Chapter 33 Are You Getting Married?

Rubbing her temples, Clara Bennett quickly remedied the situation: "Alright, alright, if you want, next time I’ll let you feel my knife dance, that’s almost like seeing it yourself." She spoke gently yet firmly, as if trying to soothe the unintentional hurt she had just caused him. William Foster chuckled lightly, a tinge of melancholy in his voice, yet with a hint of relief: "But I can’t see it." Even though he said that, he seemed ready to embrace another way to understand her world. Clara Bennett continued to explain: "You can feel it with your hands. Next time, I’ll let you do it with my hands, then won’t you be able to sense it?" Her tone became much softer, warm like a spring breeze. William Foster seemed quite happy, his tone involuntarily becoming cheerful: "Can I really? Thank you!" His gratitude was sincere, and this rare understanding and care made him feel truly warm. After receiving such a satisfactory and even slightly surprising answer, William Foster felt very cheerful when he hung up the phone. This small interaction had given him new insights. Through these careful yet bold attempts, William Foster finally understood. Even though showing one’s vulnerable side might not seem glamorous, it can actually have unexpectedly good effects. Clara Bennett is a soft-hearted person. She always treats those around her with utmost care, and a tough stance might generate aversion from her. On the contrary, showing vulnerability at the right moment can touch her soft spot, thus gaining unexpected goodwill. William Foster called this goodwill a "benefit." Indeed, as long as you’re willing to show some vulnerability, you can gain more unexpected goodwill from Clara Bennett; this was his newfound insight. It’s no wonder people say that when pursuing a girl, one should be a bit thick-skinned. Sometimes, putting down one’s pride is the only way to truly keep the person one cherishes. At this moment, William Foster deeply agreed, as if opening the door to a new world. There was a faint and urgent knocking from outside, and William Foster turned to look at the door, seeing Zam holding a mobile phone standing there, his expression slightly serious: "Young master, your uncles would like you to take a video call." William Foster nodded slightly and responded calmly: "Alright, I’ll take it in the study." Having said this, he walked steadily towards the study. Upon entering the study, as soon as he connected, the screen immediately displayed a few faces of the elders with serious expressions. William Foster could feel the invisible pressure emanating from them. The first to speak was the eldest uncle, whose tone was calm yet had an undeniable force: "William, about what we mentioned before, since you’re currently in Ocean City, why not meet Miss Clarke? She’s hosting a very important concert there recently, it might be a good opportunity for communication." Faced with such a straightforward request, William Foster replied directly and decisively: "No." The short and powerful answer was like a cold, hard stone thrown into the water, causing ripples. Then the second uncle couldn’t help but interject, his voice carrying some anxiety and helplessness: "Kid, can’t you consider our big family a little? There’s a lot of pressure on our family from the outside, especially regarding your marriage, everyone’s very concerned. Continuing to drag this out isn’t a solution." Despite this, William Foster’s attitude remained firm and unwavering: "I won’t delay this matter." The third uncle, hearing this, directly questioned: "Isn’t this already a delay? Miss Clarke’s conditions are excellent in every respect, yet you haven’t even met her and directly refused the request to meet. Continuing to shirk like this, when exactly do you plan to resolve this matter?" Confronted with the inquiry, William Foster calmly revealed his true thoughts: "I have already planned to get married." This unexpected news instantaneously brought undeniable surprise to the faces of the uncles. Almost simultaneously, they repeated the same words. "Marriage?" "Really planning to get married?!" "Are you sure you’re about to step into the halls of marriage?!?!" Seeing the repeated questioning expressions on the screen, William Foster remained silent for a few seconds. He realized that sometimes people habitually emphasize repeatedly to deepen impression. Next, the voice of the eldest uncle was noticeably raised: "You say you want to get married? Then who is it with? Why did none of us elders know about this beforehand?" Regarding this question, William Foster provided a straightforward answer: "Now you know." The second uncle beside him then tried to delve deeper into the reasons behind the truth, his tone becoming slightly hesitant. "William, we’re worried whether this is something you made up to temporarily get rid of our urging? After all, we know this period has brought you quite some troubles, even the major shareholders within the company don’t dare directly ask about your personal affairs and can only choose to focus attention passing among us relatives." William Foster replied candidly: "I’m not lying, this is true." The third uncle closely followed by asking: "Whose daughter makes you so enamored? By your standards, ordinary people probably can’t meet your expectations." William Foster smiled slightly: "Uncle, you introduce girls to me while not believing I could take a liking to them. What significance does such an arrangement hold?" The third uncle embarrassingly rubbed his nose: "I was thinking, even if you don’t choose the most outstanding object, at least find a relatively good one. But your standards are indeed too high, like hoping for a perfect lady to fall from the sky which is really hard to achieve." Actually, if following the third uncle’s own thoughts, he believed the most suitable wife for William Foster should be like a gender-swapped version of himself—of course, this was purely his own imagination. Now, William Foster wasn’t lying; there truly was a future bride awaiting him. The rare good mood made William Foster willing to chat with the elders for a bit longer. Thus, he mentioned Miss Clara Bennett: "The girl I plan to marry is named Clara Bennett, she is genuinely a rich heiress and is quite well-known in Ocean City. Although her family’s wealth and influence are far inferior to the Foster family, this doesn’t matter to me. The purer the affection, the better." The eldest uncle responded with concern: "From what you’ve said, her character should be very good?" William Foster nodded gently: "Indeed, it is. She has no utilitarian thoughts towards me and doesn’t mind me currently lacking power or even pretending to have mobility issues, such as impaired vision."