Chapter 271 - 24: Susan Comes Again

Words : 977 Updated : Sep 29th, 2025

Chapter 271: Chapter 24: Susan Comes Again Jones’ life was always full of ups and downs, and he found himself reminiscing more and more about his days in Salted Fish Port. In Salted Fish Port, he was Gray’s adopted son. Well, yes, an adopted son without status, friends, or money, but still an adopted son, right? Moreover, he was Gray’s personal guard, and in most matters, his orders were as good as Gray’s own. That position couldn’t be considered anything but high-ranking. Not just in Salted Fish Port, but anywhere on Blood Clan territory, people would call him "Young Master Jones" without fail. Yet, when he returned home, he reverted to being that insignificant little bloodling, utterly powerless against his own parents. It was as if anyone could mold and twist him to their liking. The feeling was absolutely dreadful. On top of that, he had to lie, and once he lied, he then lived in constant fear of being exposed... worst of all, there were plenty of people eagerly waiting to expose him. "I don’t even know why I came back. Why couldn’t I just stay in Salted Fish Port? Why the hell did I have to return home?" "But Lord Jones has to return home eventually, right? You have to see the Earl and Countess." Dora muttered softly. It seems that to all parents, their children, no matter how they are, are always just children. Changing the ingrained perceptions of one’s parents is a problem every child faces. After taking a thorough bath, scrubbing away the grime accumulated over days, and changing into fresh clothes—inside and out completely spotless—Jones even sprayed on some cologne before being sent to Cousin Susan, that insufferable little girl. "Hi, Cousin. Long time no see." In the dimly lit living room, Susan, as cute as a porcelain doll, looked at Jones with a smile. Jones stared at her expressionlessly and sighed helplessly, "Long time no see." "Aren’t you happy to see your cousin visiting you?" Jones’ father stood nearby, watching him. "Of course, I’m very happy." Jones forced out a smile—or rather, a fake smile. Susan laughed sweetly, "Uncle, Cousin must be tired since he just got back, right?" "He’s always tired, even if he hasn’t gone anywhere all day. It’s like he’s constantly half-asleep." Jones listened expressionlessly. Now it was dinner again. After all, the Blood Clan only had dinner, and it was never eaten at a fixed time. The maid had already served the sumptuous meal, filling the table completely. Dora stood beside Jones, keeping watch over him. Under the firelight, the dishes glistened with a tempting sheen, but Jones couldn’t muster the slightest appetite. Susan was cutting small bites of food with her knife and fork, her eyes smiling as she watched Jones. Her gaze... it was unbearable, downright insufferable. Even a demon would be cuter than her. Yes, Jones genuinely thought so. At least Vivian was better than Susan. Being berated by Vivian was far preferable to facing Susan. After a brief courtesy smile, Jones began zoning out, staring at the food on his plate. "Cousin Susan has already forgiven you. Not only that, but she’s taken the trouble to come see you. Don’t you think you should show some gratitude?" "Uncle, maybe Cousin is just still processing it," Susan said sweetly. "Jones!" Count Dracula’s voice suddenly rose. Jones had no choice but to meet his eyes. "Cousin Susan has forgiven you—now, what should you do?" "What should I do..." Jones spread his hands, speechless. "I guess I should accept her forgiveness?" Count Dracula’s eyes widened in an instant, scaring Jones into quickly lowering his head as he rushed to speak, "Thank you, Cousin. It was my fault before. Thank you..." "Actually, I wasn’t mad at you, Cousin, not really." Susan smiled, but then her face suddenly revealed a slightly pitiful expression. "I was just... a little scared. After all..." "You poor thing." The Countess said with a look of distress. "We all know it was Jones’ fault, and he’s already been severely reprimanded. He’s assured us it won’t happen again." "Is that so? That’s wonderful to hear." "Whose child are you really?" Of course, Jones would never dare say this aloud. If his parents hadn’t been present, Jones probably would’ve started cursing by now. But with his parents there, Jones had no choice but to remain silent. Saying anything was pointless anyway. The dinner lasted about half an hour. Not particularly long, but it felt like an eternity to Jones. The whole time, he had to endure his parents’ earnest apologies, listen to Susan feign grievance, feel his chest tighten with mounting frustration, and occasionally still get scolded by his parents. He was on the verge of exploding. When the last dessert arrived, Jones didn’t even wait for the maid’s assistance. He quickly grabbed some to place on his plate but didn’t even eat it. Wiping his lips with a napkin, he said, "I’m full. Cousin Susan, Father, Mother, enjoy the rest of your meal. I’ll go rest now." With that, he got up, ready to leave. "Stop right there!" Of course, as expected, Jones’ father spoke up again. Jones braced himself and froze in place. "Where are you going?" "I... want to go rest. I haven’t had a proper rest in days, and I still have to go out tonight. I thought I’d take the opportunity to rest now." Count Dracula turned to glance at Susan, hesitating for a long while before finally saying, "Go rest." "Thank you, Father!" Jones bolted out with Dora in tow. "Let me guess what Father wanted to say just now. He definitely wanted me to spend time with Susan—take a walk, have a chat, or whatever. But then he suddenly recalled what happened before and dropped the idea. Looks like that incident wasn’t entirely a bad thing."

Chapter 271 - 24: Susan Comes Again

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