"Sister Lia, let's go in and ignore my brother." Lena Horne made a funny face at her brother, then slipped her arm through Lia Aiken's and affectionately dragged her toward the house.

Lia Aiken was pulled along by her. As she walked, she kept turning her head to look at Ivan Horne.

Ivan Horne's brows and eyes were full of laughter. When she looked at him, he even winked at her, making Lia Aiken laugh out loud.

Just then, Ivan Horne's phone rang.

He followed them while taking out his phone. It was Jimmy Horne calling. Thinking of what he'd asked Jimmy to investigate, he deliberately slowed his pace, widened the distance between himself and the two women, and only then answered Jimmy's call.

"Bro, something's happened."

Although Jimmy Horne was talking about something bad, Ivan could still hear the smile in his voice. Ivan said irritably, "It's early in the morning, don't start with 'something happened'. What could've happened, did you fall off the bed onto the floor last night?"

"Bro, I'm a dad now, how could I possibly fall off the bed onto the floor?" Jimmy chuckled. "Bro, I'm serious, something really happened."

"Your big brother's listening. You said something happened, then hurry up and say what happened." Sometimes Ivan really wanted to beat this cousin up; he was always keeping people in suspense.

"Ee-ya—"

Ivan heard a baby's babbling. Knowing his cousin was definitely holding his precious daughter, he greeted the little one with a smile. The baby couldn't talk yet, she only knew how to grab at her daddy's phone. Jimmy wouldn't give it to her, and the little girl looked very angry, tugging at Jimmy's hand hard, trying to snatch the phone by force.

"Bro, go check the news online, I won't talk to you for now. My daughter wants to play with my phone. I'm giving her my phone, and I still have to feed her porridge. When she's got something she wants to play with, it's easier to feed her."

The mighty CEO of Black Emperor Group, with a home as good as a mountain of gold and several nannies hired just to take care of his daughter, but as long as Jimmy Horne was at home, he liked to look after his daughter himself—mixing formula, feeding porridge, changing wet diapers, even giving her baths, he did it all personally.

When his son was a baby, he had never been this attentive. Camila Ruiz always said he favored girls over boys.

A daughter is a man's little lover from his past life, after all.

Jimmy hung up before Ivan could reply, then immediately handed the phone to his precious daughter. The little girl finally got what she wanted, instantly becoming docile, letting her dear dad kiss her chubby cheeks over and over.

The little girl mashed the buttons on the phone at random, then imitated the grown-ups and pressed the phone to her ear, babbling away. Her dad hurried to feed her porridge, and she obediently opened her mouth and ate it.

When Ivan heard his cousin mention the online news, he already knew what "something happened" was supposed to mean.

He went online and looked at those gossip pieces. The handsome face that had been all smiles just now gradually turned cold, and anger flickered in his eyes. Although he wasn't the least bit surprised this happened—in fact, he'd anticipated it—it was still coming way too fast.

After all those years of her holding the line on professional ethics, she was actually tripped up here!

"Big Brother."

When Lena Horne reached the doorway, she turned around and realized her brother had been left far behind. She stopped and called out to him, "Big Brother, what are you still standing there for?"

It wasn't just her parents inside, there was also her aunt and uncle. Her big brother bringing Lia Aiken home was basically the same as introducing his girlfriend to the elders.

Of course, Lena hadn't told Lia there were several elders inside, so as not to scare her. But when they went in, it was still better for her brother to accompany Lia. As the future sister-in-law, she was just there to play matchmaker.

Ivan Horne answered with a laugh and quickly caught up.

He'd deal with the gossip news later.

Two couples were sitting in the living room, one of whom was Glades Horne and Julia Bluen.

When Lia Aiken walked in and saw the two couples, she noticed that Ruby Bluen and Julia Bluen looked somewhat alike. She already knew that both Bluen sisters had married into the Horne Family.

After she and Ivan Horne had confirmed their boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, she had carefully looked into all kinds of stories about the Horne Family.

She guessed that one of the couples was Ivan's parents.

And her coming over at this moment was practically the same as meeting the parents. She'd come completely unprepared, wearing her usual clothes, not even bothering to change into something nicer.

She'd been tricked by this little girl Lena once again.

She understood all this and had a brief moment of panic, but very quickly, Lia calmed and carried herself with easy composure.

Whatever was between her and Ivan, the Horne Family probably already knew. Meeting the parents was only a matter of time. There was no need for her to deliberately dress up or to curry favor—just act like she always did.

"Dad, Mom, Auntie, Uncle, this is my senior from school, Lia Aiken, and also my big brother's girlfriend. I was the one who played matchmaker for them." Lena Horne playfully introduced Lia to everyone, then cheekily pulled Lia forward, earning a glare from her big brother. She stuck out her tongue and hurriedly handed Lia back to him.

Mm, some things and some words were better left for her big brother to do and say. As the go‑between, she'd pretty much done her part.

Ivan Horne held Lia's hand and introduced his elders to her again, then said to them, "Dad, Mom, Second Uncle, Second Aunt, this is my girlfriend, Lia Aiken."

"Uncle, Auntie, hello."

Although her pretty face was flushed like a peach blossom, Lia Aiken still remained poised and unruffled, greeting the elders graciously.

"Come, come, Miss Aiken, come sit over here. I've finally gotten to see you in person." Julia Bluen stood up warmly, reached out to pull Lia over, and let her sit beside her. With the future daughter‑in‑law joining them, Glades Horne, who had originally been sitting next to Julia, was squeezed out of the two‑seater sofa and silently moved to another sofa.

Julia Bluen held Lia's hand, asking her all sorts of questions with great warmth, while also sizing her up.

Julia already knew about Lia's background. Although her family history was a bit unpleasant, it wasn't her fault. Julia wouldn't look down on Lia because of it—of course, it also helped that her son had already given her that heads-up in advance.

"You paint well, and you're very pretty too." After looking her over, Julia expressed that she was very satisfied with this future daughter‑in‑law.

Honestly, her requirements weren't high. As long as her son liked her and she was a woman, she had no objections. After all, it was her son who'd be spending his life with her, not herself.

"Thank you, Auntie."

Lia Aiken thanked her gently, her voice pleasant to the ear. Julia Bluen kept glancing at her eldest son, praising his taste with her eyes.

Ivan Horne was quite pleased with himself. As if there was any doubt—his taste had always been excellent.

Julia always had a topic to bring up with Lia, and the two of them were chatting quite happily.

On the opposite couch, Ruby Bluen teased her, "Julia, your enthusiasm is going to scare Miss Aiken."

Lia smiled lightly. "Not at all, Auntie's very nice."

When you meet the man's parents, it's normal for them to ask all kinds of questions. Most people go through this the first time they meet their partner's family.

"Auntie, let's go have breakfast first. I cooked breakfast myself today and specially invited Sister Lia over to try my cooking." Lena Horne was also worried that her aunt would ask too much and scare Sister Lia, so she cut in and suggested that everyone go eat breakfast first.