My Dreamy Old Husband
Chapter 1112

Michael wasn't sure how he was supposed to react. Does she have to be here and make a mess outof things? Could she not have stayed at home with the cats instead of following us all the way here?Michael gritted his teeth as he reminded himself to teach her a lesson when he got home—someone had to rein her in or she'd just keep pushing the limits!

The village was built on high terrains and now that it was September, it was the season for naturally-farmed watermelons. People would usually drive in from the city just so they could get their handson the seasonal produce, but the number of visitors had lessened significantly ever since the roadclosure had been implemented for the filming of “Where Are We Going, Dad?".

The watermelon field that lay before them was the best stretch of sand the village had to offer,thereby producing the sweetest watermelons during this season. Sophia's motorcycle was parkedoff to one side of the field; she was wearing a sun-protective jacket that was aptly melon-colored, agiant straw hat, and a pair of sunglasses that perched on the bridge of her nose. Her skin hadturned a light shade of caramel under the hot sun and sweat was dripping down her temples as shesquatted by the booth, much like an actual watermelon vendor.

It wasn't a particularly hot day in the village but seeing as it was nearly nine o'clock in the morning,the sun had crept past the mountain tops and was now beating down mercilessly.

Sophia had played the role of a cell phone vendor, a lotus root vendor, a lollipop vendor andpresently, she had assumed the role of a watermelon vendor. The switch-up had been so quick thatshe was probably already worn out by now. Bearing this in mind, Michael wanted to get whateverthey needed from the market so they could make a move. It went without saying that Sophia washere to keep an eye on both her husband and daughter—the sooner they left, the sooner she'dhead back to the hotel.

Michael hastily picked a small watermelon but Carmen's gaze was glued to a much bigger one. Hecounted the money in his hand as he thought about how much they could eat as a father-daughterduo, coming to the conclusion that the watermelon was far too big for the both of them to finish,even if they were to split it for two meals. It would inevitably go bad by tomorrow and the pricewent beyond their given budget.

“Come on, sweetie. We'll get the small one,” Michael said frantically, fearing that Carmen wouldbecome attached to the bigger watermelon.

Indeed, Carmen pointed to said watermelon and said, “Daddy, I want that one.”

“But we won't be able to finish it,” Michael countered hurriedly.

Hearing that, Carmen pouted. "We can always give some to Piggy.”

Michael glanced over at the piglet that Carmen had somehow picked up along the way and cursedinwardly, Sh*t! Where the hell is the pig's owner? How could they not have noticed that they've losta pig?

Michael didn't dare imagine what would happen if this piglet were to follow them back to BaysideCity. Knowing Carmen, she would feel sorry for the lonely piglet in about two days’ time and go insearch of a partner for it. From then on, it would only be a matter of time before a litter of pigletscame popping out, and soon after that there would be a whole family of them! If that was the case,Michael would very likely come home to not only a bunch of crap-colored ginger cats, but also ahouse full of pigs!

No, he thought with grim determination. I can't let that happen! He'd have to wait for Carmen to fallasleep before giving the piglet back to its rightful owner. Right now, he had to persuade her intogiving up on the watermelon. “That melon’s too expensive for us. If we get it, we won't have enoughmoney for our meals tomorrow.”

Carmen pouted resentfully but just as she was about to give up on the watermelon, Sophia swiftlynipped the vine off said melon and beamed at the both of them. “Let the kid have it! It's notexpensive at all, only ten cents for a pound! We're famous for our melons—if it's not sweet, wewon't take your money!”

Michael was rendered speechless as he stared blankly at his wife. Then, he turned to look at thecameraman and muttered, “Cut this scene out.” Ten cents for a pound—Sophia was practicallymaking a joke out of the watermelon and the cameraman’s intelligence.

After taking the watermelon and weighing it with a serious look on her face, Sophia promptlydeclared, “Right; the big watermelon is about three pounds, so that's thirty cents.”

Michael was rendered speechless once again. The watermelon weighs far beyond that!

Carmen happily took out fifty cents and received twenty for her change. Then, as if she hadn'talready butchered the melon market, Sophia gave Carmen the smaller melon that Michael hadinitially wanted, saying, “You're the 20th customer to visit our booth today, so you get a free melon!”Overjoyed, Carmen held onto her change as she walked away with the melon tucked under her arm,tugging the piglet alongside her.

Michael rolled his eyes in frustration. He shoved the big watermelon into a borrowed carrier bagand tightened his grip on the heavy grocery basket, traipsing after his daughter. His thin, whiteundershirt was soaked through with sweat as it clung onto his body and accentuated his well-tonedphysique—so much so that one could even see the deep grooves that ran over his hip bones. Thefilming crew was ecstatic as they hurried to capture this on camera. With footage like this, theywouldn't need to worry about the ratings for the second season at all!

The director leaned in close to Michael and asked in a low voice, “Do you know the lady who wasselling the watermelons back there?”

Michael focused on carrying the melon as sweat ran down his temples. “No; I don't,” he answeredflatly.

“I think she looks like your wife.”

“Not at all.”

“That was your wife, wasn't it?”

“Cut the scene out.”

The director said nothing more. Michael was making it far too obvious; it was most definitely hiswife back there at the booth! However, the director knew better than to press on.

Meanwhile, Harry, who had seen through Sophia's disguise from the get-go, had rushed over to thebooth before she could leave and bought a seven to eight-pound melon at the price Sophia hadset. He and Ashton could snack on the watermelon for the rest of the day.

The moment they left, the watermelons resumed their original market price and the other dads whowere on the show were forced to buy the melons at two for a pound.

Sophia changed back into her clothes and left it to Dimon—who had only just paid for the piglet—to compensate the farmers for the underpriced watermelons she had sold. As he rushed over to thebooth, Sophia hurried to catch up with Michael and Carmen.

By now, Michael was sweating profusely as he carried the watermelon and followed Carmen closelyfrom behind. She looked so little as she marched on ahead, happily holding onto the melon whileshe tugged the piglet along on its leash. However, it wasn't long before Carmen's little steps cameto a halt and she began amusing herself with the ants crawling on the side of the road.

Carefully, Michael put down the carrier bag with the melon and lifted a corner of his shirt to wipeaway his sweat. Squatting down, he looked at Carmen with concern and asked, “Are you okay?"Carmen hung her head. “Piggy can't walk any further,” she mumbled.

Michael almost let out a bitter laugh because it wasn't Piggy who couldn't walk any further—it wasCarmen!

"How about I head back and get started on the cooking while you and Piggy take a break here? Youcan both go back after you're ready to walk again,” Michael suggested placatingly.

Carmen nodded but when she turned, the piglet had bitten off its leash.

Upon discovering that Carmen had swiped a random piglet and realizing that there was no way forthem to bring it along with all their groceries, Michael had fashioned a leash out of a borrowedpiece of rope so that Carmen could tug the piglet along. Now that the rope was bitten off, thepiglet was scampering around the market.

Torn between holding onto the melon and trying to go after the piglet, Carmen looked at her fatherwith watery eyes. “Daddy, Piggy ran away..."

Michael could feel the blood pounding in his ears. It was no surprise that no one came to theirassistance. After all, the whole point of this reality show was to showcase how the dads dealt withunexpected situations, and everyone was interested in seeing how Michael would handle therunaway piglet.

Michael wasted no time, putting down the groceries and catching the piglet deftly. Then, he tookoff his shirt and turned it into a makeshift sack for the watermelon so that Carmen could easily carryit with her. He passed it to her gently and said, “You can make your way back home slowly with thewatermelon. I'll head back to get started on the cooking.”

Sophia had only just rushed over to where the filming crew was when she saw Michael strip off hisshirt. The moment his shirt came off, his torso was bared to the crowd in all its glory—the leanmuscles were defined as they coiled beneath his glistening skin. He sure was delicious to look at.Sophia swallowed and turned to see that all the cameras were focused on capturing this exactmoment. No, she thought possessively. That's my husband! Get your cameras away from him!

The director was in bliss as he gestured for the cameramen to keep capturing the scene. Withfootage like this, this season was bound to be a hit!

For as long as Taylor Murray was featured, “Keep Running: Sisters!” and “Divas Hit the Road’ wouldhave nothing on this show!