"You… want to work with Jeffrey?" Renee was taken aback. In her mind, Shirley had once been the top actress in the country, and she would never lower herself to work with an ordinary person unless there was something in it for her. Nonetheless, it would greatly benefit Jeffrey if he could work with Shirley—her fame would definitely get him attention. However, Renee was worried that Shirley wouldn't do her part to help him."Are you surprised?" Shirley sat opposite Renee and chuckled. "Aren't you confident in this novice you want to promote? Do you think he's not on my level?" When Jeffrey heard that, he ducked his head in shame, clenching his fists. Jeffrey had been a spirited and confident youth who had fearlessly roamed the seas, but here in this big city, he felt like a fish out of water. It was hard to adapt, and he often felt overwhelmed. "Of course not." Renee leaned against the chair and stared at Shirley intently. Shirley shifted uneasily. "Is there something on my face?
Shirley flinched, her face going pale. She was in her twenties and had done all kinds of things, but she had a clear conscience and no regrets… except sleeping with Xavier's father. Technically, it hadn't been her intention. Xavier's father had been scheming to get her for ages, and had drugged her drink. However, she didn't call the police or complain about it to Xavier after she had slept with Xavier's father, and instead tried to use that incident to make Xavier's father promote her. In the end, things had gotten out of hand. When the affair was exposed, Xavier cut off all ties from Shirley though he had once doted on her. He no longer gave her any resources, and that was when Shirley learned the truth—it was the seemingly frivolous Xavier that was running Universal Entertainment and the Stuart family, even though it looked like his father was the one in charge. Shirley hadn't gotten any benefits from her affair, and she had lost a man who loved her because of her choice."Yeah,
Renee flinched as if struck, and her heart twisted painfully. "Why... are you asking me that?" Renee glared at Shirley, immediately cautious. She had only told Leia about Stefan cheating on her with Briar. She didn't want others to learn about such a humiliating affair that could ruin her dignity."Ms. Everheart, why are you so nervous? I know that Mr. Hunt is one of those rare good men. He's rich and handsome, and also very loyal to you," Shirley said meaningfully, and it made Renee wonder if Shirley knew anything. When Renee didn't reply, Shirley continued, "But even the perfect partner can make mistakes. I'm just curious to know if you'd forgive him if you were in this situation. If you would, then you can't say that Xavier wouldn't forgive me. There's nothing wrong in seeking forgiveness. Am I so despicable that all of you will always think the worst of me?" Renee averted her gaze guiltily. "I... I'm not sure.""What are you not sure about?" Shirley urged. "I'm not sure if I
"It doesn't matter!" Renee said firmly, "I don't know about others, but Jeffrey is pure and humble. He isn't greedy either, so he won't go down the wrong path." Renee just wanted to explain that Jeffrey was different, but somehow, all her words sounded like criticisms of Shirley.Shirley quietly clenched her fists and said slowly, "Ms. Everheart, you shouldn't judge others so quickly when you've never been in their shoes. You're a rich young lady—you've never been in a position where you've had nothing, so you might never understand why some people are forced to take extreme measures. Though they know what they're doing is illegal, they're scared of losing their stability and falling back into that place of being helpless. It's harder to lose something once you've already experienced it." Shirley knew that she was not an honorable person, and was cunning enough to do anything to achieve her goal. However, it didn't mean that she was a villain. She was merely born with a bad fate and w
Xavier's displeasure was obvious. "I don't think that's necessary.""Why not? She has the right to know your thoughts. If you choose to forgive Shirley, Lei can think about whether she wants to forgive you since she's your current girlfriend." Previously, she couldn't understand why Leia felt so conflicted and hurt in her relationship with Xavier, but now she did—Xavier's hesitation and fickleness filled Leia with insecurity. What a despicable man! On one hand, Xavier shamelessly and constantly pursued Leia, but on the other hand, he faked generosity and tried to reconcile with his first love. He was clearly fooling around. How could such a disloyal man make Leia happy? Renee wanted Leia to know the truth."This is between her and me. You don't know the situation, so stop meddling in our relationship." Xavier had always been casual and indifferent, but his relationship with Leia had made him frustrated and miserable. He would easily get upset when someone brought up Leia."What are
"The Heart of the Grassland?" Renee usually scrolled through entertainment news and had long heard of this IP. It was one of the novels of the Grassland trilogy written by Juniper, a famous novelist. It described the story of a modern urban woman who was stressed about life, and chose to travel to Bellcoast. There, she ran into a handsome and pure youth on the grassland, and they fell in love. The plot was quite straightforward, and the characters were only the heroine, hero, and the animals living on the grassland. However, the novelist's descriptive writing of the wilderness and the characters' budding romance made the novel very enchanting, and it had gained a lot of fans."Is there a problem with it?" Xavier asked curiously. He felt that it was a great IP, and countless top stars were vying for that role. Him suggesting giving the role to an unknown youth was already doing Renee a great favor. "No, that's not it." Renee explained patiently, "I feel that this IP is very influenti
After coming up with a plan, Jeffrey was almost a part of the entertainment circle. Xavier temporarily made Jeffrey and Shirley the male and female leads of The Heart of the Grassland, which he would have a grand startup ceremony for a week later.Renee felt more relaxed after returning from Universal Entertainment. She was glad her focus was broadening to something outside of her children, Stefan, and her. She went to meet Leia at a roadside stall to eat.Leia was confused when Renee told her the whole story. "Ren, I don't get you. What's with you and Jeffrey? Why do you insist on making him famous?" She took a big gulp of her beer. "Yes, that kid is handsome, but he's just a boy. You need a man." Renee stared at her friend helplessly, then placed some beef on Leia's plate. "You like beef, don't you? Eat more and talk less.""Was I mistaken?" Leia munched on the beef happily, then continued, "Look—there are many young handsome guys in the entertainment field. It's okay if you hav
Coincidentally, the startup ceremony of The Heart of the Grassland happened to be the same day as the graduation photograph session of the kindergarten, so Renee asked Leia to take Jeffrey to the startup ceremony. Although Leia was reluctant, she agreed so Renee could go with her kids without worrying. She drove her convertible out of Everheart Manor to go to Santa Fe, the place Universal Entertainment had booked. During the car ride, Jeffrey was cautious and awkward as he didn't know Leia that well yet. "Leia, thank you for doing this. I… can actually just take a cab there.""No, you can't do that." Leia had her sunglasses on, and held the steering wheel with one hand, enjoying the breeze as she drove. "Ren is worried about you, and she'll kill me if you get lost or someone bullies you during the startup ceremony, so it's best I bring you there. Stop overthinking—think of me as your agent, and just tell me if you need anything. I'll protect you as well as Ren since she's working
"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
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