Lisa's parents hastily replied, "Pleasure... to meet you too."Her dad then invited Terry to take a seat while her mother pulled her aside and asked her, "Is that really your boyfriend?! You didn't hire an actor to pretend to be your boyfriend, did you?"Lisa rolled her eyes, "Maybe I did do that, Mom.""Silly girl!" Mrs. Quest snapped angrily. "How could you say things like that?! Go on, go make us some tea."After that, Mrs. Quest changed into her warm and welcoming expression as she walked over to Terry.Having been reduced to a waitress, Lisa stomped into the kitchen to brew some tea. When she reemerged in the living room with a tray of tea and cups in her hands, her parents and Terry seemed to already be getting along swimmingly in a cheerful conversation."So," said Mrs. Quest, "you said you met Lisa abroad, didn't you, Terry? Does that mean you two have been in contact all these years?""No," Terry replied. "I happened to bump into her when I returned to this country not
"I guess I can do whatever you want," Lisa said. After all, she had no money to offer him nor had anything else but her life to give."Okay," he said.She was stunned. Did he just... agree to her request? Was that not too easy?"How's your hand?" He asked as his gaze fell on Lisa's hand which was still held under the cold running water. "Does it still hurt?""Not anymore," she replied. "It's been under the running water for quite a while, so I think I should be fine now."He turned off the tap, pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket, and used it to pat her hand dry."Is there any medicine in your house?" he asked. "Your hand is still a little red and swollen. I think we'd better apply some medicine on it.""Umm, I think there is.""Go get it, then."Lisa hurried to her own bedroom and quickly got the ointment for burns. It was only then that she suddenly realized what she was doing. Why had she been so obedient in following Terry's orders?!Still, she shook off the thought
"I have some half-brothers and half-sisters," Terry replied. "My father had a lot of mistresses, so he naturally had many children as well."Lisa's parents did not expect this kind of answer at all. They turned awkward and had no idea how to continue the conversation.Seeing this, Lisa did not quite know why, but she quickly responded, "Mom, Dad, what his parents did has nothing to do with him! He's his own person! He's not his parents!"Terry turned to Lisa in shock, but there was a tinge of warmth in his eyes that even he did not notice.Luckily, Lisa's father came back to his senses and echoed her, "That's right! He's not his parents. So... Terry, what kind of work do you do now?""I'm mainly responsible for the management of a corporate group.""Management... of a corporate group?"Lisa's father looked like he doubted what he had just heard. He continued, "What kind of company do you manage? You're only 29 years old, aren't you?"In Mr. Quest's mind, a 29-year-old would hav
"Really?" He murmured, staring intently at her flushed cheeks, looking as if his mind was full of thoughts.Ding dong!The elevator had arrived downstairs. They both walked out and headed toward the spot where Terry parked his car."Well, then," said Lisa, looking very keen to send Terry off. "Goodbye!"She then turned around and was about to leave, but he quickly grabbed her arm, and with a single pull, he dragged her into his arms."Ow!" She cried out as her nose bumped into his chest.It was really painful! She was starting to get worried about her nose now that the same thing had happened over and over again. No matter how sturdy her nasal bone was, she was not sure if it could withstand such a bump so many times!Terry leaned down and inched his face next to Lisa's ear before saying, "Didn't you tell me that you'd do whatever I want if I keep what happened that night at the hotel a secret?""What..." She licked her dry lips and asked, "What do you want me to do?""I want
Before Serenity got off work, she asked Clara, the restaurant owner, "Could I take half a day off tomorrow, Clare? I'd like to visit my mother's grave."Although it was Memorial Day tomorrow which was, in fact, a national holiday, the restaurant would still be open, and it would definitely be even busier tomorrow since many people would have a lot of free time. The restaurant even stayed open during festive seasons as well.Clara was a little taken aback. She never knew that Serenity's mother had already passed away, so she told her, "Okay, no problem. You can get the kitchen to prepare some dishes for you to take to your mother's grave before you leave tomorrow.""It's fine," Serenity replied, "Thanks. I'm going to prepare the food myself."She really looked forward to preparing some food to take with her to her mother's grave. She had been very young when her mother died, but now, she was all grown up, and she even knew how to cook. She wished to let her mother see that."I'm le
Once Serenity had put all the groceries in the fridge, she turned around and discovered that Jackson had been leaning against the kitchen door and staring at her, seemingly with his mind full of thoughts.She turned away disconcertedly, trying to evade his eye contact, but as she walked out of the kitchen, there was simply no way for her to avoid him. He grabbed her arm and said, "You haven't said good night to me yet."She was startled, but then quickly said, "Good night."He stared at her and suddenly smiled, saying, "Your good night wishes are starting to sound more and more forced and hollow, Sis.""..."Serenity's chest tightened, unable to find the right way to respond to him."Someone suggested," Jackson said, "that if I want to make you like me, I should try to please you."He then bent down so that his eyes were on the same level as hers, and he added, "What do you think? Would you really like me if I tried to please you?"Serenity almost bit her tongue as her eyes wid
"Have you forgotten what happened to your father in the end?" asked Zack, back to singing his old tune."I'll never forget about that," replied Jackson, "and as I've told you before, I will never repeat my father's mistakes.""If that's true," his grandpa snapped angrily, "You should kick that woman out of Valor Residence now and never let her back into your life ever again!""I'm afraid I can't do that," said Jackson, his eyes dark and gloomy. The second he heard what his grandpa said, his heart tightened suddenly, as if he instinctively rejected the notion right away, so much so that he was not even willing to think about it."You–" Zack almost choked on his breath as he glared at his grandson."I'll never repeat the same mistake my father made, Grandpa, so trust me when I say that I'll have everything under control. I'll make sure that Serenity gets used to my existence to the point where she won't be able to leave me."Jackson then smiled, but there was no mirth in his eyes,
It was usually a difficult journey to the graveyard, not to mention a time-consuming one. In fact, even the grave was cracked in many places, and fixing it would require a big undertaking, so Serenity felt that it would be much better to just move her mother's grave to a proper cemetery.Alas, just as she was planning to do so, she had been thrown into prison and forced to abandon the idea temporarily. When she was finally released, she found herself penniless. She could not afford to pay the workers to relocate her mother's grave, much less buy a spot in a cemetery.As she walked to the foot of the hill, she saw the graveyard administrator working the registration in the shed that was set up there. There were many people who had gotten there earlier queueing up to register one after another.Serenity joined the queue, and when she got to the front to register her mother's grave number, the administrator noticed it and quickly asked, "What are you doing here? This grave has been mov