The Breeding Deal: Brother-in-law's Forbidden Offer - Chapter 87

Chapter 87: What Is It
Adrian stared intently at Christine.

She felt uncomfortable under his gaze and found it strange. When her parents went to the kitchen to get fruit and her brother went to help, she couldn’t help asking: “Adrian, are you… drunk?”

She had tried to keep her voice down, worried about her parents reading too much into their relationship. But Oliver, with his sharp ears, heard her despite only having taken a few steps away.

He didn’t think much of it, just turned back immediately, crouched down to Adrian’s eye level, and studied the man’s face for a few seconds.

Christine’s heart jumped when, as expected, being stared at by her silly brother’s big face, Adrian turned and glared at Oliver. His eyebrows instantly furrowed, eyes narrowing with irritation, his whole face suddenly emanating an intimidating aura. This scared Oliver into quickly standing up and stepping back, saying, “Whoa! He really is drunk.”

His face was much redder than usual, with color spreading from the corners of his eyes to behind his ears.

Meanwhile, the man’s expression remained severe, his stare making Christine instinctively shrink her neck. Somehow, Ethan’s face flashed through her mind – how could two brothers with such similar features give off completely different, even opposite impressions?

Even drunk, he looked so fierce.

Though, getting drunk after just a few drinks… how did Adrian normally handle business deals? This seemed out of character.

Pat had just come out of the kitchen carrying a plate of cut oranges, apples, and strawberries. Hearing her son say Adrian was drunk, she quickly put down the plate.

She first asked her husband to get a fresh towel from the bathroom and wet it with warm water, then told her son to turn down the living room’s air conditioning. Meanwhile, she hurriedly searched the cabinet for hangover medicine. As she rummaged through, she kept muttering that she shouldn’t have urged Adrian to drink, what a mess this turned out to be.

Soon, she found the medicine and poured a glass of warm water, bringing both to Adrian. She urged him to drink slowly, saying: “Oh dearm I’m so sorry, what if this affects your work this afternoon… Actually, why don’t you stay here and rest? I can prepare the guest room quickly!”

Christine’s father brought the towel, Pat held the water, and after adjusting the AC temperature, Oliver ran over to fan Adrian cool with his hand.

Suddenly, everyone was crowding around Adrian. Christine noticed his brows knitting tighter and tighter. Worried he might be uncomfortable being the center of attention, she was about to make up an excuse to disperse everyone when Adrian waved his hand and removed the damp towel from his forehead, standing up.

“I’m fine, just a bit warm.”

Adrian hooked two fingers into his collar and loosened his tie with a gentle tug.

Even as a guest in someone else’s home, he was dressed formally in a suit. His crisp white shirt wrapped around his well-proportioned chest and abs, topped with a black vest. Black leather straps secured around his arms, and every movement highlighted his strong, fluid arm muscles.

Standing now, his tall frame made the living room feel small and cramped, as if it couldn’t contain him. His legs were impossibly long, forcing everyone to look up at him, making the contrast between his head and broad shoulders even more striking. He looked like he’d stepped off the cover of a fashion magazine.

Oliver wasn’t short himself at just over 180cm (5’11”), but now next to Adrian’s towering height, he looked like a chicken, his head barely reaching Adrian’s nose bridge.

Fearlessly, Oliver tried to get friendly with Adrian, measuring with his hand above his own head while asking, “Bro, uh, if you don’t mind me asking, how tall are you?”

“…”

Adrian tilted his head down slightly, giving a side glance at Oliver’s eager, curious upturned face, then answered with patience: “194.3. (6’4.5″)”

He even included the decimal point!

Oliver gave him a thumbs up, thinking his brother was impressive, being so precise even when drunk.

While clearing the table, Christine watched her brother fearlessly chat with Adrian. Worried the smooth-talking kid might say something inappropriate and anger Adrian, she tried catching her brother’s eye several times, signaling him to back off. But Oliver completely missed his sister’s hints and only got more excited. Christine could only cough lightly and wave subtly, gesturing for her brother to come over.

But in the next moment, Adrian strode over to her with his long legs and asked: “What is it?”

“…”

She hadn’t been calling him at all!

Christine felt so awkward she didn’t know what to do, managing only a forced smile as she explained: “Adrian, since you’re drunk, so I was thinking maybe you’d want to rest at the office… Oh right, I’ll, I’ll call James in!”

Pat had just finished preparing the bed and came out of the guest room. Hearing Adrian wanted to leave, she quickly tried to convince him to stay: “You must be exhausted from working so hard. Health comes first! The bed and blankets are all ready, freshly changed. If you don’t mind, please stay and rest here. Have dinner with us too, and leave afterward. Take it as a day off. Oliver, go tell Adrian’s assistant that he’s drunk and won’t be returning to work this afternoon.”

Christine’s father admired Adrian’s dedication to work even while drunk. Looking at him with both affection and admiration, he couldn’t help saying: “As expected of Adrian, truly outstanding. I hope our Oliver can learn from you. Though our home is modest, we treat you sincerely. Please feel comfortable staying here, and let us know if you need anything.”

Seeing his parents’ enthusiasm, Oliver added fuel to the fire: “Yeah, bro! You haven’t even had the fruit and afternoon tea yet!”

And so, everyone surrounded Adrian in the middle of the living room, each adding their own words.

Christine knew Adrian’s solitary nature and worried he might be uncomfortable with all this attention from both older and younger people. Unable to intervene, she anxiously stood aside, unsure whether to call James in or tell him to leave.

Fortunately, Adrian didn’t seem angry – perhaps he could sense the family’s genuine care for him.

The man’s expression remained neutral as he raised his right hand to undo another shirt button, saying: “I need to use the bathroom.”

“Of course, of course!” Pat quickly pointed out the bathroom’s direction, then instructed her son: “Oliver, help dear Adrain to the bathroom.”

Oliver immediately stepped forward, but before his hand could reach Adrian’s arm, Adrian waved him off, making Oliver quickly jump aside as he watched Adrian enter the bathroom alone.

Then Oliver grabbed his sister’s hand and led Christine straight to his room. Pushing open the door, he asked excitedly: “See? I told you there were lots of good things, right?”

Christine froze.

The room she remembered as Oliver’s had completely transformed – a large crib had been added in the corner, with an unopened baby stroller beside it. Those flashy posters of sports and movie stars had been replaced with pink and blue floral designs, and the walls had been repainted a soft light blue. Oliver’s bed was covered with various stuffed animals, and the floor was stacked with piles of new baby clothes, clearly purchased some time ago and stored in the room.

“This is…”

Before Christine could process it, Oliver wrapped an arm around her shoulders and said solemnly: “Sis, listen to me. After you have the baby, don’t worry too much. You just focus on taking care of Ethan at the hospital, and Mom, Dad, and I will help raise your baby, no time limit.”

After speaking, he turned to look at his sister with a smile, only to find Christine’s eyes had already turned red.

“Hey! Don’t cry, sis! I was going to ask Mom and Dad to help with my kids anyway, so think of this as practice. No loss at all. You’ve always been so good to me, now it’s time for your little brother to repay you. Sis, from now on, you do whatever you want to do, and I’ll be right here with you.”

Christine had only learned during lunch, when Pat mentioned it, that Oliver had gone on that cruise hoping to network with potential big clients and get more business to earn some money for his sister’s unborn baby.

“Don’t be so silly anymore.”

She wiped her tears while ruffling her brother’s hair, then joked: “Why did you buy clothes in every color? You bought way too many.”

“Well… we don’t know the gender yet! How am I doing as an uncle, pretty good, right?”

“Absolutely amazing.”

Pleased with his sister’s praise, Oliver held out his hand with a gesture: “Well, we can’t do this for free. Just pay me 3,000 a month.”

“That’s not enough!” Christine laughed, swatting his hand away. “I’ll give you 5,000.”

“Deal!”