"Because every person should be an independent individual," she explained. "You should live for yourself and have your own interests, not just liking whatever I like."At twelve, Serenity was already in sixth grade and about to graduate elementary school. Growing older had given her a broader perspective."Isn't it good that I like what you like?" he asked."But I want you to have your own interests," Cynthia replied. "You can like things that I don't necessarily like.""I don't want to!" Jacqueline refused almost without thinking. "If it’s not something you like, I definitely won’t like it either!"He was so adamant that it left her momentarily stunned, unsure how to continue.Sometimes, his stubbornness made her feel helpless. Once he made up his mind, it seemed impossible to change it.Serenity, noticing the unusual atmosphere between them, approached and asked, "What’s wrong?"Cynthia shook her head and replied, "It’s nothing, Aunt Serene."Caden stayed silent.Serenity a
He was different. He grew up in the darkness. She was the one who had gradually brought light into his world. Yet, certain things were so deeply rooted that they could not be removed no matter what.He did not want to show his dark side in front of her, so he tried his best to become the person she expected."But..." Serenity hesitated, wanting to say more, but Jackson embraced her. "Stop worrying. Caden is only ten. He's only attached to Cynthia for now. We don't even know if he'll actually fall in love with her in the future or how Cynthia will react, so it’s pointless to speculate. Maybe things won't unfold the way we expect. For now, we just have to wait and see."If he really had to take action in the future, then he would.Serenity could only let the matter rest for now.After all, this was not a problem that could be resolved quickly.Meanwhile, in the Jenkins household, Cynthia was lying in bed, preparing to sleep when she heard two soft knocks on her door. She hesita
"Because we've grown up. You’re a boy, and I’m a girl, so we can’t sleep together anymore," Cynthia explained."But your parents sleep together, and so do mine," Caden countered."That’s because they're husband and wife!""Then let’s be husband and wife too."Cynthia was taken aback. Even though Caden was two years younger than her, he should understand what being husband and wife meant."Caden, how can we be husband and wife? We’re siblings!" She corrected him."Why can’t siblings be husband and wife?" he asked."Of course siblings can’t be husband and wife!" Cynthia replied. It seemed like common sense to her."Why?" he pressed.Being twelve, Cynthia couldn’t articulate her reasoning. She simply said, "It’s just not allowed!""Even if it’s not allowed, I’ll make us husband and wife," Caden insisted.Cynthia studied him, knowing how stubborn he could be. Therefore, she decided not to argue further. "But I want you to always be my good little brother. Now that we’ve grown up
No one had pursued Coco. It was always her who made the move first."Something on your mind?" a low voice asked suddenly, bringing Coco back to her senses. Coco looked back to see Lucas beside her, his hair still slightly wet."Let me dry your hair," Coco offered, taking the towel from his hand.Coco began drying Lucas' hair with the towel, and Lucas naturally bent forward slightly, making it easier for her to reach his head."Has the baby eaten?" Lucas asked."Yes, she has. She'll probably go to sleep in a few minutes," Coco said. It was normal for newborns to be always sleeping, waking only long enough to eat before falling back asleep. "When she sleeps, you should go to bed early too," Lucas urged. "You'll probably have to wake up in the middle of the night again.""Yeah," Coco answered."So, what was on your mind?" Lucas asked again, back to the previous topic. "You seemed lost in thought.""Just thinking about the boys that'll be after our daughter in the future," Coc
"Speaking of which, when Lisa was pregnant, how did Morgan know that Renee was a baby girl? And why did he save Lisa and set up this arranged marriage? What is the Wood family thinking?""The Wood family wants Renee to marry Morgan eventually," Lucas said. "The Wood family always sends Renee expensive gifts on her birthday.""I heard the Wood family is secretive. Are they old money?" Coco asked. She had heard of this from Lisa before. Coco did not know much about families like this, and neither did Lisa.According to Lisa, she had not even seen Morgan's parents before. Only Morgan and his men came to visit the White family. The men with Morgan were all middle-aged and highly skilled martial arts practitioners yet very respectful to Morgan. Lisa told Coco how Morgan's men had protected Renee during an attempted kidnapping case. They restrained the kidnapper before he could even reach Renee, and Morgan had quickly taken Renee to safety. Later, Lisa learned from Terry that the kidn
"Prove it?" Coco was caught off guard. "How… How do I prove it?""Just like this…" he trailed off.Lucas put his lips on hers, making her realize what he meant. She closed her eyes, indulging in his passionate kiss. He deepened the kiss, kissing her until she was breathless. When he broke the kiss, Coco stared at him, panting and mesmerized by his heated stare."I… I just had a baby. You'll have to wait a while, so…" Coco stammered.Lucas smiled. "I know, don't worry," he reassured. "I'm not going to do anything. I just want to hold you to sleep, but… You'll have to make it up to me in the future."Coco felt her cheeks blush more as Lucas whispered sweetly. She had never realized it before, but he was a natural at saying things that made her blush. Unable to say yes or no, she pulled her gaze away and buried her face in her husband's neck.Lucas widened his smile as he glanced at the woman in his arms and then at his daughter in the crib. He would devote his life to them, and s
All Frederick's fear about Morris disappeared just like that. He hoped Morris would be gone for good, but he had no idea if Morris would ever show himself again.Perhaps Jackie would gradually forget Morris. After all, she had not known him for long."Now that Morris is gone, are you still giving up on the piano? You can pick it up again and practice more. Jackie likes to hear you play, after all.""I won't spend too much time practicing the piano," Frederick said, his voice resolute."Dad, I'm giving up piano, and I mean it. I know no matter how hard I practice, I won't be able to create that uniqueness Jackie talked about in the sound of the piano..."Frederick tried to play less mechanically but failed. He knew it was futile trying to keep Jackie with his piano playing. It was Morris this time, and it could be someone else next time.There were plenty of talented pianists around the world. Jackie could fall in love with someone else's playing at any time.Knowing this, Freder
Lucas would let Coco educate their daughter and not intervene, but he would always hug and comfort Beatrice later. Beatrice was smart enough to know what to do. She would wrap her arms around his neck, wanting more hugs and support from Daddy. Even so, she would never complain about Mommy, because Daddy would never condone this behavior.Although the little girl was only three years old, she knew who held the most power in the family.Meanwhile, back at Beatrice's birthday party. The little girl turned her head and looked expectantly at Coco. "Mommy, I've been a good girl today. You have to take me to the new playground like you told me.""Okay, it's a promise," Coco said.Beatrice became interested when Renee told her about the newly opened playground in town. She had always wanted to visit the gigantic playground Renee mentioned during her last visit."Alright, be good today. Mommy and Daddy will take you there on the weekend," Coco promised.The little girl had a beautiful s
“……” 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