Stefan looked at Renee and asked casually, "So, what are your plans?"Renee drank another mouthful of soup, then asked, "What plans?""You can't really stay in the business field forever, right? It's a complicated and dangerous world. You won't be able to handle it for long," Stefan explained, as he had experienced the struggles within the industry as well. He figured that a woman like her wouldn't be able to bear the stress of managing a business. Although they were divorced, he didn't wish such an uneasy life on her. "How would you know if I can't handle it?" Renee looked towards the man, a confident smile appearing on her face. "Just look at me now. Aren't I doing well? Azure Group has only been established for a few months, but we were able to secure a big contract! I even became the president of the Electronics Technology Association! Everything is going well as of now, so sorry for not seeing the dangers in this field, I guess.""You're too naive!" The man shook his head,
Stefan lowered his gaze, staring at the hands around his arm with narrowed eyes. "What's wrong?""People! There are so many people!" Renee looked around anxiously, then tried pulling Stefan into the backseat of the car. As she continued to squeeze in, she mumbled under her breath, "There's so many of them! They're coming for us! Oh god, this is so scary… Let's hide in the car!""Many people?" Stefan looked around, the confusion on his face evident. It was midnight by the time they left, and they were the only two in the parking lot at the time. 'What is she talking about?'"Hey, why are you being so stubborn? They're right behind us! Do you have a death wish? Hide in here, quick!" Renee was so panicked that her face was red. She used all her strength to drag Stefan inside as if they didn't have much time.Helpless, Stefan could only listen to her demands, getting into the backseat with her. It was fortunate that there was a lot of space in the back, considering that it was an
Stefan opened his eyes, and yelled furiously at the shocked Renee, "Do you think this is funny?""No, there really are a lot of little people on you, they're crawling around your hair now…" Renee said desperately as she pointed towards his head anxiously. "And there are so many weeds growing out of your head! Let me pluck them out for you…"After saying that, she really did start yanking on Stefan's hair lightly. "Don't worry, I'll pluck them all out for you! One, two, three…""This is getting ridiculous!" Stefan was speechless. Eventually, his anger subsided and was quickly replaced with helplessness. Leaning against the backseat dejectedly, the man allowed Renee to yank on his hair continuously as if he were putting up with a naughty child.'Fine, if she wants to play it this way, she can do whatever the hell she wants! I'd like to see just how long she will keep this act up!'With that thought, the two could be seen pressed against each other in the backseat of the car, as Rene
Stefan was awoken by her shouting, and sat up with a frown. It seemed that he had taken his shirt off as well. His tanned skin was exposed for all to see, along with his muscular build. It was as if God had taken extra time to create this man, blindly giving him the gift of charm since the moment he was born.The intimacy of their current state surprised him so much that he was wide awake in seconds. His eyes were locked on Renee as he asked, "What's wrong?""You scumbag! You know what's wrong!" Renee immediately grabbed a jacket to cover her body, punching Stefan on the arm. "You're such a monster! How could you do this to me?! Just look at my stomach! If something happens to me, I'll make sure you rot in hell!" She really had no idea what happened last night, but she could put the pieces together. She thought, 'A man and a woman half naked, cuddling each other? What else could have happened?!'"Wait!" Stefan forcefully stopped Renee from hitting him, trying his best to recall
The man looked completely serious."I'm sorry, I must've been possessed last night or something. I have no idea why I would do those things…" Renee's cheeks were still flushed. She didn't dare to look directly at Stefan. Her voice was soft. "If you don't mind, we can just pretend nothing ever happened. I'll pay you compensation, and you delete that footage. What do you say?"Stefan retorted. "Do I look like I need any more money?""Nope!""So give up on that thought. You should think about how you can compensate me in other ways instead. Otherwise, I won't be deleting this any time soon," Stefan said in a nonchalant tone. "What else can I possibly compensate you with? Don't get greedy here!" Renee sat up, warning Stefan. "I'll be honest with you. I have a video of your antics while you were drunk too! If you dare to leak that footage, don't blame me for doing the same! We'll just have to go down together then!"Stefan seemed to yield to her threats, and he didn't push her an
Stefan remained silent; lips pursed as he focused on the road.The car lumbered towards a ring road, with the vast blue sea surrounding both sides of the road. Everything seemed especially bright and cheery. However, Renee found this quite terrifying, not daring to move a single muscle. She wondered, 'What is he doing bringing me to the seaside? Is he still holding a grudge against me for biting his lips last night? Is he trying to murder me and throw my corpse into the sea?'"Hey, Stefan, calm down! Don't resort to such extremes, okay?" Renee said, sounding as if she was trying to manipulate her victim."I know I may have been inappropriate to you, but I didn't mean to! You're out here looking like a whole snack, and you were dressed so sexily!"You looked like an incubus, honestly! I just made a mistake that any other woman would make! So please just forgive me, just this once!"I promise I'll never make the same mistake ever again! I won't ever bite you even if you did everyt
"Oh my god, Stef, you're finally here! I've called you hundreds of times! You didn't even pick up a single call! Chris was that close to sending his special forces just to find you!" Xavier exclaimed. Waving towards Stefan, he had donned a dashing suit, with his hair neatly slicked back. Stefan, however, was expressionless and calm. "Doesn't the wedding start in the evening? What's the rush?""Of course, we're in a rush! We're his groomsmen! We have to welcome the bride, and we need to take a group photo together too! We have so much to prepare!" Xavier gushed as he impatiently dragged Stefan backstage. "Go clean yourself and change into a better suit! Your current look is too casual. It's like you're just here for a vacation!"As the two reached the dressing room, Christopher could be found facing away from the door, staring at the beautiful scenery outside the window. He was wearing a white suit, his dashing features enhanced by a light touch of makeup. His gentle and elegant
Having paced around the dessert section for quite some time, Renee began to feel her stomach rumble. She hadn't eaten anything yet.At the time, she was scarfing down a piece of mousse cake, as if she intended to join an eating competition. There was even still some cream stuck to the corner of her mouth, which made her look somewhat adorable.When someone called out to her out of nowhere, she lifted her head, and her eyes met Stefan's gaze that loomed over her.She found her current state rather embarrassing, so she quickly tidied herself up, putting on an elegant act. "They forced me to take this cake. I didn't really want to eat that much…"Christopher smiled, seemingly fond of this side of her. "Looks like our employees are pretty responsible… Don't worry, though—we've hired the best bakers, the best of the best, to make these desserts. They made sure to choose the ingredients well so it wouldn't be too fattening either!"Stefan's hands were snug in his pockets. He stared at R
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
"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