The more dependent on him she got, the more likely it was that it might slowly and gradually become a habit of hers to always rely on him...He leaned down and gently kissed her red and swollen face. The kiss was so soft and tender that it felt like a feather playfully tickling her face."Just rely on me, then," he murmured. "I want nothing more than for you to be dependent on me."How he wished that she would always depend on him so much that she could never leave him...About half an hour later, the Valor family doctor arrived at the Valor Residence. After examining the reddened bruises on Serenity's face, he prescribed some medicine to reduce the swelling.After the doctor had left, Serenity was just about to apply the medicine, but Jackson quickly snatched it before she could and said, "Let me help you.""Okay," she replied briefly.He then dipped his long fingers in the ointment and gently spread it on her face. His gentle touch was followed by the cool feeling left by the
"No... It’s nothing. I just realized that I haven't bought the things I wanted to bring with me when I visit Grandma tomorrow."In truth, she had already bought the pastries, but they had been thrown into the trash by the Hall family's people."Oh," he said, "I've bought it for you. It's on the coffee table."She turned to the coffee table in the room and saw a familiar shopping bag. Was that... The shopping bag from the pastry shop in the mall that she had gone to earlier that day? Could it be that he... had bought exactly the same things she had for her?"Are those the same things I bought today?""Yeah," he replied. "I also added some other items.""But how did you... uh, how did you know what I bought?"Even if he had seen her through the security cameras, at most, he could only have seen the shopping bag, right?"I just went through the transaction statements in the mall and figured out what you bought."Serenity finally understood. For other people, this was not such a d
But to her surprise, what she saw next was Jackson ordering his driver to bring over his own car which was worth less than fifty thousand dollars. This startled Serenity."Didn't you say you wanted a humble car?" Jackson asked."Well, yeah... I just wanted a more humble car so that it won't attract too much attention when we get there. It's a really small town, and I don't want anyone to spread any rumors. I'm worried that Grandma will get worried when she hears it. But are you seriously going to drive this car there?""Why not?" Jackson smiled. "Come on, hop in."It was only when she got into the car that Serenity realized the driver had been ordered to get out because Jackson was going to be driving it himself."You're driving?" she asked."Uh-huh," he replied, speaking as he started the engine. "It's not that far, anyway. If you're feeling sleepy, go ahead and take a nap. I know the way."She pursed her lips without realizing it as she watched him drive. It would take more th
She turned to him with a searching look and asked, "What's wrong?""Have you thought about how you're going to introduce me later?" he asked.She was stunned for a moment but quickly replied, "I'm going to introduce you as my boyfriend, of course.""Okay," Jackson smiled gently, "Let's go, then."The two then got out of the car. Serenity walked up to the door and knocked on it. Not long afterward, the door opened, but the person she was greeted by was not her grandmother. Instead, it was her aunt, Theresa.Theresa's expression turned shifty as soon as she recognized Serenity."Oh!" she cried. "So it's you, Serenity! Why, you’ve even brought along another guest!"As she spoke, she glanced outside, but when she saw a humble car parked outside, her gaze toward Serenity was instantly filled with a trace of mockery.Everyone had assumed that this niece of hers had managed to nab a rich man for herself. After all, Serenity had even been rescued by a chivalrous man from Felix Foster's
"Are you done seeing your grandma?" Jackson asked."She's still sleeping," replied Serenity. "I don't want to disturb her, so I'll just wait here for now."As she spoke, she saw her cousin, Lynette, approaching them with two cups of tea, which were then placed in front of her and Jackson.Lynette then offered, "Have some tea, Serenity!"A look of surprise flashed in Serenity's eyes. All her life, whenever she came here, Lynette had never bothered to offer her any beverages at all."Say, Serenity, why don't you introduce this gentleman you’ve brought with you to us?"It was Aunt Theresa who uttered those words, albeit with a tone laced with bitterness."This is Jack," said Serenity. "He's my boyfriend."Serenity was careful not to reveal Jackson's full name for fear that her relatives would cause trouble if they found out who he really was. All she wanted now was for her grandmother to live in peace as she neared the end of her life."Boyfriend?!" Lynette exclaimed in surprise.
It felt like this man would never allow anyone to say a single bad word about Serenity.Envy and jealousy simmered in Lynette's heart. How had someone like Serenity managed to get such a handsome boyfriend who did not mind that she used to be in prison at all, while she herself, who had gotten married when she was young, had only managed to nab a blacksmith?!Back then, she used to think that marrying a blacksmith was not that bad at all since at the very least, a blacksmith would always have a stable job. Besides, the dowry gifts she had gotten from him were more than generous. But as time went by, she had begun to regret this choice more and more.All her friends she used to be close with when she was younger now lived much better lives than her in the city. In fact, most of them had even married men who were white-collar workers, civil servants, and company managers—all sounding so impressive that she began to be embarrassed to admit that her husband was only a blacksmith.Over
A flash of humiliation struck Lynette's face. Those words Jackson spoke were like a hard slap on her cheek!When Aunt Theresa saw this, she was visibly annoyed and complained to Serenity, "Say, Serenity, your cousin was clearly trying to be friendly just now! Why does your boyfriend have to be so arrogant?! He's our guest here yet he expects us to treat him like a prince?""My boyfriend is a bit shy with strangers," Serenity replied nonchalantly, "so he tends to maintain a distance from the people he's not very familiar with."Both Theresa and Lynette almost choked on their own saliva.Shy?! That man was obviously not shy! But every time that man swept his glance lazily over them, their hearts started to beat violently, almost as if they could not help but be terrified of his gaze.Theresa forced a smile and said nothing more, but Lynette persisted and went on to ask Serenity and Jackson when they had met each other and how they had begun dating each other. She was doing everyth
"What are you talking about, Mom? There's no way we would dare to bully Serenity when her boyfriend's here today. We even have to respectfully address her boyfriend as Mr. Jack!" Theresa mocked sarcastically.Granny was surprised. "Boyfriend? Serenity has a boyfriend? Quick, let me see him!""Okay, I'll tell him to come in," said Serenity. She exited the room.Theresa said unhappily, "Mom, I wouldn't be so happy if I were you. Serenity's boyfriend looks like a good-for-nothing. He might even be a swindler!"She did not wish to see her niece find a good boyfriend because that would mean Serenity had one-upped her own daughter."Enough. Serenity is a smart child. She wouldn't fall for sweet words that easily. I'll see for myself if the man is really a swindler!" said Granny.Theresa pouted. After Serenity brought Jackson into the room, Grandma looked at Jackson with a smile on her face and said, "So you're Serenity's boyfriend? What's your name?"Serenity was going to introduce Ja
“……” 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