I understand why people keep whispering rumors about Lily and the director of her new film. Just look—she really can't act even a little bit.]
[You can tell right away that she doesn't like Joshua. Maybe that's why he's scared of her.]
[Exactly, kids always have better instincts than adults.]
Lily's stiff smile made Adonis furrow his brows, especially when he felt Joshua clutching him tighter, his little face burying itself into Adonis's leg.
Adonis immediately picked the boy up. Joshua wrapped his arms around Adonis's neck and began sobbing softly, clearly showing how much he didn't like Lily.
Seeing Adonis's expression grow colder by the second, Lily realized her mission had failed entirely.
Adonis said coldly, "I told you I don't need your help. You can leave the kitchen now." He paused before adding, "This is a family program, not a dating show."
Adonis's words were direct and struck right at the core. Even without seeing the online reaction, Lily could imagine the mocking comments flooding in.
Left with no choice, Lily turned and left the kitchen, her expression gloomy. The system screamed in her ear like a raging beast:
[My god, how can you be so clumsy?! Why?!]
Lily snapped back angrily:
[Then you tell me what I'm supposed to do! As long as that brat is here, Adonis only has eyes for him! There's no room for me to squeeze in!]
The system had seen Adonis's cold attitude, too—but things weren't supposed to be like this.
Adonis was supposed to be swayed by Lily, even if just by a glance or a smile.
At last, the system said coldly:
[If the kid is in the way, get rid of him first.]
Lily's eyes widened slightly—she hadn't expected the system to say something like that. But then she said nothing. She agreed. She needed a breakthrough in life, and if Joshua was an obstacle to her bright future, then… let him die.
Lily returned to her room and saw Lorna sitting dazed on the bed. Lily's eyes immediately filled with disgust. Thinking of everything she had just endured, her anger intensified. She walked over and shoved Lorna harshly to the floor. The little girl collapsed instantly.
Lorna looked up at Lily in fear, hugging herself and retreating backward. Lily scolded her: "What's the point of bringing you here? You mute thing, completely useless!"
Lorna curled up in a corner, silently sobbing.
Lily no longer cared about the girl and picked up her phone to call Robert.
Robert agreed without hesitation when she told him about wanting to "take care of" Joshua. The older man back home seemed to like the boy—if they could get rid of both Joshua and Adonis, it would be killing two birds with one stone.
"Alright. Just keep an eye on Adonis. Leave the rest to me," Robert said over the phone.
Lily replied confidently, "As long as that brat is out of the picture, I will win over Adonis!"
She didn't know why, but she had this gut feeling—as if it were destiny.
From the corner, Lorna heard the entire conversation between Lily and Robert.
Her eyes widened in shock and confusion. Aunt Lily… she wanted to hurt Joshua?
But Joshua was so sweet, so kind. He even shared the cake with her…
Suddenly, Lily marched over and kicked her. "If you dare speak about this to anyone, you're dead!"
She knew this kid was timid and dumb—and completely obedient.
Sure enough, Lorna quickly nodded over and over, tears streaming down her face.
Only now did Lily finally lie down on the bed with satisfaction, starting to scroll through her phone and completely ignoring the little girl.
The live stream had already ended, except for one camera still broadcasting Adonis and Joshua in the kitchen. There were no cameras in the bedrooms so that Lily could act brazenly.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Joshua was sitting directly on Adonis's shoulders, eyes wide as he watched him skillfully perform various tasks.
[Papa is perfect! Papa can do anything!] Joshua exclaimed to Leo.
Leo immediately echoed him:
[Absolutely! Lord Adonis is the most capable man I've ever seen.] Then he added,
[And you were terrific too, little master! Lily didn't even get to approach Lord Adonis thanks to you!]
Joshua snorted:
[She's awful! Papa already told her not to come near him!]
Leo was still feeling cheerful:
[Now that you're here, I'm sure Lord Adonis won't be affected by Lily or the plot anymore. Only one last step is left—to have Lord Adonis willingly accept the William family inheritance and deal with Robert once and for all!]
Joshua's expression turned thoughtful. Leo also felt a bit of a headache because, according to the plot, Adonis willingly accepting the William family inheritance was nearly impossible.
In the original story, Mr. William is deeply in love with Adonis's mother, but she doesn't love him back. Obsessed with her, William had locked her away in his private villa. To Adonis's mother, he was an imperfect child, the product of a love she had never wanted. She had even tried multiple times to abort him, but the baby was miraculously born, incredibly strong and full of life.
After Adonis was born, his mother lived in even more torment—on the one hand, she resented him for having William's blood, and on the other, she was forced to accept that he was her son.
Eventually, she fell into severe depression and began losing her mind. There were several times she tried to take Adonis with her in a suicide attempt. But in the end, she chose the most traumatic method possible.
One day, when her young son came to visit her, she jumped from the upper floors right in front of him—her body landing as a broken mess at his feet.
That scene haunted Adonis to this day. It was the reason behind his insomnia and psychological trauma. If Joshua hadn't appeared, Adonis might have continued to live in pain and torment, eventually spiraling into madness. Perhaps that tragic fate was in part due to the heavy shadow of his childhood.
Even if Joshua knew it was all just a scripted story, imagining his papa having gone through all that made his heart ache unbearably. Tears welled up in his eyes.
Suddenly, Adonis felt something warm and wet fall on his hair. The tiny hands wrapped around his head tightened and began to tremble slightly. That faint tremble struck something profound in Adonis's chest, making him feel a strange, inexplicable sorrow.
A surge of frustration rose in him. He should never have brought Joshua onto this show in the first place. The boy had shed far too many tears here already! At the same time, he felt an even more profound disgust toward Lily.
Before Adonis could put down what he was holding to comfort the boy, Joshua had already buried his face in Adonis's hair and whispered:
"Joshua will stay with Papa... forever."