Ethan’s Vengeance of Love

Chapter 158

Old Mr. Rowland had never lost a game of chess in his long life. Well, that was only mostly true because he had recently lost to his granddaughter-in-law just recently, and now, he had even lost the game to his seven-year-old great-grandson.

“But… Apollo is only seven years old.” Mrs. Rowland muttered disbelievingly. She knew that Old Mr. Rowland was an exceptional chess player, who would never take it easy when it came to chess, so the only reasonable explanation was that Apollo was a genius.

“Well, this child is exceptionally clever. I believe his intelligence level is above average,” he said as his eyes flickered at that thought.

“So, you mean that he has a high IQ? Has our family finally produced a high-IQ child?” Her eyes lit up with excitement, just like Old Mr. Rowland’s. Both of them were ecstatic at the fact that Apollo was exceptionally intelligent. “I heard that we can now measure intelligence with a series of tests. Why don’t we take Apollo for such a test?”

Apollo never intended to showcase his intelligence level, but he never imagined that he would be deemed a rare object in the eyes of the Rowlands just by playing a game of chess. He glanced up at Mrs. Rowland, who looked as though she was about to jump out of her seat to make the necessary arrangements to get him tested. Thus, he knew he had to speak up to dispel her idea, “There’s no need to test. I’ve already been tested.”

“Tested? How did it go? What’s your score?” Her eyes shone brighter upon hearing that. Even Old Mr. Rowland was very attentive to what Apollo was going to say next.

“Well, I’d say… just slightly higher than average,” Apollo responded humbly. He didn’t want to overshadow anyone.

“Are you sure it’s just slightly above average?” Old Mr. Rowland seemed to have picked up on Apollo’s intention to stay modest and repeated his words with rhetorical emphasis.

“Oh my, is Apollo really a high-IQ child?!” Mrs. Rowland exclaimed. “Oh, my goodness, our family has finally produced a clever child. Thank you, Jesus!”

She could not stop praising Apollo. Now that she had an excellent grandson, her son became quite incompetent in her eyes. “You know, none of our family members have such a high IQ. I mean, Keith isn’t stupid, but he’s definitely only of average intelligence. So, who do you think Apollo inherited his intelligence from?”

Old Mr. Rowland pondered briefly before replying, “Definitely not from our family then. I think it had to be from the Wolands. After all, Alice is his mother. I don’t believe that Alice is the helpless woman that others perceive her to be. In fact, I think she’s quite clever and knows how to use her intelligence to her advantage. I can imagine that those who try to take advantage of her might end up being outsmarted.”

“Yes, you’re right. Not only is she beautiful, but she is also brilliant. Even her child is outstanding. What have we done to deserve her?” It was obvious that Mrs. Rowland was extremely satisfied with Alice.

She then turned to her own son, and her smiley face disappeared. She was clearly dissatisfied with Keith for not taking enough initiative. “You need to step up your game so that Alice can be part of our family soon.”

A peculiar gleam shone in Old Mr. Rowland’s eyes as if his mind wandered elsewhere. “Holland used to brag to me how smart Ethan was every day. Now it’s finally my turn to repay the favor,” he remarked slyly.

“But Ethan is indeed very outstanding.” Mrs. Rowland could not help but tell the truth.

“I’m not denying that. It’s just that Jesus has been kind to me since He has gifted me an outstanding and intelligent great-grandson, who is even better than Ethan. I should call Holland now.” Old Mr. Rowland just wanted to show off his new findings.

On the other hand, Keith appeared to be lost in his thoughts. He couldn’t help but notice Apollo’s amazing intelligence, which reminded him of Ethan. Could it be possible that Ethan was the biological father of the boy? And, if that were the case, would Alice choose Ethan over him? But Keith quickly dismissed those thoughts. Alice was still hesitant to marry him even though she had accepted him as Apollo’s biological father. So, he did not think her decision would be any different if Ethan were the biological father.

All he had to do now was to persevere and win Alice’s heart over so that she would marry him voluntarily. He had decided to spend his entire life with Alice and no one else. However, he also needed to uncover what happened seven years ago as soon as possible and would never keep the outcome from her, regardless of the outcome of the investigation. He would let her make her own decision after telling her everything.

On the other hand, Old Mr. Rowland took several photos and videos of Apollo after obtaining his great- grandson’s consent to do so. He even edited the video of them playing chess together.

After he had prepared everything, he dialed his old buddy’s phone number.

Old Mr. Knight wasted no time teasing Old Mr. Rowland the moment he picked up the phone. “Are you awake? Have you finally woken up from your dream? Or shall I ask whether the dream of having a great-grandson has finally burst?” he quipped.

“What are you talking about? My great-grandson is with me now.” Old Mr. Rowland knew that his old buddy did not believe him, but fortunately, he came prepared. “I just took a few photos and videos of my great-grandson. I’ll send them to you.”

As he was speaking, he had already sent said photos and videos he had just taken of Apollo to Old Mr. Knight since them being on the phone would not interfere with Old Mr. Knight from viewing those files. Obviously, Old Mr. Knight, who was eager to know whether the great-grandson was a fake, immediately viewed the files and eventually fell silent.

After a while, he burst out laughing. “I mean, are you dreaming? This child looks like he’s already seven or eight! How could he possibly be your great-grandson when your son isn’t even married?”

“Allow me to enlighten you, then. Keith did something he shouldn’t have done when he was young. So, he just realized that he had fathered a child very recently.” It was clear that Old Mr. Rowland did not blame Keith for his behavior because his tone was boastful.

When he received no response from his old buddy, he continued regaling his friend with the tale, “Keith returned home last night with the paternity test result, confirming that Apollo is indeed his son. We were all taken aback by the news, and I made sure to scold him for his irresponsible behavior. After all, leaving my precious great-grandson out there for so long was simply unacceptable. Still, he’s now finally a member of our family.”

“Wait a minute… Are you still daydreaming? How could this happen in the first place? You have a seven-year-old great-grandson, who also happens to be a genius all of a sudden? I’m not sure I believe it.” Old Mr. Knight chuckled as he found the story too good to be true. Yet, as he thought about what his friend had told him on the phone earlier, he grew more serious and skeptical.

“What nonsense are you spewing? Why would you think that Keith was oblivious as to what he did all those years ago? Also, there’s a paternity test. How could I be mistaken?” Old Mr. Rowland retorted hotly, upset at his old friend constantly doubting him despite such solid evidence.

On the other hand, Old Mr. Knight fell silent upon hearing that and decided to examine the photos and videos more closely. After a moment, he spoke up, but his voice was filled with doubt, “Are you sure

that’s your great-grandson? He doesn’t really resemble… anyone in your family, does he?”

“What do you mean? The way I look at it, he looks quite similar to his father. You’re just jealous.” Both of them had been comrades in the army for many years. Although they appeared to be fierce rivals, their friendship ran deep. Therefore, it was no surprise that Old Mr. Rowland knew exactly what Old Mr. Knight was thinking.

After they retired from the army, they went their separate ways and eventually settled in different parts of the country. Despite the distance between them, they stayed in frequent contact over the phone. It was just a shame that their families could not get together as often due to the aforementioned distance.