Renee arrived at the infirmary. While supporting an unconscious Stefan, she tipped up the bowl of medicinal tea and poured it all into his mouth."You've almost got this, you punk. Just hold on!" She held onto his hand tightly as she said those words with red-rimmed eyes.Night fell quickly. Renee had stayed by the bed the whole day, hopelessly staring at Stefan until he woke up."Ms. Everheart, Mr. Hunt's condition has stabilized. You should go rest," the nurse told Renee in an encouraging tone."I'm alright, I am also resting while I'm here, and I feel more reassured watching him.""Then please take care of yourself. If there's anything you need, feel free to call me anytime." The nurse gave a long sigh before walking out of the infirmary.After all, everyone in Greenwood Sanatorium knew that Ms. Everheart loved Stefan to death.After some time, Renee laid her head on the edge of the bed and fell asleep.Later, Stefan came around. He wiggled his fingers, only to find that the
Renee felt like she understood Jovan even more now."Ms. Ren, since we have reached a breakthrough, I'm thinking… We can try healing Mr Hunt's eyes." Margaret said thoughtfully.Recently, she had been researching and experimenting with different ingredients that would work with her father's recipe to help Stefan gain his sight back."Really? What're the conditions?" Renee asked in an emotional tone.'This is great. After so much waiting, the day is finally here!' she thought."Regarding this, we require Mr. Hunt's as well as Jovan's full cooperation. I suspect that it will still be quite difficult to do." Margaret stopped at this, sighed with worry, and said, "This method is created by my father, called the 'Bloodletting and Bone Fumigation Therapy.' Since Mr. Hunt's body didn't reject Jovan's blood, I reckon we could try it out.""'Bloodletting and Bone Fumigation Therapy'?"Confusion was written all over Renee's face. "What kind of treatment is this? Just the name creeps me ou
"Because I'm feeling very conflicted." Renee said quietly as she stared at Jovan."Conflicted about what? Humor me. Tell me about it." Jovan smirked playfully as usual.Even though his wrist had been slit open earlier, he was genuinely happy.'My muse has finally started showing me concern and compassion. She is finally willing to talk to him. She is even stargazing with me… Giving that blood away was totally worth it!'"Margaret said since Stefan's body doesn't reject your blood, she found a way to cure him." Renee looked rather serious.Jovan's smile immediately dropped, asking coldly, "How?"Renee explained everything Margaret mentioned to the man.Upon hearing this, Jovan fell silent for a long while. He then scoffed frostily and replied, "It just sounds like they're going to use my blood, my bones to extend Stefan's life, and they're going to use my eyes to cure his.""In theory, yes." Renee nodded.Jovan was a smart man, after all. Just hearing the name of the therapy wa
"This is great! Do you know how long we've waited for this day? Thank you, God, for showing us this miracle!" Francine wailed as she hugged Stefan."Son, you must have suffered so much lately! It's all my fault for letting those bad people bring you harm! Let's focus on living our best lives now, okay?!" Alexander sobbed as he wiped his tears."I'm sorry for worrying all of you." Stefan coughed gently, his handsome face expressing solemnity.He scanned his surroundings as if he was hoping to meet the person he longed to see all this while. However, only his family and friends were there, and he spotted no unfamiliar face."What are you looking for, son?" Francine quickly asked, noticing that he was spacing out."I…" Stefan groaned and asked, "Wasn't I in Greenwood Sanatorium? Who sent me here?" "Well…" Francine and Alexander shared a glance, not certain if they should reveal the truth.Seraphina held his hand and kissed him gently. "Oh silly, Uncle Alexander, Aunt Francine, and
Half a year later, in a small town of West Varangia were several small wooden houses with pointed roofs. Like a fairytale, these beautiful structures were built along the tall mountain ranges. The loveliest house among the rest was at the foot of the mountain. There were rows and rows of sunflowers swaying in the wind, basking in the sunlight within the large front yard. In the very middle of the garden was a handsome man in a wheelchair. As the sunlight brushed against his skin, he lifted his face to take in the wonderful scent of flowers. His expression was filled with bliss."Are you thirsty? Would you like some water?" Renee asked gently, caressing Jovan's knee over the soft blanket."I'd like to have some of your coffee.""Okay, get some more sun for now. I'll go make you some coffee."Before leaving, the woman bent down and kissed him softly on the forehead as reassurance."Thank you, my love." Jovan squeezed her hand. His voice filled with happiness as sweet as honey.
"You’re like a child." Renee couldn’t help but make fun of him.The cousins had very different tastes. Stefan loved pure bitter lattes, and yet Jovan loved caramel macchiatos with extra milk and sugar.Under the sunlight, Renee and Jovan continued sitting in the garden quietly, enjoying the rare silence between them.Jovan touched the brim of the coffee mug, the warmth creeping up his fingers. After that, he asked in a nonchalant tone, "I heard that he’s coming to Banrea with Seraphina for their honeymoon soon…"Renee was stunned. It took her a few moments before nodding. "Mhm.""You should go see him if you’d like. I know it must’ve been hard taking care of a useless man like me. If seeing him could make you happier, I support it." Jovan looked rather guilty,He had willingly allowed them to perform the ‘Bloodletting and Bone Fumigation Therapy’ after all, but he knew that he wasn’t the only one getting punished during this process.His pain was physical, and he could at least
The market was quite small, spanning only a few hundred meters. A variety of products were on display, ranging from fresh produce to clothing and handmade accessories.Renee approached a pottery stall that featured mugs and plates in all shapes and sizes. The earthenware seemed to be made of ceramic, and on each were detailed and beautiful vintage patterns. She instantly had eyes on a white mug. There wasn't any complicated design on it, save for a faint black ombre design that covered the bottom half. When looked at on the whole, the mug looked like the Yin and Yang symbol."Mister, this mug looks interesting!" Renee pointed towards it and exclaimed."You have great taste, young lady!" Although the vendor was a foreign man, he was a heritage enthusiast. Seeing how Renee had a good eye on his products, he started explaining away."This cup's design is actually quite intricate. There's this thing called Taichi in the great Aeos far, far away from us… a rather mystical concept. It
Stefan pondered deeply as he watched the slender woman run off. 'Why does this stranger… feel so familiar to me?'"Do you know each other?" The vendor wrapped the mug up nicely and handed it to Stefan, seemingly curious. "No." Stefan shook his head with absolute certainty."Why do I feel like you two have known each other for quite a long time? It's like you've had an interesting past with each other." The vendor smiled mysteriously."Why do you say this? Do you know her?" Stefan turned around and stared at the vendor curiously."Everyone in this town knows Joan. She's a very strong woman…" The vendor looked heartbroken as he was reminded of the first time he met Renee.That day, Banrea was struck by a heavy downpour. On the bumpy roads of the town, she was pushing a man in a wheelchair, desperately asking for help as she was drenched in the rain. It seemed that their car had broken down, and she desperately needed someone to give them a ride.It was simply unforgettable to see
When Renee noticed Lucas' growing trust in her, she started begging for mercy for Leia.Unexpectedly, Lucas turned hostile and cunning. "So, you said that much to me just because you wanted to beg for mercy for your friend. Were you talking nonsense?" he snapped. "No, it was a sincere suggestion! I mean it! I wanted to help you make this company bigger and stronger." Renee swallowed, and added, "My friend and I are close. A normal person like me wouldn't want her to suffer so much." "Yes, any normal person wouldn't. But people in our industry can't afford to be normal. Only crazy people can do this kind of work."Lucas raised his brow, and looked at Leia before turning back to Renee. "How about this? You punish her to prove your loyalty. Then, I'll believe that you're on my side. What do you think?" "Motherfucker! Just come at me! Stop talking crap! I'm not afraid of you!" Leia suddenly shrieked.Lying on the table, her initial fear gradually turned into anger. Finally, sh
"Flying Clouds? What does that mean? What do you want?" Leia demanded. She trembled all over and subconsciously retreated.Two guards held her and pushed her on the table. They untied her shackles and tied her limbs to the four corners of the table. Then, another guard carried a basin of hot water over. It was steaming."Just start!" Lucas ordered as he sat. He took a drag of his cigarette as he watched Leia's slightly revealed figure while struggling. He looked very obscene. Renee, standing at the side, grew nervous. However, she tried her best to put on a smile and said to Lucas, "Lucas, we can talk it out. You told us we could help you earn a lot. We're your best tool for earning money. But if you do this and ruin your tool, you'll suffer." "Calm down…" Lucas turned to Renee, finding her quite obedient and sensible. He said to a guard, "Bring a chair for this pretty girl and make her learn well. When our business gets big, she can be a manager!"The guard quickly carried
There were various kinds of torture instruments hanging around the cage. There was even a saw that would function with just a pull.Upon closer inspection, Renee noticed bloodstains on the instruments. The corners were full of piles of human hair. There was also a rotten and damp scent lingering around."What… What kind of place is this?" Leia screamed.She stood at the door of the cage and swallowed in fright, now timid. She found that place very familiar. After some contemplation, she realized it was something related to what she had seen before in the deep web.The so-called deep web was more horrible than the dark web. Only ten percent of netizens could find the websites. These websites weren't under supervision, and were full of outrageous videos and business deals.For example, the sellers would buy beautiful models to make vulgar videos of for the buyers' viewing. The buyers would make outrageous requests based on their insane desires. They would spend some money for the se
Though the building looked ordinary and old, it was filled with many things.However, it was not very accurate. The place resembled thematic scenes more.The first floor was an ordinary office area. The second floor looked like a hotel, while the third floor looked like classrooms… The themes for each place were centered around obscenity.Renee wasn't dumb. She instantly understood why Lucas brought her and Leia there by force. She also finally understood why Lucas prohibited his subordinate from touching Leia's face even though she had been rude to him. If she guessed right, these bastards wanted her and Leia to shoot pornos. "Do you like these scenes, my friends?" Lucas was smoking, in a great mood to see the film and television site he had established. His eyes gleamed as he looked at Renee and Leia. "Other than wire fraud and online casinos, the thing that makes most money is the limited and short videos. You girls are so pretty. Just work with me and shoot some R-rated
The motorbikes raced the narrow streets noisily, passing through crowds and messy alleyways. After a winding journey, they got on the large roads and drove toward a growingly remote and unknown place.At last, they stopped in front of a large iron gate with guards and two large German Shepherds. There were a few large words above the iron gate that spelled Gold Investment. As Renee and Leia walked inside, they saw a large park, like a factory. Both of them exchanged a look of deep helplessness. They had bumped into something terrible. If they guessed it right, Lucas and his gang were involved in wire fraud. They had been brought to Lucas' scamming site.Men in uniforms happened to walk toward the cafeteria to get food under the supervision of guards. Their faces or bodies were full of new or old injuries. They looked numb and dispirited, as if they had lost all hope in life.Both Renee and Leia exchanged another look. They could confirm they were brought to an infamous scamming
Lucas' lackey brought out a dagger. He pulled Leia, and pushed the dagger against her neck.Lucas stared at Renee, and sneered, "I hope you and your friend can behave. We're from the same country. We can get along, can't we?" "Ren, ignore me! Just get them! I'm sure they can't kill me in front of everyone!" Leia shouted.She was fearless and tried all means to resist, but the man was rather fierce. He pinned her wrists behind her while pushing the dagger against her neck.As Leia wasn't standing still, the blade scratched her neck and caused it to bleed.Renee could only unclench her fists, and asked Lucas coldly, "What do you want?" "Don't be scared. We mean you no harm. We like you girls because we're from the same country. We'd like to invite you to my place as guests," Lucas mouthed off insufferably as he touched his chin. His face was swollen from being punched. "Let my friend go now!" Renee ordered Lucas. She could easily handle those bastards alone, but she was too tim
"I need to congratulate you, since you'll get another person who can teach you how to be a human being aside from Draco from today onward." Renee glared at Lucas angrily, her tone icy."Who? You? Just you?" Lucas held his belly and burst into laughter. "That's hilarious! How could you? You—"The next second, Renee interrupted him and punched him. His head tilted to the side, and his teeth were knocked out and fell off. Renee grabbed his hair and demanded icily, "What about now? Where are our phones?""You… You…" Lucas' cheek was swollen. He couldn't move at all, and waved for his lackeys to act.They jumped off their motorbikes and waved their steel pipes and knives, about to attack Renee."Ren, be careful!" While resisting, Leia reminded Renee to be careful. Renee remained composed as she kept her grip on Lucas' hair. She used him as a shield as she kicked and punched the other men, defeating them with ease.She suffered no injury while attacking others as Lucas had to endur
Renee and Leia crossed the sidewalk and walked toward the bus stop some distance away from them. Before they could enter the bus stop, however, the tanned man who approached them at the airport just now stopped in front of them on a motorbike.Behind him were six or seven men, also on a motorbike, looking fierce and dangerous. "Hey, gorgeous. Didn't you say your friend was coming to get you? Why are you catching a ride here? Listen, I own the buses here. Just tell me where you're going. I'll give you a free ride!"When Leia saw him, she could no longer hold herself back. She rushed forward and grabbed his collar. "You have the nerve to stop us! Give us back our cell phones, or you'll be sorry!" "Cell phones? What do you mean? I don't understand what you're talking about." The man smiled slyly as he held Leia's hand. "What's wrong? Did you lose your phone, gorgeous? Tell me what it looks like. I've got quite a lot of connections. I'll get it back for you quick.""You're asking
Under such circumstances, the best solution was to quickly get away from that man.Both Renee and Leia took the escalator and walked a long way before they finally exited the airport. Only then did Renee breathe a sigh of relief. She said to Leia, "Okay, call Liam. Ask him to get someone to pick us up."They kept their trip to Goldshire a secret from Liam, as he didn't want Leia to attend the wedding with the excuse that the city came with a complicated environment. It would be easy for her to run into bad guys. Giving him her blessings was enough. At first, Leia hesitated to come, but after planning it out with Renee, she became bolder. She felt that it was fine since she was just there to attend a wedding.Unfortunately, they ran into an annoying sleazebag at the airport. It was a real bummer."Okay." Leia nodded. "I know this place would be chaotic, but I didn't expect it to be this serious! What the hell was that? I have to ask Liam to get someone here quickly. If not, thos