"......" Damn that gossipmonger."Why don't you bring her along the next time we go out? Let us see what she looks like,” suggested Caleb.In their social circle, Jackson had always been known as someone who was uninterested in women. He even treated Mira Hall rather coldly, and she was his fiancé. But this time, he actually rushed to a faraway town to save a woman in the middle of the night.Caleb was shocked when he heard it. He immediately called Jackson to ask him about it.But Caleb's curiosity made Jackson a little unhappy. He did not want other men to be curious about Serenity. He did not want her to meet those people. He even wished he could keep her in a place where only he could see her.If he let Caleb and the others meet her and she ended up falling for one of them...Jackson naturally knew those people were very popular with women, especially Lucas Gomez. It felt like any woman Lucas had his eyes on would end up becoming his girlfriend. Those women would still go out
Because this was... just a game to him. A game between the rich and the poor.Was his plan to tell her his true identity when she was discharged from the hospital to announce the end of the game?Serenity's calmness made Jackson's fear grow even stronger. She was standing right there in front of him, yet she felt so distant."Are you Jackson Valor?" She repeated the question. She was still very calm, as if she was simply asking a very ordinary question.He pursed his lips as he stared into her crystal-clear eyes. After a long time, he finally opened his mouth and uttered the word "yes".Serenity felt bitter. So he really was Jackson Valor. Honestly, she already knew that, but... she was still holding onto a sliver of hope. She wanted to hear it from him."Okay, I get it." She gently lowered her eyes. She squatted down, picked up her phone that had fallen onto the floor, turned around and pulled open the glass door to leave.But the next moment, a strong hand grabbed her arm. His
"Ain’t that right, Sis?" He still called her Sis like before. The slightly raised tone at the end hinted at a kind of attachment.But she felt as if there was a heavy mountain pressing down on her chest, weighing her down so much that she could hardly breathe.Serenity returned to the ward with Jackson. Right after they entered the ward, Jackson asked the nurse to leave.The two of them were thus left alone in the ward.Serenity sat stiffly in the chair with her head hanging low. She had no idea what he wanted to do to her. If he wanted to make life more miserable for her because he thought she was not miserable enough, why did he rescue her on New Year's Eve?If he had just left her to her fate, her life would become even more miserable, right?But no matter what he wanted to do to her, she was powerless to resist. After spending three years in prison, she knew the weight of fate and understood its cruelty, and knew how insignificant she was before it.To those people with pow
This was something that they would often do whenever it was cold. Before this, when he warmed her hands, it would warm her heart too, but now... it merely gave her a sense of trepidation.Because she had no idea what he was trying to do.She squirmed uncomfortably and tried to pull her hands back, but his fingers were firmly wrapped around them, not letting her pull away."Mr. Valor...""Call me Jack. Haven't you always called me Jack?"She pursed her lips tightly."Consider it an order. Call me Jack." He murmured softly, not wanting to hear her call him "Mr. Valor" one more time because it really annoyed him.Serenity remained quiet for a long time before she finally uttered the word "Jack" softly.The corners of his mouth instantly curled up into a smile.The pure-looking smile left her in a daze. Before this, she had always thought that his smile was very pure, like it had not been contaminated by the world. It made her want to protect this purity in him.But... Jackson Va
"If your plan is to lift me up high so that I would fall hard, you don't really have to do that. My life is already miserable enough. I'm just a sanitation worker. I don't have any money left. My family has kicked me out. Do you want me to kneel down in front of Mira Hall's grave to apologize? Or do you want to take my life in return...""That’s enough!" He violently interrupted her. She would rather believe that he did all this to get revenge for Mira Hall rather than because he liked spending time with her? "Listen to me. To me, Mira Hall is not worth going through all this trouble for. All you have to do is stay by my side."He looked down at her hands that he was holding. He had been rubbing them for a while, but they were still cold for some reason.He knew that he lost his temper just now. It felt like she could always stir his emotions easily, making him feel scared, making him feel angry.The closer he got to her, the more control she had over his emotions, but he could not
Originally, he wanted to find a more suitable opportunity to let her know so that it would be easier for her to accept.This... was probably the worst way for her to find out.He got careless. He did not notice her standing right behind him. But... he did not mention his identity during the conversation with Caleb, yet she immediately called out his name.That meant... she already knew who he was before she overheard his conversation? Who told her?Jackson snapped open his eyes and instructed Connor, "Check Serenity's phone record and find out who she talked to on the phone recently!""Okay," Connor immediately replied.It did not take long for Connor to obtain the information. "Mr. Valor, the last call Miss Serenity received today was at 6:35 p.m. The caller was Lisa Quest."Lisa Quest... Jackson narrowed his eyes. He remembered that name. She's Serenity's best friend."Find out who Lisa Quest met with today!"Connor nodded.The car pulled up outside the hospital where Maste
"So what? If I want to, I can make her as famous as any socialite in the city!" Jackson retorted."Don't forget how your father died!" Master Zack said through gritted teeth.Jackson's eyes dimmed. "I haven't forgotten. Even if I were to be with her, it doesn't mean I would give my life to her. I'm not father. I wouldn't die for a woman, and I wouldn't be controlled by a woman!"He was always the one in control!Master Zack snorted. "Is that what you came here to say?""No," Jackson replied, "I came here to tell you to not lay a hand on her!"Master Zack's eyes narrowed. He said angrily, "What do you mean by that? Are you threatening your own grandfather? Is she more important to you than me?""Grandpa, I'm just telling you, not threatening you," Jackson chuckled, "I'm telling you, don't lay a hand on her. No matter what happens between me and her, don't lay a hand on her. Of course, you can do that, but I don't know how I would react if you do. Maybe you can try it?"Master Za
As if she heard him, she suddenly frowned. Beads of cold sweat began to appear on her forehead. She started shaking her head from side to side like she was trying to avoid something.Jackson frowned and was about to call for a doctor when Serenity suddenly opened her eyes and sat up while screaming, "No...""Sis, what's wrong?" asked Jackson.Like a drowning man clutching at straws, Serenity hugged Jackson's waist tightly. "Jack, thank god... It's you... It's you... I had a nightmare. I was back in jail and those people just wouldn't let me go. I begged them for mercy, I... I got on my knees and begged, but they still kept hitting me..."Although it was a dream, the pain felt so real. Even now, after she already woke up, her stomach still seemed to be aching slightly.Halfway through her sentence, she abruptly stopped and went rigid.She suddenly recalled that the man in front of her was Jackson Valor and not "Jack"! The main culprit responsible for all the pain she suffered in p
“……” Morgan suddenly found himself unable to retort. She... wasn't wrong. “But when you play house, you can pretend to be parents with one person today and another person tomorrow. Real marriage is different; you can’t choose someone else.”Renee widened her eyes, listening intently.“The only person you can choose is me. Do you understand, Renee?” he continued.She nodded vigorously. “I understand!”“Do you really?” Morgan asked, a little skeptical. He was already fifteen, so he could grasp the concept of marriage, but she was only eight. Could she truly comprehend it?“So, in the future, I can only marry Morgan and be your bride, right? I can't be someone else's bride, right?” she asked. “I don’t want to marry other boys anyway. I like you the most, Morgan. Of course I’ll only be your bride!” she happily declared, her worries fading away.So she could be Morgan's bride when she grew up! That's great!After finishing another piece of snack, Renee thought of something. She put o
Despite her unease, she couldn’t resist when she saw the sweet desserts. She indulged herself.However, as she ate, her eyes remained fixed on Morgan, clearly still waiting for him to clarify Lucy’s claims.“You want to know if you’re a child bride, right?” Morgan began.Renee nodded.“Do you know what a child bride is?” he asked.She blinked. She had a vague idea, but not enough for her to articulate it.“To put it simply, a child bride is a girl raised by a boy's family. The girl will marry the boy when she comes of age. In the old days, some families were too poor to raise their daughters, so they would sell their daughters to become child brides for richer families,” Morgan explained.Renee blinked. “But my parents aren’t poor, and I'm raised by them, not by other people. That means I’m not a child bride, right?”“Correct, you are not,” Morgan affirmed.She breathed a sigh of relief, and a bright smile spread across her face. “I knew it! My parents would never sell me! The
"Morgan!" Renee turned to Morgan, unease etched on her face."The Moon family, eh? I'll remember this," Morgan replied calmly, then lowered his head to meet Renee's anxious and confused face. "Let's go, Renee. I’ll tell you what you want to know later."He led her away holding her hand.Benson looked worried. "Miss Lucy, how could you say that?""It's the truth!" Lucy shook off her fear and spoke defiantly. "Daddy and Mommy said she’s a child bride. A child bride is a girl sold by her own parents!""But the White family is not like that. Those things only happened to daughters of poor families in the old days," Benson explained. "You really shouldn’t have said that, Miss Lucy. You shouldn’t do that again.""Why do I have to listen to you?" Lucy retorted, displeased.Benson was too ashamed to tell Lucy in front of others that the Moon family simply couldn’t afford to offend Morgan. Dealing with the White family was already a headache, and Morgan's background was even more formi
Benson and Lucy were also dumbfounded. Benson started getting anxious. He felt like things were starting to unfold in ways that he did not expect."Mr. Grimes, I..." Benson stepped forward, intending to speak to Mr. Grimes.However, Mr. Grimes moved past Benson without so much as a glance at him. He went up to Morgan and said, "Master Morgan, I apologize for the oversight!"Everyone was stunned to hear that, including the security guards who had been called over. They were secretly relieved they hadn't forcibly removed anyone yet. If they had offended someone Mr. Grimes was showing so much respect to, it would have been really bad for them!Morgan regarded Mr. Grimes with an unreadable expression. He calmly recounted the situation to Mr. Grimes.After hearing about what happened, Mr. Grimes responded, "This set of stamps was not pre-ordered. If you like it, please take it. Feel free to take anything else in the exhibition that catches your eye."This declaration shocked every
"Who are you?!" Benson exclaimed, astonished. The mysterious figure remained silent, simply looking at Morgan.Morgan calmly reiterated to Benson, "I said, wait for Mr. Grimes." He then pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "I'm Morgan Wood. Please have Mr. Grimes from Lazy Cat Culture come to the Sleepy Cat Exhibition in Solaria. He should be in the area, right?"After ending the call, the person on the other end stared at the phone in disbelief.The Sleepy Cat Exhibition? What's going on?Benson, Lucy, and the staff stared at Morgan in shock, but the look in their eyes quickly turned to ridicule."Ah, a young man's naive bravado – how impudent!" Benson scoffed."Sir, please don't cause trouble," the staff member warned. "Or I'll have to call security."Morgan simply lowered his head to say to Renee, "Looks like we'll be here for a while. If you're bored, I can ask someone to walk around with you."Renee shook her head. "Morgan, what if this stamp set has really been p
Benson's words were not only meant to exert pressure on the staff, but also to inform him that they were on the same side.As expected, when the staff heard what he said, there was an instant change in his expression. He turned to Morgan and Renee and said, "I'm sorry, but it turns out this stamp set has already been pre-ordered by this customer."Morgan saw through the so-called pre-order as nothing more than an act. "When I asked you to wrap it up earlier, I didn’t hear you mention it was pre-ordered.""We forgot to mention that. Our apologies," the staff replied.Lucy, wearing a smug expression, raised her chin at Renee, causing Renee to puff out her cheeks in frustration.Benson calmly observed Morgan and Renee. The White family's White Maple Group had numerous overlapping businesses with the Moon Group. They were often competing with each other. Originally, the White Maple Group’s business activities weren't concentrated in Solaria, so even though there was competition wi
But before Morgan had even finished speaking, a girl's voice piped up, "I want this stamp set!"He turned to the voice and, upon seeing who it was, narrowed his eyes slightly. It was Lucy Moon, the girl Renee mentioned earlier. At the sight of Lucy, Renee immediately reacted like an angry little kitten. "Lucy Moon, why do you always try to take my stuff away?""Your stuff? How is this your stuff? You haven't paid yet!" Lucy shot back, her eyes fixed on Morgan.Morgan was well-known in their class, admired by many girls who claimed he was even more handsome than movie stars. If only Lucy had a big brother like that! She would be the envy of all the girls in class... no, all the girls in school!Unfortunately, her own big brother was not as good-looking.Last time, Lucy had tried to give Renee Sleepy Cat toys, asking for Morgan's email address in return. However, Renee accepted gifts from everyone but her, which infuriated Lucy."But if you want, I can give this stamp set to Re
Unlike many wealthy kids, Renee was quite restrained with her spending. She had never spent recklessly and often saved leftover money. Of course, when she wanted something beyond her budget, she would act cute and ask her Daddy or Morgan to buy it for her.Lisa was the least susceptible to her charms, so Renee didn’t dare to bother her!When they arrived at the exhibition, Renee’s eyes sparkled with excitement. There were so many adorable Sleepy Cat merchandise! They're all so cute! She wanted a lot of them, but realizing her limited budget, she knew she needed a sponsor! The best one was right beside her: Morgan!"Morgan," she said, flashing him a super bright smile.Seeing her like this, Morgan immediately knew she wanted to ask him for something. "What is it? Do you want me to buy you Sleepy Cat merchandise?""You’re so smart, Morgan! No wonder so many girls in our class like you and asked me for your phone number!" Renee praised him.As soon as she mentioned it, Morgan'
"Okay," Renee replied obediently, snuggling up to Morgan and acting cute. "Take me to the exhibition, Morgan! I know you’re the best. You’ll definitely take me, right?"Morgan pursed his lips. At 15, he was no longer a little boy. Although Renee was only 8, she was his destined wife.He had been protecting her since the day she was born. At first, he thought that he would only marry her because according to the family prophecy, she was the one most suitable for him. Over the years, however, he realized that his feelings for her ran deeper than he had initially thought.He found himself wanting to help her fulfill her wishes, and would clean up the mess when she caused trouble. Things had become different from what he had expected, but he welcomed them. He felt grateful that she was the one who was destined for him!With her by his side for the rest of his life, he would never feel lonely."Will you get into fights again?" Morgan asked."No more fighting, I promise!" Renee quickly