The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1560 Nick's Date With Cassie

"Sher, Clark is such a good boy. He helped me a lot!" Joan praised him with a smile.

"Well, that's Mom's fault. Mom is so lazy that I have learned to do a lot of work around the house all by myself." Sheryl made a pitiable expression, as she looked apologetically toward her son.

"Come on, Mom! Don't be like this. No one believes you! It's time to call Shirley to get up. Or else we are going to be late!" Clark reminded his mom.

As he spoke, he sounded like a responsible grown-up. It was a little embarrassing for Sheryl to be treated like a kid by her son. Yet she could not help being so happy to have raised such a sensible son. In response, she gave Clark a shrug.

"Hurry up, Mom!" Seeing Sheryl standing still and staring at him, Clark shouted and pushed Sheryl. At that moment, Sheryl saw a flash of Charles in Clark's eyes. Clark's stern pupils were just as sharp and piercing as Charles.

"Okay, my little king. I am going now!" Sheryl teased, as she headed straight to Shirley's bedroom.

She knew Shirley must be sound asleep at the moment. However, Sheryl was aware of the ill effects of indulging kids with a bad sleeping habit. Hence she planned to wake her up for inculcating the habits of a disciplined life in her little girl.

"Shirley, it's time for you to get up!" Sheryl called out, once she entered the bedroom. She gently tossed off the quilt and planted a kiss on Shirley's forehead.

In a daze, Shirley opened her bleary eyes. When she saw Sheryl's face, she let out a happy smile. Wow! What a beautiful start to the day. Sheryl felt elated to see such a bright smile on Sheryl's face. Silently, she counted her blessings. How much joy and love had been brought into her life because of these little cherubs. Tears welled up in her eyes. She thought in her heart, 'Everything has been so wonderful, living with the Lu family, and the future will be as promising as the old days.'

"Mom, allow me to sleep some more! I still feel so sleepy!" Shirley begged. She covered her eyes with her little hands and shook her head.

But Sheryl remained firm and refrained from indulging her daughter.

Realizing that she had no other option than following her mother's instructions, Shirley slowly sat up. Despite a trace of displeasure on her little round face, Shirley didn't complain or refuse to obey her mother. "Mom, where is Clark?" Shirley asked as she averted her eyes aside, intending to check and wake her brother, but she didn't see Clark.

"Clark is already up! He is in the kitchen helping the cook. So Shirley is a little bit late to get up this morning! Come on now, wake up and freshen up," Sheryl said as she stepped aside to give space to Shirley to dress up by herself.

As far as Sheryl was concerned, it was important for her that her kids learned the basic skills in life by themselves. She had stopped helping the kids with changing clothes a long time back. Now Shirley and Clark had grown rather independent in so many ways, just as Sheryl had expected.

A soon as Shirley learned that Clark was helping the cook in the kitchen, Shirley couldn't wait to get ready and rush into the kitchen to see what was happening there.

"Clark, Auntie Joan, what are you cooking? It smells so delicious!" Shirley's voice sounded just like jingle bells, spreading joy and warmth in everyone's heart. Everyone felt mellow and their hearts melted in an instant.

When Sheryl and Joan watched Shirley run over to Clark and take her brother's hand, both of them exchanged a smiling glance.

"Eggs, porridge, and bread!" Clark said calmly as he checked the food. Then he took Shirley to the other side, making room for Sheryl to prepare breakfast.

Sheryl was so relieved to see Clark's gesture as a responsible brother and son. Absorbed in joy and happiness, she stayed where she stood without making a move.

"Mom, if you don't intend to give me and Shirley a ride, you still have to go to work on time. So I think you should start to prepare breakfast now." Clark felt a little startled to see his mother was still in a daze. It was slightly unlike their mom they used to know. She always acted as a responsible and proactive adult, but the way Sheryl behaved at the moment seemed to be quite unlike an adult. "Fine, fine, it's all Mom's fault. I apologize for the delay. So, can you please enjoy breakfast now? Shirley, this is for you..." Sheryl heart was filled with joy to have the kids around.

When Clark saw Sheryl in such a contented mood, a smile spread over his face. He thought to himself, 'Eventually, Mom is willing to smile!

Those days, I have seen Mom putting on a gloomy face most of the times. She has even aged a lot because of that. I am so afraid that Mom will lose all her charm and fail to attract Dad anymore.'

"Clark, here you are! Take it quickly!" Sheryl handed another bowl to Clark. Clark was startled, as he was still stuck in his thoughts. Luckily, Sheryl was not able to read his mind; lest, she would be pissed off by her son's ridiculous speculation.

"Thank you, Mom!" Clark cutely nodded his head. He turned to look at his sister. Seeing Shirley's face covered with porridge, he gave her a look of revulsion. He remarked, "Shirley, can't you just eat your breakfast more elegantly? You should learn from Lydia."

To everyone's surprise, Shirley burst into tears upon being mocked by Clark.

Sheryl tensed at once. To find out what had led to Shirley's sobs, Sheryl asked gently, "Shirley, are you okay? Don't cry. Was it something your brother said? Don't be hurt. Clark was just joking with you..." "Mom, Clark loves Lydia. He doesn't love me anymore! He said I was ugly. I am not a well-behaved girl..." Shirley continued to whimper.

Helpless, Sheryl shot Clark an accusing look, and Clark was embarrassed. He looked down immediately to avoid Sheryl's gaze.

Feeling a little wronged, Clark whined in his heart, 'Humph, to be accurate, I didn't say she was ugly. Besides, I am just telling the truth. Lydia is surely better than Shirley when it comes to manners.' Sheryl looked at Shirley again. Seeing that Shirley still displayed an unhappy face, she nodded her head and sighed. Still, Sheryl knew how it would play out. Shirley always looked up to her brother. And as far as Sheryl was concerned, he would always offer an apology to comfort Shirley and make her stop crying. But this time, Clark seemed to have something else going on in his mind so he didn't comfort his sister like usual.

"Shirley, if you don't eat, then you won't get the nutrition to grow up. And one day, Clark will grow much taller than you, while you will still be too short. People will think of you as a young girl, and treat Clark as an adult!"

Before Sheryl finished her words, Shirley stopped crying and started to use the spoon to deliver porridge from the bowl to her mouth. Clearly, Sheryl's words did the trick.

Clark felt grateful for her mother's help. He felt rueful for making his sister cry.

Witnessing the harmonious moment between mother and kids, Joan felt happy and her lips curved into a smile.

After breakfast, Joan sent the kids to school, and Sheryl headed straight to her company. Sheryl had a very important meeting lined up early in the morning which required her to reach the office ahead of time. Hence she had no time to drop the kids off at school by herself.

At Lansh Technology

Shortly after Nick recovered and got released from the hospital, he went back to work. He didn't want to waste time staying home and waiting until his full recovery.

At the moment, Nick was busy with a design program. He focused all his attention on the job he had in hand. He needed to do it well and complete it in time. As after this, he had a planned date with Cassie that night. And it was the first time they were going out since he got back together with her. So it was important and Nick couldn't afford to be late.

Time flies. Even though Nick was still in the middle of the task, the clock ticked away and was about to hit quitting time.

Despite growing a little anxious as he eyed the fleeting time, Nick still felt confident that he would get it done before calling it a day.

Nick had sent a message to Cassie well in advance and promised to pick up her after work. He would surely keep his word.

At the hospital, time seemed to have come to a standstill for Cassie. She kept checking the watch on her wrist, after receiving Nick's message. The remaining time Cassie had for her duty seemed to proceed in a very sluggish manner.

The head nurse had helped a patient change his infusion and came back to the ward which Cassie had taken over. She found out Cassie was staring at her watch. Being an experienced senior, the woman was wise enough to read Cassie's mind. She teased, "Well, Cassie, are you eager to go on a date after work?"

Cassie got rather embarrassed and didn't know how to respond. Bashful, she tried to deny, "Matron, what are you talking about? I was just about to...'

"To do what? By the way, to be honest about Nick, I kind of like that guy! However, many girls have their eyes on good men. So if you really love him, you should take prompt action. Do not miss the opportunity!" The head nurse stared into Cassie's eyes, with a meaningful look. Her expression exuded sheer sincerity and earnestness.

"Thanks, I will!" Cassie's face turned crimson just like a ripe red apple.

Then the head nurse checked the time. She reminded Cassie, "Go to Bed No. 16 and check the patient. If his conditions are fine, then change his infusion. Then you can get off duty!"

"Really?" It was beyond Cassie's expectation that the head nurse would allow her to leave so early tonight.

Noticing Cassie's startled face, the old lady smirked, "What? Just five minutes earlier. Don't you want to get off earlier? Fine, let's work according to the usual timetable then!"

On purpose, she stopped talking and was ready to leave the ward.

"Matron, please don't be like this. Of course, I want to get off work early tonight. I am going to change the infusion right away!" It was a rare occasion for nurses to get off duty on time. So it was rather normal for Cassie to be surprised when the head nurse told her to get off work so early.

Cassie trotted to the sickroom the head nurse had asked her to go to. Watching Cassie's back, the old lady smiled and nodded her head.

Cassie was happy that she was finally about to get off work. In the changing room, she studied herself in the mirror, checking her make-up as well as her attire.