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
"Mr. Hunt, here are your dumplings. Have some while they're still warm!" The nurse then placed the bowl down on the table."Thanks." Stefan nodded, feeling as if he was about to drool at any moment. Habits were indeed quite an odd tendency, as the man soon got used to eating them, despite only having them for four days.Sensing a threat, Seraphina shot the nurse a dirty glare. She asked coldly, "Where did these dumplings come from? Isn't it Aeos cuisine? Can I have some too?""Uhm… No!" The nurse refused without any hesitation. After all, Joan had specially bought these dumplings for Stefan. She couldn't possibly make another bowl."Why not? Could it be that you've been personally making these for my fiance? Aren't you being a little too considerate then?""No… I…" The nurse felt awkward and failed to explain herself.Stefan quickly came to the nurse's defense. "You're still recovering, and seafood is prohibited.""Yes, yes! Eating seafood may affect wound recovery, which might
Still doubtful, Stefan intentionally headed to the hospital food court during dinner."I'd like some seafood dumplings," he said to the staff through the window.The staff was immediately confused upon hearing his order."Do you guys not have seafood dumplings?" Stefan asked again, emphasizing his words this time."No." The staff glared at him as if he were a fool, pointing to the menu. "Everything's on the menu. Order anything you want."Scanning through the piece of laminated paper, Stefan realized that it was, in fact, filled with foreign cuisine. There wasn't a single dish originating from Aeos, let alone seafood dumplings. 'So that nurse was lying?'Stefan returned to the main hospital building and found the nurse who delivered those dumplings to him every day."I think we need to talk."The nurse's expression stiffened anxiously. "Mr. Hunt, what… what would you like to talk about?""You know why I'm here.""I don't know. I don't know anything at all." The nurse shook
Renee then stood up and stubbed out her cigarette, her slender figure disappearing into the dark…Stefan, on the other hand, waited for an entire day but never received the bowl of dumplings he longed for.He was still able to endure the wait when he realized that the dumplings hadn't arrived in the afternoon. However, as supper time arrived, he just couldn't believe that none had been delivered to him.The man was losing patience."What happened? Why are there no dumplings today?" Stefan stopped and questioned the patrolling nurse while Seraphina was resting."W… Well…" The nurse rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "They stopped serving it. Why don't you check out our other offerings, Mr. Hunt? We have steak, hamburgers, spaghetti…""I don't want any of that. I just want dumplings, seafood dumplings." Stefan completely shed his image as a CEO and started demanding for his food like a child. The nurse was speechless. "Please don't tell me you haven't eaten for the whole day.
"You can still make one more, right? Please, Miss, just this once!" Renee begged with sincerity."You can come back tomorrow. It's just some dumplings. People won't die just from not having one, right?""No, no, someone might really die without those dumplings… Basically, it's super important, so please make one more! I'm a regular, aren't I? You wouldn't let me go back empty-handed, would you?""Oh, you, alright, alright! Come on!" The storekeeper shook her head helplessly and opened up her kitchen again just to fulfill Renee's request.In actuality, the storekeeper wasn't the only one who cared for Renee. The entire town loved her and would do anything to help her out.Naturally, they sympathized with her because she had to take care of a disabled man, despite her fragile figure. However, she managed to win them over with her sincere and adorable nature, along with her diligence. She had always helped many elderly who lived alone with technology, so everyone thought of her as
"Do you want to leave?" Stefan saw Renee. He was calm, indifferent, and distant. His behavior stung Renee. Renee could easily recall their lovey-dovey memories. They had both risked their lives for each other and vowed to be together forever. They had two children, too. Yet, they ended up as strangers.Although Renee was heartbroken, she became competitive. She smoothed her hair and said in a similarly cold manner, "I'm going to the washroom." "Okay." Stefan did not have anything to say. He nodded and walked past Renee before heading to the dining table. "Hmph! I didn't expect you to come so boldly," Quinton sneered.At the sight of Stefan, Quinton subconsciously clenched his fists, acting like he was about to fight Stefan. On the surface, he wouldn't act aggressively because he knew Renee would stop him. "It's not easy for the few great families to get together. It's good and meaningful for us. If I refused to come, it would make me seem heartless."Stefan kept his co
Having said that, Renee lowered her head, about to leave. She didn't even have the time to bother about Adie and Abby, and told Quinton to take them home later. Her strange behavior filled Quinton with displeasure. He blocked Renee and said solemnly, "Are you afraid? Do you want to run away? People might think that you're guilty and have cheated on your husband!""No, I'm not!" Renee refuted him loudly, then explained seriously, "I'm busy. I need to handle something right away. Plus, I'm not guilty. I did nothing wrong. There's no reason for me to feel guilty." Quinton went straight to the point. "What are you afraid of since you know you're not guilty? Why do you want to run away? He should be afraid instead!""I told you. I'm not afraid of him. I'm just…" "What?" Quinton crossed his arms and looked at Renee coldly. He wanted to get to the bottom of it.Renee came up with a ridiculous yet normal excuse. "I… I recalled that the dessert shop that I want to head to is about to
Jovan called Stefan to sound the latter out. Anyway, it would be convenient for Stefan to rush over since they were both at the same spot. "I'll be right there," Stefan said. Then, he hung up.For a moment, silence washed over everyone, as if something terrible was about to happen.After taking in the new information, Leia said indignantly, "What's going on? Why does he want to come? Isn't he too shameless? How dare he come?" Although everything wasn't discussed openly, everyone knew why Stefan and Renee broke up all of a sudden, despite how lovey-dovey they were. The reason was that Stefan had cheated on Renee.Even if the adultery was faked, it was still the cause of their breakup. If Stefan were shameful or guilty, he wouldn't have agreed to come. He was going to face Renee there with their friends and family around. Certainly, it was embarrassing. "Hmph! Why not? He impersonated me, seized my business, and snatched away my woman. Plus, he led a steady life, got married
Jovan's words made the atmosphere quiet and bizarre. "Are you out of your mind, Jovan? It's already very annoying to have someone like you here. Do you have to get another annoying guy?" Leia frowned, crossing her arms. She kept scolding him.Initially, the atmosphere was considered harmonious. It was still considered fine even if there was an annoying person like Jovan. Unexpectedly, he wanted to call another, more terrible person to come here. Things would certainly go wrong. "Ms. Osborne, you're famous for talking harshly, too. You're just like me. I love it." However, Jovan was not mad at all. He grinned while waiting for Stefan to answer the call. Generally, Stefan would not answer Jovan's call. Surprisingly, he picked it up that time."What's the matter?" Jovan purposely put it on speaker mode. Stefan sounded aloof and emotionless.Jovan sounded wicked as he calmly asked Stefan, "Do you want to join a gathering, Stefan?""I'm going to hang up if you don't say anythi
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