Jacqueline listened and promised her mother, "Mommy, I'm not going to be a bully. If Morris doesn't want to, I'll find another way to convince him to play for me.” Serenity could not help but laugh. Jacqueline seemed so confident as if she had a few ideas up her sleeve.When they came to the agreed place to meet, Serenity finally met the boy for the first time. The boy looked a little shorter than Jackie, and his shirt and shoes were so worn it was practically rags. The couple standing next to the boy must be the child's parents. Judging from the way they were dressed, they looked like a family living at the bottom of society.Serenity was perplexed by the situation. Was this really the boy Jacqueline was looking for?Learning piano was expensive. The most basic piano lesson would cost between $40 to $60. Jacqueline said he played the piano very well, which meant he must have been learning for quite some time.Could a poor family afford long-term piano lessons? Or could they have
Standing beside Morris, Marrisa said to her son again, "Morris! Jacqueline wants to hear you play the piano, so play it for her!" What a good chance to show off his piano playing!Morris got even more flustered. He had overheard his parents' conversation at home. If Jacqueline liked his piano playing, this would be a chance for his family to rewrite their fate. His parents had high hopes for this.Part of him was still afraid. He had secretly learned to play the piano, and he only knew a few songs. What if he played horribly? What if Jacqueline hated it? What should he do then?Jacqueline frowned slightly, thinking of a way to resolve this. She had promised not to be a bully, but she really wanted Morris to play the piano for her. It seemed he was unwilling, so she offered, "How about this? I'll play a song for you, and you play one for me?"Morris blinked in surprise, obviously not expecting such an offer. He was suddenly curious about the kind of music she would play."Please?"
Jacqueline had a straightforward personality, especially when it came to stuff related to the piano. She would ramble on without holding back.“Your transition here isn’t very smooth, and you slowed down here…” Jacqueline pointed out. Then, she played a few notes to show Morris his mistake. Morris listened carefully. No one had ever pointed out his errors so clearly before.“You’ll get it with some practice. You’ll play Chasse-neige perfectly if you keep practicing. Shall we try another piece?” Jacqueline asked. She continued playing another piece and looked at Morris with a smile, encouraging him to continue.Morris hesitated for a moment before starting to play a different piece.And so, they took turns playing one piece after another. Serenity, who was listening, noticed that Morris had a talent for piano. However, each piece he played had similar issues because of his inexperience. "Seems like Jacqueline is very interested in playing the piano with him,” Serenity said t
Jacqueline was getting more excited as she spoke. Morris stood there in a daze. He was happy to learn that he could take piano lessons with Jacqueline, but he had heard from his classmates that it cost a lot of money. It was unfortunate that his family couldn't afford it.He had mentioned to his parents that he wanted to learn piano, but they immediately refused and said they didn't have the money for it."I... my family can't afford piano lessons," he said while feeling ashamed, almost as if he was exposing a bad part of himself to her. At his age, he was already aware of the different social classes, and he knew that poor people were often looked down upon.Many of his classmates looked down on him because his family was poor."Will you be able to take classes if I give you the money?" Jacqueline asked. Money was never an issue for her.Hearing this, Morris's parents quickly said, "No way. How could we take your money for nothing, Jacqueline?" However, their expressions
Serenity could tell that the Yale family was poor. She was worried that Morris might feel out of place in the environment where Jacqueline was learning piano."Of course, I'll stand by him and not let anyone bully him," Jacqueline said."Then, you must help him mingle around, understand?" Serenity gently stroked her daughter's hair. "You have to realize that you're bringing him into a different world."Serenity sighed inwardly as Jacqueline somewhat understood what she was trying to tell her. She wondered if this arrangement would be a blessing or a curse for Morris.Meanwhile, Morris's parents were nagging him."Now that Jacqueline has taken a liking to you, you must work hard. Since she wants you to learn more pieces, you need to be diligent. You must please her and make her happy. Our family's future depends on Jacqueline! Got it?"Morris hesitated and replied softly, “Mhm.”He would make Jacqueline happy even if his parents hadn’t said so. He wanted to see her smile as it
"Morris is my friend, but Fred, you are very important to me!" Jacqueline answered.Frederick felt warm and fuzzy when he heard that. “So, are you saying that I’m more important than Morris?” He asked. Jacqueline nodded. Although she liked Morris’s piano playing and considered him a friend, Frederick was irreplaceable to her.Frederick's expression softened as he murmured, "Jacqueline, you are the most important person to me.” To Jacqueline, Frederick might only be “very important” because her world was filled with many significant people like her parents and siblings. But to Frederick, Jacqueline was his most important person, and he would do anything to protect her. In the master bedroom, Serenity was having a discussion with Jackson."I think Morris is a good kid, but his parents—" "Are suck-ups," Jackson interjected."I saw through their intentions. It’s understandable, though. Since Jacqueline likes Morris’s piano playing, by using their son, they could get some favo
"No way," Jackson said and leaned in closer to Serenity. "You still look very young in my eyes.""You always know how to make me happy," Serenity murmured. "In a few years, I'll have wrinkles and white hair.” "I'll grow old with you at the same time," Jackson said and pecked her cheek. "Serenity, growing old with you is my greatest joy. Thank you for not giving up on me and bringing our children to find me back then."Serenity wrapped her arms around Jackson's neck. "Should I thank you for falling in love with me again even after you were hypnotized?""Yeah, you can thank me properly tonight." Jackson planted a kiss on her brows, nose, and finally her lips. In a husky voice, he added, "Don't even think about stopping before I’m satisfied."Even though they had been married for years, Serenity still couldn't resist Jackson.He was always so attractive in her eyes. A word or a glance from him could make her heart skip a beat.Soon, she responded passionately to his kiss. Gr
As they wandered around, Coco suddenly stopped in front of a large display booth, her eyes shining brightly. “What’s wrong?” Lucas asked.“The third prize is a set of out-of-print comics,” Coco said. “I used to really like them. I remember reading them in the library back then, and now, you can’t find them anywhere. I can't believe they have them here. It’s a shame that they’re a prize.” If the comics were for sale, Coco would have bought them for her collection. Although these comics weren’t necessarily valuable, they held sentimental value for her.This set of comics was what inspired her to start drawing romance comics. She remembered how amazed she was the first time she read them. It never came across her mind that love stories could be told in such a way. Her craze for comics was partly due to this set of comics.“I’ll talk to the organizers and see if we can exchange something else for the third prize,” Lucas suggested.“No, that wouldn’t be fair. There are probably a l