"Welcome on board."It was an international flight filled with people from all walks of life around the world, but a majority of them were locals.Sage and her two bodyguards took their seats in the first class. One of them sat next to Sage, while the other sat behind her. They guarded her against all possible danger, protecting her from all angles.Sage took her book out and said to her bodyguards, "Chill out, guys. Just stay calm and keep your face looking normal."She mouthed at them and smiled. 'Checked!'Maybe it was because she was meeting her eldest brother soon. She felt extra cheerful. The two bodyguards tried their best to smile at Sage, but it did not feel real.Sage shook her head helplessly and said, "It's okay. I know you’ve tried your best. It's all Wando's fault. He's too uptight."The bodyguards were twins named Abby and Allie. Mister Wando handpicked the pair from Hope Town Home. He kept them as apprentices and trained them in person.Abby, who sat next to Sag
She turned her mobile phone off right away.When she looked up again, the man had disappeared into the cockpit.The plane then took off.Sage's ears rang for a while. Finally, the plane went into the stratosphere, and it flew steadily.Sage pulled the table out again and placed her book on it. She then took out a pen and paper from her bag, took one look at Abby, and said, "Can you sit at the back, please?"Abby was taken aback. "Miss Sage…""I want to write something in private. Could I get some privacy, please?"Sage felt that writing her journal was something embarrassing enough to do at the age of twenty-five. She could never let anyone catch her doing it, so she made Abby move away.There were no other passengers in the first class, so naturally, there were no dangerous people around. Allie reluctantly moved to the side for Abby. Both of them did not let their guard down.Sage laid down her paper, took her pen, and started writing her 'personal reflections'.She had forg
Sage had been known by many nicknames over the years. When she was married to Jace, she even changed her surname to Sage Luz.However, it was her first time hearing someone addressing her as 'Sage's Collection'. Named as 'Sage's' while having 'Collection' as a surname? Perhaps he did not understand.Sage asked as politely as possible, "Mister Pilot, are you native?"He looked at her indifferently and said, "I was born in Tovres, but my roots are in Salem."Tovres? They were remotely related. Sage raised her brows slightly. She held out her hand and was almost very certain. "It's a pleasure. So, you know my brother, Tim Shelby."She continued, "Tim is his nickname. His associates usually call him Duke Timothy."The pilot was still expressionless. "I'm not his associate, so I call him Tim."Sage was speechless, and she felt that the air surrounding them suddenly felt cold. Was he joking? That guy was an iceberg!He seemed unkeen to continue chatting, diverting his attention b
Sage closed her book and handed it over to him.The pilot's brows raised slightly. "Your books are not for borrowing, are they?"Sage smiled mischievously. "Yes, so this is now yours. It's not for borrowing, but I can give it to you, so it's not misaligned with my principles."Then, she stopped smiling. "However… Please move to one of the empty seats. I would like to continue my writing."The pilot shifted his focus to the few pages of reflections on the small table. Sage quickly covered them up using her hand. Then, she motioned toward the seat next to her, signaling him to leave as soon as possible.The pilot was quite patient. He picked up the book and said, "Thank you."Then, he moved over to one of the seats on the side and started reading.Sage was aware that there were typically two pilots on an international flight, but that co-pilot seemed to be slacking a little too much. Did he not have to return to the cockpit and pilot the plane?The plane still flew steadily in th
The sudden loud explosion left everyone frozen in their seats, including the cabin crew.Everyone exchanged looks but was all equally confused.Outside of the windows, there was a flock of big birds flying past the plane, and soon, everyone on board started to smell something being roasted."Oh no," The pilot's face changed, and he immediately went into the cockpit. His dashboard readings showed both engines had stopped working.It sometimes only took one second for an accident to happen.The co-pilot who was flying the plane, Johnson, had not encountered something like this before either, and he started to panic.He reported, "Captain, the flock of birds suddenly intruded and they were too fast. They might have crashed into the engine of the plane…"The pilot looked stern. He exchanged his seat with the co-pilot and took over the control of the plane. He immediately connected with the control tower and was trying to find out the closest airport to land.The incident happened a
The staff of the control tower was stunned. Was the pilot kidding?Right at that moment, Sage picked up the interphone device and said to the cockpit, "Mr. Pilot, the All American Airlines 1549 incident was because of a similar bird crashing incident, and they were forced to land in the sea to keep everyone alive. The Blue Sapphire Sea is right in front of us. I hope you could make a decision immediately. My brother said that you used to fly war jets. I have faith in your professional judgment and skills, we will be able to land successfully."She was trying hard to remain composed while speaking, hoping to influence the pilot with her confidence, even though her heart was almost leaping out of her throat. At this critical moment, any smallest decision would put everyone's life at stake. She did not want to die on the plane and definitely did not want to make it to the headlines because of a plane crash.Sage was still holding the interphone. She could feel the plane was still in
In the wee hours, Jace was awakened by the thunderstorm outside. He went to close the windows, and the rain splashed on his face. It was pitch dark."Sage should have arrived in Yathein by now. Not sure if the flight was affected by the weather," thought Jace inwardly.He frowned slightly, soon realized that the time zone and weather in both countries were very much different, and smiled at his silliness. He went back to lie on his bed. However, for some reason, he could not fall asleep. He felt as though something was blocking his chest.He closed his eyes but could not fall asleep no matter what. He turned on his phone and wanted to browse some news. Soon, he saw a piece of news that a plane went missing while flying from Salem City to Birmingham, and he stood up immediately!From Salem City to Birmingham, flight number Y1106, wasn't that the plane that Sage was on?His heart twitched. His phone suddenly vibrated; it was Zayne. Jace picked up the call with his cold and
Maybe God had heard Zayne's prayers as an announcement came through the airport audio system, "The missing plane Y1106 from Salem City to Birmingham was spotted at the Blue Sapphire Sea of Yathein. It was inferred that the plane crashed into a flock of birds while trying to land, and the engines malfunctioned upon impact. The plane was forced into an emergency landing. The Shelby Airlines is currently on the rescue mission, details about the casualty are to be determined…"The situation in the airport was stirred up as soon as the announcement was made. "Mister! Mister Yuriel!" Zayne was over the moon. "They found the plane! They found it!"Jace's bloodshot eyes gazed into the blue sea on the TV screen. He felt as though his dead heart was starting to beat again. She would be fine! She was blessed, she would be fine! He was an atheist, but right now, he prayed. He would rather trade his luck of the entire lifetime for Sage's safety. He only wished for her to be surviving this and
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