Everyone turned to look at Kai. He chuckled and said, “Quinn doesn’t have a boyfriend anyway. If Mr. Bucham defeats Coach Will, I’ll bring them together without anyone asking me.”To the children, Quinn and Julian were a match made in heaven; both were very good-looking individuals.It was Kai’s first time seeing such a handsome man. Julian looked better than those idols that the girls in his class admired. He also had a noble charisma. Essentially, Kai thought Julian was great. His impression of Julian would improve if he could beat Coach Will and let him split ten thousand dollars between himself and Quinn. Mark said, “This kid. You should work harder, Julian. Kai said he’d help to get you and Quinn together for free if he could win the bet.”“Don’t add on to Kai’s nonsense, Mark.”Quinn was about to die from laughter. She kicked Kai lightly and scolded, “You made me laugh so hard.”Kai giggled and even Will smiled. He asked Julian, “Should I lose on purpose?”“You’ll
Mark and all the other coaches knew that Julian narrowly won with that trick move of his. A narrow victory was still a win. Will did not lose to Julian on purpose. Julian had defeated Will with his own abilities. Julian pulled Will up and bowed slightly. “It was a great match.”Will smiled. “I didn’t go easy on you. You found my weakness and caught me off guard. I admit my defeat, Julian.”Julian returned with humble remarks. The venue was silent, save for their post-match exchange. It snapped everyone back to their senses. “Ahhh!”Kai jumped in excitement. He patted Quinn’s shoulder and shouted, “We won, Quinn! Mr. Bucham defeated Coach Will. We won! The ten thousand dollars are ours. It’ll be enough to pay for my supper for half a year.”All the other students turned to look at him simultaneously. Their gazes were filled with envy as they listened to his cheers. Quinn was stunned too. She briefly saw Julian’s moves that one time and discovered he was trained in martia
Will grinned and said, “If I lose, I lose, no excuses. Don’t be sore losers alright? In the past, you guys have always won the bets, so have a taste of defeat for once. Gambling always involves winning and losing. If you can’t handle losing, then maybe you should quit.”Mark did not utter a word.Quinn went to the side, sat down, and started counting the money. When she was done, she handed half of the money to the boy, saying, “Kai, this is your share.”Kai took the money but quickly returned half of it. He said, “Quinn, I only contributed a hundred bucks. I can’t take half. This is more than enough to cover my late-night snacks for half a year.”“It’s for you. Just keep it. Save it for yourself and don’t let your stepmother find out.”Kai had a tough childhood. His parents divorced when he was very young and he ended up with his father, who was a quiet and reserved man. The divorce made his father even more distant, and Kai was largely left to be raised by his grandparents.Lat
“I’ll help myself then.”Quinn put the money in her pocket. She then took out her phone and ordered stir-fried noodles from a Chinese takeout shop to treat everyone at Power Fitness.“We’ll have it later.”Julian smiled. “I usually don’t eat late-night supper.”“In that case, we can skip it. Sometimes I skip it too. But maybe because we do a lot of physical activities, skipping late-night snacks makes me feel hungry, and I can’t sleep when I’m hungry. Most of the time though, I have them at home. My mom makes them for us.”After ordering the food, Quinn got up and said to Julian, “Let’s go. We shouldn’t disturb them while they’re in class.”Julian had just won a competition against Will. It left the students in shock, doubting if it was a dream.“Alright.”Julian followed Quinn as she told her brothers, “Will, Mark, I’m taking Julian out for a walk. You guys don’t need to wait for us when you guys go home later.”Will replied, “Got it. Take Julian for a stroll, and you can hel
Julian laughed. “Quinn, if you look at me like that, I might get ahead of myself. Haha.”“You have every reason to be proud.”Ring, ring, ring…Quinn’s phone started to ring.Seeing that it was a call from her mother, she said to Julian, “When my mom calls me at this time, it’s definitely to tell me that tomorrow’s blind date is canceled.”As expected, once she answered, her mother scolded, “What kind of ‘high-quality’ man did Felicia introduce? No backbone and believes anything anyone says. I haven’t even minded that he’s pudgy, like a grease bag, but he dares to call my daughter a violent maniac.“He’s the maniac! His whole family is filled with maniacs. Does he think my daughter can only marry him? Does he think there’s no other man in this world besides that blockhead? I’m so angry! Quinn, you better bring me some good news—find yourself a young, handsome, and capable boyfriend, and prove them wrong!”“Mom, please calm down. I knew it would turn out this way a long time ago.
Julian smiled. “That’s true. We shouldn’t compromise when it comes to marriage. I’ve noticed that your mom is worried about your future and your brothers’ life affairs, so I thought I’d help.”Now, Julian was certain that he needed to approach Quinn’s heart carefully, much like walking on a tightrope.He had to gradually integrate himself into her life, making her accustomed to his presence and his absence unbearable. When that time came, it would mean Quinn realized it was love.He had locked onto her, and he had to take it slow; hurrying would not help here.“Quinn, actually, I have a medical condition.”Quinn paused for a moment and then asked with concern, “What condition? I can’t tell. You look healthier than anyone.”“I have hypoactive sexual desire disorder.”“Hypoactive sexual desire disorder? I’ve never heard of such an illness.”Julian explained briefly to Quinn.Quinn responded, “So basically… you can’t get married. No wonder you are so outstanding yet never had a g
Callum coaxed her nervously, “Honey, you go back to sleep. I’ll go downstairs later to prepare breakfast for you, and then I’ll wake you up. Once you’ve had a good meal, you can catch up on your sleep.”Camryn stared at him and said, “Trenton is back today, and we’re going to visit our parents at the prison.”“It’s mainly for Trenton’s sake. You can choose whether to go or not. Stay at home, get more sleep. I promise I won’t bother you tonight and let you rest for a day.”With a shy smile, Callum added, “I’m already thirty, and I’ve only just married my wife. I got a bit too excited last night and went a bit crazy.”It was mainly because he finished prematurely, which left him feeling down for a while, thinking there was something wrong with him.She reassured him that they could see a doctor together but that only made him feel even more depressed.Thinking about himself who was tall, handsome, and accomplished, but having problems in that department, he felt deeply troubled. He
“You’re an adult, a responsible grown-up, and you need the courage to face everything and shoulder the responsibilities that are yours.“I know that you and Camryn are in complete agreement. However, she has never wanted to take advantage of you. Don’t worry; what’s rightfully yours will always be yours. If it’s not meant for you, don’t even think about it, don’t be like Carrie.”Trenton nodded. “Callum, I understand. Camryn and I just want to safeguard everything in the Newman family. Carrie has already started looking for a lawyer, preparing to sue Camryn.”That was the reason he took leave and returned.He wanted to stand by Camryn's side. Even if Carrie won the lawsuit, she would not get much of the family assets.He questioned Carrie’s action of taking Camryn to court while their parents were still alive.Though, by transferring all the family assets to himself with his parents’ consent, would Carrie be able to claim a share via a lawsuit? Apart from Abel’s share, the rest of
Austin replied, “Both Mr. Louis and Mr. Phillip woke up very early, especially Mr. Phillip. He gets up earlier than Mr. Louis every morning. It’s really hard on him, getting up so early in such cold weather.”Sometimes, he himself felt like staying in bed a little longer, reluctant to leave the warm comfort of his blankets.Even after the New Year, Satbury remained quite cold. In contrast, over in Wiltspoon, the temperatures had begun to reach a high of over seventy degrees Fahrenheit in the daytime, with nighttime lows around fifty degrees.The two provinces and cities were simply incomparable. The temperatures in Wiltspoon were just so very comfortable for Satbury locals.Isabella smiled and said, “Phillip is just afraid he’ll get here too late and that you’ll assume he’s not coming over for breakfast, then not prepare any for him. He's such a little foodie.”The house was never short of snacks for the little ones. In fact, any goodies were always reserved for them first.Yet,
Even when she attended banquets, she would show up in formal clothing. Isabella did not remember the last time she wore a dress. Perhaps it was when she was in third grade. In fact, she liked wearing pretty princessy dresses when she was young. Her mother had told her that.As Isabella was the first child and extremely adorable, Delphine had dolled her up like a princess. Her pretty dresses filled the closet. Her parents, aunts, uncles, and relatives would always gift her many beautiful dresses. As she grew up, perhaps when she was in fourth grade, she stopped wearing dresses. Regardless of who gave her new pieces, she would refuse to wear them and give them to her cousins instead. After everyone realized she disliked dresses, they gradually stopped giving her them. Delphine had asked Isabella why she disliked wearing dresses. Isabella reasoned that she could not walk quickly enough while wearing one. She valued speed and efficiency. Delphine said she had alway
While the private chefs Ms. Isabella had hired in the past were respectful, they were leaning toward flattery instead of sincere dedication, like how Austin was toward Ms. Isabella.Dominic was experienced. He could sense that Ms. Isabella treated Austin differently. She was also a special existence to Austin. It was normal for young people to be attracted to each other. Initially, Dominic wanted to advise Austin not to even think about dating Ms. Isabella. However, upon discovering that Austin was a young master of a wealthy family, he decided not to interfere. Dominic was glad that he did nothing.Austin returned to the house. Instead of heading straight to the kitchen, he went upstairs. He stopped outside of Isabella’s room and knocked on the door lightly. No response came from within the room. Perhaps Austin was too soft when he knocked. He knocked on the door again with more force and asked, “Are you up yet, Ms. Isabella? It’s time to have breakfast.”Isabella w
Austin was extremely patient with the boys. Although they occasionally caused trouble, most of them were minor issues. They would never do something they were not allowed to do.After breakfast, Austin brought them their bags. With a boy in each hand, he left the house. It was to prevent the boys from saying he was playing favorites. Dominic was used to that scene. Initially, Austin was simply Ms. Isabella’s private chef. However, he gradually took on more responsibilities.He would take the two young masters to school. If he had time in the evening, he would also fetch them from school. Austin also made sure Louis and Phillip did their homework, supervised their hobby classes, and played with them. Sometimes, he would even teach them martial arts and train with them. Dominic felt Austin was an all-rounder. It seemed like there was nothing Austin could not do. No wonder Ms. Isabella thought highly of Austin. However, Austin was a young master of a wealthy family. He w
Louis and Phillip were downstairs having the breakfast Austin had prepared for them. The food was different every morning, and everything was delicious.Having gotten used to Austin’s cooking, Louis and Phillip could no longer stand the food provided in the school. They thought the food there was terrible. Louis was enrolled in an elementary school not far from home. As he was a first grader, he did not need to stay in the dormitories and could have his lunch and dinner at home. Phillip, who was a year younger than him, was still in preschool. He would have breakfast and dinner at home. Actually, the preschool did provide breakfast, but Phillip refused to eat in school and insisted on having breakfast at home. In order to eat the breakfast Austin made, he would get up early in the morning without the adults waking him. After putting on his clothes and washing up, he would head to Louis’s place with his bag. “Austin.”Louis suddenly asked, “Did my sister come back last n
Isabella had always thought Tati was teasing her. Therefore, she did not take her words seriously. She thought it was completely normal for Austin to treat her well as she was his boss. From Austin’s perspective, she was his source of income. Now that Isabella pondered about it deeper, she realized perhaps Austin did come to Satbury for her. It was not just to be her chef. He always said Grandma May only gave the York lads a year to pursue their fiancées. However, Austin had never left since he started working for Isabella. Even if he did, it was to accompany her on business trips. He was busy feeding and taking care of her every day and had never gone to pursue his so-called fiancée. He did not even try to gather information on her. Was he not anxious?A year would go by pretty quickly. Although it felt like it had not been long since Austin started working for Isabella, three months had passed. Time really flew. Three months had gone by in the blink of an eye. Neve
When Austin reached the door, he stopped and turned to say, “Ms. Isabella, I only care about my future wife. Other young women are simply strangers to me.“I’m polite to other women when I need to be. If they’re unimportant, I’ll ignore them. Even if that woman is my boss, I won’t cross any lines. If I do, there must be a reason behind it.“Get some rest, Ms. Isabella. You might have a headache when you wake up tomorrow. I’ll prepare a warm honey drink for you in the morning.”After speaking, Austin left. Isabella turned to look at where he last stood. What did his words mean?He said he only cared about his future wife.Aside from this lady, he would not step out of line with any other young woman, even if she were his boss. What did he mean by crossing lines?Was it showing concern? Did he mean that if his boss was a young woman but not his fiancée, he would simply do what was required of him without any personal feelings involved? Was that what he meant?If so, was
Isabella was cold sometimes, but that was not her true personality. She was a reasonable person. Austin was not worried that he would be mistreated as a live-in son-in-law. “Ms. Isabella.”Isabella looked toward him and waited for him to speak. He asked, “This may be abrupt, but may I ask what your ideal type is?”Isabella was stunned. Why did the question come to her? What was the type of man she liked?‘Someone like Austin,’ she thought. After a moment of silence, she said, “I like men who are capable, responsible, and have correct values. Even if his family isn’t as financially well-off as mine, I don’t mind so long as he’s honest, competent, and sincere about his feelings for me.“Of course, it’ll be great if we have the same social status. That way, we’ll have similar perspectives and more common topics. If we get married, we’ll be joining forces instead of it being a one-way financial aid.”“Although you can accept someone who isn’t from a similar family backgrou
After a moment of silence, Isabella said, “It’s okay. I know I was forcing it.”There was no point in asking Austin if he did not want to reveal anything. If he wanted to tell her, he would do so without her asking. However, her curiosity spiked with his silence. She was eager to know who his fiancée was. He was already so protective of his fiancée even though he had not met her before. It made Isabella jealous. It was her first time feeling that kind of emotion throughout her life. Although it was not a strong feeling, she still felt it. “You weren’t forcing me to tell you. You were simply curious. Most people have a curious side. It’s only natural for you to be inquisitive as well.”Austin said gently, “It’s not just you. Those who knew that my nana had chosen fiancées for my brothers and me were also curious about who the ladies were.“To be honest, we didn’t even know Nana had been choosing fiancées for us since a few years ago until she handed their pictures to us