Chapter 3909

Soon, even Tati ran out and joined the others. Only Isabella remained seated in the gazebo, sipping her tea while watching the younger ones play joyfully. Her personality made it difficult for her to indulge in carefree fun like the rest. However, seeing them so happy lifted her own spirits, and she felt content. She found the tea Austin made to her liking. In the past, she rarely drank tea, as she mostly drank coffee. She would have two cups of coffee every day to keep herself going. After returning to his dorm, Austin lay on his bed but did not immediately fall asleep. Instead, he picked up his phone and chatted with his cousins. He was closest to Peter and River, given their close age gap, and they often chatted the most. At this moment, he was on a call with River. He asked about the situation at home and whether their nana was mad at him for not coming home for Christmas. River replied, “Everything’s fine at home. Nana’s not mad that you’re not coming home. In fact, she’s been all smiles, all day, every day. Kevin brought Hayden home for Christmas, and Nana’s been so happy about it. She said our family is getting bigger. She’s really enjoying it.” He continued, “She also said that next year, it’ll be even livelier. She told the rest to work harder—those who’re married to hurry up and have kids, while those who haven’t succeeded in their pursuit should hurry and step up their game.” Austin was sullenly speechless for a moment. “Nana’s so heartless! She set me up with a candidate so far away, so I can’t even go home for Christmas, but she didn’t miss me at all?" River laughed and said, “I think you’re the one who doesn’t want to come back. If you really wanted to, there’s no way your boss would have not let you come home. “By the way, Austin, Liberty and Duncan registered their marriage, and Julian’s also gotten married too. It feels like all the super single bachelors around us are settling down.” Austin was surprised. “They’ve all gotten married? Has Nana said anything about it?” His relationship with Isabella still had not progressed. “Nana didn’t say anything. Kevin brought Hayden back for Christmas, so Nana’s just been up in the clouds. Dylan hasn’t come back yet, not sure what he’s up to. It could be that he feels embarrassed to come back because the pursuit of his bride candidate isn’t going well and he’s let down Nana. “Peter’s being secretive—even Zack doesn’t know who Nana chose for him. But I have noticed that Peter has been smiling a lot lately, so I think he’s definitely doing better than Dylan.” River continued talking about the progress of the older York boys’ efforts to pursue their bride candidates, since that was a task their nana had assigned to them. In a few years, she would probably start looking for wives for him and Alex as well. With Dylan as a precedent, River had already discussed it with Alex and they agreed that once Grandma May started arranging their marriages, they would completely trust her judgment. They did not want to end up like Dylan who had decided to pursue someone he chose himself and to this day, still did not even know the woman’s name. What a fiasco. “Austin, how are things going with you and your lady?” River was just chatting casually with Austin and getting some gossip out of him while he was at it since it was Christmas break and he had nothing to do. Austin replied, “We still haven’t progressed. She’s not someone who falls easily, but I’m not in a hurry either. I’m already right by her side, after all. We’ll take it slow, and eventually, she’ll fall for me.” Austin felt that as long as he stayed by Isabella’s side, Grandma May would not scold him. She would also not ban him from coming home for Christmas even if the one-year deadline she gave passed and he still had not married Isabella. Even though Isabella and her cousins sometimes joked about which man was handsome or teased each other, they were all rational people who did not fall for someone easily.