Queenie's single sentence had managed to shock a hall full of people to their core.Julian strode down the stage and across the hall with a face of surprise as he exclaimed, "Queenie, you're pregnant?!"Queenie hummed yes as she smiled sweetly as if she had fallen in love for the first time. She took out the report and showed Julian. "The baby is yours, it's four weeks old now."Julian stared at the report and thought deeply. "Was it from that night when we were in the car?"Queenie nodded shyly.They looked like a couple who were in their honeymoon phase, as if there were pink hearts and bubbles surrounding the air between them, whilst the lone shadow of the bride on the stage looked desolate.Yeva had invited some media reporters to the wedding just to create some traction. The reporters were uninterested at first. They only came because it was advertised as the 'Wedding of the Century', but were utterly let down upon arriving at a mediocre ceremony. They came all the way just
Yoel laughed and said, "What an epic wedding, the opening was a romance drama, and it escalated into those absurd family television dramas. It finally ended with a comedy… Tsk tsk, what an interesting journey filled with plot twists."He then looked at Sage and said, "What a talented cousin you have there."Sage could not agree more.Yoel looked over at Jace and said, "The amount of chaos and drama in this wedding is almost as good as yours. It's definitely worth coming."Jace glared coldly at him, wishing he could sew Yoel's lips up.Sage looked up and smiled. "Isn't that right? Mister Jace's wedding was so unforgettable, the memories were still fresh in my mind."Jace gulped as if his throat had been shot by a bullet, he looked down without saying anything.Sage did not expect a response from him. She waved goodbye and left the scene along with Leah.Inside the car, Leah seemed to have not calmed down from the chaos earlier, as she was still stunned.Sage looked at her and a
Before Sage and Leah could embrace their grandpa, a Lamborgene pulled up from a short distance away.Luther got out of the car and took off his sunglasses. He was surprised and pleased to see Wayne. "Mister Wayne, it's really you! I heard you were out and about in Salem City, I was about to have someone abduct you."It had been a few years since he last saw Wayne. That old man looked as healthy as ever. The gray strands on his head had increased plenty. The lines on his face deepened, and his smiles were kind and loving, but he looked intimidating without a smile.The corners of Wayne's lips twitched as he glared jokingly at Luther, "You better watch your mouth, young man, or you might get a spank or two from your old man."Wayne took the pipe out of his pocket and gestured a spanking motion.Luther was not afraid of him at all. He walked up to Wayne and chuckled lightly. "Woah, you still have the same pipe you had so many years ago. Let me get you a new one soon.""What do you k
Wayne was about to reply when Luther stopped him, "Alright now, this argument is the equivalent of chicken or egg. There's no right answer."Luther turned around and looked at the expressionless Sage and said, "Sage, what're you waiting for? Invite the old man in."Sage was about to invite Wayne in when he dodged to the side, "No, I'm not going in!"Wayne refused to go inside and squatted by the corner of the wall.Everyone else looked at each other knowingly, they, too, tried to get Wayne to rest inside the Rosa Garden, but he refused to. So everyone stood outside and waited.Luther could not understand Wayne's refusal. He looked over at Sage, whose expression was as still as the dead water, and frowned. He knew Sage was about to lose it."What's up with you, grandpa? Why'd you refuse to go inside?" Luther squatted next to Wayne and asked.Luther pointed at Sage and continued, "This girl here had been thinking about you every day. Now that you're finally back, you should spend
Leah hummed yes in anticipation. She knew Sage was going to cook as soon as she heard the word 'feast'.Hunter earned himself a spot for the feast as well.Sage was likely in a decent mood as she told Hunter, "If you're able to make the old man shower and change into a new set of clean clothing, you won't have to say goodbye to your seasonal bonus.""Roger!" Hunter thought to himself, how hard could it be? It was not the first time he had to shower an old man. He had some tricks up his sleeves when it came to old people.Rosa Garden had everything you could think of. There was a jacuzzi and even a sauna room.Unsure of what sorcery Hunter cast on Wayne, not only did he take a shower, he also went into the jacuzzi and sauna. When Wayne came out of the sauna room, he was spotting a new set of shirt and gray trousers, looking fresh as ever.Wayne also had his pipe in his hand, of course."Grandpa."Leah was setting the table up when Wayne walked toward her. She uttered in the mids
Sage's eyes were locked on Wayne's hands, and a wave of overwhelming emotions rushed over her. She felt like she had traveled back in time to when she was still a kid. She used to sit on her grandpa's lap and fully focus on him while he carved under the dim yellow light. Grandpa would carve all sorts of portraits, sceneries, flowers, ponds, and more on jade stones.During that time, Sage used to think jade-carving was the most interesting thing in the whole world, and her grandpa was the best Jade-Carving Master.The old man's palms were big, with thick layers of calluses, contrasting the tiny and delicate jade in his palms.Sage took the little portrait of her from Wayne's hands, holding it tight in her own palms as the corner of her lips lifted."Thanks, Grandpa."Wayne chuckled lightly and said, "You're finally willing to smile for me."Sage held the jade portrait of hers in her palms as she turned it around and played with it. She hummed mischievously, "You asked for it by ru
Sage brought Wayne upstairs to her parent's room.Even though her parents were not here anymore, Sage kept the room as it was. After she chased Braxton, who was bumming the room out, she renovated the room back to how it used to be.The maids cleaned the room every day, and there was no dust to be found.It was the first time Wayne came to the Rosa Garden and the first time he came into his son and daughter-in-law's room as well. The moment Wayne went inside and saw the altar of their portraits, his eyes reddened. "Come inside, Grandpa."Sage reached her hands out to Wayne and pulled him into the room. She then invited him to sit on the sofa and went to light some candles on the altar. "Dad, mom, grandpa came to visit."Wayne sat on the sofa, and his eyes were glued to the portraits of his eldest son and daughter-in-law. His heart sank to his stomach as he fell into a deep silence.Sawyer and Primrose's room decor was in Victorian-era style, and the furniture was made with m
Wayne asked, "What about now?""I've seen enough now to know," Sage responded.Wayne laughed audibly, "You're just like your father when he was young, smart, capable, with lots of temper.""Huh? Really? I thought dad had a pretty good temper," Sage said genuinely.Braxton and Zane did what they did to Sawyer, and yet he did nothing in return. If it were Sage, she would not have tolerated it."That's because of your mother."Wayne said, "Your father was a capable man, and so was your mother. When they're together, your mother managed to subdue him."Sage listened quietly. She liked hearing stories about her parents.Wayne's version of her parents versus Sage's version of them was different because of their different identities to either person.Wayne mentioned her father and mother leaving the house and starting their own business when Sage asked, "When father ran away from home to Salem City, was that mother's idea?""Yes, but not entirely," Wayne answered.Wayne was reminde
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