. "Iâm going live then."
"Alright." Michelle Fuller bent down and scooped Cici into her arms.
Renee Jennings started her livestream. The viewer count in the top-right corner was 0, but in the blink of an eye, it jumped to a thousand.
She blinked again, and it became ten thousand.
"Good evening, everyone." Renee waved a greeting, smiling. "My best friend is joining me for todayâs stream."
[Wow, is that Michelle?]
[We get it, we get it, youâre showing off!]
The smile on Reneeâs lips deepened. "Is it that obvious?"
[Very obvious!]
[Look at you, youâre smiling more happily than usual!]
"I am in a pretty good mood," Renee said. After chatting with everyone for a bit, she got to the main event. "Alright everyone, get ready to call in."
[Iâm always an also-ran, WAHHH]
[Iâm ready, but I can never get through (can you compensate me with some money?)]
[Iâve given up on ever getting picked. Iâm just here for the drama.]
"SpicyRoll" connected to the stream.
The stream interface split in two. A girl with curly hair appeared on the split screen, her head full of shiny black ramen-noodle curls.
"Wow!" SpicyRoll exclaimed in delight. "It connected! This is great!"
Renee raised an eyebrow slightly and smiled. "SpicyRoll, I love your hairstyle."
"Hehe." SpicyRoll giggled. "Itâs naturally curly. I hated it when I was a kid. My classmates all made fun of me for my curly hair, and I was always pestering my mom to take me to get it straightened. Now that Iâm older, itâs grown on me."
Renee: "It suits you well."
"Hehe, thanks, Streamer." SpicyRoll ran a hand through her hair. "My confidence is restored."
"Be confident," Renee said softly. "Your curly hair is your signature feature."
"Alrighty!" SpicyRoll, looking happy, took the initiative to talk about her pets. "Streamer, I have a Golden Retriever and a British Shorthair."
Renee watched her, nodding to show she was listening.
"At first, the Shorthair would approach the Golden Retriever on its own," SpicyRoll said, a confused expression appearing on her face. "But for the past few months, for some reason, the cat doesnât want to play with the dog anymore. It even avoids the dog when it sees it. Itâs so strange. I was hoping you could ask them for me, Streamer. Did they have a fight?"
"Okay." Renee was also quite curious. "Bring the Shorthair over. Iâll ask it why it wonât play with the Golden Retriever."
"Alrighty." As SpicyRoll got up to call her British Shorthair, the Golden Retriever suddenly appeared in front of the camera, grinning widely.
[You scared me!]
[Hahaha, the Golden Retriever is here! Streamer, ask the dog first!]
"Alright, Iâll talk to the Golden Retriever first then." Renee waved at the dog. "Hello, Golden Retriever. My name is Renee Jennings. Whatâs your name?"
"My name is Momo." The Golden Retriever, Momo, leaped up and sat on the stool, his round doggy eyes curiously watching the human on the phone. "Are you my masterâs friend?"
"Yes," Renee nodded with a smile. "Iâm your masterâs internet friend. Have you and your partner, the British Shorthair, been fighting recently?"
"We havenât been fighting, hehe," said Momo the Golden Retriever. "Kaka is just scared of me."
Hearing this, Renee asked curiously, "And do you know why Kaka is scared of you?"
"Of course!" Momo nodded his fluffy head and woofed calmly, "Because when I first came to this house, I was still very small..."
He didnât finish, but it seemed Renee had already guessed.
Momo the Golden Retriever said, "Kaka was much bigger than me back then and bullied me every day, kicking me around like a ball."
Renee imagined the scene and suppressed a laugh. "You poor thing."
"It wasnât a big deal, really." Momo shook his head. "I wasnât unhappy about it. After a while, I even thought it was kind of fun."
Renee was surprised by the dogâs optimistic and generous attitude. "Then why is Kaka avoiding you now?"
"Kaka is just scaring himself!" Momo was exasperated. "I have no intention of bullying him at all, but Kaka noticed I was getting bigger and bigger, and now heâs scared and wonât play with me anymore."
Every time he tried to go play with Kaka, Kaka would run away like a shot and dive under the bed.
Momo couldnât help but sigh. "I told Kaka I wouldnât bully him and that he doesnât need to be afraid, but Kaka doesnât believe me. He thinks Iâm trying to trick him."
Renee raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Kaka is certainly a cautious kitty."
"Huh? Momo, how did you get in here?" SpicyRoll came into the study holding her beloved cat, Kaka, only to find Momo sitting on her stool.
The moment Kaka saw Momo, the cat, who had been lounging lazily in his ownerâs arms, stiffened in shock and began to tremble. "AHHHH, whatâs that dog Momo doing here?!"
Hearing the catâs cry, Renee raised her voice and explained, "SpicyRoll, Iâve had a chat with Momo, and I think I have a good idea of the situation."
"Really?" SpicyRoll said, pleasantly surprised. "Streamer, whatâs going on?"
She had only taken a few steps before Kaka struggled out of her arms and leaped down.