They felt that Joanne looked sophisticated and had good teaching methods, but Gina's outstanding academic qualifications were hard to beat. They felt Joanne's qualifications had to be better since she was the class teacher."Honestly, I don't really have any academic qualifications, and I've only been teaching for less than six months," Joanne confessed, knowing the parents wouldn't let her off the hook."What? No academic qualifications and you've only been teaching for six months?" The parents were shocked and furious, and wanted to change the class teacher. At that moment, words started appearing on Joanne's presentation slides.[Here's a gentle reminder—Joanne has never been to college. Her life is troubled and messy, and she's hiding something on her body… That's why she always wears long-sleeved shirts and long pants!]"What's happening? Is it true? The class teacher of our kids has never been to college?""What is she hiding? No wonder she put on a shirt with long sleeves o
"Let me go!" Joanne didn't like people touching her, and tried to shake Gina off. Her reaction only made the parents more suspicious, and they wondered if the accusations were true. "We just asked you to roll up your sleeves. What's so difficult about that?""There must be something wrong. We can't let her go. Where's the principal… He has to come here and explain this.""I think we should just tear off her clothes and see if she really has a disease." Some parents even ran to the door to block Joanne from leaving."Yeah, Ms. Garcia. What are you afraid of? We just asked you to roll up your sleeves; it won't hurt you." Gina steadied herself and grabbed Joanne's arms again, then roughly pulled the sleeves of Joanne's shirt, tearing them off. The people there gasped in horror when they saw Joanne's skin."What's wrong with her?""How horrible… Who is she? What did she go through?"Joanne's exposed arms were full of scars and marks. There were burn marks, scratches, and discolor
"Demon?" Quinton sneered maliciously. "We're childhood sweethearts, and we grew up together. Is that how you see me?""I know that I've wronged you, but I was punished too. What else do you want from me?" Joanne looked at Quinton with a pale and teary face. Quinton had recovered his looks, and the scar on his face was gone. He looked more handsome and mature than before, but Joanne knew how scheming he really was. Any woman who got close to him would get addicted to him. Joanne had once been deeply in love with him, but now, all she felt was terror. She just wanted to run away. "Let me go, please. Let me live. I knew I shouldn't have met your sister. I trusted her, but she betrayed me. Your sister is just as scheming and cunning as you!" Joanne's fear turned into anger as she thought about it."Shut up!" Quinton's eyes flashed, and he strangled her. "You can criticize me, but not my sister. I'll break your neck if you keep it up!""Go ahead! I can't wait to leave this miserable worl
Gina and a few parents rushed over, and they were shocked to see Quinton strangling Joanne."What's… going on? Is he trying to kill her?""Is this what they meant when they said she has a troubled life? Her enemy even came to the school! They really should fire her.!""Hurry up and get the principal. We have to fire her today. We can't let her come near our kids!" The parents were shocked at first, but in the end, they decided she was something they had to eliminate.However, when Quinton heard their wicked words, his gaze turned cold and menacing. He let go of Joanne and faced the parents threateningly. "What did you say about her? Say it again, I dare you!""Who… are you?" One father boldly demanded."It doesn't matter. What I want to know is what you said about her." Quinton's tone wasn't loud, but it was threatening enough to scare the parents."She's the class teacher of our kids, but she doesn't have good academic qualifications or experience in teaching. Also, she's proba
"How brave!" Quinton let go of the man and sized Gina up. "If that's the case, why don't you come and take his place? I'll punish you instead for bullying Joanne.""Mister, what… what are you trying to do? Let's talk it out!" Gina retreated a few steps, looking at him in horror. He was handsome and dangerous… She was afraid of him, but also wanted to know more about him. "I'm Ms. Garcia's colleague and friend. I don't see her as my enemy," Gina said quickly, seeing how Quinton was defending Joanne.Quinton, however, could tell she was lying because she didn't sound sincere at all. He figured she was the reason why these people were attacking Joanne, and his lip curled in disgust. "Friend?" Quinton turned to Joanne. "Tell me… Is she really your friend?"Joanne smoothed her messy hair and glared at him coldly. "It's none of your business. Get out and stop making a scene; you're disrupting classes."Quinton turned back and spread his hands, a wicked grin on his face. "See? She didn't
Joanne knew Quinton was an utter maniac. He was reckless and impulsive, and he would go to extremes if he wanted to. She didn't like Gina, but she didn't want to see Quinton ruin her face. She took a deep breath and said to Quinton, "This is between you and me, so don't get others involved. Let her go!"Quinton turned around, satisfied that she finally gave in. "So, you guys are friends…" Quinton didn't believe it, but he just wanted to make use of this opportunity. "I won't let go of your friend with just that.""What do you want?" Joanne hissed through gritted teeth, glaring at him furiously."Come with me," Quinton ordered coldly."Why should I?" Joanne wanted nothing to do with him. She would break down if she was around him, so there was no way she would go anywhere with him. "If you don't, your friend's face will be ruined," Quinton reminded, pressing the blade into Gina's skin a little more.Terrified, Gina trembled and begged Joanne, "Please help me, Ms. Garcia. I'll lis
"Enough!" Joanne's eyes filled with tears as she said to Quinton reluctantly, "Let her go. I'll go with you.""You're being stupid again," Quinton scoffed. "This woman harmed you. If you were smart, you'd let me ruin her face so she would never bully you again... but you want to save her. You're even willingly putting yourself in danger for her. After all these years, how can you still be so stupid?" His expression was complicated as he spoke, and it was hard to tell if he was disappointed in her or just teasing.Joanne's hatred for Quinton burned in her, and she couldn't fathom how someone so cruel existed. "Cut the crap! Didn't you want to take revenge on me? Hurry up and do it! Also, I don't care about what you do to her; she's a stranger to me.""Yeah, she's right!" Gina's voice was shaky as she blurted out, "I was only hired this year, so I didn't have much to do with Joanne. We're not even close. If you ruin my face, it won't affect her at all…" After a brief pause, Quinton
"Yeah, I guess I overestimated myself. I don't know you well." Joanne gazed at the man she both loved and hated. "If I knew you well, I would have left you ages ago. I wouldn't have had to suffer, and that pitiful child wouldn't have had to die. I also could have been a mother, but it's impossible now…" "That child should have never been born. If you gave birth to the baby, it would have been torture for you. I saved you from that, so why do you hate me this much?" Quinton's gaze was icy, and there was no regret in his tone. If he did have any regrets, it would be that he didn't get rid of the child in a way where Joanna wouldn't have found out about it."Yeah, you're right. You're never wrong. Even now, you feel that you're just doing the best for me." Joanne closed her eyes, tears flowing down her cheeks. She no longer wanted to talk about it because there was no right or wrong. She felt that abortion was murder, and now, she could never have children. It was a punishment for bein
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