"It doesn't matter!" Renee said firmly, "I don't know about others, but Jeffrey is pure and humble. He isn't greedy either, so he won't go down the wrong path." Renee just wanted to explain that Jeffrey was different, but somehow, all her words sounded like criticisms of Shirley.Shirley quietly clenched her fists and said slowly, "Ms. Everheart, you shouldn't judge others so quickly when you've never been in their shoes. You're a rich young lady—you've never been in a position where you've had nothing, so you might never understand why some people are forced to take extreme measures. Though they know what they're doing is illegal, they're scared of losing their stability and falling back into that place of being helpless. It's harder to lose something once you've already experienced it." Shirley knew that she was not an honorable person, and was cunning enough to do anything to achieve her goal. However, it didn't mean that she was a villain. She was merely born with a bad fate and w
Xavier's displeasure was obvious. "I don't think that's necessary.""Why not? She has the right to know your thoughts. If you choose to forgive Shirley, Lei can think about whether she wants to forgive you since she's your current girlfriend." Previously, she couldn't understand why Leia felt so conflicted and hurt in her relationship with Xavier, but now she did—Xavier's hesitation and fickleness filled Leia with insecurity. What a despicable man! On one hand, Xavier shamelessly and constantly pursued Leia, but on the other hand, he faked generosity and tried to reconcile with his first love. He was clearly fooling around. How could such a disloyal man make Leia happy? Renee wanted Leia to know the truth."This is between her and me. You don't know the situation, so stop meddling in our relationship." Xavier had always been casual and indifferent, but his relationship with Leia had made him frustrated and miserable. He would easily get upset when someone brought up Leia."What are
"The Heart of the Grassland?" Renee usually scrolled through entertainment news and had long heard of this IP. It was one of the novels of the Grassland trilogy written by Juniper, a famous novelist. It described the story of a modern urban woman who was stressed about life, and chose to travel to Bellcoast. There, she ran into a handsome and pure youth on the grassland, and they fell in love. The plot was quite straightforward, and the characters were only the heroine, hero, and the animals living on the grassland. However, the novelist's descriptive writing of the wilderness and the characters' budding romance made the novel very enchanting, and it had gained a lot of fans."Is there a problem with it?" Xavier asked curiously. He felt that it was a great IP, and countless top stars were vying for that role. Him suggesting giving the role to an unknown youth was already doing Renee a great favor. "No, that's not it." Renee explained patiently, "I feel that this IP is very influenti
After coming up with a plan, Jeffrey was almost a part of the entertainment circle. Xavier temporarily made Jeffrey and Shirley the male and female leads of The Heart of the Grassland, which he would have a grand startup ceremony for a week later.Renee felt more relaxed after returning from Universal Entertainment. She was glad her focus was broadening to something outside of her children, Stefan, and her. She went to meet Leia at a roadside stall to eat.Leia was confused when Renee told her the whole story. "Ren, I don't get you. What's with you and Jeffrey? Why do you insist on making him famous?" She took a big gulp of her beer. "Yes, that kid is handsome, but he's just a boy. You need a man." Renee stared at her friend helplessly, then placed some beef on Leia's plate. "You like beef, don't you? Eat more and talk less.""Was I mistaken?" Leia munched on the beef happily, then continued, "Look—there are many young handsome guys in the entertainment field. It's okay if you hav
Coincidentally, the startup ceremony of The Heart of the Grassland happened to be the same day as the graduation photograph session of the kindergarten, so Renee asked Leia to take Jeffrey to the startup ceremony. Although Leia was reluctant, she agreed so Renee could go with her kids without worrying. She drove her convertible out of Everheart Manor to go to Santa Fe, the place Universal Entertainment had booked. During the car ride, Jeffrey was cautious and awkward as he didn't know Leia that well yet. "Leia, thank you for doing this. I… can actually just take a cab there.""No, you can't do that." Leia had her sunglasses on, and held the steering wheel with one hand, enjoying the breeze as she drove. "Ren is worried about you, and she'll kill me if you get lost or someone bullies you during the startup ceremony, so it's best I bring you there. Stop overthinking—think of me as your agent, and just tell me if you need anything. I'll protect you as well as Ren since she's working
Suddenly, the paparazzi shifted their focus, turning their cameras in another direction."Here they come! Mr. Stuart is here, and he's with Ms. White!""Wow, they look so close! Did they get back together?""Of course! I heard that Mr. Stuart purposely made The Heart of the Grassland for Ms. White!"The media kept taking photos as they gossiped.At that moment, Xavier and Shirley walked onto the red carpet hand in hand, generously letting people take photos of them. They looked like a sweet couple from afar. Leia was immediately frozen to the spot as she stared at them blankly."What's wrong, Leia?" Jeffrey asked carefully when she suddenly went quiet. "I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble and embarrassing you. I'm just a nobody, so it's normal that they wouldn't recognize me. Don't be mad… Huh? Isn't that Xavier and Ms. White? It's good they're here—they know me!" Jeffrey immediately brightened when he saw Xavier and Shirley, and enthusiastically waved at them. "Xavier, M
Leia crossed her arms and sneered. "We've been trying to go in, but your staff won't let us... It's ridiculous that they don't even know who the hero of the movie is. Is this the quality of the staff of Universal Entertainment?"The staff's face turned pale, and he lowered his head fearfully and apologized, "I… I'm so sorry. I should have familiarized myself with the main cast of the movie. It was my mistake.""Is that really the reason? It's clear that you looked down on us!" Leia snapped. "Didn't you stop us because we didn't dress to your standards?""I… I…" The staff wrung his hands anxiously, looking regretful. "I recall that we need to show our invitation cards or working permits to get in, right?" Shirley smiled calmly. "Ms. Osborne, don't you have them?" "I forgot to bring them!""Then, Ms. Osborne, it's because of you that he got it wrong. You've treated this staff unjustly. I hope you won't make things difficult for him." Shirley's gentle words smoothly turned the sit
The startup ceremony of The Heart of the Grassland began, and the emcee invited the cast onstage to make a self-introduction. As the leads, both Jeffrey and Shirley had to go onstage while Xavier and Leia sat in the VIP seats below the stage, watching them. "I wouldn't have come if I knew you'd be here!" Leia muttered crossly, childishly moving her chair away from him. "Are you that surprised?" Xavier faced the stage, smiling blankly and clapping from time to time. "I'm the head of Universal Entertainment—of course I have to be here. Maybe you came here on purpose knowing you'd run into me." "Stop flattering yourself!" Leia huffed defensively. "Ren has to attend Adie and Abby's graduation photography session, so I came in her place. If I knew you would be here, I would have just hired an agent to bring Jeffrey here and saved myself the trouble!" Xavier remained calm, enjoying riling her up. "Why? Am I a ghost? Are you that afraid to see me? Or do you care about me so much that
Liam was impressed while looking at Justin's calm expression. He had always thought that Justin was cunning and full of schemes. He was even worried that Justin might plot against Renee in the future.However, Justin was quite open and generous. He was considering things from Renee's angle. He could be Renee's haven, but if he stepped down, he could willingly grant Renee's wish to be with the one she loved. It seemed that Justin was selfless, and Liam felt that he was worse than Justin. No wonder Renee would choose to spend the rest of her life with Justin. It seemed like he was a reliable man.Justin pocketed his hands and asked casually, "Is there any other problem now?""Not at the moment." Liam frowned in defeat. Since Justin had made such a big compromise, he would seem like a fool if he was too arrogant and refused to give up. A long sigh escaped him as he let go of Renee's hand, but he was still hopeful. He boasted to Justin, "Wait and see! I'll make Stefan appear.""Go
"Let go of her!" Justin turned cold and grabbed Renee's other hand. He said darkly to Liam, "You don't have the right to take her with you!""Hmph! I don't have the right to take her with me? Well, you don't have the right to marry her. I must take her with me today. Worst comes to worst, I'll fight your family!"Though he was too weak to fight the powerful Baldwin family, Liam was never a coward. He would fight the whole world alone for the sake of Renee's happy and stable life."Calm down…"In comparison, Justin was calmer. He was probably more confident since it was his territory and he could affirm Renee would not leave with Liam. He started mocking Liam. "I'm not the kind of person who will force others to do things they refuse to do. If Ren wants to leave, I'll let her go even if my family disowns me. But I know that she won't leave. At the very least, she won't leave with you.""What do you mean?" Liam could tell that Justin was mocking him, and it annoyed him. "Why are
Liam felt that his situation at the fort was almost the same as Renee's current situation. He had thought that the marriage was just for show. If he was unhappy, he could get a divorce. Even then, things were not that easy when he wanted to get out of that mess. If Amber had not protected him, Benjamin would have long gotten him killed. He knew better than anyone else how unfair it was for the other party when one tolerated and went through with the marriage.Amber was naive and was willing to be treated unfairly, but Justin was no fool. He would not be able to take it if it lasted for a long time. It was easy to imagine what Renee would face when Justin stopped taking her side."Let's go! I'm not afraid. You don't have to be afraid, either." Liam made up his mind to support Renee, who was standing behind him.Renee bit her lips and started to waver; not because she did not want to be with Justin, but simply because she was not confident in herself. She was afraid she would neve
"Liam, what are you doing?" Leia looked at Liam, unable to understand his sudden excitement."I'm going to meet Austin or Justin. I want them to cancel this engagement ceremony." Liam held Renee's wrist and tried to drag her out of the suite.He was certain Renee didn't want to marry Justin, so it was very likely that she would regret it in the future. It would be hard to settle if she regretted it after the engagement party. Liam felt that he had to try his best to put everything under control while he still could. Feeling helpless, Leia complained, "Stop making a scene… This is Ren's marriage. You can't make all this fuss!""You don't know. I'm doing this for her. I want the best for her." Liam knew the consequences of resisting Austin, given the man's position. He was also ready to be punished by them. Even though he would be beaten up vigorously, he would not hesitate as long as he could stop the ceremony and help Renee avoid such risks. "If you want the best for her, just
Leia felt so awkward that she wanted to run away. "Hey, can you stop flattering yourself? You haven't settled your messy romance, so please don't get Ren involved. You shouldn't joke like that!"Similarly, Liam found his joke impudent and admitted to his mistake. "Yeah, I was wrong. Don't take my joke seriously."Both Renee and Leia were amused. It helped relieve their tension. "But have you thought it through? After this ceremony, you'll be a part of the Baldwin family. You can't regret it by then," Liam said; he was worried about Renee. Everyone knew the Baldwin family's style. They had such a grand ceremony today. If anything went wrong, the Everheart family might be ruined for the second time. Although nobody knew who would win the battle, the trouble could be avoided. Liam was clueless as to why Renee wanted to take such a risk."Yes, I have." Renee nodded and added firmly, "I'd thought it through the moment I boarded the plane with Justin to fly here."It was the last c
Renee was done getting ready. As her closest friend, Leia came to North City with Liam immediately.The engagement ceremony was held in a magnificent hall of a top hotel. The guests arrived one by one and chatted among themselves. It was a luxurious and grand scene. "Ren, I'm sorry I'm late!" Leia arrived at the hotel suite where Renee was waiting. She put her hands together to express her apology. "It's Liam's fault! He was out of his mind and insisted on not coming here, but I forced him to and took some time. Please don't be mad at me!""Silly, I won't be mad at you. Plus, this ceremony doesn't carry much meaning. The Baldwin family just needs this as an assurance. It doesn't matter even if you're absent."Renee looked indifferent and was not at all happy and eager like a bride-to-be. The engagement ceremony was held to announce to the world about the relationship between her and Renee. In all honesty, Renee was resistant to it. She did not want her family or friends to at
Margaret decided to be frank since Renee had said so. "I can tell that you don't sincerely love Mr. Baldwin. Your marriage is just a way to avoid reality. Why are you so harsh on yourself if that's the case? Now, you're making such a big fuss about moving here. If you fail to get along with him and have to return to Beach City in the future, many people will gossip about you. They'll say nasty things about you. Why do you have to put yourself in such a condition?""Margaret, you don't understand…" Renee looked at herself in the mirror. She looked very charming, like a bride in ancient paintings. Everyone would be charmed by her—including herself. She knew very well that she was the one taking the lead in her romance with Justin. They could go on forever as long as she didn't end it. She was just afraid she could not hold on and wanted to stop, and the only reason that she wanted to stop was probably because of Stefan. "If I stay in Beach City, I'll come across Stefan. I know t
Time passed by. It was soon the day for the engagement ceremony between Justin and Renee.The Baldwin family held a grand ceremony while adhering to tradition. It was both traditional and romantic.Renee put on a red slim-fit silk gown with intricate black and gold embroidery. Her long hair was delicately pinned up, showing off her fair and slender neck. She looked elegant."How pretty!" Margaret stood in front of the vanity table and looked at Renee, whose face was dolled with exquisite makeup. She looked gratified, as though she were looking at her daughter."If your parents saw how pretty and elegant you were, they would be very happy." Margaret gently placed her hands on Renee's shoulders and commented, "You married Mr. Hunt when I wasn't around. You must have suffered a lot. But things will get better now… I'll stay with you and protect you forever. I'll be your strongest support."Back then, Renee was left alone when her family was ruined. She married Stefan without anyo
Alexander and Francine were already old. It was fine even if others criticized them or took violent revenge on them. But they were worried that the younger generation, especially Adie and Abby, would have a hard time handling it."You're right. I wasn't thinking straight…" Francine became teary and sobbed. "I just wanted to relieve my guilt and failed to consider the kids. We brought this upon ourselves. I'll probably have to suffer this pain for the rest of my life.""Stop thinking about that. It's all over. It's useless to regret or dwell on it." Alexander walked over and hugged her shoulders. He whispered some consoling words, "No one can tell who was right or wrong about that affair. We're already punished. Just act like everything is gone…"Is it? You're just trying to make yourself feel better." Francine leaned against Alexander's shoulders, full of melancholy. "Don't you think the kids are suffering the consequences of our actions? They love and understand each other bu