Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

The Robert family.

The atmosphere in the house was a bit strange, except for Luke's grandmother who was chattering excitedly, everyone else was somewhat silent.

Luke wasn't very close to this grandmother. She had been divorced from Grandpa Robert for many years and would occasionally 'drop by', always leaving unhappy and without a word.

Luke's mom also didn't have a good relationship with her, as the mother and daughter often argued.

The ones closest to Grandma were Val and the chubby kid.

Robert, Linda, and Luke remained silent on the side, Val was speaking intermittently, whereas the chubby kid became less awkward after receiving a few compliments and grew more enthusiastic in conversation.

"Grandma, why did you suddenly come to Los Angeles? Didn't you say you wanted to settle in Canada last time?"

"That's right, I thought about settling in Canada, it's a great place for retirement. It's already covered in snow this season, you can build snowmen in the yard, and everyone sits by the fireplace to keep warm, it feels cozy and wonderful...

Honestly, it has a much better holiday vibe than in Los Angeles."

Linda questioned, "Then why didn't you spend Christmas in Canada?"

"Good question." Grandma glanced at everyone, "I originally intended to spend the new year in Canada...

But I couldn't bear to leave you all...

You are the people closest to me, I hope to spend this special day with family.

I believe you all think the same as I do.

We are a family, our hearts are connected..."

Robert crossed his arms, "Wow... that's very touching.

But not everyone is your family, shouldn't you ask for the host's opinion before coming over,"

Grandma said, "Sorry, I couldn't wait to see my son, daughter, and grandson.

I wanted to surprise them and give them an unforgettable Christmas."

Robert said, "I don't know how they feel, but for me, it's indeed unforgettable... so unforgettable that I can't forget it."

Grandma laughed, "That means I succeeded."

Robert said, "Yes, you succeeded in ruining our Christmas."

Grandma looked hurt, "Oh my, do you really think that?" Grandma looked at the others, "Do you all think the same way?"

Linda didn't say a word.

Val didn't dare to look at Robert and had to brace himself to say, "I... we still want you to come."

The chubby kid, unaware of the severity of the situation, laughed, "Even though hiding in the box is a bit old-fashioned, this is the first time I've seen it, and it did give me a little surprise.

Honestly, if my big brother weren't right behind me, I wouldn't dare to go near."

Seeing the chubby kid pulling him into it, Luke didn't want to appear indifferent, so he nodded with a smile.

Grandma glanced at Robert, as if saying, see, someone still welcomes me.

The chubby kid said, "Grandma, why didn't you come earlier to have dinner with us?"

"I wanted to have dinner with you, too, but something delayed me.

In order to spend Christmas with you, I've been on the road, on the road... I haven't even had dinner yet."

Val shook his head.

Linda rolled her eyes.

Yet the chubby kid felt moved and warmly said, "There's still food in the kitchen, I'll take you."

"My dear Jack, you're so considerate." Grandma kissed Jack's forehead and followed him to the dining room.

Robert looked at Linda, then at Val, and asked in a low voice, "Tell me, what's going on? Don't say you didn't know about this?"

Val glanced at the dining room, "She came to the supermarket where I work, dragged me to a restaurant to eat, and said she wanted to spend Christmas with us.

I... I didn't know how to refuse at the time..."

Robert questioned, "Then why didn't you tell me? Letting her come over like this, is this a surprise? It's a shock."

Val explained, "I... I realized it wasn't appropriate afterward.

So, I called her to tell her...

It might not be convenient to come today, and I arranged to meet her at my sister's house. I didn't expect her to suddenly show up."

Robert asked, "How long is she planning to stay?"

"I don't know either."

"What about tonight?" Robert looked at Val, then at Linda.

Linda looked helpless, "There's an empty room on my side..."

Robert said, "If it's a problem, you can book her a hotel, I'll reimburse it."

"It's not appropriate, besides, she won't stay for long..."

Robert patted his daughter's shoulder, "Don't force yourself."

Since the old lady arrived, the atmosphere had become a bit strange and time seemed to slow down.

The few adults were somewhat absent-minded.

The chubby kid also seemed to sense it, tugging on Luke's shoulder, "Big brother, what's up?"

Luke didn't know how to explain it to him. Even if he did, it wasn't his place to say these things. To Luke, adult matters didn't concern children. The chubby kid quite liked this occasionally visiting grandma, they should just get along in their own way, no need to be affected by the adults' emotions, which would be uncomfortable.

Finally, it was midnight.

"Yay, it's Christmas!" The chubby kid, wearing a Santa hat and blowing a party horn, couldn't wait to rush over to the Christmas tree to grab presents.

Everyone else also walked to the Christmas tree and began to take their own gifts.

Luke received a total of four gifts. He opened the first box, which was an exquisite notebook with a matching carbon pen hanging from it, the black cover felt great, and the craftsmanship was nice as well.

Val said, "This is from me. The notebook's cover is very durable, and the pages inside can be replaced once used up. This notebook can be used for many years."

"Thank you, uncle, I really like it." Luke couldn't do without a notebook at work, and this one was quite the right size.

A chubby kid nearby shouted in surprise, "Hey, my gift is a pair of teacups. Who is this from?"

Robert said, "It's from me. It's a set of couple cups; you can give one to Maggie."

"Thanks, grandpa. Maggie will definitely be pleased."

The chubby kid unwrapped another gift, "Who gave the chocolates?"

Linda said, "I did. It's 85% dark chocolate, very suitable for you."

Luke also picked up the same chocolate and shook it, "This brand's chocolate is very fine, thanks, mom."

"Why not buy the 95%?" The chubby kid pouted. He didn't like high-purity dark chocolate; it tasted bitter and somewhat salty, without any sweetness.

The chubby kid opened the next gift, "Movie tickets."

Warda said, "It's from me. You can watch ten screenings, plus five popcorns, and two Häagen-Dazs."

"Wow, sounds pretty good." The chubby kid smiled, opening the last gift to reveal a look of surprise, "iPad!"

Haha... big brother, is this from you?"

Luke nodded, "No need to thank me."

The chubby kid was so enamored with the iPad he couldn't wait to start exploring it, then suddenly seemed to remember something, "Grandma, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were coming, so I didn't prepare a gift for you."

Grandma didn't mind, "Dear, don't worry too much.

Every year we celebrate Christmas, and every year we give gifts, it's just the same stuff over and over, it's getting a bit cliché."

Hearing this, the chubby kid's smile dimmed a bit.

Robert smirked, "Did you prepare a Christmas gift for Jack? He's really looking forward to it."

"Uh...

I said, it's always the same gifts, they're too cliché.

This year I decided to do something different, and offered myself as a gift, giving you all a surprise."

Robert said, "Or maybe a scare.

Thankfully, I don't have heart disease, otherwise, this Christmas might be spent in the hospital."

"Robert. Don't be so harsh. I know my departure hurt you, and you haven't let me go, but...

We need to act like adults, be a bit more mature."

"No, your leaving didn't make me sad, it was a relief.

That's the only thing I'm grateful to you for."

Grandma glared at Robert, "Oh my goodness, that's too hurtful, are you sure you want to say that in front of the kids?"

Val stood up, blocking the two of them, "It's Christmas today, we should talk about happy things."

Linda glanced at the clock on the wall, "Kids, we've received our gifts, it's time for us to go home."

The chubby kid reluctantly tore his gaze away from the iPad, "Aren't we staying here? I thought we'd go home tomorrow night?"

Linda said, "You misunderstood, today is already the next day."

The chubby kid argued, "But before..."

Linda insisted, "Pack your things, time to go home." Linda looked at Grandma beside her, "Come stay with me. Luke has moved out, so there's an empty room."

"Okay." Grandma agreed, looking at Val beside her, "Dear, I'll come visit you again tomorrow."

"Go ahead, I'll visit my sister tomorrow too." Val wouldn't dare let his mom stay any longer, or he risked being kicked out of his own house.

As Val watched, Luke drove away, taking his mom, the chubby kid, and Grandma to the Eno community. After a brief chat, they said goodbye, and he drove back home.

This Christmas felt a bit anticlimactic.

Luke parked the car at his doorstep, looking at the dark house that stood in stark contrast to the brightly lit windows of the surrounding neighbors.

He hadn't expected to end up alone back home on the early hours of Christmas morning.

He felt a bit reluctant to go back inside.

Luke pulled out his phone and dialed Daisy's number, chatting briefly. Daisy was spending the holiday at her mother's and wouldn't be back until tomorrow afternoon.

Luke felt even more disinterested, pulling out his phone to call Orty, "Hi, gorgeous, Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." Orty was a bit surprised, "At this hour, without your family, how, why did you think of calling me?"

"And you? Where are you celebrating?"

"Los Angeles."

"With your family?"

Orty said, "I'm here alone."

"What a coincidence, I'm alone too. Want me to come over and spend Christmas with you?"

Orty laughed, "At this hour, what would you come over for?

To sleep?"

Luke laughed, "If you're up for it, I'm more than willing."

"Not today.

If you're free tomorrow, we can have a meal together, I actually have something to discuss with you."

"What is it?"

"Face to face."