Joanne arrived at her class to hold a parent-teacher meeting with the new students' parents. The parents were very curious about the people who taught their children, especially the class teacher. They were very concerned about that.Joanne stood at the door for a while, taking a few deep breaths before striding into the class. "Hello, everyone, welcome to the first parent-teacher meeting for the third first grader class." Joanne was wearing a professional white shirt and pants, with her hair up in a ponytail and a pair of rimless glasses on. She looked elegant and proper, and the parents looked at her in admiration."Let me introduce myself—I'm the class teacher, and my name is Joanne Garcia. Although I'm not very experienced in teaching, I'm well-versed in various teaching methods. Now, I'll explain my plans for the class." Joanne smoothly redirected the topic, emphasizing her strengths. She inserted her USB drive into the computer to open the detailed presentation she had prepared
They felt that Joanne looked sophisticated and had good teaching methods, but Gina's outstanding academic qualifications were hard to beat. They felt Joanne's qualifications had to be better since she was the class teacher."Honestly, I don't really have any academic qualifications, and I've only been teaching for less than six months," Joanne confessed, knowing the parents wouldn't let her off the hook."What? No academic qualifications and you've only been teaching for six months?" The parents were shocked and furious, and wanted to change the class teacher. At that moment, words started appearing on Joanne's presentation slides.[Here's a gentle reminder—Joanne has never been to college. Her life is troubled and messy, and she's hiding something on her body… That's why she always wears long-sleeved shirts and long pants!]"What's happening? Is it true? The class teacher of our kids has never been to college?""What is she hiding? No wonder she put on a shirt with long sleeves o
"Let me go!" Joanne didn't like people touching her, and tried to shake Gina off. Her reaction only made the parents more suspicious, and they wondered if the accusations were true. "We just asked you to roll up your sleeves. What's so difficult about that?""There must be something wrong. We can't let her go. Where's the principal… He has to come here and explain this.""I think we should just tear off her clothes and see if she really has a disease." Some parents even ran to the door to block Joanne from leaving."Yeah, Ms. Garcia. What are you afraid of? We just asked you to roll up your sleeves; it won't hurt you." Gina steadied herself and grabbed Joanne's arms again, then roughly pulled the sleeves of Joanne's shirt, tearing them off. The people there gasped in horror when they saw Joanne's skin."What's wrong with her?""How horrible… Who is she? What did she go through?"Joanne's exposed arms were full of scars and marks. There were burn marks, scratches, and discolor
"Demon?" Quinton sneered maliciously. "We're childhood sweethearts, and we grew up together. Is that how you see me?""I know that I've wronged you, but I was punished too. What else do you want from me?" Joanne looked at Quinton with a pale and teary face. Quinton had recovered his looks, and the scar on his face was gone. He looked more handsome and mature than before, but Joanne knew how scheming he really was. Any woman who got close to him would get addicted to him. Joanne had once been deeply in love with him, but now, all she felt was terror. She just wanted to run away. "Let me go, please. Let me live. I knew I shouldn't have met your sister. I trusted her, but she betrayed me. Your sister is just as scheming and cunning as you!" Joanne's fear turned into anger as she thought about it."Shut up!" Quinton's eyes flashed, and he strangled her. "You can criticize me, but not my sister. I'll break your neck if you keep it up!""Go ahead! I can't wait to leave this miserable worl
Gina and a few parents rushed over, and they were shocked to see Quinton strangling Joanne."What's… going on? Is he trying to kill her?""Is this what they meant when they said she has a troubled life? Her enemy even came to the school! They really should fire her.!""Hurry up and get the principal. We have to fire her today. We can't let her come near our kids!" The parents were shocked at first, but in the end, they decided she was something they had to eliminate.However, when Quinton heard their wicked words, his gaze turned cold and menacing. He let go of Joanne and faced the parents threateningly. "What did you say about her? Say it again, I dare you!""Who… are you?" One father boldly demanded."It doesn't matter. What I want to know is what you said about her." Quinton's tone wasn't loud, but it was threatening enough to scare the parents."She's the class teacher of our kids, but she doesn't have good academic qualifications or experience in teaching. Also, she's proba
"How brave!" Quinton let go of the man and sized Gina up. "If that's the case, why don't you come and take his place? I'll punish you instead for bullying Joanne.""Mister, what… what are you trying to do? Let's talk it out!" Gina retreated a few steps, looking at him in horror. He was handsome and dangerous… She was afraid of him, but also wanted to know more about him. "I'm Ms. Garcia's colleague and friend. I don't see her as my enemy," Gina said quickly, seeing how Quinton was defending Joanne.Quinton, however, could tell she was lying because she didn't sound sincere at all. He figured she was the reason why these people were attacking Joanne, and his lip curled in disgust. "Friend?" Quinton turned to Joanne. "Tell me… Is she really your friend?"Joanne smoothed her messy hair and glared at him coldly. "It's none of your business. Get out and stop making a scene; you're disrupting classes."Quinton turned back and spread his hands, a wicked grin on his face. "See? She didn't
Joanne knew Quinton was an utter maniac. He was reckless and impulsive, and he would go to extremes if he wanted to. She didn't like Gina, but she didn't want to see Quinton ruin her face. She took a deep breath and said to Quinton, "This is between you and me, so don't get others involved. Let her go!"Quinton turned around, satisfied that she finally gave in. "So, you guys are friends…" Quinton didn't believe it, but he just wanted to make use of this opportunity. "I won't let go of your friend with just that.""What do you want?" Joanne hissed through gritted teeth, glaring at him furiously."Come with me," Quinton ordered coldly."Why should I?" Joanne wanted nothing to do with him. She would break down if she was around him, so there was no way she would go anywhere with him. "If you don't, your friend's face will be ruined," Quinton reminded, pressing the blade into Gina's skin a little more.Terrified, Gina trembled and begged Joanne, "Please help me, Ms. Garcia. I'll lis
"Enough!" Joanne's eyes filled with tears as she said to Quinton reluctantly, "Let her go. I'll go with you.""You're being stupid again," Quinton scoffed. "This woman harmed you. If you were smart, you'd let me ruin her face so she would never bully you again... but you want to save her. You're even willingly putting yourself in danger for her. After all these years, how can you still be so stupid?" His expression was complicated as he spoke, and it was hard to tell if he was disappointed in her or just teasing.Joanne's hatred for Quinton burned in her, and she couldn't fathom how someone so cruel existed. "Cut the crap! Didn't you want to take revenge on me? Hurry up and do it! Also, I don't care about what you do to her; she's a stranger to me.""Yeah, she's right!" Gina's voice was shaky as she blurted out, "I was only hired this year, so I didn't have much to do with Joanne. We're not even close. If you ruin my face, it won't affect her at all…" After a brief pause, Quinton
Adie was still a child, but he acted like a smart person and could see through a lot of things. He could guess why Austin took them to the Baldwin residence. He had also heard the servants of the Baldwin family rebuking Renee in secret. After combining various situations, he learned about what had happened between Renee and Justin. Despite everything, Justin could forgive Renee under such circumstances. He also treated Adie and Abby nicely. It proved that he was a very compassionate man. A small regret gripped Adie. He wondered why Renee didn't date Justin right from the start. If Renee were with such a kind man, she might be very happy. She wouldn't have to suffer through so many hardships either. "No, you don't know me. I always sweat the small stuff."Justin was displeased since Adie had claimed that he was a good guy, like Renee had. He heaved a long sigh and said, "But it's useless even if I sweat the small stuff, so I stop trying. It all comes down to fate. We can't forc
Renee turned and found Jovan unscathed. Relief washed over her. She said grumpily, "It's none of your business!""Tsk! How cruel!" Jovan clutched his chest and pretended to be in deep pain. At the same time, he teased, "I know. Your soulmate is better. I'm so jealous of him, though he's still a fallback guy.""Go to hell, Jovan!" Jovan's nasty words drove Renee mad. She grabbed a piece of napkin, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it at his face. "If I knew you'd talk so badly, I wouldn't be bothered to save you. Maybe you'll get reborn in Ulria. Then, you have to watch your tongue!""Hey! Yeah, I was wrong. You don't have to curse me like that!" Jovan raised his hands to surrender, but felt quite moved. He poured himself a glass of milk and devotedly toasted to her. "Thank you for caring about me and trying your best to save me. I'll toast to you. And you can do whatever you want.""You're so childish." Renee rolled her eyes and was amused.Justin was quite jealous to see them
"What's that?" Justin frowned and said with disdain, "That's something to fool naive women like you. Only lovestruck fools will believe that." As a materialistic person, he never believed in things like horoscopes and fortune-telling. At most, they were mixed with some psychology. They weren't trustworthy at all.If Renee wanted to use those things to talk about their relationships and destinies, it would seem very childish. "Don't be so extreme. Those things are real and logical." Renee acted like an experienced salesperson and gradually eliminated Justin's prejudice. She said patiently, "If you believe those things, they can guide you and help you to see things through. If not, you can use them to kill time. Just try to get to know them. Isn't that nice?"Finally, Justin was convinced. He had some milk and asked her leisurely, "Fine. Tell me what kind of relationship we have based on those things." "I learned that our relationship is a declining friendship based on our birt
"I…" Renee paused. For a moment, she had no idea how to answer that question."Don't put yourself in a difficult position. Just follow your heart," Justin said calmly. "If you want to stay, my family will still welcome you readily. If you want to leave, I'll come up with a way to help you leave smoothly."After listening to Justin, Renee answered honestly, "Maybe it's better for me to leave, though I know this choice will hurt you."She could choose to stay to protect Justin's dignity and give Austin a good explanation. It would be more relaxing and steadier for her. However, Renee knew that it could only last briefly. She would cause Justin greater harm. She might as well be decisive and stop the damage in time. "Don't say that." Justin cracked a bitter smile and said with relief, "I've stopped taking things too seriously. If you like me, you won't stop loving me even if we're apart. Similarly, you'll think about another man if you don't like me, even though you're always b
Austin was having breakfast in the dining room. When he saw Justin and Renee walk over intimately, he finally believed that they had slept together. They seemed like a real couple."Good morning, Grandpa Baldwin!" Renee obediently greeted Austin just like before. She acted normally."Good morning." Austin nodded, unable to suppress his smile. After sizing them up, he calmly said to Renee, "We know how apologetic you are after you toasted to us last night. We'll forget about the past. You're still a part of my family." "Grandpa!" Justin interrupted Austin; he was very protective of Renee. "She's a woman, and we're not married yet. Please don't say that. A woman's reputation is the most important thing.""You…" Austin wanted to refute Justin, but their conflict was just resolved so it would be bad to pressure them more. He shook his head and said, "Fine. You two always have a bland romance. Finally, you've made some progress. I'll let you two decide what to do next.""Got it, Gr
"Hey, Haze! What are you doing? Get off of me!" Renee struggled in confusion."Hush!" Justin gestured and stopped her.In a while, someone unlocked the door of the room."Mr. Baldwin, let me help you and Ms. Everheart change your clothes." A kind middle-aged woman walked into the room casually. When she found them sleeping together intimately, relief washed over her. "Oh, you guys are still sleeping… Fine, I'll leave you be." Then, the woman exited the room.After that, Justin stopped hovering above Renee, looking awkward. "I'm sorry. It happened all of a sudden. If I hadn't done that, they wouldn't let us go. I just did a small thing to resolve the issue." Justin was fully aware of Austin's thoughts. Although Austin was still angry at Renee, he was satisfied with her and wanted to see her get into a real intimate relationship with Justin. If that did not happen, Austin might tie them up together since the drug had failed. Justin could only act with Renee to avoid the in
Renee grinned, satisfied after a long rest. "Why didn't you sleep a bit longer? This bed is comfortable and fluffy." While talking, she behaved like a fish as she extended her limbs and rolled around in bed childishly. In comparison to her calmness and ease, Justin behaved gingerly and did not dare to move as he lay in bed."Do you have any idea what had happened? We aren't dreaming. We're lying in the same bed," Justin said.He was certain that Renee was not fully awake. It explained why she was that composed. Otherwise, any normal woman would get out of bed with a start and keep screaming if they found herself lying in a man's bed."I know!" Renee said. After having a great time rolling around, Renee faced Justin with her head on her arm while lying on her side. "I wanted to drink wine to say sorry to you guys last night, but your family drugged the wine. You drank the same wine when you tried to stop me. We were controlled by the drug and were locked up in this room. T
Renee instantly understood what Justin meant by that. It turned out that the incident was just a part of the Baldwin family's plan. If she left, the Baldwin family would not easily let her off the hook.Justin still cared about her at a time like that, which moved her. "Thank you. You're great." Renee cried; she had no idea how to repay him. "You don't have to thank me. I'm not so great, either. I just hate that they always pester me." Justin purposely sounded relaxed. He finally calmed himself down as he casually grabbed some bandages to bandage his wound. Then, he lay in bed.He slept on one side of the bed and said to Renee, "It's late. You should rest early. This bed is large enough. If you don't mind, you can lie in bed too."The bed was large. It was more than enough even if Renee and Justin lay there."I…" Renee hesitated briefly before she finally got in bed. She trusted Justin. If he wanted to do something indecent to her, he would have long done that. He would no
"I don't know how to tell you. I'm sure you can understand." Renee could not bring herself to say more because it was a humiliating privacy. She might as well keep it to herself."Let me guess…" Justin's gaze grew sharp as he went straight to the point. "The man in your story is Stefan, isn't it?" Silence washed over Renee as she kept her head bowed. It was a silent approval.Justin burst into reckless laughter, which was scary. He looked down at his cut wound and laughed pathetically. "This is why he could make you fall in love with him, and I couldn't. I'm too cultured compared to him.""Don't say that, Haze!"Seeing how defeated Justin was, Renee became uneasy. "It isn't written in the stars for us. Plus, I've fallen in love with Stefan a long time ago before I even got to know you. I also rely on him physically and psychologically. I can't control my feelings. It's not something we can change. We…" "Stop!" Heartbroken, Justin pushed away everything in front of him and s