She opened her bag and checked the contents. All her belongings were still there. As for her phone, she recalled that it had been snatched away from her at the Foster's house when they discovered it. Her phone was turned off, so she turned it back on only to find that there were tons of missed calls and unread messages.Some of those were from her grandmother, some from Lisa, and others were from unknown numbers.Serenity had a good guess of why her grandmother would call her. As for Lisa... She scrolled through her phone and found that Lisa had called her more than twenty times, so she called her back right away.Lisa picked up almost as soon as the call went through and asked, "Is that you, Serenity?""Yes," she replied, "it's me. I... turned off my phone yesterday, and I saw your calls just now when I turned it back on."Lisa sighed in relief and said, "Oh my God, I was so worried when I couldn't call you last night. You told me you were going to your grandmother's house for th
Just then, she could hear her grandfather's goading voice through the phone saying, "Why haven't you told Serenity to rush over to the police station and tell them to release her uncles and the rest?!""Release them? Why should they be released?! They committed the crimes themselves, so they should be locked away for as long as they deserve!""Have you forgotten that they're your children?! How could you take the side of someone with a different surname?!""What do you mean ‘someone with a different surname’?! She's my granddaughter! Since her mother's gone, it's my job as her grandmother to support her!""Aren't you worried that no one will take care of you when you get old and frail if you act this way? Or are you counting on that granddaughter of yours who's been in prison before to take care of you?!"The old couple continued to argue, almost as if they had forgotten that the call was still ongoing. After a long while, Serenity's grandmother finally remembered that she was sti
Her tears always made him feel strangely helpless, almost as if he could do everything for her just to make the tears stop flowing from her eyes.Serenity suddenly sobbed and threw herself into Jackson's arms before letting it all out and crying even harder than before.Even she was unsure why she would do such a thing at the time. She just felt that as she hugged him and leaned her face against his chest, she no longer had to suppress any of her feelings and that she could express all the pain she had suffered without needing to hold anything back.Jackson lowered his head and looked at the woman who was crying in his arms. He held her gently and let her cry her heart out.Serenity had no idea how long she cried, but in the end, she gradually stopped and found that she could no longer shed any tears.Jackson took a tissue and gently wiped away the tears that had not yet dried up on her face."Can you tell me what happened now, Sis?""It's Grandma," she replied, sniffling."Did
Serenity merely watched quietly all throughout the process. There was not a trace of perturbations in her expression even as she looked at the ugly cuts on the palm of her hand.It was only when the nurse was reapplying the bandages on her right hand that she frowned ever so slightly due to the pain although she never made a peep of noise to complain."Let me do it," Jackson told the nurse. "You can leave now."The nurse then left the room very respectfully. Jackson picked up the gauze and very skillfully and effortlessly wrapped it around Serenity's hand. His every move was so gentle and cautious that she almost felt no pain at all.Once he was done, he put down the gauze and said, "Try your best not to use your right hand over the next few days, and don't ever clench your fist like that again. You've bled enough."She looked at the bandages neatly wrapped around her hand and noticed how even the knot was tied beautifully, so she commented, "It looks like you're very good at doin
Jackson felt his throat tighten. At this moment, he couldn't even tell Serenity who he really was.He had clearly intended to tell her about his true identity!In the light of the room, her long hair cascaded down her shoulders. There was a touch of paleness on her face, and there was a hint of nervousness in her glimmering eyes that were fixed on him. It looked like she was worried yet resigned about something.It was as if life had already burdened her with too much heaviness and hardship, and she had long since accepted those injustices."Sis, just focus on getting better. Don't think too much about anything else. Once you're discharged, I'll tell you who I am," Jackson said.Serenity kept her gaze on him before hesitantly nodding in response.As if he had relieved her worries, Serenity yawned and felt her eyelids droop."If you're feeling tired, you should rest. The doctor mentioned you might feel sleepier than usual over the next few days," Jackson said as he helped the wom
Jackson prepared her toothbrush for her, squeezing toothpaste onto it and placing a cup of warm water in her hand.Serenity blushed at the attention and almost forgot how to even brush her teeth as Jackson's presence penetrated the air all around her.He even grabbed a towel and ran it under warm water."I can do it myself..." Serenity started as she bit her lip."Isn't it easier if I do it for you?" Jackson asked.But the problem was... he was too close to her! She was practically in his arms as he ran the towel under the water from behind her! Serenity couldn't help but look up at the mirror before her.She had always known that Jack was handsome, but the man before her right now had no heavy bangs covering his forehead. He wore a suit and exuded an air of nobility from head to toe, and it felt like he was on an unattainable pedestal.How had she never noticed this before?Even Lisa didn't believe that such a man could be homeless, yet Serenity always naively thought that s
After Serenity was finished freshening up, Jackson carried her back to the hospital bed. A meal was already prepared and laid out on a small table beside the bed. It consisted of soup and some side dishes which were simple but enticing.Serenity's stomach immediately growled loudly, demanding to be filled."The doctor said it would be best for you to eat something that's easily digestible," Jackson said as he arranged the food on the tray before her.If anyone else were to witness this scene, their eyes would be wide with surprise. Since when did a dignified and formidable man like Jackson Valor, who could easily manipulate the city, attend to a woman in such a manner?Serenity picked up her utensils and started eating. However, her long hair kept falling forward as she leaned down to eat, often landing in the soup.Just as Serenity was about to look for something to tie her hair up with, Jackson had already anticipated her needs and pulled out a box of hair ties and comb as he
"The journalist seemed unaware of Miss Lewis' past imprisonment. He only appeared to know her name and seemed only interested in digging up some gossip about you, Mr. Valor," Connor replied.Jackson's voice remained icy as he instructed, "Continue questioning him. Get all the details you can from him before releasing him. Also, find out where those online comments originated from!""Understood, sir," Connor replied.As Jackson pushed open the door to the hospital room again and looked at the woman eating on the bed, he wondered if the journalist's presence was simply a coincidence.Was it merely a chance encounter last night, or was there something more to it?When the door opened, Serenity looked up to see the dark look on Jackson's face and an air of hostility around him. She was momentarily startled and stared at him in a daze.The hostility disappeared instantly from Jackson's demeanor when he noticed her attention, and his usual gentle smile appeared on his handsome face."
“……” Morgan suddenly found himself unable to retort. She... wasn't wrong. “But when you play house, you can pretend to be parents with one person today and another person tomorrow. Real marriage is different; you can’t choose someone else.”Renee widened her eyes, listening intently.“The only person you can choose is me. Do you understand, Renee?” he continued.She nodded vigorously. “I understand!”“Do you really?” Morgan asked, a little skeptical. He was already fifteen, so he could grasp the concept of marriage, but she was only eight. Could she truly comprehend it?“So, in the future, I can only marry Morgan and be your bride, right? I can't be someone else's bride, right?” she asked. “I don’t want to marry other boys anyway. I like you the most, Morgan. Of course I’ll only be your bride!” she happily declared, her worries fading away.So she could be Morgan's bride when she grew up! That's great!After finishing another piece of snack, Renee thought of something. She put o
Despite her unease, she couldn’t resist when she saw the sweet desserts. She indulged herself.However, as she ate, her eyes remained fixed on Morgan, clearly still waiting for him to clarify Lucy’s claims.“You want to know if you’re a child bride, right?” Morgan began.Renee nodded.“Do you know what a child bride is?” he asked.She blinked. She had a vague idea, but not enough for her to articulate it.“To put it simply, a child bride is a girl raised by a boy's family. The girl will marry the boy when she comes of age. In the old days, some families were too poor to raise their daughters, so they would sell their daughters to become child brides for richer families,” Morgan explained.Renee blinked. “But my parents aren’t poor, and I'm raised by them, not by other people. That means I’m not a child bride, right?”“Correct, you are not,” Morgan affirmed.She breathed a sigh of relief, and a bright smile spread across her face. “I knew it! My parents would never sell me! The
"Morgan!" Renee turned to Morgan, unease etched on her face."The Moon family, eh? I'll remember this," Morgan replied calmly, then lowered his head to meet Renee's anxious and confused face. "Let's go, Renee. I’ll tell you what you want to know later."He led her away holding her hand.Benson looked worried. "Miss Lucy, how could you say that?""It's the truth!" Lucy shook off her fear and spoke defiantly. "Daddy and Mommy said she’s a child bride. A child bride is a girl sold by her own parents!""But the White family is not like that. Those things only happened to daughters of poor families in the old days," Benson explained. "You really shouldn’t have said that, Miss Lucy. You shouldn’t do that again.""Why do I have to listen to you?" Lucy retorted, displeased.Benson was too ashamed to tell Lucy in front of others that the Moon family simply couldn’t afford to offend Morgan. Dealing with the White family was already a headache, and Morgan's background was even more formi
Benson and Lucy were also dumbfounded. Benson started getting anxious. He felt like things were starting to unfold in ways that he did not expect."Mr. Grimes, I..." Benson stepped forward, intending to speak to Mr. Grimes.However, Mr. Grimes moved past Benson without so much as a glance at him. He went up to Morgan and said, "Master Morgan, I apologize for the oversight!"Everyone was stunned to hear that, including the security guards who had been called over. They were secretly relieved they hadn't forcibly removed anyone yet. If they had offended someone Mr. Grimes was showing so much respect to, it would have been really bad for them!Morgan regarded Mr. Grimes with an unreadable expression. He calmly recounted the situation to Mr. Grimes.After hearing about what happened, Mr. Grimes responded, "This set of stamps was not pre-ordered. If you like it, please take it. Feel free to take anything else in the exhibition that catches your eye."This declaration shocked every
"Who are you?!" Benson exclaimed, astonished. The mysterious figure remained silent, simply looking at Morgan.Morgan calmly reiterated to Benson, "I said, wait for Mr. Grimes." He then pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "I'm Morgan Wood. Please have Mr. Grimes from Lazy Cat Culture come to the Sleepy Cat Exhibition in Solaria. He should be in the area, right?"After ending the call, the person on the other end stared at the phone in disbelief.The Sleepy Cat Exhibition? What's going on?Benson, Lucy, and the staff stared at Morgan in shock, but the look in their eyes quickly turned to ridicule."Ah, a young man's naive bravado – how impudent!" Benson scoffed."Sir, please don't cause trouble," the staff member warned. "Or I'll have to call security."Morgan simply lowered his head to say to Renee, "Looks like we'll be here for a while. If you're bored, I can ask someone to walk around with you."Renee shook her head. "Morgan, what if this stamp set has really been p
Benson's words were not only meant to exert pressure on the staff, but also to inform him that they were on the same side.As expected, when the staff heard what he said, there was an instant change in his expression. He turned to Morgan and Renee and said, "I'm sorry, but it turns out this stamp set has already been pre-ordered by this customer."Morgan saw through the so-called pre-order as nothing more than an act. "When I asked you to wrap it up earlier, I didn’t hear you mention it was pre-ordered.""We forgot to mention that. Our apologies," the staff replied.Lucy, wearing a smug expression, raised her chin at Renee, causing Renee to puff out her cheeks in frustration.Benson calmly observed Morgan and Renee. The White family's White Maple Group had numerous overlapping businesses with the Moon Group. They were often competing with each other. Originally, the White Maple Group’s business activities weren't concentrated in Solaria, so even though there was competition wi
But before Morgan had even finished speaking, a girl's voice piped up, "I want this stamp set!"He turned to the voice and, upon seeing who it was, narrowed his eyes slightly. It was Lucy Moon, the girl Renee mentioned earlier. At the sight of Lucy, Renee immediately reacted like an angry little kitten. "Lucy Moon, why do you always try to take my stuff away?""Your stuff? How is this your stuff? You haven't paid yet!" Lucy shot back, her eyes fixed on Morgan.Morgan was well-known in their class, admired by many girls who claimed he was even more handsome than movie stars. If only Lucy had a big brother like that! She would be the envy of all the girls in class... no, all the girls in school!Unfortunately, her own big brother was not as good-looking.Last time, Lucy had tried to give Renee Sleepy Cat toys, asking for Morgan's email address in return. However, Renee accepted gifts from everyone but her, which infuriated Lucy."But if you want, I can give this stamp set to Re
Unlike many wealthy kids, Renee was quite restrained with her spending. She had never spent recklessly and often saved leftover money. Of course, when she wanted something beyond her budget, she would act cute and ask her Daddy or Morgan to buy it for her.Lisa was the least susceptible to her charms, so Renee didn’t dare to bother her!When they arrived at the exhibition, Renee’s eyes sparkled with excitement. There were so many adorable Sleepy Cat merchandise! They're all so cute! She wanted a lot of them, but realizing her limited budget, she knew she needed a sponsor! The best one was right beside her: Morgan!"Morgan," she said, flashing him a super bright smile.Seeing her like this, Morgan immediately knew she wanted to ask him for something. "What is it? Do you want me to buy you Sleepy Cat merchandise?""You’re so smart, Morgan! No wonder so many girls in our class like you and asked me for your phone number!" Renee praised him.As soon as she mentioned it, Morgan'
"Okay," Renee replied obediently, snuggling up to Morgan and acting cute. "Take me to the exhibition, Morgan! I know you’re the best. You’ll definitely take me, right?"Morgan pursed his lips. At 15, he was no longer a little boy. Although Renee was only 8, she was his destined wife.He had been protecting her since the day she was born. At first, he thought that he would only marry her because according to the family prophecy, she was the one most suitable for him. Over the years, however, he realized that his feelings for her ran deeper than he had initially thought.He found himself wanting to help her fulfill her wishes, and would clean up the mess when she caused trouble. Things had become different from what he had expected, but he welcomed them. He felt grateful that she was the one who was destined for him!With her by his side for the rest of his life, he would never feel lonely."Will you get into fights again?" Morgan asked."No more fighting, I promise!" Renee quickly