No! Please don’t!I’m not worthy of you to help me prop the lamp back up!Leave, quick!“Prop it up for what? It’s tiring enough for us to have to watch her, and now we still have to prop her lamp up? Who does she think she is?”The two female servants remarked as they stepped out of the room.The door was shut once more.Harmonia listened to their footsteps and confirmed that they were seated back down before heaving a sigh of relief.“Dimas Martinez!” She threw the sheets open and scolded him in a huff.“Yes?” His arms were still wrapped around her with no intention whatsoever of letting go.“You… just now…”“I was hugging my girlfriend.”He looked unperturbed back at her, the corner of his lips lifted in a half-smirk.He especially emphasized those two words ‘my girlfriend’.Harmonia said in a voice choked with frustration, “It would have been fine any other time, but you had to hug me at such a critical moment just now… what if they found you?!”What if they found him
Dimas didn’t refute Harris’ claims and simply looked at him as he spoke, not giving him a chance to tease him any further, “You’re the one who’s making me envious. You look radiant even without a lover.”Harris was rebuffed and had no witty remark in response to Dimas.‘Forget it’, he thought. ‘I’d better turn in.’He had no lover and no wits to outtalk these youngsters.He was at an age where no matter how radiant he looked, he had to admit that he was getting old.Harris barked, “It’s getting late! You’d better sleep soon! I’m telling you, don’t go about depleting your energy in your youth. You’ll pay for it when you get old. When you reach my age, you might not end up as energetic and sprightly as I!”Dimas said with a half-smile, “Don’t worry, Harris. I’m someone with a girlfriend. I will make sure I rest well for her sake alone.”For the first time in his ripe old age, Harris suddenly wanted to slap himself twice…Why was he still trying to outtalk Dimas when he clearly co
“Dimas Martinez, my sister has been hurt before. You should know how Absalom used to treat her. Once bitten, twice shy. I don’t know what you did to break down the walls in her heart, but I know that I will never hurt her. I just want to see her in peace and be happy.”Hector sounded very genuine. An emotional person would probably believe him in a heartbeat.Dimas, on the other hand, was a very rational person, perhaps overly so.Hector knew that for a fact, which was why he immediately told Dimas all the information he thought was useful.Dimas listened to all the information from Hector calmly until he heard the last one.He clenched his fists tight and tried hard to control himself, but the veins popping out of his temple betrayed the anger that was boiling in his heart!-The next day, the puppy timer rang once more.After getting out of bed, Harmonia washed up in a daze and incidentally found love bites on her neck…She quickly got changed into a turtleneck to wrap herse
Harmonia did not express any objections. She simply walked to the room next door and retrieved many spools of yarn.The teacher immediately asked, “Do you need that much yarn for that bit of rug?”“I want to weave a colorful rug.”The teacher was once again rendered speechless. Since this was homework she had assigned, it was completely legitimate for Harmonia to take the yarn to complete it!As for how much yarn Harmonia could take, that was something she had not set any limits to, and she could only allow Harmonia to take as much as she wanted.Harmonia wrapped her arms around a basketful of yarn and said as she looked at the teacher, “Please have someone send the loom to my room.”Since she had to weave a rug, the loom had to be sent to her room. Otherwise, how would she be able to complete her homework?Since the teacher was the one who had assigned the homework, she would be in the wrong if she refused to give Harmonia the loom!The teacher had no choice but to send the lo
The door to her shower was kicked open!It was clear that the incoming assailant had used much force.Flower Sandy barged in furiously, with her two female servants in tow.Harmonia turned to look at them in feigned horror as she anxiously looked outside the door.Flower Sandy crossed her arms in front of her chest and said, “Don’t bother looking. We’ve seen the loom you’ve mechanized.”Harmonia wondered to herself, ‘Who said that I was looking at my mechanized loom?’“Harmonia Marsh, you mechanized the loom without express permission and have severely flouted the rules!”Flower Sandy looked all in a rage, but she was delighted inside!She finally had something on Harmonia and could find a legitimate reason to punish her. That would certainly put her in Nara’s good books!Harmonia remained silent as the two female servants eagerly chimed in, “Sandy is right. You are atrocious! You were humming so loudly in the washroom that we could hear it at the door!”“Harmonia Marsh, are
“What are you guys doing in the middle of the night?!”Jasper rushed into the room and appeared at the door of the washroom.His eyes were opened wide in shock as he looked at Flower Sandy and her troop.“Are you three strong women taking advantage of her, one weak and frail lady? You’re just abusing your authority and forcing her to her death!”Jasper’s scoldings sent Flower Sandy and her two female servants into a daze.How were they strong women?How was Harmonia… a weak and frail lady?!Flower Sandy immediately tried explaining herself, “Mr. Martinez, things aren’t what they seem. Please hear me out.”“Hear you out? What is there to explain? The facts are laid bare right before my eyes! Do you think I’m blind? Can’t I see the truth for myself? Do I need you to explain things to me?”Jasper was no benevolent soul, and he had a wild, sharp tongue!He was certainly an expert in kicking up a fuss and being unreasonable!Flower Sandy had no choice but to swallow back her expl
“Mom, you have no idea how chaotic things are here. Had I come any later, Harmonia would have been forced to jump off! They brought so many people with them and barged into Harmonia’s room. They kicked down the door to the washroom, and even the windows were smashed! Do you hear the sound of the wind? It was so frightening!”“Nancy and I are right here at Snow Manor, but they were bold enough to take matters into their own hands and did not ask us for permission! They clearly disregard us and you, too! Sigh… they even frightened Nancy to tears! The moment she got frightened, her first reaction was to call you, but that witch dared to stop her! “Nancy’s wrist is all swollen. Apply ice on it? Sure, sure, I will. Everything outside is covered in snow and ice, I’ll get some right away and apply it on her.” Jasper rattled on, every single word of his making Flower Sandy break into a cold sweat, yet she had no chance of refuting his claims!Jasper finally turned to look at Flower Sandy a
Nancy excitedly pressed the green button to answer the call.Dimas’ low and magnetic voice sounded.“Is she there? Pass the phone to her.”Nancy pouted indignantly. She didn’t even get a chance to greet Dimas!Just as she was about to hand the phone over, she halted in mid-air and asked with a smile, “Dimas, who are you talking about? There are two people next to each other, one is Jasper, the other is…”Before Nancy was done speaking, his low voice sounded once more, “Do you think I will especially call to speak to Jasper?”He clearly didn’t want to waste a second longer to speak to his lady!Jasper looked utterly confused.Nancy burst out laughing before handing the phone to Harmonia.“Harmonia, Dimas misses you and wants to talk to you!’Dimas thought exasperatedly, ‘Did I say anything about missing Harmonia? I kept that thought to myself.’Harmonia’s ears flushed red, and she took the phone from Nancy after saying thanks.Nancy was quick-witted and obedient enough to gr
Quinn was startled. “W-what?”“I wasn't locked up here because I ruined your father's business and he is seeking revenge on me.”“Why are you locked up here, then?”Absalom frowned and replied, “It's complicated. It's not something that can be explained in a short time, but if I'm rescued, it means that there will be one more piece of evidence against your father.”Quinn bit her lower lip. She understood.If he were rescued, her father's actions of injuring him and imprisoning him would no longer be a secret.“You're his daughter, and once he falls, you might not be safe either.”Quinn hadn't thought about it deeply before, but now, Absalom's words weighed heavily on her heart.Even though her father had never cared about her and was always distant and cold toward her, and even though her sister bullied her since childhood, every word and action showing contempt toward her, they were her family, and that was something she couldn't change.Moonlight shone into the cellar throug
Absalom froze in place while holding the snacks at the sound of those words. “She… She answered the call?” His heart felt a sharp pain that hurt a million times more than the wounds on his body.That one word ‘aunt’ was something he didn't want to hear but couldn't deny. They were together, weren't they?Quinn continued to disinfect his wounds, not noticing his expression as she went on and said, “Yes. I've already told her about you. Don't worry, they'll definitely come to rescue you!”“I'm familiar with the paths at home. If conditions permit, I'll guide you when the time comes.”He snapped back to reality, rejecting her without a second thought. “No need. You've done enough for me already by saving my life.”Quinn looked at him and said, “No. I have to see you alive and rescued before I can feel at ease.”“Why?” He asked.She was puzzled. “What do you mean why?”“No one cares about my life,” His eyes dimmed with sorrow.He even wondered if it would have been better if he
Castell looked at her. His gaze was devoid of warmth but rather, it was as indifferent as cold water.“Tomorrow is your sister's assessment day, and I've been invited to Snow Manor.”Quinn nodded softly and asked obediently, “Is Nara confident that she will win?”Upon hearing this, Castell snorted with great dissatisfaction, “There's no such thing as losing among the Kenwoods! She will definitely be the winner!”Quinn shrank back in fear when she saw the ferocity in his eyes, and she did not dare to say another word. She simply nodded, forced a smile, and said, “In that case, I’ll stay at home and wait for Dad and Nara to come back victorious.”Only then did Castell nod begrudgingly.“Okay, go to sleep now.”Quinn waved to him and then turned to leave.The helicopter slowly ascended, gradually disappearing into the night.After Castell left, Quinn entered the room under Mrs. Clint's watchful eyes.After about an hour, Mrs. Clint entered the bedroom, made sure Quinn was asleep
Madam Judd's tone was gentle yet firm.Nara was stunned.“That’s impossible! How could I get it wrong?! You must have made a mistake!”She gritted her teeth at the last sentence.Madam Judd chuckled and said, “All three of these are fake.”Nara had an incredulous expression as she shone the flashlight on them again.“The jade has been soaked in strong acid, impurities washed away, then injected with glue. The methods of counterfeiting are becoming more sophisticated, reaching a point where it's hard to tell real from fake. To discern the authenticity of jade, one needs keen eyesight and extensive experience to make judgments. Just because you've seen more and possess more jade doesn't mean you understand more. Do you understand now?”The proud Nara was embarrassed by Madam Judd and couldn't find a way to save herself from embarrassment for a moment. “Understood,” Harmonia nodded.Nara had to reluctantly say, “Understood.”Madam Judd then immediately began the lesson.Though
She had an uncontrollable nosebleed as blood kept dripping from her nose. She hurriedly bent over, and the drops of blood fell into the sink. Despite the flow of water, it was still extremely alarming.Harmonia did not know what was wrong with her, but after about a minute, she managed to stop the bleeding. She frowned, suspecting that it might be due to heatiness. With about fifteen minutes until nine o'clock, she quickly changed her clothes and hurried toward the appraisal room.Even before the training began, Jenell had already made arrangements for preparations at Snow Manor in advance. The tools in the appraisal room were already prepared.Harmonia and Nara arrived successively.At nine o'clock, Jenell appeared.However, the person who appeared with Jenell shocked Harmonia! It was actually her!Jenell introduced, “This is the jade appraisal expert, Madam Judd.”Harmonia and Nara greeted her. “Madam Judd.”Madam Judd nodded, pretending not to recognize Harmonia.“Let
Both Jasper and Nancy were dumbfounded. Dimas simply stood there with a strong, calm, and intimidating aura, which made people tremble with fear even without him losing his temper. Jasper and Nancy obediently admitted their mistakes. One was in his early twenties, and the other was about to become an adult, but here they were, behaving like kindergarten kids, loudly promising to be model siblings in the future.Harris laughed heartily, his face showing an expression of ‘even these two rascals have their days’.Coincidentally, Mac walked out.“What’s going on?”Harris immediately explained, “The siblings were quarreling, but their father isn't here right now, so the elder brother stepped in as a father figure to educate them properly!”Mac burst into laughter, “I don’t want to say too much, but you should quarrel less with Nancy. She's not in good health, so you should be more considerate toward her.”After Jasper calmed down, he also realized his mistake deeply. He was born w
“Two people, two favors.” Two was two and could not be less. Harris failed to play dumb. “You’re really good at calculating!”However, he had no other choice. After all, he could not handle these two people on his own! His head would ache whenever they argued. “Okay, two favors it is, then!” Harris agreed. Dealing with those troublemakers really gave him a headache.“Tell me, what two things do you want me to do for you, then?” Dimas said calmly, “I’ll leave Monia’s safety in your hands in ten days.”Harris was taken aback. “Huh? Isn't that girl at Snow Manor? With your mother there, her safety should be absolutely guaranteed.”“I’m still worried.”“Why don't you take care of her safety yourself, then?”As he spoke, Harris counted his fingers. He suddenly came to a realization.“In ten days? Wouldn’t that be the day when Harmonia and Nara will be taking their assessment together?”Dimas nodded.“You're leaving the base?” Harris understood and asked.“Yes.”“Where are you
‘You’re really killing me.’Harmonia whispered goodnight to him again, then stuffed her cell phone under the pillow as she prepared to have a good sleep.Dimas, who was at the base, also put down his cell phone at the moment. He looked at the simple layout diagram carved on the bottom of the box and turned on his laptop immediately to reconstruct it. At the same time, he called Mac to investigate Castell's second daughter.At first, Mac thought Dimas was joking. Everyone knew Castell only had one daughter, Nara. How could there suddenly be another daughter? Dimas then told Mac about the content of the phone call Monia had received. Mac immediately realized the seriousness of the matter. Before confirming whether Absalom was really in the wine cellar in Kenwood Mansion, he needed to confirm whether Castell really had a second daughter.After hanging up the phone, he acted quickly. Since she was a living person, there was no way she could not be traced.Mac's efficiency was
The air seemed to freeze at this moment.The phone clearly displayed the ‘call in progress’ message, but it was as if it was affected by signal interference, and nothing could be heard until his cold voice broke the icy silence.“I will.”Harmonia heaved a sigh of relief, feeling worried as she said, “But rescuing someone from Kenwood Mansion won't be easy, right? That place is definitely a dangerous spot. How do you plan on rescuing him? Furthermore, we can't guarantee that this isn't a scheme orchestrated by Castell.”Having finally received news of Absalom, of course, it couldn't be given up on, but the authenticity of the news also needed to be confirmed.Dimas simply smiled without answering Harmonia's question but instead changed the topic and asked, “Monia, what did you have for dinner tonight?”Just as Harmonia was about to answer, a knock sounded at the door. Her heart jumped, and she acted swiftly and quickly tucked the phone under the blanket.She then pretended to be