At night, Leah slept next to Sage.Leah told Sage what she had gone through in the past few years. It was then Sage finally realized how Zane had been an irresponsible father and how terrifying Gwyneth had been as the stepmother.Leah had been through a lot in the past few years, and it was fortunate that she was actually well and healthy at this point.Wiping away the tears on Leah's face, Sage stroked her head gently and said, "Stay with me from now on, and we'll have each other to depend on. Don't worry, no one can bully you anymore with me around."Back then, Sage was cared for and loved by her parents and brothers. Now, it was her turn to take care of her brothers and sisters.…The product launch event of Norah Jewelry was a success.With the event that encouraged the public to submit their love stories, the launch event had garnered media attention. On the other hand, the top ten submitted stories were awarded prizes, and the entire event was well-received by the public.
Taking a glimpse at Leah, Sage asked, "Nervous?""Yeah!" Leah felt her throat going dry. "This is the first time that my designs are being revealed to so many people. What if they don't like it?"She then looked at Ada, the Head of Design, and said in a low voice, "I am even forced to compete with my mentor. This is almost a public punishment. Don't you think?"Ada, on the other hand, glanced at her coldly and replied, "Sweetheart, your career only started out for not even a full year, and you're already competing with me, the country's chief jewelry designer. If anyone should be nervous, it should be me. Don't you think?"Leah thought that what Ada said made sense, and she felt reassured. Leah then tried to comfort Ada, "Keep your shirt on, Ada. I'm sure you'd win.""..."Ada was rendered speechless. Holding back the urge to lash out at Leah, she looked at Leah before turning to Sage and said, "How is she the only tame and naive one in your family that is full of cunning foxes?"
The two newly launched jewelry had garnered immediate attention from the public.Norah Jewelry usually launched only one featured product every season, but now that three years had gone by, they were releasing two featured products at the same time.At first thought, the public was skeptical of the fact that Norah Jewelry was rather ambitious.Though, the public found themselves attracted to the two products the moment they were released.On the left was the jewelry named 'Key to My Heart'.It was made in the shape of a key and had a silver body. In the middle of the key was inlaid with the orange and blossom red Lady of Shallot rose.Under the name, there was a line of words: 'Only you could open the door to my heart.'For some reason, the crowd was touched by the line of words."I don't know much about fashion, but I'm guessing that the key represents a man while the rose in the inlaid in the middle represents the woman, and only the fated ones are able to open the door to ea
Leah looked calmer and steadier on stage compared to when she was backstage. She was able to reply to the reporters' and host's questions eloquently. Especially when asked about the concept and the story behind her designs, Leah's eyes were lit up."She looks so young and full of vigor! It's so good to be young, isn't it?"Looking at Leah, Sage was reminded of her younger self. Back then, her eyes were filled with light, too.But since when did the light in her eyes slowly dim?Hunter, on the other hand, had his eyes glued to Leah and he was all smiles.Sage caught a glimpse of him, smiled, and asked, "Do you like it?""I do."Hunter replied instinctively. Shortly after, he quickly realized that he had just answered Sage's question without thinking it through. The smile froze on his face as he turned around and clarified, "Miss Sage, I…""Why are you all nervous?"Glancing at him, Sage added, "Don't tell me that your definition of 'like' is different from the one that I have i
Jace froze.It was clear that she was ignoring him blatantly and did not wish to interact with him at all.What should he do?Jace could easily handle challenging and tricky situations, but he had zero experience in cheering up a lady.He was overwhelmed, and his hands were tied.Seeing how the situation was unfolding, the backstage staff members broke into a cold sweat for Jace.Those who did not know who Jace was started to whisper. "Is he nuts? How did he think of coming all the way here to see Miss Sage?""I must admit that he's got the looks, but his EQ is quite meh, ain't it? Why is he embarrassing himself when Miss Sage has made it clear that she doesn't want to talk to him?""Judging from his outfit that he has put on to pretend to look decent, I can't even tell what his identity is. He can forget about pursuing Miss Sage if he is not wealthy enough.""I bet he's just a gigolo who is going after Miss Sage's fortune. Tsk, does he think that he is deserving of Miss Sage?
Hunter nodded in agreement. As he turned back, he saw Jace standing not too far away.Jace heard every single word Sage said to Hunter. He knew Hunter was not able to get Sage to show up and he thought he might as well go in person.He knew Sage was kept busy for the entire afternoon, and he didn’t want to disturb her, so Jace decided to keep himself busy backstage. But how could Sage not eat something?Jace said quietly, “You have to eat something no matter how busy you are,” Sage snapped impatiently, “Mr. Yuriel, please don’t worry about me. We have food here, and I’ll eat when I get to.”She was irritated at his words.Sage just received a bunch of messages all from the Yuriel family members. They were all congratulating her on the launch. And generous indeed, they were. Hundreds and thousands of units of orders for the new jewelry lines poured in, and even Grandma Yuriel called in, “Sage, I saw the photos Jace posted in the group chat. Anything suitable for me?”Sage’s ex-
“What do you want from me, Jace?”Sage invited all the staff from backstage for dinner and started negotiating with Jace as soon as they got in.She took out her phone, showed him all the messages sent by his family members, and said, “Isn’t it enough that you’re here to keep me on my toes? Must you involve everyone else in your family?”Jace looked up at her and said calmly, “I have no means to keep you on your toes, or to disturb you… I just want to help you…”“Help? So now you think I need help?” Sage scoffed and said, “Mr. Yuriel, maybe I wasn’t clear earlier when I said it, and you misunderstood. Allow me to say it one last time. We are never getting back together.”Jace had an indescribable expression on his face; he said, “This is not entirely up to you.”Sage felt anger fumed up her chest.‘Not up to her? Up to who then?’ Sage thought inwardly.Jace looked at Sage’s cold yes and calmly said, “Sage, I was wrong for treating you the way I did for the past three years. I d
It took Jace a while before he picked it up and said in a hoarse voice, “Yes.”“How was it? Did you manage to get her?” said Yoel.Yoel just finished shopping at the Norah Jewel website, and he called to check on his best buddy. Seeing as Jace hesitated to speak, he understood, “Not going smoothly, eh?”Jace felt a lump in his throat, not saying a word.The sky turned dark, and there was a thunderstorm. Zayne reminded Jace, “Mr. Yuriel, let’s get into the car. It’s going to rain soon.”As Jace was about to hang up, Yoel yelled on the phone, “You’re still there, and it’s going to rain? Good, good. Listen, don’t leave!”Yoel looked up the weather online, and it was going to rain heavily tonight. His eyes lit up. “Hey Jace, I've got an idea. Tonight’s thunderstorm will be an opportunity for you!”It rained heavily just as expected. Moreover, it was terrifying.Sage and her staff finally finished work. She held out a stack of cash and made it rain for everyone to grab as a reward.
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