"Why not?" Jackson asked in reply."I would eventually have to marry someone in my life. Would an early or late marriage make a difference? Besides, Mira is quiet and obedient enough. An arranged marriage with the Hall family would help the Valor family's business in the shipping industry, so why not?"Serenity felt a little unsettled listening to Jackson's business mindset.Jackson spoke as if he had no love at all. Even marriage was just business to him. For a man like him, what was important to him?"But now, I think it'd be nice to marry a woman I find interesting," Jackson added with a smile, his blazing gaze focused on her.Jackson's words seemed to imply something, and Serenity turned away uncomfortably. She told herself not to overthink. Both of them were simply living in two different worlds. They were very different. She thought it would be unlikely for them to cross paths again after giving him the gloves."Oh, um..." Serenity said hurriedly, "I'll give you the gloves.
"Yes, it is." Serenity was certain. "For me, the truth is more important than anything else!""The car accident happened three years ago," Jack reminded her. "There might have been surveillance footage and evidence, but they would be gone by now. It's hard to overturn the conviction, let alone find out the truth."Serenity let out a bitter laugh. She naturally understood his intention. Jackson would overturn the conviction for her, but the truth did not matter to him. Mira's thoughts and her suicidal driving which had led to the car accident—it did not matter.Jackson had never had any feelings for Mira. Mira's unfortunate death meant nothing to him. All he had lost was just a candidate for marriage. "Jackson, you never loved Mira at all," Serenity suddenly said in an unmistakable tone.Jackson lowered his gaze slightly, "I never said I loved her.""Then who do you love?" When her question sounded, an answer instantly came to his mind.He looked at her for a moment in a daze. A
She could not help thinking what an irony her life had been.She said nothing and instead just walked over to the side of the drawers and pulled out a pair of gloves."These are for you," she handed them to him, "as promised."He examined the gloves carefully before trying them on, after which he commented, "The knitting is done very well, and they're really warm too, just like the scarf that you knitted for me—really warm and comfortable to wear.""You didn't have to wear that scarf," she told him. "I'm sure people could tell at a glance that it doesn't match your outfit at all."In contrast to Jackson's expensive high-end clothes, her scarf only looked cheap and shoddy, not to mention how rough and unrefined the handwork looked."It doesn't match?" He raised his brows and chuckled. "Sis, I don't care what other people think about this scarf, only how I feel about it, and I think it matches me perfectly!"He paused to touch the scarf and then added, "Besides, as long as it's so
Serenity's role as an extra today was to be a maid. All she needed to do was stand at the designated spot set by the director and keep her head low. Not only that, she would not be the only maid in the scene, but merely one of a group of maids. They had to wait till the main characters walked by, then, at the director's call, all of them were supposed to kneel down in unison, then say, "My lord. My lady."And that was it.Because the scene involved kneeling, her pay was increased almost twofold. Serenity thought about it and decided to do it anyway since it was just an act. Besides, even some popular actors had to kneel in their roles. When survival was on the line, one must swallow one's pride and not care too much about one's knees.The makeup room for the extras was a big spacious room with many makeup artists in it. All the extras, whether male or female, had to wait in line here to get their makeup done. The makeup artists worked really fast on each extra, barely needing five t
After all, Serenity had neither stolen nor robbed anyone for this job. She was merely doing honest work in exchange for money."Why didn't you tell me if you wanted to work as an extra?" Aria asked her. "I could've landed you a role with a line or two. It would've earned you much more than what you make as an extra!"As Aria spoke, she deliberately stroked her hair to show off the expensive watch on her wrist. Serenity noticed this and was amused."I'm not the kind of person who would trick my own sister to have a drink with someone just to ask for a role with a few more lines," said Serenity."You..." Aria's expression soured. She knew that Serenity was mocking her for trying to offer Serenity up to an assistant director in the past. But within a few moments, she looked as if she had suddenly thought of something. She looked Serenity up and down as she asked her, "You're short of money, aren't you? Is that why you're working as an extra? Don't you have anyone to lend you some mone
The thought of Lucas Gomez always stirred up a lingering restlessness in her heart because although she had been with him for a long time now, Lucas had still never touched her at all.But no matter what, she was still Lucas Gomez's official girlfriend, and as for Serenity, she would teach her how their tables had turned, and she would finally see the price she had to pay for refusing to help Aria back then!*** Before filming officially began, the director had everyone rehearse their scenes twice, but Serenity did not see Jenny Hall during the rehearsal at all because Jenny had a stand-in take her place instead.Aria, however, did not let a stand-in take her place. She joined the rehearsals herself, standing next to the leading actor. She played the second female lead in this drama and was the male lead's concubine. She would be sharing a lot of scenes with Jenny Hall as well.Lucas Gomez had given her a few roles to choose from, and she had chosen this one herself without any h
Although she knew that Lisa would never demand her to pay back the money she owed, she still felt that she owed her friend too much and could not continue to keep on owing her money any longer.Time and time again, Serenity knelt and touched her forehead to the ground, then got up on her feet... after which the cycle continued over and over again.The other extras were doing the same thing too, but they were getting more and more restless. Some even demanded more pay since the work was more grueling than they expected.Sensing that the extras were getting agitated, the director told his assistant to ask Aria what to do. Aria pretended to think about it for a moment before suggesting, "How about this... I think that woman is doing a pretty good job. Her posture is correct, and her timing is just right. Why don't you get her to demonstrate it to the rest of the extras? They can study carefully how she does it, and once they understand, they can rehearse it again. This way, they won't
As Jenny Hall watched the video on the phone where Serenity was kneeling over and over again, she could not help but smile and comment, "Some people just have a death wish.""Exactly!" her assistant echoed. "This extra must've offended Aria Lewis, that's why she was targeted like that! Everyone on set knows that you must never offend Aria Lewis..." The assistant stopped abruptly, realizing that she had said the wrong thing. Her face turned pale as she hastily added, "I'm sorry, Jenny. I was so mistaken. This Aria Lewis is a nobody, anyway. She's just Lucas Gomez's current girlfriend, that's all. She can be all haughty and proud now, but when she finally gets dumped, she probably won't even get minor roles, let alone a supporting one!""That's enough," said Jenny in a flat tone. "You don't need to say these things. I'm well aware of it."Ever since Aria Lewis had joined the production, she had never once treated Jenny with respect. Every time they bumped into each other, all Aria d
“……” 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