Five minutes later.Jamie stood in awe as he looked at the garden filled with flowers and plants, nearly frozen in disbelief.Why did it seem like this entire plot was filled with that rare detoxifying herb?Was something so legendary just not worth much in his sister-in-law's garden?Jamie was at a loss for words and could only give Tatiana a thumbs-up to express his respect.After they had dinner together and made some new discoveries, they didn’t rest long before each took a pot of flowers and left the house.Tatiana stood at the door when Riley appeared out of nowhere and draped a jacket over her shoulders."It's chilly outside."Tatiana adjusted her jacket and turned to Riley, saying, "I owe you one this time."Riley humbly replied, "Oh, I could never compare to you, Miss. If it weren't for your willingness to take on these tasks, I wouldn't have had the chance to learn from you."Tatiana patted her shoulder and walked back into the room.In the evening, Tatiana stepped out of he
That day, after finishing work, Tatiana received a call from Dominic."Tatiana, your grandfather has collapsed.""Come to the Central Hospital quickly."Without hesitation, Tatiana hailed a cab and rushed to the hospital.Stefan was lying quietly on the hospital bed. The nearby monitors showed normal readings, but the old man just wouldn't wake up.Tatiana held her grandfather's thin, frail hand and gently checked his pulse."How did he collapse?"Tatiana's icy gaze fixed on Dominc. She never expected her grandfather would have an incident at her father's house.Dominic felt a wave of guilt wash over him as he faced his daughter, unable to speak.Only Camille was brave enough to answer for him."The old man insisted on helping in the kitchen to wash the dishes today. I couldn't stop him, so..."Tatiana's face was filled with disbelief."You let Grandpa wash the dishes?"Camille shook her head repeatedly. "No, no, it wasn't like that—"She had only mentioned it casually, never expect
Camille's face flushed with anger. She never expected Dominic would speak to her like this; even he was unreliable!Dominic suddenly felt guilty, realizing he had gone too far with his words.“Alright, alright, I was just upset. You should understand that.”Camille’s eyes filled with tears.“I understand you, but who understands me?”Dominic was taken aback by her sudden tears and hurried over to comfort her, spending quite some time before she finally calmed down.——Tatiana had been visiting Stefan whenever she had some free time.This made Wilfred very happy.Every time she came over, she always ended up helping with a surgery or two, which meant a nice profit for their hospital.At the Woodhaven International Hospital, aside from a few nobles and wealthy individuals recuperating, there were also many patients with rare and difficult ailments.Reece Wilfred was an authority in Western medicine, but he knew that Traditional Chinese Medicine was equally important.Tatiana was an expe
Jamie suddenly realized he had crossed a line and grimaced, not daring to argue further. He never expected that since partnering with Maxim, his life would become increasingly difficult.If he had known, he would have preferred to stay in U.S! Never coming back!In the living room, Vance spoke up, looking a bit embarrassed. "I’m really sorry for not handling things well back then."Tatiana gazed out at the dark night outside. "No need to apologize. You've done a lot over the years. Those things are in the past."Vance lowered his head, his hands clenched into fists. After a long hesitation, he finally spoke again, "Tatiana, not long ago, we received a whistleblower letter at our office, revealing some very serious social issues that caught the higher-ups' attention. We later found some leads…”Tatiana could sense his hesitation, so she decided to cut to the chase.“It was me who reported it. If you have any questions, just ask.”Her straightforwardness took him by surprise.“You're
For the first time, Tatiana found herself at a loss for words. Outwardly, her relationship with Maxim was great, but seeing her grandfather's expression, she feared he might think she was neglecting his feelings.Tatiana had no doubt that if she didn’t say something soon, Stefan would pack up and head back home."It was just too late to go back, so I stayed there. Don't overthink it."It was Maxim who came to her rescue.The way he spoke made Stefan sound so convincing that he managed to win over at least a bit of trust."This won't do. You two just got married, and it's best not to sleep in separate rooms. Otherwise, when will I ever get to see my great-grandchild?"Stefam said, his voice trembling as he gently pulled Tatiana and Maxim's hands together."You two must take good care of each other."Tatiana's expression was quite awkward, but in front of her grandfather, she couldn't bring herself to say anything else.After the morning's drama had passed, she got ready and headed to
Not long after Holis finished speaking, a group of plain clothes officers burst into the school. Most of them were subordinates of her uncle, and knowing Holis's background,they were eager to curry favor with the niece of the station chief.Without a second thought, Tatiana followed them."Ms. Tatiana!"Tara's worried voice called out from behind her."Don't worry, I'm fine," Taitana reassured her, but next to her, Holis couldn't contain her amusement."At this point, you still have the energy to comfort others? Your scandal is about to hit the news!”Tatiana seemed completely unfazed. Under everyone's watchful eyes, she walked confidently into the "special car" that had been arranged for her.By the time the school administration caught wind of the situation, Tatiana had already been taken away.Aaron slammed his hand on the table."This is outrageous!""How can we have such a student in our school?"The board members fell silent, especially Holis's father, the legendary powerfulbo
Holis was taken aback by Vance's fierce tone, stammering, "I—I was just defending myself. She started it."Vance quickly pieced things together.He knew that Holis sometimes used his name to get away with bad behavior, but since she was still young, he usually turned a blind eye. He never expected her to directly offend Tatiana this time."Apologize to Tatiana now!"Vance pointed at Holis's nose, commanding her.With her eyes reddening and her nose tingling, tears began to spill down Holis's cheeks.Wasn't Vance her uncle? Why was he siding with an outsider?"Hurry up!"Vance urged sternly, but just then, he heard several cars screeching to a halt outside the police station. A sense of foreboding washed over him.The first to enter was Maxim, and the people outside couldn't even stop him; his intimidating presence left them paralyzed."Chief, he barged in—""Get out of the way!"Vance quickly ushered Maxim inside, just as he was about to close the door when he noticed a significant f
He forced a few agreeable words out, but suddenly, everything he ate didn't taste as good anymore.Meanwhile, the old man was busy serving Maxim food, even encouraging Riley to give some to Tatiana."I think I'll pass. I'm feeling a bit under the weather," Tatiana said, trying to hold back her laughter as she watched Maxim struggle to eat everything on his plate.But soon, she couldn't laugh anymore.The old man was determined to see her and Maxim in the same room tonight.After sending Jamie off, Stefan refused to go to bed, insisting on staying up to work with Maxim, worried he might not return to his room.With no other choice, Tatiana shot Maxim a look for help."Grandpa, you should really go get some rest," she said, trying to steer him away from his plans."I’m heading back to my room too."Stefan's face instantly lit up with a big smile."Hey! Go on, go on!”When Maxim entered the room, he noticed an extra layer of bedding on the floor, while Tatiana was comfortably sprawled ou
Feeling the sting, Tatiana finally snapped back to reality. She rubbed her forehead and looked at Maxim, saying, “Why did you flick me?”“Who told you to zone out? Do you remember what I just said to you?” Maxim didn’t need to guess that she hadn’t been paying attention, so he reluctantly repeated himself.To his surprise, Tatiana replied, “I was talking to you, but you didn’t hear me. You were busy chopping vegetables, and I was worried you’d cut yourself, so I didn’t want to distract you. I just wanted to help, but I didn’t realize the water was hot and ended up burning myself.”After saying that, she felt like she had only added to Maxim’s troubles. With a pout, she said, “Fine, I’ll just leave you to it. Take your time.”With that, Tatum waved her little hand and walked away.Watching her retreating figure, Maxim couldn’t help but feel helpless. He lowered his head and continued chopping vegetables, but the love in his eyes and the smile at the corners of his mouth were almost o
While Tatiana was absorbed in the movie, she didn’t notice that Maxim, who had previously worn a serious expression, broke into a smile the moment he felt her lean closer.The film was a classic, and as it wrapped up, Tatiana finished the last of the fruit on the platter.The softness of the couch made Tatiana reluctant to move, so she just stayed seated."Are you not getting up? Do you plan to skip dinner tonight?" Maxim asked, looking at the person still lounging on the couch with irritation."Um..." Tatiana's originally cool tone took on a sweet, childlike quality due to her lazy demeanor, and Maxim found himself surrendering.With no other choice, Maxim said, "Alright, if you want to keep sitting, then go ahead. Do you need any fruit?""Yes, please." Handing the fruit platter to Maxim, Tatiana looked up and smiled at him.After Tatiana finished a small plate of fruit, Maxim insisted on taking her to the supermarket.The two of them pushed a shopping cart together. Looking at the
While Tatiana was absorbed in the movie, she didn’t notice that Maxim, who had previously worn a serious expression, broke into a smile the moment he felt her lean closer.The film was a classic, and as it wrapped up, Tatiana finished the last of the fruit on the platter.The softness of the couch made Tatiana reluctant to move, so she just stayed seated."Are you not getting up? Do you plan to skip dinner tonight?" Maxim asked, looking at the person still lounging on the couch with irritation."Um..." Tatiana's originally cool tone took on a sweet, childlike quality due to her lazy demeanor, and Maxim found himself surrendering.With no other choice, Maxim said, "Alright, if you want to keep sitting, then go ahead. Do you need any fruit?""Yes, please." Handing the fruit platter to Maxim, Tatiana looked up and smiled at him.After Tatiana finished a small plate of fruit, Maxim insisted on taking her to the supermarket.The two of them pushed a shopping cart together. Looking at the
"I have a high tolerance for you, but I also hope you won't keep showcasing your limited intelligence in front of me. It only makes me look down on you more, and it’s utterly pointless."With that, Tatiana turned on her heel and walked away, not bothering to glance back at Delany. There was really nothing more to say to someone like her.As Tatiana walked down the street, she initially planned to head home. However, she remembered Tara and realized she hadn’t seen her in the hospital earlier. She took out her phone and sent Tara a message. It didn’t take long for Tara to reply, confirming that she was back at school and not in class. Tatiana decided she would go visit her. Tara was happy to hear that.Putting her phone away, Tatiana hailed a taxi and headed over.Meanwhile, Tara had just finished her meal and put down her empty plate. She left the cafeteria, planning to wait in a small garden behind the school for the hot pot delivery to arrive.Just before Tatiana arrived, Tara s
Vance was taken aback by Tatiana's words. The Tatiana he knew always seemed aloof, quiet, and regal, but hearing her comfort Emily made him realize she wasn't the person he had imagined.Tatiana, however, was too focused on the girl in front of her to notice Vance's daze. As Emily began to lower her guard, Tatiana smiled warmly."What's your name?" she asked kindly.Emily looked at Tatiana's face, shyly smiled,and replied, "I'm Emily, just an ordinary sophomore here. I know the girl who saved me; her name is Tara. She just came to our school not long ago. Funny enough, we're from the same city. I went to high school there too, but I ended up here for college after the entrance exams."Emily had initially thought Tara had always studied in that city, not realizing she had moved there for college. But she felt there was no need to explain that. Instead, she asked, "So, your parents don’t know about what happened? I haven’t seen them come to check on you."When the topic of parents cam
As Tatiana read about his background, she learned that he had a very reclusive and troubled adolescence, suffering from various illnesses and often being abused by his mother. Even after marrying and having children, he was plagued by depression, which eventually led him to commit his first murder.From there, the list of victims continued to grow. As Tatiana read through the details of how the killer had murdered these individuals, she looked down at the case file in her hands. She was now certain that this murderer was mimicking Luca's methods—specifically, the pattern of rape andmurder.However, Luca had truly developed a mental illness due to his sickness. As Tatiana looked at the photos related to the case, she couldn't determine if this murderer was indeed him. It seemed like a highly skilled impersonator; so far, there had been no details discovered about the actual person involved—everything pointed to Andre. At this rate, it felt utterly useless.Putting down the case in
As she pondered this, Tatiana thought about what it would mean if she chose to help them. She would be working alongside Vance. However, it was clear that the higher-ups wanted Delany to stick with Mason too. Tatiana didn’t like the idea of having someone she didn’t get along with hovering around her. With that thought in mind, she decided to call someone on her phone, hoping to have Delany reassigned to another location for a while. It wouldn’t hurt to make that change.Once she settled her thoughts, Tatiana finally focused on the heavy case file in her hands.The next day, Tatiana called Vance to let him know she would be stopping by in the afternoon. The reason for the afternoon visit was simple: she had a meeting with Maxim in the morning to sign contracts with a company. It seemed everything was progressing smoothly.However, when she saw John walk in, her brows furrowed in confusion. She couldn't understand why he was here at this time.Maxim was clearly a bit surprised,
Tatiana listened to him while glancing at the well-dressed Delany beside her. She smiled and shook her head. "It's fine. Just show me the case files, all of them, including the information on the previous victims. I need everything, but I don't have much time to go through it here. I’ll need to take the files with me to reviewat my own pace. Is that okay? Please let the higher-ups know about this.""They mentioned from the start that they were aware of your preferences, so they just asked me to cooperate with you. If there are any other issues or needs, just let me know directly. You don’t have to worry about anything else," Vance replied.After saying this, he observed Tatiana's expression, unsure why she had agreed this time. The higher-ups were anxious that she might suddenly withdraw her help, which would make the case much harder to crack.Rebecca was well aware of the internal dynamics but felt it was unnecessary. She had always been someone who kept her word. Mason's behavio
"Developing games? I remember someone from our company was quite interested in that area. As for the film side, isn’t Jayden the only one under your wing? If you want to avoid losses, you’ll need to bring in more people later on."Maxim looked a bit confused by Tatiana's comment. He didn’t quite understand why she suddenly mentioned her company alongside his.Seeing his puzzled expression, Tatiana smiled and clarified, "I mean, we shouldcollaborate again on our projects.”"We're collaborating again. By signing the contract with the company you need now, it's like signing with two companies at once, right? This way, the money we make will surpass what John can offer all at once. It’s a win-win for us, while John will only end up losing both money and resources."After hearing Tatiana's words, Maxim finally understood. This approach was something he hadn't encountered before, so whether it would work was uncertain. However, given the current situation, it seemed like the only option. If