The old man raised his eyebrows, and with a half-smile said, "You are the granddaughter of Liliana Schneider, the heroine of North City, correct?"The smile on Renee's face faded. She became serious in a heartbeat as she asked, "How did you figure that out?"If he had guessed her name correctly, she could still have assumed that the old man must've loved reading gossip about famous people. As Stefan's ex-wife, her name and face were considerably recognizable. But the old man managed to guess her grandmother's name, and that was nothing short of amazing, because the Everheart family never publicly announced that the woman her grandfather married was the one and only Liliana Schneider from North City!"It looks like I got it right." The old man stroked his beard, then asked, "Do you believe in my skills now?""If you figured that out based on your fortune-telling skills," Renee clasped her hands together, "then you must be the master of all master fortune-tellers! I humbly bow to you
"A gift?" Renee stopped and turned around, looking at the old man with interest.How lucky could she be today, to receive a gift from such a legendary person?!She glanced at the old man's stall. Any one of those items was either priceless or incredibly rare—she could easily make a fortune selling any of them!But the old man had no intention to give her any of his wares. Instead, it was something that he carried with him. "Take this silk handkerchief, young lady. One day, it will give you much-needed guidance."The old man then stretched out his branch-like arm towards her, handing her a finely crafted silk handkerchief."This silk handkerchief…" Renee was astonished when she saw the pattern on the handkerchief.There was a phoenix and some red spider lilies embroidered on the handkerchief, it looked similar to the pattern she saw on the quilt her grandmother had left her all those years ago. Perhaps it might even have been made by the same person. It's a shame that the quilt
"Of course I don't! Why the hell would I ask you if I knew?!""Since you're so clueless, then allow me to educate you. We are Carmine Pawnshop's men. Since you're here in Water Dock, I'm guessing you can't be such an idiot that you've never even heard of Carmine Pawnshop, right? So, are you going to get out of the way now?""Ah… so you guys work for Carmine Pawnshop, huh?"Renee pursed her lips and nonchalantly added, "But how could such a reputable pawnshop act like thugs and gangsters? How could they resort to murder over such a small matter? You sent out a whole gang of burly men just to look for one woman? Is this the kind of man that the Carmine Pawnshop's boss really is?"Those words were simply outrageous. The men in the black suits were instantly enraged. They raised their clubs, eager for Renee's blood, and threatened, "She can insult us, but if she dares to insult our boss, then she needs to be put in her place!""Go ahead," said Rene with an anticipating smirk. "Put me
Renee spread out her arms and in a helpless tone replied, "I'm sorry. What I'm pawning is too hard to show. All I can do is make a guarantee that your boss will definitely take a liking to it. You should take a plunge and give me a chance. If he really likes it, he might even give you a generous bonus."Chase raised his eyebrows. He was beginning to find this woman more and more fascinating. Based on her outlandish courage alone, he knew that she wasn't one to be underestimated. Perhaps she really did have something interesting to pawn?"Okay. I'll take a gamble based on your spunk and confidence. People like us in this line of work need the courage to make a bet every once in a while. I'd gladly introduce you to our boss, but…"His gaze shifted from Renee and fell on the woman cowering behind her. He smiled and continued, "I must insist on letting us handle this woman ourselves. Please don't meddle with our business and hand her over."Renee turned around and glanced at the woman
"You said you have a son, and that he will become an orphan once you die. Is that true?""That wasn't a lie," the woman's smile became even more bitter now. "I do indeed have a son who's seriously ill. He needs a lot of money for the treatment. That's the reason I stole from Carmine Pawnshop, that's why I broke their rules. But I guess without me, my son wouldn't really be orphaned since he still has his father…""That's fine, then."The heavy burden weighing on Renee's heart lifted a little. If anything really happened to this woman, at least her child still had his father, so he would not be totally alone and abandoned in this world."Still, his father is now married to his former mistress, and they have another son who's turning a month in a few days, so I fear that he would have no time to take care of my son…""Then…"Renee suddenly became distraught again. Just as she was about to say something, Chase coldly urged the man, "Stop wasting time! Take her away!"The man in the
Renee found it weird, but because she still had an important business to attend to, she had to leave the matter there.With Chase leading her, she passed through the whole of Water Dock unimpeded and finally arrived at the center of the downstream zone, where Carmine Pawnshop proudly stood."So this is the legendary Carmine Pawnshop?" asked Renee as she stood at the door. She looked up at the gilt letters proclaiming its name on the door plaque and very bluntly commented, "It looks so… ordinary!"From the outside, the pawnshop looked like any other mansion. It just looked too "normal" and not at all befitting the "lawless land of heinous crimes" reputation that Water Dock had garnered over time. In fact, it looked too simple and clean if anything.Renee found it hard to believe that such a mundane building had been hiding priceless treasures from all over the world that inspired great fear and trepidation in the hearts of many!"What did you expect?" Chase turned around and smiled
Just then, a beautiful woman meekly interrupted them and announced, "The boss has returned tonight, Mr. Cheever, but he is extremely busy, so he said not to disturb him if there's nothing urgent.""Really?" Chase's eyes lit up. "That's great! Where is he right now? What could make him so busy? Did he find something precious?""Um… Boss is in the kitchen. I think he's… busy cooking."The woman smiled awkwardly."Cooking?!" Renee felt like cursing them all. She turned to Chase and asked, "Is this what you mean when you told me your boss is always so busy with a million things to do every day?!""Well…" Chase could hardly believe it himself. But to mend the situation, he shamelessly suggested, "I guess our boss must've found some rare precious pots to try!""..."Before she came here, she assumed that Carmine Pawnshop was a hellish place where fearsome demons gathered, but she realized that it was more of a house full of comedians! Even their boss—the infamous Midnight Demon—seemed
Renee sat in the living room, staring up at the artwork on the wall.The artist who painted the masterpiece, Dost Wurst, happened to be her father's favorite painter.Her father's favorite artwork, Evening Song of the Shepherd Boy, was destroyed in the fire.The artwork in front of her was titled Snow Before the Shepherd Boy, and it resembled the Evening Song of the Shepherd Boy in several ways. It was also the artwork that her father had been looking for while he was alive but had not found it.Nonetheless, she was still able to locate it. This made her question whether this was destiny."Do you understand drawings as well?" Behind her, a stern and chilly voice spoke out.Renee was taken aback by the familiar voice and immediately looked around.The guy was towering and imposing. Dressed in all black from head to toe, his black feather face mask seemed delicate, surrounding him with an air of mystery. The chilly grin on his face instilled terror in everyone around him. It was e
"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