Iris nodded in agreement.Jason led the way, and she followed. She walked awkwardly and slowly. Noticing her pace, Jason deliberately slowed down to match her.Iris said, embarrassed, "Mr. Just, um, why don't you go ahead?"Jason glanced around. There were no shuttle vehicles like golf carts that they could ride; the equestrian center was huge, and it would take some time to reach the exit."Sorry, I should have been more mindful. It's your first time riding, so of course there are many things you're not used to." He pursed his lips and said, "I can carry you on my back if you want."Feeling embarrassed, Iris quickly waved her hands in refusal. "No, it's okay. I can walk."She coughed lightly, adding, "It's actually not that bad. I have no problem walking."Jason lowered his gaze, briefly assessing her legs. "Are you sure?"Iris nodded repeatedly. "I'm sure."She would rather endure a bit of discomfort than let Jason carry her. It felt too intimate, an action usually reserve
It turned out, Jason was his boss."Does that mean I can come here for free from now on?" Iris joked."Yes, for free, and you can come anytime. It'll always be open to you," Jason replied."Thank you," Iris said.Riding a horse was very relaxing. She really liked the feeling. As a lawyer, stress was a constant companion, so this was a great way to unwind.As they drove into the city, Jason suddenly pulled over to the side of the road. Iris thought he might have a quick errand so she didn’t ask any questions. When he returned, he handed her a few boxes of medicine. It was then that she noticed there was a pharmacy nearby."Mr. Just, this..." Iris hesitated as she accepted the medicine."They're medicine for promoting blood circulation and relieving pain," Jason explained. He turned his focus back to the road as he restarted the car.Iris was reminded of her discomfort, which made her gather her legs closer together. "Thank you," she said."Next time, ask the manager for a saddl
Yvonne hated Stanley and had her reservations about his character, but she acknowledged that he had indeed helped Iris deal with Ted. At the very least, after Iris was assaulted, he had avenged her. "At least he's still a man. I'm telling you this in case you want to thank him in person. You don’t owe him anything beyond that," she advised Iris.Yvonne had no interest in helping them reconcile. While she fooled around a lot, she could do so because she was single. She had strong views on fidelity. Marriage, to her, was about responsibility – toward oneself, one's partner, one's family, and, if children were involved, them as well. Infidelity would undermine all of that. If you cheat on your partner after marriage, what's the point of getting married? You might as well remain single. No one would get hurt then.Iris understood. She asked with a smile, "Since when did you and Henry become so close?"Yvonne paused for a moment before flipping her hair playfully. "It can't be help
But it wasn't a complete lie; they were going to set a trap for Ted, after all.Iris raised her glass and said, "You all know I can't handle alcohol well, so I'll just have one drink. This is to express my gratitude to all of you. I'm sure you're all aware of what Ted did to me. I couldn’t do anything to him. While your method may not have been entirely ethical, it's not like you accused him of something he didn't do.""Bottoms up." With that, Iris lifted the glass and finished her drink in one go. The alcohol burned her throat as it went down.She loathed men who disrespect women, especially those like Ted who resorted to force.Recently, there was a case in another country where a young female doctor was raped to death by dozens of men, shocking the world.Women were always the weaker sex."Bottoms up," Lester said, similarly raising his glass.Henry nodded in agreement, but Stanley remained still. He looked at Iris and said, "Can I have a word with you?"Iris smiled, "There
Stanley's hands clenched into tight fists, the emptiness and longing tearing at him. He felt as if he were losing his mind. "Iris... Iris..." He repeated her name over and over, the emotions shifting from longing to resentment. Didn’t she once love him deeply? Why had she left him so heartlessly? How could she be so heartless?Even when she saw his arm in a cast, she showed no concern. She maintained her cold demeanor in front of everyone, a stark contrast to how she used to be. In the past, she would have been heartbroken if she saw him hurt.Frustrated, he abruptly got up and made his way to the liquor cabinet to grab a bottle of liquor. He only had one working arm, so he used his teeth to pop the cap off the bottle, spat it onto the floor and drank straight from the bottle.The alcohol burned his throat like fire. As he gulped too quickly, he choked. He coughed violently until his eyes watered."Iris..." he murmured, making his way unsteadily to the couch. He fished his ph
Lester had no choice but to do so.After drinking half a bottle, Stanley couldn't hold himself up anymore and collapsed into a drunken stupor.Lester got him onto the couch with much difficulty. He couldn't help grumbling, "You knew it might come to this. Why did you still do it?"Suddenly, the door swung open. Lester looked up to see Fiora walking in with a thermos in hand.She had opened the door herself. Did Stanley give her the password? What was Stanley thinking?While trying to get back with Iris, he's also getting involved with Fiora? It was a recipe for disaster."Miss Just, right?" Lester greeted her with a polite smile.Fiora nodded, her gaze shifting to him. "And you're...""Stanley's friend. He's drunk," Lester explained.Fiora set the thermos down on the table and moved closer. "Thank you. I'll take it from here."Lester nodded and headed for the door. Before leaving the house, he glanced back to see Fiora carefully covering Stanley with a blanket. With a com
Fiora's face heated up, a subtle blush blooming like peach blossoms, charming and captivating in its innocence. Standing before the man she admired, she couldn't help having dirty thoughts.Swallowing hard, she reached out to touch his chest...Stanley stepped back, looking at Fiora in surprise. Fiora's hand hung awkwardly in mid-air, embarrassment washing over her as her cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red."Sorry..." she stammered, retracting her hand.Stanley looked down and saw her flushed cheeks. His heart softened when he thought of how she had stayed up all night by his side, then got busy in the kitchen early in the morning, making breakfast for him. Here was a wealthy young lady who could have easily been pampered at home, yet she chose to roll up her sleeves and care for him. In contrast, Iris was cold and indifferent, hanging up on his calls and treating him heartlessly!Fiora was a woman who was sincerely good to him. He felt deeply moved."There's nothing to
Henry replied in the group chat: [OK.]Lester chimed in: [Just the three of us?]Would there be other people?Stanley read the replies and responded with a voice message: [I'll introduce you guys to someone.]Fiora's face flushed with embarrassment.Lester seemed to have figured out what Stanley wanted to do. He sent Stanley a private message: [Are you and Miss Just getting serious?]Just last night, he looked so heartbroken, to the point of drowning his sorrows with alcohol. And now, he had already moved on and was getting serious with Fiora?Would he really not regret this later?Concerned for his friend, Lester warned him: [Miss Just's feelings for you run deep. Once you've accepted her, it'll be hard to break it off. Are you sure about this?]Stanley turned to Fiora and said, "I want more soup."She immediately went to get more from the kitchen.Quietly, Stanley replied to Lester with a voice message: [Why would I want to break it off?]Lester was speechless. [Fine, f
"Okay. Good night, Mr. Just," Iris said."See you tomorrow," he said."See you tomorrow."…Iris was jolted awake the next morning by her phone ringing. Groggy, she reached for it. "Hello...""My husband changed his mind. He refuses to settle or drop the case now."The client's voice sounded anxious.Iris was instantly wide awake.Why would he change his mind overnight? She was going to handle all the procedures today to avoid further complications too."What happened?" Iris sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Take your time and explain in detail.""I don't know either. He just messaged me saying he regrets signing the settlement agreement and he won't drop the case. But he already signed the agreement. He can't change his mind anymore, right?" The client still held a glimmer of hope.Iris replied, "He can still change his mind."Under normal circumstances, changing one's mind after signing would be difficult. However, since she had half-tricked him into signing the agreement, if
Iris nodded helplessly. "You shouldn't have answered the phone." She felt a headache coming.She wasn't blaming Jason; it's just impossible to explain to her mother now.Since Jason answered her phone this late at night, her mother naturally assumed that Jason had been with her all evening.That was indeed the case today, but it wasn't in the way her parents thought."I can go meet your parents with you," Jason offered.Iris was surprised. Huh?Does he even know what he's saying?"Do you know who my mom thinks you are?" she asked.How could he suggest that without knowing anything?"She thinks I'm your boyfriend, right?" Jason smirked mischievously. "If you don't take me to see them, they'll definitely ask you even more questions. Wouldn't that be troublesome for you?""Besides," he added, "We worked so well together earlier. We're very in sync, right?"Iris was speechless."Actually, all I have to do is explain to them...""What if they set you up on a blind date?" Jaso
After hanging up, as Jason was about to leave the car, he heard a phone ringing. He traced the sound to Iris' phone lying on the passenger seat. She had left her phone in his car.Picking it up, he noticed "Mother" displayed on the screen and smiled, recalling the enthusiastic woman he had met the other day. It seemed he had a reason to look for Iris now.He exited the car and took the elevator to the ground floor, then headed to the building across the street.While waiting for the elevator in Iris' building, Iris' phone rang again. Jason wondered if he should answer. Iris' mother was calling repeatedly in the middle of the night, so there might be an emergency. After some hesitation, he decided to answer.Before he could speak, Cassie's voice came through the line. "Iris, happy birthday! Your dad and I are so busy today that I only have time to call you now. When are you free to visit us for dinner? Call me before you come; we'll skip work that day and stay home to spend the
Stanley was furious. He felt as if all the blood in his body was flowing to his head. If he had held onto any hope before, it was gone now. He realized that Iris was genuinely leaving him and had no intention of returning to his side.No!He could not accept that!Inside the car, Iris fastened her seatbelt, unfazed by Stanley's roar. Jason glanced at her, noticing her calm demeanor, and a slight smile tugged at the corners of his lips.He started the engine, and the car roared to life. He turned the steering wheel and pressed the gas pedal, and they drove away .Once they had left Riverside Pier, Iris said, "Thank you for acting with me."Jason's grip on the steering wheel tightened. "Don't you think we have great chemistry?"Iris considered this for a moment. "Indeed. I always thought you were a very serious person. I didn't expect you to...""To what?" he asked, glancing at her.Iris brushed her hair. "Just now, when you called me 'babe', I got goosebumps. I can't believ
"I'll take you home," Jason offered.Iris nodded. Stanley couldn't stand it any more. Disregarding how bad it made him look, he rushed forward and grabbed Iris' wrist. "Iris..."Iris turned around, her expression cold. "Can I help you, Mr. Stein?"Her tone was icy, causing a pang in Stanley's chest. "H-happy birthday." His voice was hoarse. "Iris, I made a mistake. Let's get back together..."Jason instinctively tightened his grip on Iris' shoulder.Iris sneered, tilting her head with eyes full of coldness. "Since you wished me a happy birthday, let me make a wish: I hope you never appear before me again. I hope my wish will come true.""Iris," Stanley's voice cracked with emotion.Iris raised her eyebrows and said fiercely, "Let go of my hand!"Instead of releasing her, Stanley tightened his grip, the veins in his hand bulging.That hurt Iris' arm."Mr. Stein," Jason interjected, prying Stanley's hand away. "Stop bothering her. This is unbecoming of you.""She's my wife
On the shore, Yvonne urged Iris to leave.The other yacht was drawing closer to the dock, and if Iris lingered any longer, she would inevitably run into Stanley. It had truly been an unlucky day for Yvonne. Nothing was going smoothly. First came Jason, an unexpected guest, and now came Stanley, a harbinger of bad luck."Iris, why is the day of your birth so unlucky?" Yvonne complained. Iris looked perplexed. Right then, the other yacht docked. Henry was the first to jump off. He hurried over to Yvonne. "Hey! You're here too? Why didn’t you call me to join you? We could have come together."Yvonne glanced at the three women who followed him down from the yacht. All of them were flaunting their legs, their skirts barely covering their bottoms, and their cleavages were on full display with their low necklines. Yvonne scoffed, "Come together? That would have ruined your fun.""C'mon, I'm not serious with them," Henry replied. He approached Yvonne and reached for her sleeve. "
Actually, it wasn't that the parents absolutely couldn't afford to raise her, it was more because they wanted a son, but with the family planning policy, they couldn't afford the payment to give birth to one more child, so they left the girl to be raised by the grandparents.The little girl passed away without ever having been registered in the household registration; she was considered undocumented. Getting her registered would require money the family simply didn't have. Or, perhaps, they felt that it wasn't necessary since she was just a girl.The girl's aunt – her uncle's wife, who also lived with the girl's grandparents – was unhappy because there was suddenly an extra mouth to feed. The aunt treated the girl very poorly. According to neighbors, the girl was often beaten and denied food. The grandparents didn't dare speak up, fearing they would upset their daughter-in-law.According to the villagers, the aunt had attacked the girl that day because the girl had stolen some bread
Jason remarked, "In this world, there is no such thing as absolute fairness."He thought Iris' view was still overly idealistic. There was a large gap between the things taught in law school and the cases that happened in the real world. Sometimes, bending the rules was necessary to achieve certain objectives, not just for the sake of making things fairer. The world has never been fair, no matter in which country.Iris fell silent. She knew that the world had never truly been fair. Many individuals were constrained by circumstances from the moment they were born. Some emerged from impoverished rural areas, needing relentless perseverance to change their fates, while others were born into wealth and luxury, their starting point already an unattainable goal for many. How could this not be seen as unfair? Fairness was absent from the moment of one's birth.Yet, wasn't her initial aspiration to study law rooted in the pursuit of fairness? If not, what was the point of law?"Mr. Just,
His now wide open collar revealed his sexy, slender neck. His Adam's apple moved as he spoke, his voice slightly hoarse, "Are you really okay?"Iris nodded, avoiding his gaze; she didn't dare meet his eyes directly. His gaze felt too affectionate. Earlier, he mentioned that she resembled the love of his life. Maybe he saw her as a substitute for his unrequited love?Yes, it must be so; otherwise, he wouldn't have looked at her with that kind of expression.Phew~She assured herself that Jason couldn't possibly have feelings for someone like her. It was fortunate she had realized this in time, avoiding any presumptuous thoughts. She felt relieved that she hadn't embarrassed herself in front of him."Um..." Just then, Denise approached, intending to inform them that Yvonne wanted to leave. Upon reaching the sun deck, she immediately spotted Jason hugging Iris.She realized she was intruding.Quietly, she turned to leave.However, Iris had seen her. "Denise," Iris called out