Undeniably, Shirley had raised Xavier's biggest concern. He knew what kind of person he was; If he acted on a whim and hurt Leia, he wouldn't be able to bear it. Time passed, and everyone was waiting for Xavier's next move... But in the end, he didn't say a thing."What a coward!" Having lost her patience, Leia swung open the door and left. She went to the washroom and splashed some cold water on her face. She looked at herself in the mirror, angry at the emotions in her eyes. She slapped herself fiercely. "You're a fool, Leia Osborne! You fall for the same trap over and over again!" After calming herself down, she turned around and exited the washroom.A familiar figure was standing outside, and he smiled gently at her. "Lei, it's been a while."When Leia saw the man, her eyes widened in delight. "Mr. Dalton, you... you're finally back! That's great!" Previously, their relationship had been progressing towards something more than friends, but she hadn't paid attention to it because
Leia felt much better after hearing that. She checked the time and was disappointed to see that the ceremony was far from over. If she left now, she would seem like a coward… but she needed some courage to return to the hall. She wrung her hands, wondering if she should stay or leave."What's troubling you?" Santiago instantly noticed Leia's anxiousness and said softly, "Tell me if you need my help.""Ah, it's nothing. You don't have to worry about my petty problems," Leia waved him off and said casually. She knew that she was a fool in love, and she was too embarrassed to tell Santiago about it. Besides, he had once told her that Xavier was unreliable, and yet, she was still letting Xavier mess with her head. It would be embarrassing to bring it up again."What do you mean by people who don't deserve it?" Santiago lowered his head, looking like he was trying to suppress his emotions. "You know, I thought I wouldn't come back here so soon. I've been working at The Footstars for the
Santiago stared at Leia intently, and the atmosphere became tense. "What?" Leia never expected the solemn and calm Santiago to ask her something like that, and her cheeks turned red like a girl who had just fallen in love."You don't have to be shy. I'm not asking you to make me your man. I'm just curious about my position in your heart." Santiago tried to lighten the atmosphere so Leia wouldn't feel awkward."Oh, I see..." Leia's features instantly relaxed and she scratched her hair as she thought about it. "You don't have to doubt it, Mr. Dalton. Surely, you're still my first love! You might not understand it, but a first love is something special. You'll always have that position in my heart!""Does that mean that I'll always be your first love?" Santiago got closer to her, feeling moved. A lot of his fans loved him, but it pleased him to no end knowing that he was Leia's first love. "Yeah, you always will be!" Leia nodded generously. She would always admire him as his fan.
Meanwhile, Renee had arrived at the place for the children's kindergarten graduation photos. It was a beautiful island, and they needed to ride on speedboats to get there.The children were very excited and could not stop talking during the journey. They happily discussed how to spend their two days and one night there. Adie and Abby had grown up on an island, so this place felt like home to them.Adie held Renee's hand and said confidently, "Mommy, you and Abby should just enjoy yourself. I'll catch some fish and prawns so I can make a seafood feast for you both." "Okay, I look forward to it!" Renee touched Adie's head and said gently. Both Adie and Abby had great survival skills because they had grown up on an island. They were good at swimming and diving, and were probably even better at it than many adults. The kindergarten children and their parents reached the island in batches, and Renee, Adie, and Abby were among the last to arrive. The island was large, and didn't seem t
However, it was too late to regret it. Renee shook her head and decided to stop being pessimistic. "Okay, Adie. You can find food and set up the tent while Abby and I go look for treasures. Let's see if we can nab the mystery prize!""Okay, Mommy. We'll work hard!" Adie carried the fishing tools to the beach to catch some fish and prawns.Renee smiled, her worries fading when she saw how enthusiastic Adie was. Adie had always been a smart kid, and Renee knew he would be fine since he even managed to get to Beach City from Sun Island on his own."Let's go look for treasures, Abby!" Renee watched Adie briefly, then held Abby's hand as they set off to look for the treasures. Based on the map they were given, the treasures were hidden in a small karst cave on the island, and it was quite a hike to get there. Renee squatted down to Abby's level and asked gently, "Are you scared, Abby? If you're scared, you can stay at the campsite and wait for me. I can do this on my own too." Renee was
A plump boy kept jumping on the beach, trying to catch some fish but failing to get any. "This isn't fun at all!" The plump boy named Tubby grabbed the fishing tools and threw them onto the sand angrily. He grabbed his father's hand and wailed. "Why can't our family catch any fish? What are you both doing? If this goes on, we won't have any dinner. We might even be in last place! Hurry up and think of something!""What can we do, son? We're not professional fishermen, so it's only normal that we can't catch any fish. Maybe there aren't any fish here either. Don't worry, we can get food from others later." Glenn Bardot, Tubby's father, was rather laidback about the whole thing. However, Camila Bardot, Tubby's mother, became restless. She pinched Glenn. "How can you say that? The minute something becomes tough, you immediately give up! No wonder our boy is always lagging." Camila looked around and was surprised to see Adie catching a lot of fish nearby. Camila said to Tubby, "Look at
"I said you're ill-mannered!" Camila snapped haughtily. "I was wondering why you're so fierce and rude, but now it makes sense. Hmph, isn't there a rule in Monte Perry that they won't accept kids from single-parent families? How did you manage to get in? You're tarnishing the image of the kindergarten and its students!" Tubby was a transfer student, so Camila didn't know about the uproar that happened when Adie and Abby tried to register there. Besides, Renee always kept a low profile and purposely hid the background of the two children, so Camila didn't know who Adie's parents were. She assumed that Adie's parents came from new money, since the truly rich families would not easily get a divorce for their image's sake.At first, Adie did not want to lower himself to Tubby and Camila's level, he just wanted to take his eel and leave, but he couldn't let go of the things they said. It wasn't like him to let something like this go. Hence, he put the fishing tools on the ground, stood on
The sturdy man was none other than Glenn, Tubby's father."Daddy, Daddy!" Tubby cried and ran to Glenn. He pointed at Adie and sobbed, "This boy bullied Mommy and me. He beat us up… You have to help us!" Adie couldn't help but laugh. "You're not only useless, you're a coward too! Unfortunately, even if you bring your parents here, you can't win against me." Even though he was young, he took after his mother. He had great IT skills and was good at fighting; even if he couldn't fight against professionals, he was confident he could take on Tubby and his family. Glenn was a sturdy and plump man, and spoiled his son terribly. He couldn't handle seeing this little boy bullying his wife and son. Enraged and humiliated, he grabbed Adie and roared, "Did you bully my son? Say sorry to him now, or I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget!" Adie looked up at the giant man calmly. "Firstly, I didn't bully your son. Your son is crazy—he insisted on provoking me, then fell on his own. Secondl
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
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