Rebecca turned around. She looked up and caught sight of Ethan's defined side profile.She nodded. There was a sense of worry evident in her eyes. She subconsciously turned her gaze toward the direction where Sam had disappeared. "Do you know why?"Ethan followed Rebecca's gaze. A faint smile appeared on his soft face."Speaking of which, this matter does have something to do with you."He spoke slowly, carefully explaining past matters of the Johnson family to Rebecca.During this process, they did not only touch on Sam's past but also touched on matters that happened between the brothers. He even mentioned how their aunt had dragged their uncle to be a part of the Johnson family. Therefore, by the time their conversation ended, it was already late at night. Rebecca was also feeling extremely tired. After washing up, she fell asleep right away. When she woke up the next day, she still felt a bit groggy. She sat in her room for a bit before fully coming back to her senses
The person on the other end of the phone seemed to have let out a sigh of relief.Her tone also seemed to have softened further. "I heard from Mike that with your divorce with Dan, Dan has given you quite a bit of assets. Even the Springford Estate that Mr. Winston Senior bought for you two was also transferred to your name, right?"The smile on Rebecca's face grew. She didn't deny it and simply hummed softly. Mrs. Winston continued, "Look, Becca, when Mr. Winston Senior was still around, he always treated you well. That brat may have wronged you in marriage, but he has never treated you poorly in terms of other matters, you see …""Mrs. Winston, why don't you tell me what you want me to do."Rebecca didn't want to listen to her wheedling. She directly cut her off. "Okay, then I'll be honest with you. Don't blame me for being brutal. After all, I am still a member of the Winston family. I have to put the family first."Rachel's tone suddenly turned serious. She directly stated
After Rachel ended the call, she rubbed her temples. "That brat always causes so much trouble for me!""Please calm down, Mrs. Winston."Cheryl served her some sliced fruit. She advised, "Children are all here to be leeches. Anyway, this isn't Mr. Daniel's fault.""The fact that it's not his fault makes me more angry."He had refused a perfect wife that was arranged for him. Instead, he fell in love with a woman like Jessica!From the looks of that woman, she had nothing good up her sleeves. Mr. Winston Senior had made it clear back then that if he married her, he was certain that it would cause trouble. Then, look at what happened. She wasn't even married into the family and had already caused the Winston Group's market value to evaporate tremendously. She was a troublemaker!Rachel looked down and took a glance at her phone. Within her call logs, besides calling Rebecca, there were numerous calls made to Daniel. Unfortunately, he did not pick up.After thinking for a
On the tablet, Daniel’s post was on display."The one I wanted to marry was always Jessica."The page was a PowerPoint slide prepared by the public relations team. Therefore, they were unable to view the comments. However, without the need for thought, it was evident what kind of controversy this statement would have caused.With a stern expression on his face, he switched to another application and took a glance. As expected, the remarks made towards Rebecca were extremely harsh. When he stumbled upon the comment regarding the "unloved home-wrecker", he nearly smashed the tablet in anger.His wife, who he had signed the marriage certificate with, and organized a wedding with, was now a home-wrecker. What a joke!"I told the bunch of you to deal with the issue of public opinion, not to spread more rumors. I spend so much money to employ all of you, and you can't even handle a public relations crisis?"The tablet made a muffled sound as it hit the table. It felt like a painful j
"What's his problem now?" Rebecca asked. The mention of Daniel's name unsettled her. Still, anyone could tell Daniel had gotten into trouble because the news came this late. That was why she merrily inquired about it. After all, she would enjoy her ex-husband’s misfortunes. As she leaned in, Penny raised her phone higher. She frowned and said, "I'd like to know what his problem is too."On her phone was Daniel's social media page. The post of him defending Jessica had vanished. In its place was the latest post he made. What was even more surprising was that he was not siding with Jessica in this post. Instead, it clarified that the elders in his and Rebecca's families wanted the two to get married. Although that was the reason, Daniel insisted on following through with it. He was also the one who asked for a divorce. With that explanation, he cleared any misunderstandings about him having a mistress. Finally, Daniel apologized to Rebecca and asked netizens not to discuss their priva
Mike became perplexed. He didn't expect Daniel to ask about Rebecca all of a sudden. They were still handling the PR crisis moments ago. Yet, he dared not poke his nose where it didn't belong, so he answered the question. "I've transferred everything to Ms. Rebecca. At first, she was unwilling to accept GN Corp's shares, but I convinced her to sign the document."Daniel hummed in acknowledgment and didn't seem unhappy. "You did the right thing by convincing her to sign it. After all, she's alone. She may have reunited with the Johnsons, but there's no telling if they'll treat her like an outsider. She spent years away and grew up outside of their family."He figured Rebecca could live a stable life with the shares he gave her. That way, it wouldn't matter whether her loved ones sincerely cared for her or not."Is there anything else? If not, you can resume your tasks." Daniel looked at Mike, but Mike had forgotten what he had come in to report.Mike fell into a brief daze. He almos
Daniel froze when he heard that. Then, he looked at Ryan in confusion.Goosebumps spread all over Ryan's skin. "Why are you looking at me like that? If you have something to say, spit it out."A light chuckle came from Daniel. He decided to set aside his tasks for now. His warm voice rang out. "You've got a reputation for being nice to all women, regardless of their looks. What's with the sudden insult toward Jessica today? Have you gone through some kind of epiphany?"Ryan couldn't help but chuckle, too. "Yes, I'm kind to women of all appearances. But that doesn't mean I'll still be nice if they're mean to others."That was his indirect way of saying Jessica wasn't a nice woman.Daniel twirled his pen between his fingers but didn't refute his claims. If this had happened in the past, he would've already defended Jessica. However, various truths had surfaced before him. Besides, he wasn't an idiot who couldn't differentiate between right and wrong.Ryan knew from Daniel's reactio
Daniel gazed down at the phone on his desk. "Hey, what do you think would've happened if she was with me during those three years?""What?" Ryan hadn't caught what he said and only heard the mention of "three years." He crossed one leg over the other and shot a confused frown at Daniel. "You must be having another ill episode."Daniel ignored that comment as he tidied the documents on his desk, picked up his phone, and stood. "Should we go for lunch?"His tone was calm, and he didn't look like he was joking."Now?" asked Ryan, who glanced at the time. He didn't know why Daniel had brought up lunch when it was still breakfast time.Daniel had picked up his car keys. "The Four Seasons restaurant is far from the company. It'll take almost an hour to drive there, so we'll reach around lunchtime. Forget I offered if you're not up to it."With that, he strolled to the door.Ryan froze. When he snapped out of his daze, he realized that Daniel had already stepped out the door. So, he ra
Penny didn't have much free time over the past three years.As she had envisioned, during the first year, she honed her acting skills amidst criticism while also working as a translator.Later on, she felt that acting didn't hold much appeal anymore. Moreover, realizing that there weren't any roles left for her, she gradually gave up and moved toward working behind the scenes.She had some work during this period.It seemed that a daring reality show, not caring about potential risks, decided to capitalize on her controversial popularity and invited her to participate in one of their programs.The reason Penny agreed to participate was because the show's first season had a good reputation, and the payment offered was reasonable.Continuously doing translations could be quite tiring. After discussing with Cecilia and weighing the pros and cons, she eventually signed up for this TV show.Unfortunately, she had underestimated the darker side of human nature.The show's production
"Really?" Zane blurted out, staring incredulously at Sam, who nodded calmly. His unruly and carefree demeanor was restrained, and his composed attitude showed that he wasn't joking.Zane fell silent again, furrowing his brow as he intently observed Sam.It was as if he thought everything through in an instant, giving up without hesitation. He didn't even remind Zane of the request from years ago to take care of Penny. Instead, he said this would be the last time he would help out.Logically speaking, this should be a satisfactory outcome for Zane. After all, from any perspective, the Lowe family's scion would only be a burden to Sam.Looking again at Sam's attitude, it seemed he didn't want Penny to know he was the one quietly spending money to handle things behind the scenes.Since there was no plan to meet her, he didn't need to worry about anything after that. If that was the case, it would be better to just end it early.That way, if Sam saw Penny falling in love, getting mar
All those old scoundrels from the Lowe family undoubtedly ranked the highest. Then there was Jessica, the entertainment industry's national goddess, who also played a significant role.Besides them, there were a few minor celebrities who didn't really make the cut.However, as Sam's partner and someone who watched him grow up, Zane privately hoped Sam could find a better girl.So, he advised, "There are plenty of socialites in Riverwood, and Amdale has no shortage of beautiful young ladies, either, and Rookfort isn't much different."You and the Lowe family's daughter haven't even officially met…""Who said I haven't met her?" Sam interrupted him without a second thought.He had even seen her twice. How could Zane say they hadn't even met yet?The first time, she gave him all the money she had. The second time, he spoke up to help her get that role.After these interactions, they could be considered acquaintances.Zane choked up and couldn't find the words to refute.He was s
Because Penny declined his offer, Zane didn't insist. After a bit of small talk, he ended the call.He politely mentioned that if she needed any help, she could call this number again. If he could assist in any way, he certainly would.However, Zanw knew very well that, given Penny's temperament, she would rather give up what she had than actively seek help from a stranger.Yes, to Penny, Zane was just a stranger. He was a person she had met once but didn't really know.This time, Penny didn't respond as coldly as she did when she was 18. Instead, she exchanged a couple of polite pleasantries, mentioned that she would reach out if needed, and then hung up the phone.After that, she let out a long sigh of relief and lay on the lounge chair on the balcony, gazing at the view outside the window.There were fluffy white clouds in the azure sky and the greenery visible in the neighborhood. Sparrows were chirping persistently as they darted through the forest, and the cicadas loudly bu
Although the other person said only one word, Penny could still tell he didn't have any ill intentions.Because of that faint sense of familiarity, Penny didn't hang up the phone immediately. "Hello? May I ask what this is about?"The unfamiliar and distant tone probably made the man on the other end of the phone pause for a moment. It was only after a brief silence that he responded."Young lady, don't you remember me? It's Zane Moran."His voice carried a laugh, with a hint of teasing.Only then did Penny remember who he was, but she wasn't happy at all.Zane meant no harm when that incident happened back then. But despite that, over the years that had passed, he became one of the people and things Penny would rather not recall.Whether it was the exam she missed, the incident where Spencer took her to the hotel against her will, or Zane, who gave her 30 dollars for a taxi ride.She just wanted to hide all of them deep in her memories.The recent events had particularly made
"I'm fine. You all don't have to look so worried. You're making it seem as if something bad is going to happen to me."Penny looked at the two people at the door who were showing a range of expressions, feeling speechless.Cecilia was provoked by her words, and her eyes turned red."We're worried about you. You have no idea what you look like right now. You're almost like one of those disheartened protagonists in novels who hated the world."Penny clicked her tongue twice and said, "Aren't you exaggerating?"She didn't believe it. She was just worried about money. It wasn't like she had become disillusioned with life.Besides, she didn't dislike this world at all. On the contrary, she really liked it.Whenever Penny came across posts online suggesting that all humans should just die, she always felt like rolling her eyes. If they wanted to die, they shouldn't drag others with them.When searching for her own role in movies, TV dramas, and novels, Penny particularly preferred re
Penny's way of clarifying things was to simply tell the truth.Sometimes, trying to cover things up would just lead to needing 100 more lies to continue the cover-up. That would often end up making things worse and more ridiculous.It was better to tell the truth about the situation.To answer the question of why she lashed out at the Lowe family, she briefly explained her experiences over the years.Why didn't she attend the final paper of the college entrance examinations? She personally reopened that old wound.As for that man in the hotel, Penny didn't have much of an impression of him anymore. She only remembered not taking his business card and accepting 30 dollars from him.Why did she show up at that man's hotel room? She wrote it down truthfully—it was her father who personally took her and left her at the hotel, wanting to trade her like a commodity.Every single word was carefully considered and written by Penny.She didn't share much of these things with Cecilia. Th
Once the official statements were released, Penny's career being ruined became a certainty.The only surprising thing was probably that after the film crew issued their statement, the largest investor also requested to withdraw.The film crew was completely shocked, but there was nothing they could do. The scion was willing to lose money just to withdraw his investment, so what could they do?The amount of money in the compensation was nothing compared to the amount that the scion planned to invest. The production team would incur a significant loss.With one less investor, the project's status was essentially downgraded. They had much less room to manipulate their gains now, too.One would understand why the scion was doing this if they used their brain a little.However, the protests from the audience couldn't be ignored, and compared to the investors, it was clearly more important to keep the show going.After all, they could always attract more sponsors, even if the amount o
In addition to the widespread backlash caused by the phone recording, Penny's academic credentials were also scrutinized and exposed.Before the college entrance exam, she had always been the top student in her school and had never ranked anything else.However, in the college entrance exam, she barely passed the minimum mark for key institutions, far below her usual performance.Some people speculated that she had been cheating during regular exams and that her actual abilities were much worse.However, the exam results could be checked online, and the fact that Penny scored zero on the last exam was surprising.It was even more shocking that she was admitted to a top-tier university despite missing an exam. It was truly exceptional.But few people paid attention to this information.After all, the achievements attained through hard work couldn't be faked. Even if the results weren't as expected, it was undeniable that she was stronger than many others.Regarding this topic, t