My Dreamy Old Husband
Chapter 1500

Even Cooper himself was beginning to acknowledge that he no longer stood a chance againstBailey by now, say less of anybody else. He was getting older, so it was time to hand things over tothe next generation. Now, Bailey was the young, determined, and ambitious one, whereas Cooperhad aged, so he was no longer the former's opponent. Therefore, he could only watch as Baileydated his granddaughter.

After the military training, Carmen's eighteenth birthday was approaching fast, which would markthe beginning of her adulthood. Sophia was extremely busy with preparing the Bayside City ladies’ball, which was intentionally held during Carmen's birthday.

The ball held this year was of an unprecedented scale, and the venue was far more lavish than theprevious ones. All costs were borne by the Michels, Yards and Mitchells, so it was within reason thatCarmen should be the center of attention. It was a silent agreement among all the attendees thatthe other ladies would be required to take the backseat. Since the hosts were the ones to bear allthe costs, nobody complained about the arrangement. Moreover, they were even hoping to get aninvitation to the ball, as being invited as a guest was in itself a great honor.

The event would mark the coming-of-age of the nameless girl who was one of the most prestigiousladies in upper class society, who was also Michael and Sophia's daughter, as well as Cooper andAnna's granddaughter. She would be officially showing herself in the upper class society of BaysideCity, so all eyes were on the event.

Carmen already made her debut under another pseudonym when she was a kid. After shootingsome films and reality shows, she retired to study abroad. There was no news of her since then, sothe public seemed to have forgotten her altogether.

On the other hand, the Fletchers and Mitchells were also extremely protective of her. Nobody wasable to capture even a single photo of her ever since her retirement from stardom, so people couldonly make conjectures of her current appearance according to movie stills that she was in when shewas younger.

Carmen treasured the days when she could hang out in Bayside University without restrictions, aswell as without needing to conceal her appearance. Nobody would spare her a glance, as she wasbut a nerdy-looking girl with braces that could easily blend into a crowd. Not only could she enjoyfood at hawker stalls, but she could also sit with her legs crossed, or even dig her nose and go outwithout washing her face.

However, she couldn't hide forever. After she turned eighteen, she would be an adult. She had tostart managing her family’s company, so she could no longer hide from the public. Forever lost washer freedom, as growing up meant having various limitations being placed on her. Therefore, sheasked Bailey on a date on the eve of her eighteenth birthday to have one last feast at the hawkerstall outside her university.

Targeting the university students, the street vendors on the street near the entrance of BaysideUniversity sold a lot of cheap and tasty food. In a few gulps, Carmen chugged down some cokedirectly from a bottle. She set the bottle down on the table with a loud thud when she had enough,and then wiped her mouth before letting out a gross burp. Knowing that it was probably her finalchance to do so, she treasured the moment. She wouldn't be able to do so from now on, as shewould be required to act like an elegant lady befitting of her status.

The hawker stall that they were at was indeed a stall in its simplest form, equipped with only a singletable as well as two stools. Standing at a height of a hundred and ninety centimeters, Bailey couldonly sit on the ground, using some newspapers as a cushion. They ordered a lot of grilled meatwhile enjoying it using disposable cutlery.

The stall was only popular because of its cheap price and delicious food, while the rest of the diningexperience was lousy at best. However, Bailey didn't seem to mind at all, as he finished all of thefood that they ordered, including those that Carmen didn't manage to finish.

After their meal, Carmen let out a burp while looking at Bailey. “I'll be turning eighteen soon, so doyou have a present that you would like to give me?”

Instead of giving her an answer, Bailey scooped up the huge bottle that she was drinking from justnow to chug down a mouthful of coke before setting it down again, letting out a burp in theprocess. Amused by his actions, Carmen chuckled merrily; she thought Bailey was a fun man to bewith.

While she was waiting for Bailey's reply, Flynn seemingly emerged out of nowhere once again."Carmen, why are you here?”

Burping, Carmen turned to see Flynn and Kimberly. Both of them were wearing fine, brandedclothing which were a mismatch to their environment. Upon hearing Carmen burp, Kimberlycovered her nose while scrunching up her face in contempt. “Let's go, Flynn. This place isdisgusting.” This is sickening. How could people eat in a place full of germs like this? I suppose thisis all poor people could afford.

Meanwhile, Carmen retorted in irritation, “Can't you see we're eating?”

Flynn examined the food in bewilderment. “How could you be so degenerate? These things are just—" The food Carmen was eating looked repulsive to him, so Flynn couldn't even imagine eatingthem.

On the other hand, Carmen didn't want to speak to Flynn, for she realized that Flynn and her weretoo different. In contrast, Bailey and her were birds of a flock. Not a lot of people were willing toenjoy street food with her. Even though Casper kept her company twice, he always got an upsetstomach after going home, so Bailey made for better company. He was trying his best to adapt toher family and lifestyle, as well as her habits and preferences.

In the meantime, Flynn was still chiding Carmen. The longer he spent observing her, the moredisgusted he was. He even felt anger and disappointment toward Carmen for willingly engaging insuch depraved activities. It was, after all, a matter of upbringing and social status. Flynn neverneeded to work, nor was he accustomed to eating street food. Having gotten used to living aluxurious life, he didn’t even know the prices of groceries.

All of his friends hailed from rich families. They collected watches and cars, living a sheltered life thatled them to be ignorant of the sufferings of others. His girlfriend, Kimberly, was of a similardisposition. She had rich girls as friends whom she would talk about makeup and accessories with.Those were stuff that Carmen would never get her hands on. The amount they spent on a meal wasenough to sustain Carmen for a whole year, and the price of any article of clothing they wore wouldbe enough for her to buy clothes that would last for the rest of her life.

Kimberly also received an invitation to attend the ladies’ ball, which was something that someone atthe bottom of the social pyramid would never get to know and join in on; they practically lived intwo different worlds.

It wasn't until then that he knew how different they were. While Flynn would never eat street foodwith Carmen, her current boyfriend was willing to do so. Gritting his teeth, Flynn left without a word,as if having made a decision. This time, he was finally able to leave her behind; even if they meteach other again in the future, he would treat her like a stranger.

There was a time when he used to want to spend his life with Carmen, as he never met someone asintelligent and kind as her. Even if she was no better than other people, she was at least better thanKimberly in both regards. However, they could never get together. His family would never agree tothe match due to the fact that Carmen couldn't help his family climb the social ladder like howKimberly could. It wasn't until after losing her that he came to know that she already had a place inhis heart, but unfortunately, they could never get together.

Meanwhile, Carmen paid them no heed. Instead, she focused on finishing her coke before lettingout another burp. Hearing that nearly made Kimberly puke. She hoped that Flynn could see clearlynow that Carmen wasn't on the same level as him, so he should stop pining after her.

After filling up their bellies, Carmen paid for the meal before leaving. While on their way home, shewalked hand-in-hand with Bailey. The setting sun cast its rays on them, while Carmen wascalculating how many more meals she would need to buy in order to repay Bailey for the meal thathe paid for. Seemingly having recalled something, she repeated the question she asked earlier. “Youhave yet to tell me what you're planning to give me as a present.”

Stopping in his tracks, Bailey held her hand. Then, he lowered his gaze to stare at her seriously."Would you like to know?”

She nodded expectantly. “Of course!”

Falling into silence, Bailey held a gentle gaze in his emerald eyes before stepping forward all of asudden to kiss her on the lips.

Later that day, Carmen yelled as soon as she got home, “Mom, do you have any hemostaticlozenges and anti-inflammatory mouthwash? Bailey cut his tongue on my braces, so he’s bleedingheavily!”