"Mr. Deng..." Just when Barton was about to pour tea for him, George hurriedly took the cup and let out a light chuckle. "Please, you don't have to call me like that, Mr. Xiao.

Just call me George. Mr. Deng sounds strange."

"Okay. George, then," Barton smiled. "You're Jean's friend, aren't you? If you don't mind, you can just call me Uncle Barton."

"Uncle Barton it is," George warmly replied. "Actually, I wanted to invite you and Jean to have dinner too. I've come back from abroad for quite some time, but I haven't had the chance to ask her out."

"Really? That would be great! I called Jean with me today," said Barton.

Hearing this delighted George. "That's good to hear. I've always wanted to catch up with Jean over a nice meal. I didn't expect it would happen so soon."

Barton raised his eyebrow inquisitively. "So, did you two get along well with each other before?" he cautiously asked.

"Yes," George answered

ything else. I was just curious."

George beamed at his forward question. He replied, "Love depends on fate. I haven't found a suitable woman for such a long time, and I've been single for a while now.

Since we're on the subject, I must say you're right―I am not as young anymore. At this point, I should be looking for someone to settle down with already. However, I just can't seem to find that one perfect woman for me."

"Hmm." Barton left it at that and said nothing more. The more he heard this man disclose things about himself, the more he did not like him.

George, on the other hand, was getting very anxious. If Barton said something about Jean, George would tell him his feelings for her. But Barton said nothing.

George was about to say more when a familiar voice came. "I'm very sorry, Dad. I just hit a roadblock. Did you wait long?"

George sat with his back to the door, so she did not notice him right away.