Queenie was displeased with Clara. "Clara! You don't have to pretend with me, you know. We know each other’s history. Why else would you be pregnant at this age? Aren't you trying to baby-trap someone to secure the relationship? I've been kind enough to advise you. If you want to succeed in your plan, you need a boy. Giving birth to a girl will be of no use!""The gender doesn't matter. I have my children because I love them, not because I want to baby-trap someone into marriage!" Clara retorted."Come on, you can't fool me with that," Queenie replied.Clara gave up explaining herself to Queenie. With Queenie's strong bias, her efforts would be futile."Since we’ve happened to meet each other again, why don't we exchange phone numbers? Maybe we can hang out again sometime!" Queenie said, taking out her phone. "What's your phone number?"After hesitating, Clara gave her phone number. Although she did not click with the current Queenie, refusing to give her phone number seemed a lit
Unable to refuse, Clara finally gave Queenie the address. Queenie drove over and arrived in about half an hour, but she was surprised when she saw Clara running a small store."This is… Your store? Do you live here?" Queenie asked."Yeah. I've been running this place for years. It's easier to take care of my son because he studies in the school next door," Clara answered.After learning that Queenie was Clara's former cellmate and had occasionally helped Clara while in prison, Mrs. Wells greeted Queenie warmly and enthusiastically served her tea, cut fruits, and a variety of snacks."Queenie, why don't you stay for dinner? I'll go to the grocery and get whatever you like," Mrs. Wells offered."No need. I'm leaving shortly. I happened to meet Clara again, so I thought I'd keep in touch with her more," Queenie said, hiding her utter disdain for this humble and shabby-looking place.Queenie found the snacks and tea Mrs. Wells served cheap and unpalatable. She only made this trip to
Queenie's face sank. "You have nothing to do with him? What do you mean? You're about to give birth to his son! How can you not be related to him?""The child is mine, not someone else's. I've nothing to do with him. Believe it or not, it's up to you," Clara said."What…" Queenie gasped exasperatedly. "I was kind enough to invite you to a meal, yet you're treating me like this. Are you acting all high and mighty just because you rode in a car worth a few thousand?! What did you get out of the relationship, anyway? Just a small store like this? Who do you think you are?! You're just someone who has been in prison, just like me!" Spewing her anger over, Queenie picked up her bag and left. Mrs. Wells was surprised to see Queenie leave in anger. Unable to resist, she asked Clara, "What's wrong? Why did she leave?""I guess our values don't align," Clara said, knowing it would be hard to be friends with Queenie, especially with their difference in opinion. Maybe they should just keep a
"No one's giving me a hard time. I don't need any help," Clara said."Is that so? That's a relief." Queenie acted as if she was genuinely glad about Clara's situation. She added, "Right, when will you be free? Let's have dinner together, my treat. We've reunited after so many years, so it's a celebration.""Umm..." Clara hesitated."Are you going to refuse? It's just a meal. Remember what happened when we were in prison? You were pregnant, and I begged the bullies to let you go and stop beating you." Queenie said, bringing up their history in prison again.At last, Clara had no choice but to agree. "Alright. Let's have a meal together, but it's my treat. I should thank you for your help back then.""Let's not worry so much about who's treating. Anyway, it's a promise. Let's meet again and have a good meal together!" Queenie said and left happily.Clara sighed. Somehow, she felt a little uneasy for no reason. She thought Queenie seemed overly enthusiastic and eager about having a
Wilson was in the hospital, looking very exhausted. His face turned a little pale, and more blood was drawn from his body."Mr. Birch, it's best not to draw any more blood in the short term. We normally recommend a healthy person to donate blood once in six months, but not more. You've had two consecutive blood draws within a short time, and you shouldn't have another blood draw until six months later," the doctor advised.Six months? Wilson had a bitter smile. Six months would not work at all. Their baby would be born before that, and if blood was needed by then, the current stock for their rare blood type would not be sufficient at all. More importantly, there were very few such rare blood types in blood banks."Moving forward, I'll have a blood draw once a month," Wilson said stubbornly. There was only a few months left before Clara went into labor. He hoped there would be enough blood stock just in case it was needed."It's too dangerous! Having a blood draw once a month could
Clara reflexively stepped forward to help Wilson from falling. It took Wilson a while to steady himself, his eyes shut tight and his hand pressed to his forehead.Surrounded by darkness, Clara realized Wilson's face was frighteningly pale under the moonlight. While she was holding him, her hand touched his, and she was suddenly aware that his hand felt terribly cold. After a few moments, Wilson finally fluttered his eyes open slowly. He straightened up and said weakly, "I'll get going.""What's wrong with you?" Clara could not resist asking. Wilson looked so fragile like he was about to collapse at any time."Me?" Although slightly startled by the question, Wilson quickly forced a smile and acted as if nothing had happened. "I'm fine. Don't worry." Despite that, only he knew how he was so exhausted to the point he was practically swaying on his feet.Wilson should have gone home to rest after the blood draw, but he missed her so much. Unable to stop wanting to see her, he came he
Her words had put a light in his eyes. "So, you want me to live, do you?"Wilson said, eyes sparkling.Clara almost choked at the light in his eyes. She could not stare directly at his eyes and ultimately looked away. "Whatever you think," she said vaguely."If you want me to live, I'll live, no matter how hard it is!" Wilson answered. He thought she no longer cared about his life, and he even thought she would rather have him gone from the world. Knowing that she wanted him alive because she wanted her children's father alive gave him the motivation to live."Call your driver. Ask him to pick up you," Clara told him."Oh, okay," he responded and pulled out his phone to call the driver. After the call disconnected, he heard her voice calling out to him again."I heard from the neighbors. Have you been around the neighborhood lately? You stayed in the car and kept watching the store?""I-I was just…" Panic flashed across his face, and he looked like a kid who had gotten caught by
Clara rushed to look for the medicine box while Wilson's hand was still bleeding, but when she came back with the first aid kit, she saw Wilson picking up the broken glass on the floor."Why are you picking that up?! Stop it!" Clara quickly stopped him."Sorry. I made a mess… Let me clean it up," Wilson said."Stop whatever you're doing! I'll do it later!" Clara hissed, taking the broken glass away from him. She grabbed his hand and checked the wound. Fortunately, no glass shards had gotten stuck in his skin, so it was relatively easy to treat.Clara hurriedly grabbed the first aid kit and began treating his wound with cotton and gauze. "If it hurts, just say so," she said. While Clara was treating the wound, Wilson stayed silent the whole time as if he felt no pain. When she was done treating the wound, she looked up only to meet his eyes.Clara reflexively tried to look away, but Wilson spoke first. "What if I hadn't tried to force you to abort the baby? Would things have been
“……” 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