Meanwhile, Stella was not idle either. She decided to reach out to relevant authorities and discuss a potential collaboration. She got up at six in the morning and set off with Ted. All parties showed up by around 8:00 a.m., and they delved into the matter for over five hours. It was almost 1:00 p.m. when they finished the meeting.Stella glanced at the documents in her hand, and relief swept over her."You could always retain a portion of the land, you know," said Ted.Everyone knew how expensive land was in Rivera."This plot of land was originally in my grandfather's. He entrusted it to my mother before passing, and it became my responsibility since her departure from the world. My grandfather knew that his two younger brothers probably would not be heard from again. Still, he guarded the land, seemingly awaiting a reunion. What I'm doing is not precisely a donation, either. The land inherently belongs to the state. I'm just giving it back in advance by donating my grandfather's
Keegan was worried about being photographed. So, he had Aldor pick out a discreet Yostrainian restaurant with good music. The restaurant was located on the top floor of the Empyrean Luxe, the tallest building in Rivera. It was a rotating restaurant that allowed diners to enjoy a panoramic view of the Cobalt River.When Keegan and Stella rode the elevator, a kid accidentally stained Keegan's shirt with their ice cream cone. Once they reached the top floor, he told Stella she could wait for him at the restaurant. Meanwhile, Keegan headed to the restroom to clean himself up.Stella grabbed Keegan's phone and made her way to the restaurant. While the staff was checking her reservation, a familiar voice sounded behind her. "Let me scan the PayPal QR code real quick."Startled, Stella put on her hoodie."We have received your payment, sir. Thank you for dining with us, and have a good day.""You too. Which way to the restroom, by the way?" The voice asked in disdain.With a warm tone,
"Uh-huh," Keegan casually responded.Penn lowered his voice and said, "I'll talk to him."When he hung up, Spencer's phone buzzed. Rather than answering immediately, Spencer glanced at Keegan and inquired, "Do you find this amusing, Mr. Kane?"Keegan looked at him indifferently and said, "It's alright."Before Spencer could react, a young man called out to him. "Spencer, your dad called me. He's on the line right now."Spencer was expressionless. "Just hang up," he said.When his friend opened his mouth to speak, Penn's voice came through the phone. "Who are you trying to hang up on, you rebellious child?"Spencer did not reply. His face tensed, as he took the call. The others could not hear what Penn said, but they witnessed Spencer's face turn sour.Seeing that he ended the call, Keegan muttered, "Be a good boy and listen to daddy. Now, apologize.""Pfft—" Spencer's friend tried to hold back his laughter. It sounded like Keegan was calling himself "daddy", even though it was
"I don't see anything wrong with calling for backup," said Keegan nonchalantly."Yeah, yeah. You're a genius," Stella said, as she guided him to a chair. "Let's eat before I starve to death."Keegan reluctantly went along with her and picked up the menu to place an order. As he made his selections, he turned to Stella and asked, "What kind of soup do you want?"After several failed attempts to get her attention, he looked up to find Stella engrossed in scrolling through her Facebook feed.@ShilohTalks had just posted another article questioning the lawyer's claim of settling the matter privately.[Why involve the police during regular school hours if the matter was meant to be handled privately?]She wrote about how parents would become suspicious when they see the authorities at the kindergarten and start asking questions, making it impossible to keep things discreet. She also pointed out that Stella's name was not mentioned in her article, yet she rushed to come out with a stat
Stella gritted her teeth and swallowed her word. "—forker!"Keegan was a little taken aback when he heard that."@ShilohTalks is like a mad dog! She's completely unhinged and attacks people at random. Despite the presented evidence, she's resorting to playing the emotion card. How is the kindergarten's performance related to my family's land? We're talking about one thing, yet she's talking about another. It's all just a deliberate attempt to confuse and manipulate the people while trying to stir up conflict!"When Stella finished her rant, Keegan finally chimed in. "What kind of soup would you like?"Stella raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you gonna join in and say a few words?" she asked."Why waste time evaluating such trash? It's not like it'll change things." Keegan responded calmly.Stella blinked in surprise.'If I understand this correctly, Keegan is saying no matter how much we analyze @ShilohTalks's post, it won't change the fact that it's rubbish,' she thought."So, What k
Stella blinked in surprise and quickly clicked on the entry.The Food Safety Department had conducted a surprise inspection at Sunlight Kindergarten's cafeteria today, and someone had shared images from the scene. They found numerous spoiled meats in the kitchen fridge and a thriving colony of mold in the dough mixer.Moreover, the cooking oil they used was not a brand that had been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The bottle was unlabeled, and the content was darker than normal brands, resembling reused oil.Just as Stella was about to take a closer look at the images, they vanished. She exited the page and refreshed the list, but she noticed that the hashtag was dropping from the trending list. When she refreshed the list once more, the entire entry was gone. The speed of its disappearance made Stella question if it was all just a dream.Keegan saw Stella's bewildered expression and asked, "What's wrong?""I just saw Sunlight Kindergarten trending due to food
Meat could be frozen for preservation, but it was generally not recommended to be stored for more than three months. Even if the meat was not rotten after that timeframe, it would have lost a lot of its nutrients. Considering that it was meant for kindergarten children, the use of such poor-quality meat was quite concerning.Other than that, the freezer contained bags of low-quality shrimp. The cutting board used for vegetables was covered with dark spots resembling mold. There were also visibly sprouted potatoes and half-rotten oranges in the cafeteria's kitchen.The media person took photos of these disconcerting scenes and promptly reported them to the FDA. Consequently, it caused a fury among the netizens.[Good grief. Are these people even human? I bet adults might not be able to stomach those, let alone children... Have any of the kids fallen ill?][I pay almost two thousand dollars per month for my children's meals at the kindergarten, yet they're using such ingredients? Do
[You know how celebrities are,] someone replied.[How was she able to directly involve the officials?][It's a classic distraction technique. She clearly wants us off her case. The two incidents don't even correlate.]At the same time, a few people were making insinuating remarks saying, [Exactly. Stella must have secretly placed that rotten meat in their cafeteria freezer during the night! I bet she planted those sprouted potatoes and oranges! And she must've chucked their cutting board into the toilet before putting it back!][You guys are making things up. Do you think she would resort to partaking in online drama to obtain the kindergarten if she had such power? And would she go as far as putting herself under public scrutiny and ruining her career?]"I'm neutral toward both parties. But food hygiene is much more serious than pulling publicity stunts. We should really separate the two topics. The kindergarten could be subjected to criminal charges!"Comments continued to floo
Keegan moved from initial resistance to reluctantly listening, and eventually to questioning."Why do these novels portray men as so stupid and brainless, yelling at the female lead as if they have intermittent explosive disorder?""Is the male lead sick? Forcing the female lead to donate a kidney, is he out of his mind?""How many years would they get for calling the police in their world?""Why is he so dumb? The supporting actress claims the female lead pushed her into the water and he believes it? Is checking surveillance footage illegal?""Stella, are you making fun of me?""I can't learn this. It all feels so neurotic. What does the female lead see in him?"Stella retorted, "Who cares if it's neurotic? Just mimic that stupidity, that's how these innocent women like men who protect them like that."Keegan was very reluctant, but his brain was more compliant than his body. Without needing to study deliberately, everything he heard stuck in his mind.So when Keegan mentione
Keegan's expression darkened with anger. "You're being completely unreasonable!"Stella crossed her arms, wearing an expression that seemed challenging. "You let her take it. Let's see if I dare."Jaylene hadn't actually wanted those junk items in the first place; she was deliberately trying to stir up discord between them. Now that her goal was achieved, she put on a sympathetic look."Keegan, I don't want it anymore. Don't be angry. Your health is more important. Didn't the doctor say to keep your emotions stable?"Turning her head, she reproached Stella. "Stella, are you here to help Keegan recover his memory or just to provoke him?""Shut up, you brat! Do you even have a say here?"Acting under the guise of a drama, playing the role of someone lacking in manners, was incredibly satisfying.She’d wanted to curse this brat for a long time!Jaylene's lips twitched, but she held back, tearfully saying, "Stella, if you don't like me, I'll leave. There's no need to humiliate me l
Jaylene understood the situation perfectly. Even though she didn't particularly like these cold, mechanical devices, she put on a pretense of surprise, saying, "Really, Keegan?"Keegan nodded. "Choose one you like.""Keegan!" Before Stella could finish her sentence, she couldn't hold back her sharp voice, "With your pile of junk that I can't even touch normally, she takes a look and now you want to give it to her? What's the meaning of this?!"Keegan frowned, apparently not comprehending her current anger at all. "Jaylene gave me a gift, and I'm giving her one in return. What's the problem?""What problem?" Stella's eyes started to redden. "I can't touch them, so why should she be able to? Have you forgotten, or do you have inappropriate feelings for her?"Keegan's expression darkened. "This makes no sense!"Jaylene secretly delighted in this, hypocritically trying to calm things down, "Forget it, Keegan. Since Stella minds so much, I don't want it anymore. You've strained your r
The standoff lasted for over twenty minutes before Keegan grabbed a book and knocked the beetle off Jaylene's neck. The beetle fluttered twice and suddenly flew up, landing on Jaylene's face.Jaylene screamed, rolled her eyes, and fainted.As she collapsed, the bug flew off again."Jaylene?"Keegan called out to her.He looked up at Stella and said, "You go start the car, I'll carry her to the hospital."As he spoke, he signaled to Stella.She understood and coldly grunted, "So troublesome."Walking over to Jaylene, she squatted down beside her and slapped her face twice.Jaylene immediately opened her eyes and reached out to push her away. "What are you doing!"Stella was prepared and had already moved back before she could be pushed.She shook her tingling hand and innocently said, "Jaylene, you fainted because of the bug. I was just saving you. Don't believe me? Ask Keegan."Jaylene nearly ground her teeth. Did she think she hadn't heard? She was intentionally exposing h
Her fingertips trembled with a mix of horror and excitement. Just as the teapot was about to slip from her grasp, Keegan suddenly said, "Jaylene, don't move."Jaylene froze, instinctively thinking Keegan had regained his memory. She had barely twitched when Keegan loudly stopped her again, "Don't move, absolutely don't move."Jaylene wanted to say something, but then felt an itching sensation on her neck, as if something was crawling slowly. Goosebumps erupted all over her body.By now, Stella had turned around and saw Jaylene standing stiffly with the teapot in hand. Her eyes quickly assessed the situation and then she noticed the beetle crawling on Jaylene's neck.It was an unknown species, not overly tentacled but as long as a little finger, its mouthparts slightly twitching, genuinely alarming in appearance.Stella murmured, "It's so big."Jaylene couldn't see what was on her neck, unsure if it would bite or if it was venomous. She stood frozen in place, her voice trembling,
Seeing him, Stella even lowered her eyes and softly praised, "Mr. Kane, you acted very well."Keegan glared at her, his voice low and intense. "If you keep watching like this, Coco will cut ties with me tomorrow."Stella replied confidently, "No, she won't. After accepting the red envelope, she can tolerate you a little longer."Keegan asked sharply, "Did you teach her to ask for red envelopes like this?""Don't falsely accuse me; I didn't teach her.""You may not have taught her directly, but you set an example. Have you forgotten how you always make me buy things for you?"Stella was speechless. Whenever she wanted Keegan to buy her something, she would often say, "Gifts are only surprises when given voluntarily. If reminded, it shows they don’t like me that much."It had to be said, Coco had learned the essence of it.Stella also felt a bit awkward, thinking that in the future, she needed to avoid such flirtatious conversations between spouses in front of the children. They
Could she figure all this out?Keegan frowned, casting a disappointed look at Coco. "Are you not listening to me now?"Coco raised her gaze defiantly and stated, "Aunt Stella taught me that if I don't want something someone gives me, I can say no. I don't want this hairpin.""Didn't she teach you that even if you don't like something, you should still say thank you?"Coco fell silent for a moment, then reluctantly said to Jaylene, "Thank you, Aunt Jaylene, but I don't want it."Jaylene hesitated with her hand extended, unsure whether to retract it or leave it there, managing a strained smile. "Then what do you like? Next time, I will get you something you do like."Coco asked, "Do you want me to do something for you?"Jaylene was taken aback. "What?"Coco replied seriously, "Aunt Stella says offering help without reason is either deceitful or thieving. Since you don't like me, why else would you give me something? You want me to do something for you, right?"Jaylene forced a s
Leighton's incident did indeed revive their suspicions.Jaylene was gullible, but Darcie might see through this scheme. "Keegan, why didn't you go to work today?" Jaylene chose to ask directly at first.Keegan remained composed. "I've been busy with the press conference lately and haven't had much rest. Now that things have slowed down, I thought I'd take a break and relax."Jaylene spoke gently, "You should rest well. Since you came back, you've been busy, and you've been postponing Dr. Stone's follow-up appointments. Keegan, I'm really worried about your health. Since you're resting these days, I'll arrange for Dr. Stone to give you another check-up. Stella has been living here to assist your recovery for so long. We need the doctor to give a clear assessment of whether there's been any improvement. Otherwise, it's not good for Stella's reputation to stay here so long, unmarried and under one roof."Keegan nodded. "Okay, please arrange it. Thank you."His response was decisive,
Stella had just descended the stairs when she heard that remark, causing her eyelids to twitch as she thought to herself, “Damn it! He really knows how to come up with excuses!”Upon hearing this, Jaylene's eyes briefly flashed with disdain, but she ultimately accepted the shoe covers Keegan handed her. As Keegan led Jaylene into the house, her eyes continued to scrutinize every corner.There were a couple of pillows on the sofa, couple mugs on the table, wedding photos of Keegan and Stella on the walls, and even headbands and hair ties scattered on the table. The house exuded an unmistakable feminine touch.Jaylene's expression darkened, but when Keegan turned to ask if she preferred tea or coffee, she adopted a gentle, harmless demeanor. "Tea would be perfect."Keegan invited her to take a seat and called for Maria to prepare tea. Jaylene spoke softly, "Keegan, I heard from Stella that you brew Dragon Well tea better than anyone else. Is there a special technique?"Stella paused