"Did the interview end?"Jace walked toward her, it was all so natural to him, like a boyfriend visiting his girlfriend during work.His assistant brought tea, pastries, and cupcakes for the team while Jace passed the cup of frappe he bought to Sage."Cookies whipped cream, Faye said this was the best."Sage took it and before she could say anything, Jace added, "Even though I want you to put on some weight, one cup of frappe isn't going to make you fat, so don't worry."Was that really what Sage cared about at that moment?Sage looked up and glared jokingly at Jace, "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be home with grandpa and grandma?""They said I'm a bother and kicked me out."Jace crouched and took the frappe from Sage's hand as he poked a straw into the cup and gave it back to her, "I came to console you too.""I'm not angry, why do I need to be consoled?"Sage slurped the frappe, it was sweet but not overly so, delicious.Jace nodded, "Right, you have a good temper, great
"Huh?" "I'm jealous? Don't be ridiculous! Also, even if I do get jealous, it won't be for you," said Sage."Hmph? If you don't get jealous because of me, who do you get jealous for?"Sage was speechless.She stuttered helplessly, "I… I don't get jealous because of anyone! I don't get jealous in general!"She stomped back to the kitchen.Jace could not help but laugh as he watched her walking away.Whether it was jealousy or not, Jace felt a stream of warmth within him.*Primrose did not have a free day ever since she got back, she was busy shopping with her daughters-in-law every day.Sage came home to mountains of shopping bags every day.Clothes, shoes, beauty products, jewelry, bags, and more. They might as well have bought the whole mall.Primrose used to drag Sage to shop with her back in the day, but now that she had her daughters-in-law, Sage was no longer needed.Suki and Laura would spend their time with Primrose, eating and shopping almost every day. At first,
"Are you deaf? I said we've talked about it with Jace."Primrose repeated herself and continued, "We've had a discussion when we were on the island. Your dad and I decided not to go back to the scene, we've been working all our lives, and we'd like to spend our own time now. As for you, return the Yuriel Group to Jace and continue the fight with him."Sage's lips twitched as she questioned, "You're asking me to fight Jace?""Well, I guess there's no need to fight since the Yuriels' and Norahs' are technically partners now."Primrose waved her arm and continued, "Do whatever you please to do, as long as it doesn't affect my retirement life.""..."Sage was utterly frustrated, how could a parent be so irresponsible?!She wanted to express how exasperated she was when Primrose stuffed a bun inside her mouth and said to her, "Now shut up, keep nagging and I'll have your big brother punish you."Sage looked at Tim's warning glare and shut her mouth defeatedly as she munched on the b
Sage never felt so much jealousy in her life, thinking about her mother sleeping in, brushing her teeth with her husband wrapping her arms around her, eating, and exercising all while she hustled away in the office.Being born into a family where the parents were truly in love was not necessarily all good, the children suffered some degree of trauma watching their parents being overly lovey-dovey with each other, too.Sage just finished a meeting and walked back to her office when she received a video from her mother. Primrose baked cookies at home and made a mess in the kitchen.Sage saw the video and felt her head thud as she sent an audio message to Primrose saying, "Missus Norah, I'd recommend you to stop wasting food since you're inept. If you are craving cookies, I'll make some for you when I'm home."Primrose replied with another video of Sawyer being fed the cookies aggressively and forced to compliment how good they were.Sawyer had it pretty tough too, it seemed.Sage f
Sage narrowed her eyes and slapped away his hands."Are you kidding me?""I wouldn't dare to."Jace took back his hands and flashed a wide grin at her.Annoyed, Sage tossed her phone to him. "Unlock it yourself."Jace took the phone, pressed the last finger of his left hand on the screen, and unlocked the phone."..."Sage was rendered speechless. Who would use the fingerprint of their last finger to unlock their phone? Sage thought that Jace was just simply weird.Meeting her skeptical gaze, Jace explained, "My other fingers are calloused, only the last finger seems fine."Sage looked at his hands. She did feel that his hands got a little rougher than before. She guessed that her parents must have trained him hard during the past half-year.If not, Jace could not have recovered this fast.After unlocking the phone, Jace turned on the video of the interview.Sage removed her shoes, sat down on the sofa, crossed her legs together, and adjusted herself until she was in a comf
This time, Sage did not reject him as she was in a good mood. "We'll have Yoel join us then. I still owe him a meal anyway.""Oh!" Jace whined, "Am I like the free item in the buy one free one?"Sage laughed softly. "It's not that bad, is it?"Jace pursed his lips. He looked as if someone wronged him.Sage thought that it was an offense for Jace to act adorable in front of her.Hence, she ignored him and continued watching the program.She used to enjoy watching this type of interview show. As she would be able to learn some life lessons from another person's life story or their point of view.She had her legs crossed together for some time and her legs felt a little sore. Sage sucked in a breath and Jace asked, "Feeling a little numb? It's not good for your back if you stay sitting like this for a long time. Try leaning back."He grabbed a pillow and put it next to his lap, signaling for Sage to lie down, and took the phone from her hands."Lie down. I'll hold the phone."Sa
Jace was caught off guard by Sage suddenly throwing herself at him, and fell back a little but he was able to hold her in his arms tightly.He froze a little when Sage begged for him to stay.He was suddenly reminded of that fateful year when he carried her in his arms as they walked out of the woods.It was as if everything happened right in front of his eyes again.It seemed like even after so many years, neither of them forgot the time when they first met.He still remembered the young girl who stood right next to him as they fought the enemies; he also remembered how she felt soft and warm in his arms as she smiled widely at him, asking for his name.Those moments were all precious to Jace.Jace came back to his senses. Patting her on her back, Jace comforted her, "I'm right here, not going anywhere. I'm right here…"Sage held onto him tightly. Like someone who finally found water after days of stumbling across the desert; like she drowned and gripped onto her last straw of
Yoel shot a furious glare at Louis. "Why didn't you tell me that Jace is here too?!""We thought of having you go in there to test the waters as neither of us dares to bother them. But we have a few urgent documents that need Miss Sage's approval…""You guys just want to get me killed!" Yoel was furious.Louis took a step backward, checked the time on his wrist watch and said, "It's already more than an hour, they should be done by now.""An hour?!"Yoel's eyes were shot wide open but he then scoffed, "They spend so much time in there but they have only started kissing? The foreplay is too long, isn't it? Is Jace still…"Before he could finish his sentence, someone in the room grabbed Yoel by his hair and dragged him back into the room."Ahh!" Yoel shrieked in pain.Louis subconsciously felt his hair. For some reason, he felt a tingling pain in his head too.He immediately had a bad feeling that he too would be 'smothered'.With a darkened expression on her face, Sage walked
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