The Contract Said No Strings Attached (Charlotte) novel Chapter 312

“Oh, really?” Joyce pictured the scene in her mind and couldn’t help but laugh.

The two kept chatting for a while. Joyce soon realized that Rebecca wasn’t just beautiful—she was sharp, capable, and full of creative ideas about her work.

“Raina, you’re truly impressive. I have no doubt we’ll make a great team,” Joyce said sincerely.

“Thank you,” Rebecca replied with a smile. “Honestly, I admire you too. It’s amazing how much you’ve accomplished at such a young age.”

They exchanged a warm glance and laughed together.

…

Meanwhile, after finishing up his lesson with Joyce, Samuel answered a phone call.

Ethan watched Uncle Samuel walk away, eyes darting mischievously as a new scheme began to form in his mind.

He crept quietly toward Uncle Samuel’s big fishing bucket. While Samuel was busy with his call, Ethan seized the moment—he plunged his hand into the bucket and, quick as a flash, snatched out two large fish, dropping them into his own little pail.

“Yes! Now I’ve got some big fish too!” Ethan grinned, secretly pleased with himself. “Just two fish… Uncle Samuel will never notice,” he thought.

He kept up the act, sitting by the water’s edge, fishing as innocently as ever, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

After a little while, Samuel returned.

He strolled over to his bucket, glancing inside out of habit.

The moment he looked, he could tell something was off.

“Hey, where did my two fish go? Hm?” Samuel frowned, his tone casual but probing.

The other three kids heard Uncle Samuel’s voice and immediately turned around.

Samuel smirked. “Did you really think you could fool me with that little trick? Come on, hand my fish back.”

When it came to the kids, Samuel never cut corners—he was even stricter than at work and never let them get away with anything.

Ethan, though reluctant, knew he’d been caught. He obediently scooped the two big fish from his own pail and returned them to Samuel’s wooden bucket.

…

At the end of the contest, Samuel smiled and announced, “Alright, let’s see who the real champion is.”

Rebecca, acting as referee, came over to tally up the fish. To everyone’s surprise, the four kids together hadn’t caught as many fish as Samuel alone.

The kids peered into their nearly empty buckets, cheeks puffed in frustration.

“How come we still didn’t catch as many as Uncle Samuel?” Noah grumbled, frowning in disbelief.