Coco regretted not calling Loke out or recording their conversation and exposing them. They should be condemned by the public. At the time, Coco still foolishly thought that Loke should have a little feelings for her. She went to meet him in hopes that he wouldn’t hurt her. Alas, she underestimated the evil of human nature and became the laughingstock of the whole school.In the end, she had been deeply hurt by Loke. Over the years, time had healed her. “Don’t worry, Minnie. I’ve moved on from Loke. I’m disgusted by him.” Coco had felt extremely disgusted when Loke had grabbed her wrist today. “That’s good.” Minnie was relieved. When they ended the call, Coco scrolled through her contacts and saw Lucas’s name. She still couldn’t believe that she had gotten a new boyfriend so easily, but she was happy because he could be her inspiration for the new comic. -Coco texted Lucas her schedule for the week the next day. They went on their first date two days later. “Do we have to p
The bookstore only charged their customers 15 dollars per hour with a free flow of drinks. Coco came here often to read the newest comics. Even though she could read it online, she still liked the feeling of flipping through papers. Coco brought Lucas to an empty couch and said, “You can go over to the bookshelf to look for something you’d like to read. Would you like to drink anything? I’ll go get it for you.” “Water will be fine.” Coco got Lucas a glass of water and a glass of orange juice for herself. She realized that Lucas was already reading a comic when she returned. She was shocked that Lucas was reading her comic. She remembered that she had never told him that her pen name was Alice Souza. But, on second thought, since Lucas could find out her basic information, he would know that Alice was her pen name too. Coco felt a little embarrassed to see someone reading her comic in front of her. The male lead of this comic was a little domineering, and there were a few intima
Lucas seemed to notice something. “What? You don't like me reading the comics you draw?” “What I draw is mostly about romance, men shouldn’t be interested in it. You don't have to force yourself to read them,” Coco said. “I’m not forcing myself to do anything. I don’t mind watching or reading something romantic once in a while. I’m doing this to get to know you better too.” Lucas didn’t know that Coco was stopping him from reading the steamy scenes in the next few pages. She grabbed his hand directly when he tried to flip the page again. “Huh?” Lucas looked at her. “You really don’t want me to continue reading it?” Coco smiled awkwardly. “You’re getting to the steamy scenes.” “I don’t think that your comic would be published if it was that inappropriate.” “Uhh…” “You should know that I’m over eighteen, right? Still, I can stop reading it if you don’t want me to continue,” Lucas said. Coco let go of his hand after a pause. After all, she had started drawing comics because she
Coco sighed in relief at the last stroke. “Finally.” “Was it boring dating me?” Lucas asked.“What?” Coco was stunned at his question, and she hurriedly denied it. “No, I’m not drawing you because I was bored. The image of you reading the comic just now was lovely, and I couldn’t help but… draw you.” Her expression changed as she added, “By the way, do you mind it?” “It’s fine. I promised you that you could draw me in exchange for being my girlfriend,” Lucas said. Coco felt relieved when she heard that. After they left the bookstore, Lucas sent Coco home. “I’ll see you on the weekend,” Lucas said. “Can we have a date at my studio? My studio is empty on weekends, and I want you to be my model again.” Coco wanted to draw Lucas again, and it wasn’t enough for her today. “Alright. Do you need me to wear anything special?” “Oh no, feel free to wear whatever you want.” “Okay.” Lucas drove off after saying that. Someone grabbed Coco’s arm after she had taken a few steps, and she
Loke was stunned. “I know what I did was overboard, and I’ve been wanting to apologize to you all these years.” Coco smiled faintly and said, “Go ahead and apologize to me now.” Loke wasn’t used to Coco being so direct. He was at a loss. “Didn’t you say that you wanted to apologize to me? I’m right in front of you now.” Loke took a deep breath and said, “I’m sorry.” “Okay. Can you let go of me now?” Coco said expressionlessly.“You forgive me?” A flash of joy appeared in Loke’s eyes. “It doesn’t mean that I’m forgiving you just because I acknowledge your apology. I’m not a saint, and I won’t forgive someone who has hurt me, especially a man who hurt me just to please another woman.” “Coco, I…” “Don’t call my name!” Coco added, “Loke, the past is just the past. I don’t hate you, but it doesn't mean I'll forgive you for the things you did to me. I just hope that we won’t see each other again from now on. Let’s just be strangers even if we do see each other.” “Strangers?” Loke la
Loke had treated Coco as nothing more than a tool because he didn’t have any feelings for her at all. He had been interested in another girl, and he had used Coco to fulfill the bet. However, he felt a subtle pang in his chest when he saw Coco being taunted and humiliated in public. Coco no longer smiled cheerfully. She even began to feel afraid of her surroundings. Loke knew that Coco was being bullied because of him, but he didn’t stand up for her at all. He traveled abroad as an exchange student to escape what he had done to her. But even when he was abroad, his mind kept replaying the scene of Coco being bullied by the crowd. He longed for her eventually without realizing it. He would wonder and worry about her. He hadn’t expected himself to get so attached to Coco. Coco would appear in his mind every time he was intimate with other women. “Loke, have you ever thought that maybe you had fallen in love with Coco without realizing it in the first place?” Mason Dunn, Loke’s be
Lucas went to Coco’s studio during the weekend. The studio was only about a hundred square feet, and the interior was cozy. There were posters on the wall, and from the style of drawing, it looked like Coco’s work. A lot of comics by Coco were on the bookshelves against the wall. They basically had short to average storylines. “You’ve been drawing comics since high school?” Lucas asked. That was what had been reported in Coco’s background information.“Not really. I started drawing when I was very young. It's just that I started submitting my work when I was a senior in high school. I hadn’t expected to start my career so successfully.” “Senior year is packed with homework and preparations for college entrance exams, right?” “Yeah. I tried to make time and draw as much as I could every day back then. Sometimes, I'd stay up until the wee hours of the morning, but the satisfaction of seeing your work published in a magazine is irreplaceable!” Coco said. “Don’t you think that your
Coco started working on her sketch while Lucas observed her from time to time. Her expression was the same or even more focused than when she drew him in the bookstore. It was the first time that someone had told him that they wanted to draw him. He felt that he had been too impulsive every time he thought about asking her to pretend to be his girlfriend because they were strangers after all. Still, he didn’t regret it a bit. Compared to the other women who had ulterior motives, Coco was more straightforward. Lucas enjoyed spending time with her, and it was nice to make friends with Coco. He would tell Serenity that he had moved on from her when they met each other again to make her feel at ease. And for Coco, he would give her very good pay, enough for her to live a comfortable life after they ended their relationship. Coco didn’t know how long she had been drawing. She wanted to draw Lucas’s beautiful eyes that were filled with complex emotions in detail the longer she worked
“……” 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