"Wait! I don’t need to go to the hospital. I’ll be fine after some rest,” Morris quickly said. "Was my playing bad just now? I-I’ll rest for a bit, and then I can play it perfectly without making any mistakes.""How can you keep playing with a swollen hand? You need to go to the hospital right away," Jacqueline said."But...""Morris, your hands are very important. If something happens to them, you won’t be able to play beautifully anymore. So, listen to me. You need to go to the hospital and visit a doctor."With that, Jacqueline called for the butler, and the two of them took Morris to the hospital.Soon, the doctor diagnosed that Morris had overworked his wrists, leading to ligament strain, and he needed to rest for some time."Even if you love playing the piano, you need to do it in moderation. You have to be careful, especially at your age. If you injure yourself now, it’ll be hard to recover fully when you’re older," the doctor advised. Morris anxiously asked, "How long d
"So... when you play the piano for me... does that mean you... also kind of li... like..." Morris stammered as he blushed. He was unable to complete his sentence.In the end, Jacqueline took the initiative and said, "Yeah, I like you, so I enjoy playing the piano for you."Upon listening to her confident tone, Morris felt extremely happy.He knew that Jacqueline did play the piano for many people she was close to, and she liked them all, especially Frederick. She loved playing for Frederick the most, so she probably liked Frederick the most.Still, when Morris knew he was included among the people she "liked", that was more than enough for him. Morris’s parents were surprised to see Jacqueline bringing Morris back home.When Jacqueline explained about Morris’s injured hand and how he wouldn’t be able to practice the piano for two weeks, his parents' expressions immediately changed.However, Marissa quickly said, "We will definitely take good care of Morris and make sure his han
"That amusement park is really fun. My parents took me there once!""Maybe they just didn’t want to bring you along.""Yeah, it must be that. Jacqueline went with her two brothers and another boy. That boy is really good-looking! I wish I could get to know him too.""My mom said that boy is from a really rich family…"The chatter of his classmates made Morris feel more uncomfortable. He wondered if it was Frederick who had gone to the amusement park with Jacqueline’s family.After school, Morris borrowed Fernando’s phone, saying he wanted to watch cartoons. But once he got the phone, he searched online for news about the Valor family and their trip to the amusement park.It didn’t take long for him to find gossip articles, complete with photos.The photos mostly featured the Valor family, including Jacqueline and her two brothers. Morris had seen her brothers before. They didn’t resemble Jacqueline, but he could still recognize them at a glance. Apart from Micah and Caden, the
"What's the big deal? It's just $75,000; we'll earn it back soon enough," Marissa said dismissively."Even though the Valor family gave us new jobs, our annual income is only a little over $30,000. Even if we don’t spend any money, it'll still take us more than two years to pay the debt!" Fernando retorted."Don't you worry about the debt. I'll take care of it," Marissa said confidently. As long as they had the Valor family's backing, she believed she could definitely find a way to pay the debt.She was beaten earlier because the creditors were growing impatient. She would think of a way to come up with the money!Turning to her son, she said, "After you recover, make sure you make Miss Jacqueline happy, understand? If she's happy, our family can deal with any problem. Who knows? She might even give you money!""I don't want to please her just for money," Morris said, biting his lip."What did you say?" Marissa snapped, her frustration boiling over. She was already in a bad mood
Fred accepted it. "As long as it’s a gift from you, I’d like it.""Don’t you want to open it?" she asked with a smile."I'll open it after I get back to Lanford," he replied. He observed the presents in the cabinet again and saw one bearing Morris' name.After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "Are you giving Morris a present too?""Of course, he’s my friend!" Jacqueline said matter-of-factly.Fred’s expression dimmed slightly. He knew that the people who received Christmas presents from her were all people who were very important to her. Most of them were her family members. Very few friends would receive Christmas presents from her. Was Morris one of them now?"Jackie, you have many friends, but promise me that I'll always be your most important friend, okay?" Fred earnestly requested.Jacqueline looked at him in confusion.Fred's heart sank. "What’s wrong? Is my request strange? I just—"Before he could finish, she interrupted, "Fred, that’s such a strange thing to ask! Of
But now that he had seen her present, which was so beautifully wrapped, he was embarrassed to give her his.His present was way too shabby in comparison."Well, next time then. Make sure you give me a Christmas present next year!" Jacqueline said.Morris hesitated, unsure how to respond, but she had already taken his hand. "It’s decided! Pinky promise – you must give me a Christmas present next year!"As she spoke, she linked her pinky with his, sealing the promise.Morris stared at their hooked fingers, unsure of what to do. But for some reason, he also felt a little happy.This Christmas was special as it was the first one after Coco and Lucas' marriage. Since Coco was pregnant, it felt like the first Christmas the three of them would celebrate as a family.Lucas had planned a special day, taking Coco to her favorite restaurant. After their meal, Coco wanted to stroll around; she hadn’t been out much recently, and the lively Christmas atmosphere was enticing."Sure," Lucas ag
"Yes, I was captivated. Are you an actor?" Coco asked.The man was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, I am an actor."Noticing the gloom in his eyes, Coco said, "Well, I hope one day you achieve your dreams. The hardest thing in this world is perseverance."It reminded her of her own journey to become a professional comic artist, which had faced many setbacks. Therefore, she wanted to encourage him.She genuinely found his performance interesting, even though he was ignored by most of the passersby on this festive day."Thank you," he replied as he removed his hat and fake beard.Suddenly, a handsome face with distinct features emerged before Coco. She blinked a few times. She recognized him. He's Claude Road! The actor Lisa had mentioned when they were playing cards!He had debuted at 18 and was only 22 now. Recently, he had gained immense popularity from a TV series and was drowning in scripts. Lisa had even joked about going to the studio city to catch a glimpse of h
"No way! Is that really Claude Road? I didn’t even notice him earlier!""I should have paid more attention to that Santa!""I did not expect to see Claude Road dressing up as Santa!""He even invited that woman to his movie premiere!""She looks like she's pregnant. Is the man next to her her husband?" Some people began to pay attention to Coco. Though she was six months pregnant, her slender figure and loose coat made her bulging belly not very noticeable.Meanwhile, the program staff held back the crowd on both sides to keep things from getting too chaotic. The bodyguards who were shadowing Lucas stepped forward to ensure that he and Coco were safe from the throng.Suddenly, one of the cameramen frowned, as if he had noticed something. Then, he stammered, "That... That... That's..."Noticing his reaction, the host asked, "What’s wrong?""That's the Crown Prince!" the cameraman whispered.The Crown Prince?! The program team members were stunned. In their circle, there was on
“……” 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