As the fire blazed spectacularly at the jetty, a cruise ferry slowly made its way across the waters beyond. The flames cast bright, roaring ripples of color on the surface of the water.David watched the fire burn from the ferry deck with his coat on his shoulder. His eyes glinted with delight as he methodically tapped his fingers on the railing before him as if he were conducting his own classical symphony."Enjoying the view?" When David heard the footsteps nearing him from behind, his taps increased. With a low chuckle, he turned around. A bespectacled man clad in a doctor's coat met his gaze with indifference.The doctor gazed at the fire beyond for a moment before saying, "Mr. David, the woman you brought onboard has woken up. Would you like to see her?""She's awake?" David cocked his head and glanced behind the doctor. He then marched towards the cabin. "How is she?"The doctor followed behind and reported, "Not very well. She refuses to communicate with me. Some of her
"Really?"David stopped what he was doing. His dark eyes met hers as he continued. "So, let's hear it, Becca. What's different?""I … " Rebecca stared at the familiar face for some time.It was the same face as the one in her memories, but something felt off. Daniel shouldn't be speaking like this. But if this face didn't belong to Daniel, who else could it be?She shook her head. "I'm not sure how to put it, but I feel that you're somehow … a bit different. Besides, you … ""Besides what?" David pressed. Rebecca bit her lip before continuing in a sad tone, "Besides, aren't you in love with Jessica? You find me annoying, and you have asked me to stay away from you, yet why are you here taking care of me?"Her voice grew softer as she spoke. She was probably too heartbroken and didn't wish to see the man in front of her. She lowered her gaze only to see him smooth out the creases on her blanket."Jessica? I didn't know you cared so much about her." David chuckled. There was a h
A gentle breeze blew by and brought the cold autumn air with it. David stared back at his companion with his body facing sideways and harrumphed. "Dr. Collins, would I ask you to waste your time and assess her again if I was able to get the answer myself? Do you think I'm silly?"The person whom David brought along was none other than the eldest son of the Collins family and Carl's eldest brother — Randy Collins. The Collins were a family of doctors, and it was only natural that Randy was one as well. However, his achievements weren't as great as Carl's. Hence, his position in the hospital wasn't as high as that medical buff younger brother of his. Despite that, every one of the Collins was good enough to stand on their own feet. Only members of the Collins, although young, had earned David's respect in Riverwood.Randy smiled leisurely. "If my memory serves me right, you are silly. Why are you so surprised when you could do something like this?"On the deck, they could hear the
Darren's words were unexpected. It wasn't long ago when he said that the strong ones should be respected and that rules were put in place to protect the weak, but here he was, offering to help. It was unbelievable.Darren left before the Johnson brothers could react. Sam turned to Albert. "Albert, what do you think he meant?"Albert stared at Darren's retreating back and thought, "It doesn't matter what he means. We can't do much if the Winston family wishes to interfere. We just need to do what we're already planning to do."He paused and turned to face Sam. "Any news about little sis?"Sam's face darkened at the mention of Rebecca, and he gave a negative reply. He glanced at the bright red indicator and gave a complicated look. "We owe him one for this."If the fire at Rookfort was being taken as both families settling their scores, it was understandable that the Johnsons' stance was ambiguous. However, someone from the Winston family almost lost their life searching for Rebecca
In Rebecca's memory, Daniel had never looked at her like that before. Even when Jessica returned, and Daniel started to find faults in her, he would just avoid her or give her the cold shoulder.Could the few years she couldn't remember have had such a profound effect on his personality? Was this man really Daniel?Her face turned pale as she stood there. She felt lost and did not know what to do. She remained silent. David realized that his expression wasn't right and quickly put on a fake smile. "Becca, why are you out? Didn't Dr. Collins tell you to rest in bed since your wounds haven't fully healed?""It's so boring there that I couldn't stand it. So, I thought of coming out to ask you a few things," Rebecca replied honestly.They had just rented the house and hadn't installed any of their things yet. There was an old television that supported a few channels, no internet, and a couple of books. There were a few textbooks in a cupboard, together with some exercise books and ma
"What's the matter, Dan? Am I wrong?" Rebecca didn't go on for long due to her injury. She stopped when she noticed the man's weird expression.David studied her expression momentarily before saying, "No, you didn't. I was a bit surprised that you could talk like this … "For a moment there, he suspected that she recalled something. Either that, or she had been faking it all along. However, he couldn't find any cracks in her innocent expression.Every time he locked eyes with her, she'd show that naive expression of hers. Besides, although she was talking badly about him, it was because of the story he told her, so he couldn't use that to question her. He couldn't keep her from venting.David stood up when he heard someone knocking on the door. He turned to Rebecca. "Your injuries are still quite serious, so be more mindful, and don't put any tension on them.""Alright, I understand. There won't be a next time." Rebecca was no longer angry. Instead, she was sitting properly across
Randy was betting on his usefulness to David as well as Rebecca's place in David's heart. Even though she could be abandoned at any time, he was hoping David had some sentimental value towards her and would treat her differently from a stranger. Otherwise, he wouldn't have orchestrated such a scheme to get her.Her injuries were serious, and having a private doctor in a rural town was a huge advantage. However, if David was willing to take care of his "pet", he wouldn't have tried to solve the problem the way he did.It was no surprise that David's face turned slightly serious after listening to Randy. He seemed to be weighing the weight of his words. It did seem like a better deal to have a doctor.Randy tried to push his luck. "I'm sure you wouldn't want Ms. Johnson to be sick, but do you trust the medical treatment here? Besides, everyone has a phone now. Both you and Ms. Johnson have exquisite looks. What if you were photographed and someone uploaded it to social media? The John
The atmosphere tensed. Randy noticed that David was in a bad mood and quickly stepped forward. "Ms. Brown is not feeling well. Let me handle the cooking."Rebecca was a bit at a loss and looked at David with a probing look. "Dr. Collins is a guest. How can we let him do the cooking? My injuries have gotten better. If it's really needed, then I'll ask you for help. But I believe I can still cook."Her words were more of a suggestion directed at David. However, it seemed like he wasn't paying attention to her.Rebecca furrowed her brows. "Dan, are you even listening?"David hummed lightly, but his expression remained indifferent.He walked straight up to Rebecca and scanned her legs for a moment. Then, his gaze settled on her hand. Unlike the pampered rich folks who had delicate, beautiful hands, Rebecca's hands were far from attractive. One might even describe them as rough. It made sense, considering her life was nowhere near as comfortable as that of the Brown family's servan
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