Sage's heart pounded at Jace's question. She panicked a little when her eyes met Jace's deep and alluring eyes. It felt like she was going to drown in his seduction."You… Get a grip." Sage muttered weakly, "We're still in someone else's house."Jace's gaze flickered. He suddenly inched closer and rasped, "Are you saying it would be okay if we were somewhere else?"Sage fell silent. How did Jace come to that conclusion? She was confused for a moment and tried to remember what she had just said that led Jace to that conclusion. Before she could recover, Jace leaned in and started kissing her."Mmm."Jace was taking advantage of her while she was in a daze!Sage blushed and tried to avoid his kiss, but he tipped her chin and continued kissing her. He used his height to his advantage and kissed her from above, taking her breath away.The swift gradation of intensity invaded her and made her breathing heavy."No…" She whispered, "Not in someone else's house… We shouldn't be…"Jace
"The more you try to explain, the more you sound like you're trying to cover up the truth," Jace said, smiling.Sage went silent in shame. "Go to bed."She climbed into bed with her clothes and lay down. She covered herself and moved her pillow further to keep a distance from Jace. At last, she rested her hands on her navel, lay upright, and closed her eyes. Jace smiled at the way she tried to pretend nothing had just happened. He knew if he continued, she would explode, so he stopped teasing her."I'll turn off the lights, okay?" he asked softly.Sage answered with a soft hum.Jace went over and turned off the lights. The world seemed to have fallen silent as soon as the room fell into darkness.The cold moonlight came in through the gaps in the curtains that were not tightly closed. Sage could not help but gulp at the sound of Jace taking off his jacket. Somehow, she felt a little nervous.A rustling sound came as Jace lifted the corner of the quilt and climbed into the be
Old Madam Luz came out of the house before Jace could answer. She explained to Sage, "Jace heard that our roof was leaking, so he went out without saying a word. He flew up the wall so fast that he scared me. It's dangerous up there. Jace, you should hurry and come down. There's no need to repair this broken house.""I was so scared that I pissed myself…" Old Sir Luz came out of the toilet shaking. His face was still pale.Old Madam Luz laughed at him. "Just look at you. Sage is going to laugh at you."Old Sir Luz refuted, "When I was young, I was quite nimble too. I could easily climb to the roof without an issue. Now that I'm old, I'm afraid of heights."Old Madam Luz twitched her mouth. She would not comment further and save his dignity in front of Jace and Sage.Sage looked up at Jace with a faint smile. "Do you need me to come up and help?"She had always wanted to go up a roof."You shouldn't." Jace saw through her mind and said with a smile, "I'm just changing a few roof
Sage nodded. A sorrowful emotion rose in her heart as she looked at the photo of the young and energetic girl with a lovely smile.Blake was around the same age, but she sacrificed herself to save others in a mudslide. She lost her life so young.Meanwhile, Sage borrowed inspiration from her name and survived.Sage put the frame back in its place and made up her mind."Jace..." She called out to him. Before she could say anything, Jace patted her as if he understood her already."I know." Jace said, "We're already here, so we shouldn't leave with regret. Bastian's father left behind so many wonderful things. We can't just take them for granted, right?""I've always felt something spiritual about the antiques passed down through the years. It feels like destiny."Sage nodded with teary eyes. Somehow, Jace always knew her thoughts and understood her well.Jace hugged Sage and pressed a kiss on top of her head. He patted her back and said warmly, "Let's eat?""Yeah." Sage wiped a
There were limitations, but that did not stop Sage from showing off her best skills.Sage wanted to make some of her favorite dishes. Fortunately, the kitchen was complete with all the pots and pans and a good stove.With Jace's help, they prepared the ingredients as quickly as possible. Sage turned on the stove and started cooking. The kitchen was in full swing.Bailey was still worried at first. She thought not many young people could cook these days. However, she was stunned to see Sage's actions in the kitchen.Sage was not just good at cooking. She was probably as good as a chef.They bought some pork from the market earlier. Jace chopped them nicely and handed the plate of pork to Sage. Sage put it in a pot and poured in the other ingredients and spices like soy sauce, salt, sugar, and more. She was braising the meat and making a traditional dish passed down in her family—braised meat. On the other stove, she was cooking some braised pork balls. It was all fancy and good
Jace was so happy to eat Sage's home-cooked food. It was thanks to the old couple that he could enjoy all the flavors of her cooking.Sage's phone rang in the middle of the middle meal. She left to answer the call from Sawyer."Hey, Dad… We're eating."As soon as the call connected, Sawyer asked eagerly, "Well, how is it? Did you find anything good?""Yes, but they are ours, not yours.""You kids. Why are you keeping them away from your father? Are we still a family?" Sage laughed and said, "This is just a rule in this business. You'll own whatever good things you pick up. Even if we're father and daughter, we have to account for them accordingly. You're the one who taught me these.""You little thing. I've loved you for nothing." Sawyer grunted softly and said, "Your mom is asking when you're coming back. Should we send a car to pick you up?""No need. We're leaving in the evening."Upon hearing that, Sawyer said, "I see. It seems like you've found a lot of good things. Othe
It was nightfall.The bodyguards who had been wandering around Luz Town all day finally showed up to load Jace and Sage's organized furniture onto the truck. Sage was helping Bastian and Bailey to pack their suitcases in their house. The old couple could not leave anything behind and wanted to bring everything, including the pots and pans they always used. Sage laughed at them and tried to convince them that they could get a new one in Nadeem City. Everything was arranged for them. They just needed to enjoy their life there. If there was anything they needed, they could buy a new one.Unfortunately, Sage could not convince them. In the end, she just joined them in packing and took all the things they wanted to bring.Jace had just loaded the furniture and stuff in the car. When he turned around, he was shocked to see Sage coming over with many bags. He widened his eyes and quickly hurried forward to help her carry the luggage."Are you going on a journey to the west?" She see
Jace's cell phone rang suddenly. It was Yoel who called."Answer it for me." Jace was driving and could not answer his phone, so he asked Sage to pick it up.Sage said, "I'll turn on the speakerphone."Yoel's jolly voice came as soon as the call connected. "Hey, man. How's your trip going?"Jace said, "We're heading back.""So soon? Are you not going to spend two more days out there? It's a rare opportunity for you to spend time together with Sage." Sage held up the cell phone and stayed silent. She looked out the window and pretended she did not exist.Jace coughed softly. "Yeah." Yoel sounded like he was doing some lifting at the gym. He was panting a little after the workout. "How'd it go?"Jace said faintly, "Fine.""Oh? Did it work this time? Congratulations! You've been abstinent for years. I'm glad you've finally experienced love. Do you feel like it's a whole new world?" Yoel's remarks were getting more and more absurd. They were clearly not on the same page.Sage
Sage heard of the saying, 'Marriage is for happiness, and so does divorce.'Based on Wikipedia, the definition of marriage was, 'Marriage is a long-term contractual relationship between a man and a woman based on equal consent.'Someone once said, 'Marriage is like a siege. Those outside wanted to break in, while people inside wanted to break out of the siege.'Sage and Jace had been through marriage once. In their first marriage, they were both losers. This time, they were both determined to win. They wanted to live their lives well. Even if their passion were to fade in the future, they would never leave each other. There were eight couples in line ahead of them. Sage and Jace were the ninth.Jace was eager for their turn. He counted carefully and then said with a smile, "It's nine again. It's a good day for this number."Jace suddenly came up with a good idea, "Let's have a daughter and call her Little Nine, okay?"'Did he just come up with that? How brave,' Sage thought and
The ninth of September arrived quickly.Sage was worried that Jace would not be able to get up on time, but Sage turned out to be the one who overslept. Sage had not slept all night because of a certain someone. She was so sleepy, while Jace was full of energy.Jace carried Sage to the bathroom to wash up and brush her teeth. "Open your mouth. Ah…"Sage squinted as she saw the terrible dark circles under her eyes. She turned around in anger and bumped Jace's head.Jace was caught off guard and felt dizzy from the impact. He rubbed his head. "Dear, aren't you hurting yourself by doing this…""Look at my dark circles. They're so ugly. How am I supposed to take pictures? Sage complained in anger.Jace squinted and rubbed his eyes. "Let me see. What's ugly?"He held Sage's face and observed it. "What's ugly? It's not ugly. My wife is the prettiest in the world!"Jace did not care about the toothpaste foam all over Sage's mouth and kissed her anyway.Primrose opened the door and
Jace made Sage stay up all night. Sage was so sleepy that her eyes were closing."Sleep. I'll wake you up later."Jace leaned down and kissed her forehead. As he closed his eyes, he remembered something and sat up sharply."By the way, we have to wear white shirts for tomorrow's photo session. We haven't prepared the shirt…"Jace rolled over and jumped off the bed right after saying that. Sage could not stop him in time, so she turned on the lamp helplessly. She leaned over the bed and waited for Jace in silence.Shortly after, Jace came back with two shirts. His eyes were shining. "Dear, you've prepared for us?""Yeah." Sage nodded weakly. "I've got them ready. I've had Zamora iron them for me."Jace could finally put his mind at ease. "What about the documents and identifications…"Sage pulled open the drawer of the bedside table and took out the papers and documents she had prepared ahead. "It's all here."Sage looked at Jace. "Everything is ready. You've checked three time
Sage spread out the notebook and looked at the blurred handwriting. She slowly read it out loud, "Step one, conquer her with sweet talking. Use sweeter and flirtatious words that would make people blush. Forget about modesty and shame in bed. It's best to whisper them into her ears…"Sage read the notes with a straight face, making Jace so embarrassed that he could hardly keep his feet on the ground.Jace strode forward with a stiff face and tried to snatch the notebook away. Sage was quick to dodge and continued reading with her head down."Step two, be aggressive at your offense. Focus and remember this, being rough yet gentle. You can use props such as blindfolds, ties, handcuffs, and so on…"Sage's face turned red while reading it. As the images popped into her mind, she had to stop reading.Jace was about to go crazy. He buried his face in his hands, unable to look up at Sage."Where did you learn all these?" Sage threw the notebook at Jace. "Rough yet gentle? Are you seriou
'Electric drill? Seriously?!' Jace thought and got a headache.Seeing that Sage was about to open her mouth again, he panicked and kissed her directly to shut her up.Dean was stunned by Jace's quick action. When he saw the couple kissing in the light, he suddenly raised his hand and hit his head.'I must be on the set… Who else would be so shameless as to kiss in public like that?' Dean thought.Sage finally calmed down after a long kiss. Jace breathed a sigh of relief and picked her up. He told Logan, "I'll leave the other guy to you!""Oh," Logan responded. Then he picked Dean up like a kid and walked out the door.Jace was tired and sweaty by the time he arrived at the hotel. Sage was already soundly asleep. Jace put her to bed and took off her shoes, socks, pants, and clothes. He stripped her clean.Sage drank a lot and was reeking of alcohol. Jace did not want to wake her up, so he did not carry her to the bathroom and bathe her. Instead, he wet the towel with hot water to
In the words of the commentators, the basketball game was very smooth. The national team played well! At last, the national team defeated the opponent team by a score of 106-73.The crowd was thrilled that the national team had won the game. The internet was buzzing with excitement too. There were several hot searches about the national team's victory. The topic #RisingStarJim made the headlines too.Sage had lost her usual composure. She was following the fans and shouting wildly, cheering for the victory.Perhaps this was the power of sports. It made the audience exhilarated and trembling with excitement. Jace looked calm on the outside, but he was actually quite excited on the inside.Sage was cheering in excitement. She jumped up and down like a child while hugging Jace. Jace followed and laughed with her too.They were planning to leave after the game, but Sage was really happy and stayed for the team's celebration party. Sage even asked Jim for his teammates' shoe sizes and
"Is that so?" A trace of interest flashed in Jace's eyes.Sage did not understand, so she asked, "What does a small forward do?"Jace explained, "The small forwards are typically the tallest and most athletic of all players. They are responsible for scoring points and defending. The main goal of strong shooters is to score and create opportunities for teammates. In other cases, they would operate as off-ball specialists. They would wait for teammates to pass the ball, catch the ball, and shoot to score."Seeing Sage's confused look, Jace added, "James and Durant, for example, are playing as small forwards.""Oh!" Sage immediately understood after hearing the name of these famous basketball stars. Her eyes lit up. "Isn't that amazing?"Jace saw the sparkle in her eyes and found her really adorable. He said, smiling, "It is. Basketball is all about teamwork. Small forward is probably the most versatile of the five main basketball positions and carries multiple functions in the game.
The next morning, Sage, Jace, and Dean went to the basketball arena for the World Championships after breakfast.It was the men's basketball world championship, where their country's basketball team was up against another country. By the time they got to the arena, many people were in the audience.The staff guided Sage and the group to their designated seat in the family section.As soon as Dean sat down, someone next to him called out his name. Dean seemed unsurprised by this. He even smiled and waved at them. After that, he gestured for them to be polite and silent. It was not Dean's first time watching his younger brother's basketball game live. Many of his fans knew that Dean's younger brother was playing on the national team. They especially came over to get closer to him. Some were Jim's fans too. They knew Dean was Jim's brother, so they would greet him.After listening to Dean's explanation, Sage's businessman side as the owner of Norah Entertainment appeared again."If
Jace muffled his laughs and relaxed in the night light. He said, "I have to work harder, or someone will call me old.""Hey." Sage knew he would get back at her.She rolled over and lay on top of Jace. She played with his chest and said in a muffled voice, "I have a new nickname for you."Jace responded, "Hm?"Sage looked up at him. "Vengeance."Jace was stunned and soon broke into a peal of laughter. Sage leaned on him and felt the rise and fall of his breathing. As his chest resonated with his laughter, Sage followed along with his laughter. Both of them were laughing like fools. Sage and Jace lay flat on the bed after laughing nonstop. They opened up and improved their intimacy so much. As a result, their whole body and mind were very relaxed tonight. "Hey..." The two spoke in unison, exchanged a glance, and smiled again.Sage said, "Go ahead."Jace looked at Sage and muttered, "I'll say something, but don't get mad at it.""Just say it." Sage looked at him.Jace though