"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
Renee took the bus back to her little wooden house at the foot of the mountain.Her neighbor, Mr. Jones, came running out with a panicked expression. "Joan, you're finally back! Please check on Van right now. Something's happened to him!""What?!" Renee narrowed her eyes and quickly got out of the bus, rushing into her home.As she hastily picked up her pace, she accidentally tripped and fell, scraping her knee and throwing the groceries in the bag all over the ground."I was just going to get some juice, but Van just climbed up a cherry tree for some reason! He ended up falling, and now he's unconscious!" Jones explained the situation as he ran with Renee.Apart from the rows and rows of sunflowers, there was a tall cherry tree in their garden as well. Since it was summer and cherries were in season, the tree was brimming with large, juicy fruits.Renee had been eyeing the cherries for quite a while, but the tree was just far too tall to climb, which made harvesting quite a diff
As a blind person, the scariest thing that could happen was a change in environment, not the fact that he couldn't see. The little wooden house had always been his shell for the past six months, and hiding within this shell brought him a sense of safety and comfort."Please calm down, sir. You have injured your back. That's why you'll have to be hospitalized for a short period of time. Don't worry. We will make sure to take good care of you," The nurse consoled him patiently.Despite this, Jovan flung his arms like he was in a manic episode and yelled, "Get lost! I don't need your care! Get lost right now!""Where's my guardian!? Where is she?! I only want her!" The man's voice was filled with anger and desperation as if he was a child, worried that he had just been abandoned.The nurse frowned sadly. "I'm sorry, I… I don't know where your guardian is, either. You were alone in this ward when I came."Jovan's face turned pale as a sheet, and he begged the nurse, "I'll pay you to s
Jovan finally fell asleep shortly after, with a faint and sweet smile plastered on his face. Like an actual child, he treated Renee as the center of his life.When Renee was around, everything was sunshine and rainbows. Even the air tasted sweet to him. However, on the contrary, it felt as if the world was ending once she left his side. He wouldn't even have the will to live on without her.He knew that it was absolutely insane to feel this way, but he couldn't help it. Her presence was far too addictive. Renee silently watched the man sleep and sighed. She would be lying if she said she wasn't tired. In fact, she was both physically and mentally exhausted.Jovan had always been a madman, and his methods were rather extreme. Back then, he had always been an 'all-or-nothing' guy and loved creating chaos in any situation.Yet now, he was as tame as a little kitten. He was no longer reckless or arrogant and had placed her on a pedestal. It was as if he had completely turned into a
"Oh, yeah, it's you, Joan! I can finally see properly. Hey old friend!" The two were especially friendly with her.Nearly everyone in the hospital knew who Renee was, as she had been frequenting the place with Jovan for his medical treatments and checkups. Hence, all of them were familiar with each other by now.The woman then continued to talk to them for a bit. With that, not only did she find out where Seraphina's surgery was ongoing, she even found out which hotel they were currently staying at in the town."I'm going to check up on Van now. Bye, guys!" Renee nodded softly at the nurses and left the stairway once she was done smoking. Initially, she was going to head back to Jovan's ward, but her body walked toward the operating rooms unconsciously.She hid around the corner, peeking out of the wall carefully. She quickly noticed Stefan, who was standing by the doors.He was still wearing the casual white dress shirt she had seen in the morning. However, it was now drenched
Watching as Stefan happily finished the dumplings, Renee started smiling behind the wall around the corner as well.'That's right! Good food always helps to melt your worries away!'A couple of hours later, the doors to the operating room finally swung open. As the doctors exited, Stefan immediately approached them nervously."Don't worry, she's still alive, but her back and legs are severely injured. The patient will be required to stay in bed for a while," the doctor spoke up. "As her guardian, you'll have to take care of her during this period of time.""Thank goodness she's okay." Stefan let out a sigh of relief as a weight instantly got lifted off his chest.Renee, who was still standing in the corner, gulped. 'What? Seraphina hurt her back too?! This is such a coincidence!'Moreover, she had no clue that all the orthopedic wards were on the same floor, which meant that… Jovan and Seraphina's rooms would be near. 'That means we're going to bump into each other no matter wh
In the past, Jovan had always regarded Stefan as a coward. Stefan couldn't forget about Renee, but he kept pushing Renee to another man. It seemed like Justin was more responsible, considerate, and gentle. Of course, Renee would lead a very happy, steady, and comfortable life with such a man. At the very least, Jovan felt that he could not be that meticulous and considerate. He would only drive Renee mad just to get her attention. "Hmph! Are you trying to humiliate me or yourself?" Justin didn't find that a compliment. Instead, it sounded like smockery. Jovan made it sound like Justin was a nice guy, but would not be picked by Renee. Usually, people like that had to suffer and would not end up well."I'm praising you." Jovan was helpless because of his reputation as the villain. Although he had said a lot of annoying things, he did want to compliment Justin. His love was probably as deep as Justin's, but his and Stefan's ways of loving Renee were much inferior to Justin's.
"That's unnecessary." Justin stood in front of Renee, his face cold. He said firmly, "She's unwell and can't have wine." "Is she unwell? I didn't see that." Jovan sized Renee up before he sized Justin up. Then, he sneered, "And who are you to her? You can't stop her from having wine.""It's none of your business who I am to her. I said she can't have wine." Justin always kept peace with others, but at that moment, he was dominant. He didn't always want to control Renee, but she had drunk a lot of wine that day. It might have hurt her belly. Hence, he felt it better for her to abstain from wine lately. However, Jovan was unaware of that affair. He simply found Justin purposely showing his ownership over Renee, which disgusted him."Waiter, get her a glass of milk. She only wants that," Justin instructed a waiter, showing his consideration for Renee. "It's okay. I can have a little wine. Plus, I'm rather good at drinking. It's not easy for everyone to get together tonight. I do
They danced for around ten minutes. Renee danced to the song heartily. Her initial gloomy mood also improved.Renee drank some water and took a few deep breaths. Then, she sincerely praised Leia, "Alright. Your welcome ceremony is bizarre, but it helped relieve my stress. I like it very much!"She could tell that Leia had painstakingly prepared that gift for her. After all, it was not easy to ask the Zambawi people from primitive tribes to sing an English song. "I'm glad you like it. I did this because I wanted you to relax and stop taking things seriously. You need to stop being so hard on yourself and get rid of all the pressure!" Leia said honestly. The Zambawi hand-drum dance came with the charms of a primitive dance. Its goal was to set people free. Of course, it was suitable for Renee to relieve her stress."Yeah, your stress is relieved. From now on, you'll start afresh. This is for you. I'm sure it'll be one of your happy memories." Liam handed the previous Polaroid to
"This is your welcome ceremony. This hand-drum dance is to help eliminate bad luck." Leia held Renee's arm, satisfied with her arrangement. She said happily, "Listen to their song! It's a great song!""Is there a song?" Renee frowned; she felt that Leia was always doing bizarre things. She wondered how Leia could come up with such a preposterous welcome ceremony."Mm, listen carefully! It's English. You can understand it." At that point, Leia said to the Zambawi people, "Put on your microphone. And sing louder."The Zambawi people gave their cooperation. They used their typical Zambawi singing to sing the English song. While listening to the song, Renee found it very familiar. "The flowers will bloom in spring, and the birds are free. I'm still waiting, waiting for my love to come back. Hurry home!""Isn't that Spring Flowers by Curtis Harrett?" Renee finally recalled what song it was. It was a song with a happy beat. It could make people happy. The Zambawi people made th
"I don't know, either. All I ever remember from when I was young is that I led a very painful life. I once tried my best to make the Garcia family accept me. I did all the dirty and tiring jobs. I went out to work at an early age to get money for them. I also did all the house chores. "But my foster parents were never nice to me. They would always beat me up or scold me. My elder foster brother also saw me as an eyesore. He always tried to get me killed…" Quinton calmly described his past. He no longer seemed to be in pain. All that was left in him was numbness, as if he were talking about someone else.However, Renee was always in pain whenever she heard him talk about his past. She felt like she had returned to his past with him and experienced those painful things. It was normal for her to feel that way because they were twins. A lot of their thoughts and feelings were synchronized. "I suddenly recalled that I would inexplicably become gloomy many times when I was young. I
"I'm sorry." When Renee heard that from Quinton, she realized the conflict between him and Stefan had yet to be resolved. It was temporarily put aside because of her. She occasionally saw him and Stefan talk to each other and drink together, but they merely put on a show to ease her mind. Their hatred for each other hadn't been eliminated. Instead, it was growing secretly. If Renee were Quinton, she might never forgive the person who had snatched away her beloved and seized her identity. That person even ruined her face."Why did you say sorry to me? It's the resentment between him and me. It has nothing to do with you. Plus, I didn't know he was my brother-in-law then. If I knew, I wouldn't have fought him." When Quinton recalled those affairs, he realized that people were nothing but the sport of fate. If there had been no resentment between him and Stefan, Renee might not have broken up with Stefan. Their families might even get closer. "Stop bringing up the past. It's
During these days, Renee was under pressure because of her affairs. She had no chance to ask Quinton about it. Now, the long flight gave them a chance to have a deep conversation. They could talk about their woes and seek consolation."Me?" Quinton lowered his head and shook his head helplessly. "I'm still the same old me. Nothing is troubling me. I've been busy with Carmine Pawnshop. I have no time to think about other stuff.""You have no time?" Renee touched her chin and smiled naughtily. "Then, you must have been dwelling on other stuff. Let me guess… Is it the thing between you and Joanne?" "Stop asking so much." Quinton did not deny it but refused to talk much about that. "It looks like I made the right guess. You fell out with Joanne, didn't you?" Renee knew Quinton well. Generally, his work would not affect his mood. The only person who could affect his mood was Joanne, who shared a complicated relationship with him. Before Renee left Beach City, she had created a l
After a long while, Quinton turned around. He looked at Renee, who was across from him, and heaved a long sigh."We're about to go home soon. Why do you look this gloomy? What's wrong…? Are you reluctant to part with this place?" Quinton said. "No, I'm not." Renee poured herself a glass of orange juice and sipped it. She frowned and dwelled on it before she said, "I feel empty inside. I don't know if I made the right choice.""Empty?" Quinton asked curiously."I think I've said goodbye to a steady life since I decided to leave. Maybe I'll keep on wandering from now on," Renee said melancholically. The reason why she chose to give it a try with Justin because she was tired. She was exhausted from leading a wandering life and wanted to settle down with someone. Others could not give her the sense of security like Justin. When she saw him, she inexplicably wanted a home. At that time, she thought she could forget about everything and start a new life with him. Unexpectedly, she
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