Seeing that Nina was really going to put the gift box aside, John considered not

caring anymore and just taking off his hood, but he decided against it at the last minute.

In a hoarse voice like an old man's, he said, "Mrs. Shi, that box contains a dress Mr.
Shi himself made for you. Would you like to have a look?"

"A dress?" Nina thought about the dress that John had torn into pieces. She had
challenged him to make a new one for her with his own hands.

Did he really do it?

Driven by curiosity, she took the securely locked gift box and handed it to him. "Do
you know the password?"

John paused as his heart skipped a beat.

'Does she recognize me?

Maybe... No, it can't be.'

"Only Mr. Shi knows the password. You have to find him first." The voice John was
using was beginning to scratch and irritate his throat, but he decided to keep on.

It was not easy deceiving his little girl.

 Nina withdrew the gift box and inspected it carefully twice. "What if I can guess
the password? I want to try my birthday."

"No." John shook his head. "You must find Mr. Shi. It's a facial recognition lock.
Only Mr. Shi's face can unlock it."

"What?" Nina was stunned for a moment and smiled. "Why am I surprised? Of course
John would give me a locked gift box that only his face could open. He's narcissistic
like that."

ace. She said, "It's excusable that I have a crush on Mr. Shi. But why do you think
that I have a crush on Nina?"

"I know Aunt Nina well. Even girls liked her. Look at my sister and Mimi. They worship
Aunt Nina. It makes me feel sorry for Uncle John, really. He doesn't just have to fend
men off his wife. He has to keep an eye on women, too." He clicked his tongue.

Emma's face softened. She said, "And what if I prefer the company of women?"

James slowly turned his head at her. He could not tell whether she was telling the
truth or not, so he bit the bullet and said, "Then I'll disguise myself as a woman."

"You? A woman?" Emma snickered and shook her head. James had always had the
worst ideas, but they made him oddly charming.

"You don't believe me?" James raised his chin, put one hand on his hip, and flipped
his invisible long hair. Emma almost laughed out loud. "If I dress up as a woman, do you
promise to be my girlfriend?" he asked.

Emma was stunned.

How could a man put on a woman's clothes and keep his dignity intact at the same
time?

No man would do such a ridiculous thing, but maybe James was the rare exception.
Maybe he was the exception Emma had been looking for her entire life.

Perhaps it was the warm atmosphere tonight that allowed her to pluck up her courage.

"Okay," she agreed.

 As far as James was concerned, this was even more surprising than when John told
him that there was no limit to his monthly allowance.

Needless to say, he was stunned.

Did he hear it right?

Emma had actually agreed.

So as long as James wore women's clothes, Emma would be his girlfriend.

'Damn!

I'm so lucky today!

This is a piece of cake!'

Astounded as he was, he could feel his heart pounding in his chest with excitement.

Seeing him look and act so silly, Emma chuckled. She snapped a photo of him.

Click!

The sound of the shutter pulled James out of his daze. "Emma, what you said just
now, can you say it again?"
 "Ahhh!" Dora's sudden shriek promptly cut him off, and then she was there, grabbing
his arm and shaking it excitedly. "James, look! Uncle John gave Aunt Nina the diamond
necklace as well as the old town which is being developed into a tourist attraction! But
wait, that's not the point."

"Then what's the point?" James asked in exasperation.

Dora gestured to the dress that was in the box.

"Well, the point is..."

"What?" James shifted his gaze to the dark green fabric folded

n looked at each other. Come to think of it, they couldn't recall if they actually had
a photo together.

The only one was on the marriage license, but even that was a fabricated one, not
something that was taken with them actually together.

"Okay," Nina smiled, her eyes bright.

John put an arm around Nina's waist and gazed down at her.

"Wait a minute! I want to take photos with you, too." James quickly ran over to join
the fun and stood next to John.

John said nothing, and Nina didn't stop him either.

"Then I'll take a picture of you three first, and then I'll take a photo of Nina and
Mr. Shi." Emma aimed the camera at the three of them.

Out of nowhere, John raised his other hand, put it on James' neck, and pressed the
young man's head down. Hard.
 "Ah... Uncle John, let go of me..." The harder James struggled, the harder John kept
him down.

James never could win against his uncle.

A smile played at the corner of John's mouth as he looked to the camera lens.

Crack!

Emma pressed the shutter.

In the photo, there were only John and Nina.

The camera didn't even catch a shadow of James.

 After taking a photo of John and Nina, Emma quickly moved the camera down and
aimed it at James.

John's hand was clasping tightly around the back of his neck and holding him down.
Looking like a duck that was about to be chopped on the block, James flailed around
helplessly.

Emma snickered and pressed the shutter.

She took a very memorable photo.

"Damn it! Why did you take it? I wasn't ready!" Hearing the camera click, James
immediately raised his head.

John smirked and let go of him. James then ran to grab the camera from Emma who
hid it behind her back and away from his grasp.

"I just want to have a look at my photo," James whined. "You can't force me into
doing anything I don't want to do," Emma replied, shaking her head.

James was speechless. 'I wasn't forcing her.'

Looking at Emma, he withdrew his hand and reminded her, "You can't let another
soul see that photo, okay?"

"Okay." Emma nodded and went to take photos of everyone else.

In the end, everyone had a group photo taken.

 It looked like a family photo, and it was beautiful.

It was already late when Nina's birthday party finally came to a close.

Everyone stayed in North Yard for the night.

They were all given rooms where they

ut they were still afraid.

Nina slowly withdrew her hand.

She had not expected that she had built such a notoriety in North Yard.

"We'll leave you to turn in for the night." Richard was relatively calm, but his voice
still trembled a little.

Nina had beaten him twice already, and he was hurt severely in both occasions. He
had gotten two of his ribs broken, and his chin was nearly dislocated.

Even trying to talk was an assault to the senses.

"Okay. Good night," John nodded. Richard, Amy, and Lena left at once as if they had
just talked themselves out of an inquisition.

Watching them walk away, Nina sighed, "What are they so afraid of? And why didn't
they defend themselves against me? I'm sure they could've beaten me."

Hearing this, they were shocked and almost slipped.

They could definitely beat her, but they did not dare.

Hurting John's wife even in self-defense meant that their lives were forfeit.
 John would introduce them to a whole new world of hurt and make them feel every
painful second of it.

None of them wanted that.

"They can't defeat you." With a smile, John held Nina in his arms again and patted
her on the waist. "Why didn't you beat Chester when you were drunk last time?"
 "He's still a child." Nina had a serious look on her face. "I may have a tendency to
beat someone up whenever I'm drunk, but I could still tell the difference between an
adult and a child. I would never beat a child up."

John felt a bit relieved upon hearing this.

However, it still wasn't enough.

"Have you ever beaten up your brother?" he asked.

"Yes, I did. Wynn tried to help him. In the end, they had rested for a few days," she
answered.

John couldn't help but chuckle.

Nina even beat her brother when she was drunk.

A smirk formed on John's lips. The thought of it made him feel better.

His wife was indeed special to him.

His lips came closer to Nina's ear and he whispered, "Since you care for me so much,
I'll have another gift for you later."

"Another gift?" Nina's eyes lit up.

 "Well, a gift." John wore a faint smile on his face while he carried her upstairs. Once
they entered the bedroom, he sat Nina on the edge of the bed.

Nina grabbed John's hand. She looked intently at the back side and noticed a
scratch.

In addition to the scratch, there was a small wound on his palm as well. Judging from
its size and shape, it was probably caused by scissors.

Thinking of this, Nina suddenly thought of something.

She remembered the dress John made for her.

"I'm fine. It was just an accident," John said. He wanted to withdraw his hand so
that Nina couldn't continue to scrutinize it.

However, she tightened her grip on him and took a

Who's there?"

Upon turning around, he saw Emma walking towards him.

"Emma!"

He looked at the girl with wide eyes.

James wished that he could dig a hole on the floor and bury himself in it right then
and there.

His whole face turned red in embarrassment while he glanced around in panic.

Emma couldn't help but chuckle. She didn't try to hide the amusement on her face
as she eyed James from top to bottom.
 James involuntarily shivered. He felt like he was getting goose bumps from Emma's
stare.

He had never done something so shameful in his entire life.

A deep sigh escaped from his lips.

"Emma, you said you will to be my girlfriend if I wear women's clothes." James
needed to face the music.

Emma bit her lips. Her long eyelashes tried to cover the mysterious twinkle in her
eyes. "Let's go. Everyone's waiting for you to have breakfast."

"What?" James stood there dumbfounded. After being momentarily stunned, he

grabbed Emma's arm. "You haven't answered my question. I'm not in the mood to eat
breakfast."

Emma slowly turned around and looked directly into his eyes. "You should have
breakfast on time, my boyfriend."

The corridor became silent.

Emma could feel her heart racing. The rapid pounding from her chest now reached
her ears.

She could hear it loud and clear, and so did James.

However, it wasn't Emma's heartbeat that James was hearing.

It was his own.

The two of them stood there in silence as if they were in a daze.

 At noon, Nina wrapped herself in the quilt and slept soundly, like a baby wrapped in
their swaddle.

Her phone constantly vibrated on the table sending a buzz throughout the whole
room.

She frowned and begrudgingly reached for it.

The group chat of Beggars' Sect was filled with over ninety-nine messages and
continued to keep going off.

It was all from James.

"Ha-ha! I succeeded in wooing Emma!"

"She is my girlfriend! She is actually my girlfriend!"

"Aunt Nina, congratulate me!"

"Aunt Nina, Emma will have to call you Aunt Nina too."

"Mimi, call me cousin-in-law. Hurry up!"

Michelle obliged but didn't hesitate to threaten him, "You better not treat her like
Harrison did or I will let Nini cut your manhood off with no remorse."

Nina was speechless.

 James said, "I'm not like that bastard, Harrison. He was trying to hide their
relationship but I've already told as many people as I could. I want the whole world to
know that she is mine now."

"Okay. Then you'll only have to be my taster for half a month," Michelle said.

Tears welled up in James' eyes. "Mimi..."

The two of them were still chatting constantly in the group chat. After Nina's sle

No." Looking directly into John's eyes, Henry pursed his lips and smiled.

Being at his side for so many years, John knew the type of person that Henry was.

It's not that Henry had no ambition by any means, but rather he just didn't want to
get too involved.

John looked away silently so Henry walked out.

After Henry took only two steps, John asked, "For Adrian?"

Henry stopped dead in his tracks.

He adjusted his glasses like a nervous tick.

"No," he said firmly and briskly walked out.

He didn't slow down until he was completely out of the office. His heart was racing
as a million thoughts flooded his mind.

John had an incredible talent for reading people's mind.

He knew that if Henry went back now, he would definitely be the CEO of the Ye
Group and be recognized as a legitimate child.
 If he went back though, he would be cast into the center of the storm. He would be
the focus of everything and every little detail of his life would be exposed, slowly but
surely.

Everything, including the accident between him and Adrian.

If anyone found out, Adrian would be in a world of trouble.

Henry wasn't going to let himself destroy Adrian's future.

 In North Yard, Nina still lay in bed, trying to pass the time.

She picked up her phone and checked WeChat Moments to distract herself.

In Beggars' Sect, she asked, "James, how did you manage to actually get Emma?"

Michelle chimed in, "He disguised himself as a woman."

Nina was astonished.

'A man disguised as a woman?'

Nina had no idea what they were talking about. Michelle sent her a photo. It looked
to be a woman hiding behind Emma, crouching to look a little shorter.

Emma snickered and reached out to stop the person behind her.

Nina didn't care about any of that though. Her eye were fixated on the dress.

Nina said, "This dress looks familiar."

Michelle said, "Nini, this is your dress. The man hiding behind her is James."

"Ha-ha..." Nina laughed and couldn't take her eyes off this ridiculous picture. "Did
James wear my dress?"

James popped in, texting in a rage, "Mimi, when did you take the photo?
 Michelle giggled and said, "Just this morning. I took it with my phone."

James exclaimed, "Damn it! Delete it; otherwise I'm going to kick you out of the
group."

. He just wants Evelyn to be comfortable. When there are a few people, she gets
some practice socializing."

Nina had heard rumors about the Song family and knew that Albert had lived a hard
life. After Albert died, she had cried for him for a long time.

"Evelyn, do you like lollipops? I can give you one." Nina reached to find it only to
realize that it had been eaten.

So she reached into Noah's pocket and took one out. She did it so casually as if she
saw nothing wrong with her actions.

"Here you are, Evelyn."

Looking at the lollipop, Evelyn's eyes lit up. Instead of taking it, she reached out and
clenched the hem of Ford's shirt.

Noticing her reaction, Ford nodded and said, "Take it."

Evelyn reached out and grabbed it.

Looking at how Noah and Nina got along with each other just now, Ford's eyes
deepened.

He remembered that Albert wanted him to keep Nina by Noah's side.

Ford wondered whether M.C. worked or not.

'I'll give it a try later.'

 If the drug took effect, one of Ford's tasks would be completed, and then all he
needed to do was wait for Evelyn to grow up.
 Noah walked Nina to their reserved table. The fragrance of the pink roses wafted
around them.

When Noah mentioned some recent cases, Nina began to talk, and the two chatted
happily with each other.

Since he stood far away, Ford couldn't hear what they were talking about, but he
could see the fondness in Noah's gentle smile.

He glanced at the two people and walked into the kitchen. Linn was busy in the
kitchen. The rest of the dishes were ready to be served, except for the bowl of
birthday noodles.

"Linn, how long will the birthday noodles take?" Ford stood aside and watched Linn
meticulously kneading the dough.

Linn raised her arm and quickly wiped the sweat off her forehead. She grinned at
him and said, "It's almost done. Is Ms. Lu here already?"

"Yes, she just arrived." Ford nodded. Seeing the sweat on Linn's forehead, he asked,
"Why don't you turn on the fan?"

There was a fan in the kitchen, which wasn't that far away from her.

Linn continued to press on the dough and shook her head. "No, you can't turn it on.
It's not recommended to shape the dough while the fan is on. If I knead the dough
while the fan is blowing, the taste of the noo

. These are the most authentic dishes you'll have in Lexingport City, and Linn is an
expert in cooking." Noah began to introduce them to her one by one.
 Nina ate each one of them; she praised every dish.

She felt that she had more preferences now.

In C Island, she never made a decision on what she would eat. Even if it was
something she liked, she was never able to eat it to her heart's content.

As time went by, Nina could tell whether a dish was delicious or not, but she didn't
know what she liked to eat most.

After Nina came to Lexingport City, she knew that she fancied lollipops. Now, it
seemed that these authentic dishes would also be added to her favorites.

It was as if Noah was gradually opening her eyes to the world.

After she arrived at Lexingport City, Nina felt like she was just a normal human
being for the first time.

Everyone she met taught her something.

"Thank you, Noah." Nina gave him an appreciative look.

In response, Noah gave her a gentle smile. His eyes caught sight of Linn coming over
with a bowl of noodles. He said to Nina, "If you want to thank me, then you should eat
the birthday noodles, my birthday girl."
 "Please enjoy your noodles." Linn placed the bowl of noodles in front of Nina and
pointed at the heart-shaped fried egg placed carefully on top. "Evelyn asked me to
make this for you. She wanted to greet you a happy birthday."

"Evelyn?" She looked around and saw Evelyn staring at her. As soon as Nina's eyes
met hers, she looked away.

A soft smile appeared on Nina's lips. "Thank you, Evelyn."

Evelyn looked up and saw Nina's gentle expression. Her lips slowly curved upward
and she opened her mouth, but Nina couldn't hear any sound coming out.

Nina still remained smiling at her. Although she wasn't able to hear Evelyn, she could
tell based on the movement of her lips that she was trying to say "No worries."

She thought that Evelyn was adorable. Looking at the girl made her wish she had a
daughter.

"You'd better eat those noodles or they will end up getting cold." Noah's voice
interrupted her train of thought.

Nina glanced down at the noodles and found them appetizing. She grabbed a pair of
chopsticks and started digging in.

It didn't take long for her to be able to finish it up.

"This is quite d
 al right now."

Since they had to walk for a bit to the parking area, Noah was worried that Nina
would not be able to walk steadily because of her headache.

Noah always kept a proper distance from Nina and had no choice but to pull her
sleeve to assist her. He didn't even touch her hand.

Nina kept her head down and stared blankly at Noah's hand. She felt like she was in
a deep trance.

She grabbed Noah's hand and rubbed her temple with her other hand. Then, she
shook her head slightly and looked up at the man beside her.

The man looked like he was her husband, but at the same time he wasn't.

She blinked a few times and stared at Noah. Maybe, he was indeed her husband.

"Let's go, honey. My head hurts," Nina mumbled with a confused expression.

Noah's eyes widened.

He suddenly felt weak. It was as if an electric current was spreading throughout his
body.

Nina's soft voice as she blurted out the word "honey" echoed through his head.

Noah had only seen Nina behave that way in front of John.

His mouth was slightly opened in surprise as he stared back at Nina. She just called
him "honey."
 Noah was stunned. Someone urged, "Sir, you'd better take your wife to the hospital
as soon as possible. She doesn't look well."

Noah looked at Nina's drooping head with worry consuming him. He bent down and
picked her up, striding towards the parking lot.

She was so dizzy. She squinted, trying to make out the figure before her.

Nina saw somewhat of a mixture of John's and Noah's faces intertwined and
overlapping.

"No." She knew that something was wrong.

Nina wasn't used to being carried like this. It just felt off.

John never carried her in his arms like this. Most of the time, he slung her over his
shoulder and let her lie there like a lifeless corpse.

Nina shook her head and snapped out of it, seeing the person holding her. "Noah?"

"Nini, don't worry. I'm going to take you to the hospital." Noah put her into the car
and drove to the nearest hospital.

Still dazed, Nina slumped against the seat and fell asleep after battling her droopy
eyelids to stay open.
 Standing out on the street, Ford watched the car disappear around the corner. He
looked on deeply as if his eyes could see through the buildings and he was still following
the car.

Looking at the passersby, Nina felt uneasy. She wasn't Noah's girlfriend.

"We are brother and sister, not a couple. There is no need for roses, thank you."
Noah dismissed the girl.

Nina looked around and saw so many boys giving girls flowers. She asked Noah
curiously, "Girls can also give boys flowers, right?"

Noah replied, "You want to get John flowers?"

"Yes, today is a day for lovers, isn't it?" Nina called little girl back and bought a rose
from her.

She wanted to give it to John.

She wondered whether John would love it.

She held the flower proudly in her hand and continued walking with a smile. Noah
occasionally glanced at Nina, walking beside her.

The more he looked at her, the more he couldn't take his eyes off her.

The streets were packed with people celebrating, and it just so happened that
James and Emma were there too.

What was glaringly obvious to James was that Nina held a rose in her hand.

He frantically called John, wanting to spill the beans. He didn't dare tell John that
Nina was with another man so he decided to be a little more subtle.

"Uncle John, didn't you celebrate the festival with Aunt Nina today?"
 In the middle of signing multiple documents, John was interrupted by a phone call.
As soon as he picked it up, he didn't say anything and placed the phone on top of his
table with its loud speaker on before continuing to sign the last document with a
fountain pen.

Hearing nothing from John, James rolled his eyes and expected this. As a matter of
fact, he was already used to this. Without waiting for a greeting, he asked, "Uncle John,
have you forgotten what day it is today?"

James stayed silent as he waited for a reply. When he only heard the sound of pen
writing on paper, he felt anxious. "Damn it," he muttered under his breath. "Really,
Uncle John? Today is a day for lovers! Did you know that Aunt Nina is with Noah today?
He even gave her a rose."

James waited once more and felt satisfied that he got John's attention, because
the sound of pen on paper suddenly stopped. Finally, John looked up at the phone and
squinted at it.

"But it's not July 7th or Feb 14th today," he said cheaply.

"Who told you that only July 7th and Feb 14th are for lovers? If you haven't noticed,
today is May 20th. It's 520. Don't tell me you also forgot that Aunt Nina transferred
5,200 to you so she could confess to you before! Uncle John, 520 means 'I love you,'"
James said with a sigh.

John immediately picked the phone up and turned off the loudspeaker. He placed
the phone on his ear and clenched his fingers tightly on the phone, asking, "Where is
she?"
 "I will send the location to you right now." James immediately ended the call and
sent the address to John. Then, he sent a message to his fr

er, waiting for her to get in.

Nina gave John a smile before she got in and settled in her seat. She turned to him
and said, "Today's May 20th, a day for loves, honey."

John gave her a quick glance without saying anything.

She knew it, and yet she still went out to have dinner with another man.

John turned his gaze on the rearview mirror and ordered coldly, "Drive."

"Yes, Mr. Shi," Henry replied and started to drive. He took a quick glance at the
rearview mirror as he felt the tension in the atmosphere turn a little bit less subtle.
Because of that, he did not dare breathe heavily and stayed as calm as possible.

Nine frowned and also realized that John was angry, but she didn't know why he was
angry for no reason. She wondered what wrong she could have done to him and thought
about it for a moment. Then again, she knew that she didn't do anything that would
make him mad.

She looked down on the rose in her hand. The drops of water had finally dried, but
the fragrance of the rose still lingered in her nose.

Nina turned to John and handed him the rose. "Here you go," she said with a smile.

John gave a quick side glance before turning his eyes on his window side. "I don't
like roses." John felt uncomfortable. His fists started to clench at the thought that it
was a flower that Noah gave his wife.

What was the point of his wife accepting the flower from another man?
Even worse, his wife was handing it to him.

'No,' John thought, not wanting to tolerate this situation.

Trying to control his frustration, John loosened his tie, not giving the rose a look.
 "Okay." Nina took back the rose.

Since John did not like it, it was useless to keep it.

She put the flower aside and said nothing.

John and Nina sometimes did not like to talk things over. It always made Henry
anxious.

John would rather suffer in his dignity than set himself free in vulnerability. Over
his dead body would he admit to his own wife that he was jealous. Henry felt he had to
ask for him. "Where did you get the rose, Mrs. Shi?"

John looked out the window. Although he was staring at the traffic outside, he was
waiting for an answer.

"I bought it. Today's for lovers, isn't it? People would send their loved ones roses
on this day, so I bought one." Nina touched the rose again. She had not sent anyone
roses yet. She wanted John to be the first.

There was nothing better to represent her love for her husband than a beautiful,
fully-bloomed rose.

Henry finally took a deep breath and replied, "Did you buy it for Mr. Shi?"

"Yes," Nina nodded. "But he doesn't like it. What a waste."

 John still looked out the window. He raised his left hand to his lips, and the corner
of his mouth rose slightly.

Hearing his wife, he felt a little guilty.

"Give it to me." John turned to look at her and reached out for the rose. His face
was calm,

the tip of her nose and her lips.

"Here, let me get that." John reached out and smoothed her hair. When his fingers
touched the back of her ear, he turned over and placed her on her back in the back
seat. He braced his hands on either side of her head and leaned in to kiss her.

The space in the back seat of the car was not very large. Nina could see all of John
looming over her. Their bodies were not even pressed together, but she could already
feel his steady heartbeat. Hers thundered in her ears.

"What are you doing?" Nina panicked.

They could not possibly do it right now in such a tight space, not to mention with
Henry in the driver's seat.

Besides, she had her period today.

There was no way that this was happening.

Raising her hands and pressing them against his chest, Nina looked John straight in
the eye and said, "John, don't act recklessly."

John raised his eyebrows and smiled unscrupulously. He answered firmly, "No."

Then, he leaned close enough to whisper in her ear, "You should've known by now, I
can't calm down around you."
 "You... Mmmph..." John's lips crashed against hers, rendering her silent.

She struggled for a while but ultimately gave in. In between hard, passionate kisses,
she felt him smile against her lips.
 Nina finally stopped resisting. She believed that John would stop eventually.

Since she left the hospital, she had no spare time to buy a menstrual pad or go to
the bathroom. She figured that there was already a lot of blood on the seat right now.

John couldn't do that thing to her right now.

In less than three minutes, John ultimately stopped.

Once he felt the blood on the seat of the car, he froze.

Bewildered, John asked, "Honey, did you have a miscarriage?"

In front of them, Henry wanted to cover his ears, but this thing was a serious matter.
He tried to turn a deaf ear, but it was difficult to avoid eavesdropping, considering
that he was just near them.

'A miscarriage?

I didn't peg Mr. Shi as someone so fierce.'

"Mr. Shi, should we go to the hospital?" Henry couldn't help but ask out of concern.
He donned a solemn expression and looked at them expectantly.

John's face was just as stern. "Of course! Let's go!"

 Hurriedly, John stood up and held Nina in his arms. Feeling sorry for her, he gently
planted a kiss on her cheek and said, "I'm sorry."

Giggling, Nina slapped him on the forehead and muttered, "You're an idiot. Just make
me a cup of brown sugar water for me after we get home."

Hearing the brown sugar, the two men finally realized what was happen

sed. Why did John repeat it?

For a few seconds, John did nothing but look at her with an expression that Nina
couldn't quite describe. Wordlessly, he just grabbed her hand and kissed it.

After returning to North Yard, John entered the bathroom.

Hearing the sound of water in the bathroom and looking at the dirty trousers she
took off,

Nina bit her lips.

When she was about to turn around, the sound of the shower in the bathroom came
to a stop. A few seconds later, John came out with a bath towel wrapped around his
waist; his hand held another towel that he used to dry his hair.

Droplets of water dripped slowly from his body, he looked like someone from a movie
or something. Nina followed the water drop to his abdominal muscles and gulped.

This was her man, so it was okay for her to touch his body.

Just as when Nina reached out, John caught her hand and stopped her. He touched
her forehead and said pointedly, "You said that I am a match, and I'll be on fire you
touch me, right?"

Nina couldn't help but pout. She really wanted to touch his muscles.
Honestly, she was utterly obsessed with his beauty.

"So, stop it." John patted her head. "Otherwise, you'll face the consequences."

Nina was so startled that she took a step back.

She better stay away from him.

 On Monday

Nina was back in school. She went to her apartment at noon. Michelle was cooking
lunch in the kitchen.

As soon as Nina entered the kitchen, Michelle jumped up and walked over to her.
She quickly pushed her out.

"You don't need to help me, Nini. Just wait somewhere else. Better yet, contact
Emma and find out if she's on her way. Open the door for her when she arrives."

"I don't want to help. I just want to take a photo." Nina knew that she would break
something if she stayed in the kitchen, so she did not linger for longer than she needed
to.

However, John asked her to take a photo of her lunch for him.

Michelle sighed, let go of Nina, and stood aside. "Fine. Take the photos. After that,
you leave me to do my thing."

Since Nina broke the chopping block with a knife and Leon ended up breaking the
dishes he was washing, Michelle had been particularly afraid whenever either of them
entered the kitchen. What if they hurt themselves?

Seeing that Michelle was eager to get rid of her, Nina could not help laughing.

"Okay, okay. I'll be out of your hair in a second." Nina walked over, took the photos,
and got out of Michelle's way. She immediately sent the photos to John.
 She texted to him, "Are you satisfied now?"

John replied, "Yes. You c

d and said, "You and Nina can eat all of the chicken wings. I'll buy more in the future."

Then, Michelle turned around and began to cook the cola chicken wings. Beside her,
Emma watched and asked for some cooking advice.

Seeing that Michelle did not notice her sneaking away with a broken chicken wing,
Nina went back to the kitchen doorway. She leaned against the wall and took a photo.
Then, she sent a message to the group chat of Beggars' Sect.

"James, are you coming? Mimi made lunch."

"No, I'm not. You guys eat lunch by yourselves. Aunt Nina, you know the agreement
between Mimi and me. Why would you want me to go there? Do you have the heart to
set me up?"

With a smile, Nina sent the photo she had just taken to the group. There were only
Michelle and Emma in it.

Emma was there!

James immediately replied, "I'm on my way."

Staring at the screen, Nina smiled and said to Michelle, "Mimi, James is coming."

"Now? Then I'll add another dish," Michelle replied with a glint of slyness in her
eyes.
 Chuckling, Nina said, "Seize this opportunity, Mimi. The agreement between you two
will be finished in two days."

"I know, I know." Michelle nodded with a smile. She and Nina really knew each other
well.

Emma just watched them with raised eyebrows.

 Emma went to the table in utter confusion.

Michelle personally took half a bowl of soup and carefully put it in front of James.
"James, no, I mean, my future cousin-in-law, please remember to finish your soup."

James stared with loathing at the soup in his bowl, which was as thick as mud. There
was not even a trace of soup.

Every dish on the table was delicious, except for the one and only soup in front of
him which emitted an invisible poisonous odor.

James' expression was a little distorted agonizingly. He didn't know whether to

laugh or cry. All the cells in his body were refusing to take even a spoonful of the
disgusting-looking soup.

"Mimi, what's wrong with this bowl of soup?" With just one glance, Emma didn't have
the stomach to eat it at all.

James readily echoed, "Yes, Mimi, I'm your future cousin-in-law. Can't you just get
me a bowl of normal soup? Or at least give me a soup with a normal color."

The color of the soup in front of him was so horrible that James could not find the
words to describe it.

Hearing him say the word "cousin-in-law", Emma's face turned red in shyness. She
reached out and pulled his arm. "What are you talking about? What do you mean with
cousin-in-law?"
 "Sooner or later, I will be," James said with conviction as he put his hand on Emma's
shoulder and winked mischievously at Michelle.

'We are all good friends here. Can you do me a favor and not embarrass me in front
of my girlfriend?' James eyed Michelle in silence.

In response, Michelle turned her head away.

'I saw nothing,' she thought to herself.

'Huh?' J

. Some of them laughed in front of the teacher's nose, and some listened carefully
together.

When there were still ten minutes left before the end of the last class in the
afternoon, Nina's phone vibrated.

John had sent a WeChat message to her. "See you at the school gate."

At first glance, this sentence felt like her boyfriend was waiting for her at the
school gate for them to go home together after school.

Nina was overjoyed with excitement, and felt that the wait for ten minutes more
was a little difficult to endure.

As soon as the bell rang, she sprang to her feet and ran to the school gate.

As she was about to reach the school gate, she slowed down and heard a group of
girls screaming and gossiping.

"Hey, hey, did you see the handsome man with crew cut at the school gate?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" One of the girls was so excited that she stamped her feet. "He is
way too handsome! So handsome!"
 "Ah! I am going to be crazy! He's so handsome and manly! My heart is beating so
fast. I even want to touch his hair. Do you think I'm hopeless?"

"You're not alone. I want to touch it, too! Let me touch it. I'm willing to do anything
for him!" Another girl was almost going crazy. "If I can find a boyfriend like him, I will
definitely do anything he likes. I will even slap myself if I have a quarrel with him."

Nina was speechless.

Was there a person as handsome as that?

So much so that the girl would even slap herself if they quarreled?

A sudden curiosity arose in Nina's heart. She wanted to see who this astonishingly
handsome man with crew cut was.
 Nina became more and more curious as she neared the college gate.

She had always thought it was normal for women to talk about attractive men; she
didn't expect men to do the same. They were even sighing with their longing.

"Is that guy by the gate also a student of our college?"

"I don't think so. If he did attend this college, all the campus girls would have gone
crazy over him a long time ago and James would never rank first as the school hunk."
"You're right. I guess he is from another college."

"But what is he doing here? If he's after a girl, he'd be better off to the normal
college. Our college has few girls. It's hard enough for us to score a girl; if he joins in
in the competition, we'd definitely lose out on chances."

"Indeed! Just look at those girls over there. Their eyes are practically glued to him.
Don't they have any sense of their surroundings? They're going to trip on their own
feet at this rate."

"Nobody paid any attention to us back when Albert and James were still single. It's
like we didn't exist. Now that they're both in relationships, it should be our turn to
shine! But then this guy appears out of nowhere."

"Fuck! I might not be on top of the list, but I'm still good-l

m started to feel sore.

 Not that she minded much. This pain was nothing, she'd had worse.

"Okay, okay, calm down," she said helplessly to the girl.

"Ah! I can't calm down. He's coming. He's coming over here!" The girl shook Nina's
arm again, even more furiously this time.

In the frenzy, Nina raised her head just in time to get a good look at the man.

And she promptly stopped breathing.

It was really John.

John had really shaved his head. Nina could think of nothing to say.

All that came to mind was what those other girls had said.

'He's exceedingly handsome

and manly.'

Nina's eyes were fixed on that god-like face, her eyes unblinking.

Seeing that his wife seemed to be in a daze, John only looked down at her with a
faint smile. Then he caught sight of the phone in her hand, and his eyes eventually
traveled along the length of her arm, which had grown red and tender.

The girl beside Nina stopped breathing, too, and her face was gradually turning
redder by the second. She could not believe that a man with such divine looks was
standing before her.

"Let her go." John spoke in a cold voice that hinted at danger, as though he was
issuing a threat to someone who offended him.
 For a few moments, the girl's breath got caught in her throat.

Finally, she regained her senses and immediately loosened her grip on Nina's arm.
With an apologetic look, the girl said, "I'm so sorry. I hurt you."

Nina blinked her eyes slowly, as if in a trance. Her lips moved slightly, but no words
came out of her for a long time.

"Did you manage to take a photo?" John noticed that her phone was still in the
camera mode.

Nina nodded slightly, "Yes."

The girl next to Nina took a deep breath. Was he going to smash Nina's phone?

She stretched out a hand and covered Nina's phone to keep it out of sight for a
while.

However, John didn't care at all. He quirked up an eyebrow and asked, "What do you
think?"

"Hmm?" Nina knew that he was talking about his hair, but she was still stunned.

"Who is more handsome, me or Noah?" John demanded an answer.

Nina didn't know whether to cry or to laugh.

She was just joking, but he took it seriously.

 "Not bad." Nina didn't want him to be too arrogant.

The corners of John's mouth flattened slightly when he heard those words, and he
said sulkily, "Not bad?"

'That's it?'

People flocked around him, intentionally or otherwise, and could not help

nced that his opinion was correct.

John's face darkened. He squeezed Nina's waist tightly and said in a loud voice, "My
dear wife, let's go home."

He said it in a voice that could be clearly heard by everyone.

"Okay, honey," Nina replied sweetly, going along with him.

The male classmate was speechless. This man was the real John Shi, after all. He
was so scared that he immediately ducked his head to hide.

The female classmate beside Nina just now stood there stunned as she stared at
the departing couple.

Richard was still in the hospital, so Henry not only functioned as an assistant but
also as a driver.

Henry looked at the two people coming over and made a soft cluck of the tongue.

John was really handsome.

Henry took a photo and sent it to Adrian.

 The person, who was extremely busy at work at that moment, raised his head when
his mobile phone vibrated. When he saw that the message was from Henry, the tired
furrow between his eyebrows cleared.

Adrian clicked on the photo and was nearly scared out of his wits that he dropped
his phone to the floor.

The phone landed with the screen facing up, and the photo remained on the screen.

'Didn't Mr. Shi hate people with crew cut?'

 John had definitely mentioned this to Adrian.

During that time, John and Nina's relationship as a married couple hadn't been
revealed yet.

Adrian didn't know the relationship between them. He would occasionally mention
Noah in front of John. Every time that happened, John would shoot him a cold glare.

It didn't take long for Adrian to discover that John wasn't very fond of Noah.

"Do you have a grudge against Noah? You don't seem to like him," Adrian said.

"Really?" John's expression was stoic.

Adrian nodded. "It's quite obvious. You have a lot of complaints about him when you
don't even know each other. Did he offend you?"

John maintained his calm demeanor. There was no way he would be admitting that
he was jealous.

He knew that Nina and Noah were quite close, but he would never admit to anyone
that it made him angry.

"No," John answered.

A faint smirk appeared on Adrian's lips. Only a fool would fall for John's answer.
 Adrian was bored and tried to bombard John with more questions. In the end, John
answered with three words, "Crew cut."

The corners of Adrian's mouth twitched.

John stayed silent for a few seconds before adding, "I hate people with crew cut."

This had seemed to finally convince Adrian.

Adrian actually believed in John.

When he saw John's new haircut, he wa

ood on him."

The moment John heard this, the cold expression on his face gradually softened.

She always said yes and meant no.

Earlier, she merely said that it was not bad.

John stared at Nina. Seeing an adult like her holding a child with a dog next to her
made him imagine what it would be like with his child in the future.

He couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle at the thought.

The more Nina spent more time with Chester, the more likely she might want to have
a child of her own.

John casually tagged along with them from behind.

He glanced at his watch and noticed that it was still early for his meeting. After
shaving his hair in the office, he had headed to L University to pick Nina up.

He still had a lot of work to do, so he turned around and headed for the study.
 Nina went to the man-made forest with Chester. John had a building torn down to
make space for it. He also had a man-made lake placed inside the forest as well.

The quiet road leading towards the lake was surrounded by wild flowers.

There was also a swing by the lake. Some vines had crawled up on its bars and
intertwined with each other. The flowers surrounding it had also started to bloom.

However, one thing was lacking and it was the elk.

In John's eyes, Nina was the elk in North Yard that he was raising.
 In the study, John, who was dealing with some documents from work, raised his head
and asked Henry, "Where are Nina and Chester?"

"They are in the man-made forest." Henry pushed his glasses up. "Do you need me
to call them back?"

"No, thanks," John said as he stood up. "I'll go there myself. Carry on with the work."

Henry was taken aback.

'You don't have to remind me so particularly, Mr. Shi.

I already know!

All you do is leave work early and push all the pending business affairs over to me.'

After John walked out of the study, Helen asked, "Where are you going, Mr. Shi?"

"The forest." He picked up his coat from the sofa just in case.

Helen stopped him in his tracks. "Mr. Shi, Mrs. Shi and Chester are by the lake."

John's grip on his coat tightened, creasing the fabric.

After a short pause, he turned on his heel and strode back to the study. "It's time
for dinner."
 "Yes. I'll call them back right away." Helen sighed as she watched John's retreating
back.

John was afraid of water. He hadn't wanted the artificial lake in the first place, but
Nina had grown up in an island. He was sure she would love it, so he ended up having it
made anyway. Though it was man-made, and a lake to boot, it held saltwater, which had
been acquired and transported

with, she naturally zoned in on what her husband had said. "I also think that Henry
should get a girlfriend already."

"Well...I..." Henry stammered, embarrassed.

"He already has a woman he likes," Adrian interrupted, rising from his newly
designated chair and walking over to Nina. He brandished his phone at her. "This is the
woman in question."

Lit up on his screen was the photo he had saved. "What do you think?" he asked in a
rather unnatural voice. "Is she beautiful or what?"

Henry frowned as he came closer to peer at the photo. The moment he looked into
Adrian's phone, he stopped breathing.

"Blurry." John glanced at Adrian, who was trying his damnedest to act nonchalant
even though his discomfort was palpable in the air.

Nina was studying the photo carefully, and after a moment, she looked up at Adrian.
There was a wealth of meaning in her eyes as she looked at him.

Nina had somehow deciphered a message from that single, blurry picture, and her
tone was calm when she spoke. "That is not a woman. That hair is just a wig. Those pair
of eyes are very distinct. Adrian, don't you think this person resembles you very
much?"
 "Me?" Adrian's expression froze. He pulled his phone back to look at the photo
closely himself. Those eyes really did look like his.
 Adrian recalled how crazy he was after he got drunk that time.

He put on a wig and grabbed Henry by the collar to get his attention and ask him if
he was beautiful.

Remembering what had transpired before, Adrian felt the blood rush to his face.

Because of that, he didn't dare take a look at Henry out of humiliation.

A huge hand grabbed his wrist and a familiar voice said, "Come with me."

Henry dragged Adrian by his wrist and left the North Yard.

As soon as they reached the car, Henry opened the door and threw the absent-
minded Adrian inside. Then he settled himself right next to him and rolled the car
windows up.

It was dark in the car.

"Look, if you have anything to ask, then just ask me, but I will only answer one
question," Henry said, feeling his throat tightening with the tension between the two
of them.

With Henry's break of silence, Adrian finally came to his senses. He turned to Henry
and asked, "Was it me in the photo?"

Henry paused for a moment before answering, "Yes."

 When Adrian heard that, his breath quickened. "Then, are you..."

Before he could complete his question, Henry interrupted him. "I said, you can only
ask one question. Now, it's my turn to ask you. were you really drunk, or were you just
pretending?"

Adrian's eyes went wide at the question. He looked away and did not dare look into
Henry's eyes. He hesitated for a moment, before he answered, "Honestly, I'm not
really sure, but I guess..."

He

ore, she suspected that her brother had said something to John.

Maybe Leon told John their parents' three conditions for Nina's husband.

Thinking about this made her want to ask about it, but she did not get the courage
to.

After dinner, John excused himself and went to the study straight away. It was only
when the clock struck eleven in the evening that he finally went to the bedroom.

After taking a relaxing shower, John crawled into bed and held Nina in his arms. In
a soft voice, he said gently, "Good night."

Nina kissed the corner of John's mouth. It was not long before she felt her man's
breathing went steady.

She stroke his hair gently and knew that John must be really exhausted.

Then, she quietly and slowly removed herself from John's arms. She took her phone
out and sent a message to her brother.

Leon quickly replied and confirmed that he did tell John the conditions. This made
Nina heave a deep sigh.
 Then, she placed her phone back on the bedside table and crawled into John's arms.
"Good night, honey," she said softly. She placed a hand on John's eyebrows and eyes
as if trying to comfort him. Thinking about what Leon said made him feel sorry for
John.

She heaved another deep breath as panic flashed through her mind again. Recently,
she had always felt uneasy. She then hugged John tight in her arms before she finally
let sleep take over.

That night, Nina had another strange dream.

In this dream, she lost John.

 Nina woke up from the horror of the dream in a cold sweat.

She woke up heaving and looking completely traumatized, the sweat sticking her hair
to her forehead.

Everything about the dream felt so real. She sat and shook recalling what had
happened.

Nina turned her head frantically to look for John at her side. He wasn't there but
where he lay was still warm.

The sunlight shone in, but it was still unable to dispel the haze in her dream. Nina
lifted the quilt and got out of bed, looking around in a panic.

"John, John..."

Nina couldn't find him anywhere in the room. She ran out barefoot and searched for
him in the hallway.

She looked up at the clock on the wall, trying to figure out what John would usually
be doing.

Normally, he'd be at the breakfast table by now.

To her dismay, nobody was there.

 Nina's nerves consumed her.

"Mrs. Shi, what's wrong?" Hearing the rustling, Helen ran over and saw Nina wearing
her nightdress, walking around barefoot. "Why don't yo

?'

Could it be because of M.C?

John's hands trembled as he clutched onto Nina's quaking body. He suppressed his
fear and gently comforted, "It was just a dream."

"It's not as simple as a dream. The images were my memories. You were disappearing
from my mind!" Nina guessed what was wrong with her. That was why she was so nervous.

"John. I suspect it has something to do with M.C." As Nina aired her suspicions, she
tightened her arms around John's neck. Warm tears fell on his skin.

After a long pause, John finally mustered up something to say.

"I'll take you to the hospital."

The two of them sat in Brian's office. Nina was in John's arms, unwilling to leave
him for a moment.

Brian looked at the examination result and said, "We still can't find a problem but
that doesn't mean everything is fine. After all, only she will know if her memory is
slipping away. Our equipment can't find it out.

Mrs. Shi, aside from having nightmares, did you forget anything or anyone?"
 Nina shook her head and said, "No. Aside for nightmares, I can remember almost
everything I have experienced. I haven't forgotten anyone or anything."

Brian smiled and said, "Maybe you and Mr. Shi are too worried. That is why you are
having nightmares."

Brian didn't believe that any type of medicine could tamper with a person's memory.
A person would lose their memories because there was something wrong with their
nerves or they were hypnotized.

"I don't know." Nina was very confused. She curled up in John's arms and didn't say
anything else.

Once more, the examination came to nothing.

The report was pointless, leaving John and Nina puzzled.

John went back to work with Nina accompanying him. He asked Lisa to bring a dress
and a pair of shoes for Nina.

Nina remained silent all the way to the Time Group and refused to speak even in the
office. She sat still, clinging onto John's hand.

There were tears dripping from her eyes and soaking her lashes. Her eyes and nose
were red as she looked down woefully.

Tears continued to stream.

 John was so heartbroken, staring at his poor girl. He had no idea what to do. He
raised his hand and wiped her tears away. It didn't stop her

s going on.

"Of course you can wash your feet. But don't use a wet tissue. It's cold." Adrian
defused the embarrassment very smartly. "The chill runs through your body very
quickly when it goes through your feet. You better use hot water to wash your feet.

I'll ask Henry to get it." He walked out and closed the door.

Henry heard the conversation from outside and thanked his lucky stars that he
didn't barge in. He stood there and smiled at Adrian, who was still incredibly flustered.

"I'll get some hot water," he offered.

"No." Adrian stopped him and patted his chest. "I'll do it. Tell me where to get it
and I'll go."

Henry narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "You?"

Adrian walked to Henry and whispered, "I said that I'll do it. Don't tell them that I
get it. Pretend like you do, okay?"

Henry was slightly stunned. "Just like how Mr. Shi paid me with your money?"

Adrian was stunned for a moment, and then asked, "Did Mr. Shi tell you?"

Henry answered, "He always means what he says." John said he would deduct Henry's
pay, and he was a man of his word.

Henry knew from the beginning that it was Adrian's money.

He had wanted to refuse, but eventually accepted it.

 Adrian came with a basin of hot water and handed it over to Henry. After wiping his
hands with a paper towel, the two men entered the office.

"Here's the hot water, Mr. Shi," Henry said. After placing the basin next to John
and Nina, he stood aside. Adrian immediately followed Henry.

The both of them stood side by side at the door like bodyguards.

John had no time to spare. He grabbed a towel and dipped it in the hot water before
gently wiping the mud off Nina's feet. Then, he lowered his head and blew at them
softly to relieve some of her pain.

The truth was that even though Nina had barely felt any pain, she would still end up
telling John.

It was because she liked how John showed his concern for her.

John was cold to other people. When it came to Nina, however, he was gentle.

Nina adored that gentle expression of his and liked how he smiled at her.

John continued to gently wipe her feet. His hands were light and careful and Nina
felt how tender his touch was.

His feather-like touches tickled Nina, causing her to suddenly pull her feet back.

"Does it hurt?" John asked. He paused for a while

 mean that I was the one who liked you first." Nina rolled her eyes.

"It doesn't mean that I was the one to like you first either." John always thought
that Nina was attracted to his handsome features.

A snort escaped Nina's lips. No matter what he said, she still believed that it was
John who liked her first.

The two of them continued their discussion for a while. Nina gradually started to
relax.

Nina smiled at John. She wanted to stay beside him no matter what he did. It didn't
matter what he was doing. She would not disturb him and would just quietly stay by his
side.

When Nina went to school, she would make a video call and watch John through it.
She didn't care if he didn't say anything. As long as she could see him, everything would
be fine for her.

The others didn't know about M.C. They just thought they were showing off their
love. James and Emma were jealous of the two.

Michelle, on the other hand, had been busy every day trying to make up for her
missed lessons. Occasionally, she would mention Leon.

Unfortunately, Leon and Michelle didn't exchange contact information with one
another.
 Time passed quickly, and in a flash, half a month was already over.

Nina had slowly begun to realize that she was being to clingy, causing John to lose
focus on his business affairs most of the time.

And so, one weekend, she decided to go out shopping with Michelle and Emma. They
were passing by a stationery shop when Emma stopped.

"I want to buy a new diary." They walked into the store and Emma picked a loose-
leaf notebook.

There were no lines or patterns in it and Nina personally felt that it was a little
monotonous.

"I think your eyes will feel tired when you see that journal full of words and very
little else."

"I'll be drawing some things and pasting some photos to decorate the pages," Emma
explained with a smile.

"Emma has been keeping a diary since she was a child," Michelle chimed in. "Nini,
would you like to buy one, too?"

"I've never kept a diary," Nina said nonchalantly.

"Nini, you can write down the stories between you and your husband. You can also
draw something. In this way, you can record anything and everything going on in your
life. Even if your memory gets bad when you get older, the diary can help you remember
these moments," Michelle suggested excitedly while Emma remained silent.
 'Would I really remember

ave become a couple, he would often mention you on his Weibo and Wechat
Moments." Sheila smiled. "We are all jealous, I must say."

Emma blushed.

Sheila continued, "Your surname is Lin. Are you from the famous Lin family? I met
Miss Lin, the eldest daughter of the Lin family's head. Is she your sister? I have heard
that you're very talented. You and James are a perfect match."

"No. My parents just own a bookstore." Emma was a little embarrassed in light of
the other girl's expectation, but she was full of tenderness and pride when she
mentioned her parents.

"Emma, I'm sorry," Sheila said quickly with an apologetic look on her face. "I thought
you were from the Lin family. But I don't mean that you are not good enough for James.
I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

Sheila lowered her head, obviously ridden with guilt. "You don't mind it, do you?"

Emma didn't look so well either.

'It turns out that James' friends all think that I don't deserve him.

They're right. It's the truth.'

A beat passed in silence before Emma finally smiled and spoke gently. "I don't mind."

"Well, I mind," Nina said coldly. She had been observing for a while and thought that
there was more to Sheila's words.

Sheila started to feel nervous.

 "Nina, Emma, you've really misunderstood me. It was so stupid of me to have said
something so wrong," Sheila said hurriedly. She kept apologizing to them.

Other customers were starting to look at them. Emma reached out to touch Nina's
arm and said with a smile, "It doesn't matter."

What Sheila said was true anyway.

Emma didn't really care much about it.

But the same could not be said about Nina. It was true that she didn't care about
what other people thought of her either.

But she couldn't accept it that Sheila mocked Emma, saying she was not good enough
for James.

"A slip of the tongue is never a coincidence," Nina said slowly. "You just said what is
on your mind."

"Sheila, did you say that to Emma on purpose?" Michelle asked.

She cocked her head to the side as she asked her question, and her eyes bore an
innocent look.

Sheila's face turned pale at first, then flushed with embarrassment. She had to
take a moment to calm herself down.
 Nina was John's wife, and was James' aunt.

She co

his chin proudly. "Your boyfriend is so smart."

Seeing that he was happy, Emma smiled too.

"Well, let's go. Bye, Aunt Nina. Bye, Mimi." James opened the door and assisted
Emma into the passenger seat. He waved at the two people on the side of the road and
drove off.

As they watched the car disappear into the highway, Nina couldn't help but think
back on what had happened back at the tea house. She was feeling a little worried.

No wonder John had said that James was so stupid. He didn't even notice Sheila's
feelings for him.

"Nini, let's go." Michelle took her arm. They were about to leave when a black Lincoln
screeched into a halt in front of them.

John quickly exited the vehicle, his face dark. He pounced on his wife and carried
her back into the car without saying anything. In the next second, the car was off as
well.

Michelle stood in place, stunned.

'Sure, you all had someone to pick you up, but what about me?'

It suddenly occurred to Michelle that she no longer wanted to be single.

 The ride home was mostly silent.

John wore a stoic expression. He had been in a bad mood the whole time.

He didn't utter a single word after pushing Nina into the car.

Nina didn't have to ask why John acted that way because she knew exactly what the
reason was. He had called her for more than ten times. Every time he called, she would
tell him that she was about to go home. However, more than an hour had already passed
and she still sat there drinking her afternoon tea.

"You don't need to hold back your anger. It's unhealthy." Nina tried to convince John
in a soft tone.

John, however, still remained silent.

He glanced sideways at her and caught a glimpse of Nina's relaxed expression. This
made him even angrier.

He had been so busy with his work, and yet his wife had been hanging around with
her friends.

It was so unfair.

Nina leaned to one side and fixed her gaze on John.

 After he got his haircut, the sharp angles on his face became more prominent.

As the sun continued to set, the orange hues of its rays touched the other side of
John's face through the car window.

Since it was a bit dark inside the car, the light accentuated his features even more.

He had

d is dangerous."

John's hot breath made Nina weak. She slightly opened her eyes and stared at her
husband. "What are you doing?"

"Guess." John wore a meaningful smile and got up to move beside her feet. He held
her ankle gently with his large hand. "I remember the last time when I wiped your feet,
you said you were ticklish."

Nina frowned and tried to get rid of the big hand.

However, she was too late.

John started to tickle her. At first, Nina tried to suppress her laughter. She wasn't
able to hold it for long, however. She wasn't able to hold it for long, though.

John's fingertips lightly grazed her foot. They moved like a slow melody whenever
Nina played the piano.

Nina felt weak from the feeling. She had soon lost all of her strength to pull her
foot back. Instead, she ended up laughing so hard and leaned back.

John found her reaction amusing.

"Are you going to change it?" He paused for a while and gently scratched the sole
of her foot.
 "I..." Nina burst into a fit of laughter once more. "I won't..." She was laughing so
hard that tears started to roll down her face.

"You won't?" John smirked at her.

He showed no mercy and continued to tickle her foot.

 Of course, Nina wouldn't budge.

If she took a step back, John would be insatiable.

Michelle would then laugh at her saying that she was a slave for John.

Nina resolved to stand by her principles, never compromising.

However, John was getting more and more determined. He was so strong and there
was no way for her to break free.

Nina continued to chuckle.

If things went on like this, she might laugh herself to death. 'I have to find a way,'
she thought to herself.

"I was wrong, honey. I was wrong." Her eyelashes fluttered as tears pooled at the
corners of her eyes. Her eyes glistening, she looked pitiful.

As John met her gaze, his heart softened. He then hesitated.

The look in her eyes quickly shifted. Nina braced herself to get out of bed and flee.

If this had been in the past, she would have easily succeeded.

However, things were different now. John was constantly on guard and rightfully so.
 Not a single thing went unnoticed by John. He caught the glimmer in her eyes as he
grasped her ankle with his hand, triumphantly stopping her plan of escaping.

His grasp nail

or to laugh. She replied, "I have photos from Nina's birthday. I'll send them to you."

Angela responded, "I see!"

James replied, "Mom, why do you sound a little disappointed?"

Angela said, "No, no."

Emma selected twenty photos and posted them in the group. She included a photo
of all of them.

Nelson said, "Chester laughed in the photo! Is that real? Am I seeing this right?"

Chester replied, "I was just happy at that time."

The others were shocked.

Tears welled up in Nelson's eyes. "My son's facial paralysis is finally gone. He looks
like a normal person!"

Nina replied, "Chester's smart and cute!"

Nelson answered, "Thank you, Nina. Even Chester laughed. It's all thanks to you and
John. What if Chester stays with you for one more month? I hope you can take good
care of him."

Chester piped in, "Where are you going next month?"

Nelson replied, "Plans change all the time. Nothing's been decided yet. My son, you
should listen to Nina and have fun...no... study with her."
Chester was rendered speechless.

Nina never let him study; she only wanted him to have fun.
 It seemed to be quite a lively time but three people were dead silent. Since John
was taking a shower, he couldn't reply. Even if he saw the messages, he wouldn't join
in.

After divorcing Jessica, Jason kept far away from the Shi family affairs.

He took the initiative and cared for Sam from time to time, though. James also still
addressed Jason as his uncle without knowing that Jessica and Jason were divorced.

Jessica seemed to isolate herself, just pondering her mistakes. Without Sam's
permission, she couldn't leave her house anyway.

Looking at messages in the group chat, Jessica felt even more upset.

She felt like her whole family hated her. Was she in the wrong?

"Yvonne, what do you think I should do?" she asked.

"It's always better to make amends instead of letting it consume you."

"Do I have to show Nina some affection or something?" Jessica refused to give up
her pride. "This is the Shi family. I'm a Shi while Nina is just an outsider."

She was less arrogant than before. In fact, she felt wronged.

Yvonne said, "Ms. Lu goes to Kanner Hospital for an examination every week. I think
you go find her and clear the misunderstanding between you and her."
 "Misunderstanding?" Jessica rolled her eyes and sneered. "Yes, there's a big
misunderstanding. She was hiding that she is the princess o

your mother is experienced, she should know that as well."

"I see. Thank you, Dr. Zhou." Vivian stood up and left. When she returned to her
mother's ward, she said, "Mom, Dr. Zhou said that the baby is stable in your belly."

"Really?" Julie put down the parenting book and looked at Vivian excitedly. "Can I
get out of bed and take a walk? I was too scared to do anything with the baby."

Vivian glanced at the parenting book on her mother's bed and said, "Just read for
today. I'll help you go out for a walk tomorrow afternoon."

"Why tomorrow afternoon? I just want to go today." Julie pulled the quilt off and
gestured for Vivian to help her up.

After tucking her in, Vivian put the parenting book back into Julie's hand and said,
"Mom, don't worry. Take your time. It'll be better for my brother to just go out
tomorrow."

The word "brother" really sent Julie to a state of euphoria. Julie patted her
daughter's hand and said, "Don't worry, Vivi. Your brother will give you everything you
deserve when he grows up."

Julie touched her bulging belly and smiled kindly.

Vivian smiled and nodded.

She looked over at Julie's pregnant bump and stared.

'Make the most of the time you can spend together now.

You may not have much time left.

You may not even make it to tomorrow afternoon,' Vivian thought.
 On Thursday afternoon

As usual, Nina went to Kanner Hospital for an exam. No matter how busy he was,
John would take time off work and go to the hospital with her.

John remembered Nina changed her WeChat profile pic. He kept a straight face and
said nothing, but he held her a little too tightly, unwilling to let go.

"Honey?" Nina said, tentatively. John gave a perfunctory reply. "Yes?"

'Oh, that again!'

Nina curled her lips. "That all you can say to me?"

John said, "Yes."

Nina put her hand to her forehead in frustration. John had thrown this jealous fit
all day. Why didn't he give it a rest?

"Honey, let me show you something." Nina took out her phone and found the photo
Emma sent her this morning. It was the first photo taken of Nina and John.

Nina was on the left, her bright eyes smiling. She only came up to John's shoulder.

John was standing with his side facing the camera, looking at Nina. His black eyes
blazed like stars with the love he fe

urned light pink, as if she had drunk a little wine.

 Soon they arrived at Kanner Hospital.

Five minutes before that, Vivian had already heard Nina and John were pulling into
the parking lot. She plotted the most likely hallways they'd take to see Dr. Brian.

"Did you want to go back to the room, Mom?" Vivian asked Julie. Nina and John should
be here any minute.

Vivian indicated she wanted go back, but she guided her mother to the most likely
hallways Nina would go through.

"I've only been walking around for three minutes. I still want to walk more and get
some exercise. Your brother put me through a lot. Now I'm fat." Julie held her waist
with one hand and walked slowly. "Dr. Zhou said that the baby's in good condition. I
should walk more."

"But Dr. Zhou asked you to be more careful," Vivian said worriedly.

"I'll be back in ten minutes." Julie paid special attention to the baby in her belly.

Ten minutes was enough for Vivian to carry out her plan.
 The neurology department was located downstairs, where Nina was going to get an
MRI scan of her brain.

It would take less than a minute to ride the elevator down there.

But Julie didn't want to take the elevator. She asked Vivian to help her walk
downstairs. As Vivian's gaze brushed across the staircase, she grew fearful.

If something happened to Julie when she helped her downstairs, Vivian would take
the blame.

But if Vivian didn't do something, her plans would be ruined.

Maybe it could wait till next Thursday.

Vivian decided to risk it and carefully helped her mother downstairs. Julie walked
slowly. She had a baby in her belly to think of. It would normally take two minutes to
descend the stairway. She took five.

She felt much better after she got a walk in.

Julie had been bedridden for a while. Because of her baby, she didn't even put her
feet on the floor. All she had to do with relax. Even her meals were brought to her.
But she couldn't stand it anymore. Julie had to get up and move around.

She smiled and said, "How about one more floor?"

 "No." Vivian immediately shut her down. "Think of my brother. Today we'll do one
flight of stairs. You can walk more later. We're taking the elevat

lowered her head with a triumphant smile.

With that much blood shed, the child was as good as dead.

And the best thing was that she could blame it all on Nina. Vivian's father thought
the world of that child, even if he weren't born yet. He would definitely take revenge.

Nina tried to think of something, but with her thoughts racing, it was impossible.

She walked over and helped the pregnant woman up. Fortunately, there were nurses
and doctors flocking to her side in an instant. Nina helped lift Julie onto the stretcher.

Nina's hands and clothes were stained with blood.

She stared blankly as the attendants wheeled Julie away. She felt guilty.

It was her. She bumped into Julie.

At this time, someone beside Nina said timidly, "What the hell were you thinking?
Why did you try to steady yourself using a pregnant woman? You made her fall."

Nina stared at the middle-aged woman in shock.

This woman was hired by Vivian to cause this catastrophe.

When Nina didn't respond, she raised her voice. "That was a lot of blood. If she
loses her child, you're a murderer!"

Nina felt like she'd just been hit by a tidal wave, and rumors of her involvement
spread like wildfire throughout the hospital.
 "With the amount of blood that she has lost, it's highly probable that the fetus has
been lost."

"I think so, too."

"It's the fault of those two. They were walking very haphazardly—pushing and
pulling each other, not caring whether they hit anyone. Of all the people they could
have hit, it had to be a pregnant woman."

"It's not her fault. She didn't expect it to happen. She didn't mean it."

"It's her fault! If she hadn't pushed her when she took a tumble, then the other
woman wouldn't have lost her baby."

"If I had a miscarriage by accident, I would cry myself to death. I would never
forgive the person even if she didn't do it on purpose."

Many people had flocked to the corridor to find out what was going on. Their eyes
were fixed on John and Nina, and everyone was sighing, shaking their head, and even
loudly expressing their condemnation.

Nina and John heard every single word.

The middle-aged woman stood among the crowd and shot Nina a disdainful look.
"That was a life. It's a crime to end it like this."
 Nina stood there numbly, her bloody hands trembling slightl

eir own things. Nobody dared to provoke the rich.

After all, money makes the mare go.

They didn't dare to offend Nina or John. It was already difficult enough to have a
sick family member to take care of—it would be even worse for them to get into trouble
with rich people.

People left one by one, and the middle-aged woman returned to the ward in a sulk.

The moment she turned around, she breathed a sigh of relief.

'I have completed my task, haven't I?'

Nina saw that the woman's tense body relaxed. There was something strange in her
behavior.

However, her suspicions had been dismissed.

Nina really didn't know that people who washed clothes with soap all year round
would reek of soapy water.

That subject matter was one of her blind spots. She didn't need to pay attention to
such trifles since she was born.

Nina's eyes darkened.

Maybe she did slip by accident.

Maybe she was wrong.

Nina cast down her eyes. Her eyelashes trembled, giving a clue to the massive guilt
that she felt at that moment.
She might have unwittingly ended an innocent baby's life.
 Noticing her trembling hands, John tightened his grip on them and took Nina to
Brian's office.

Nina couldn't clear her mind. She believed that she killed the baby. She was like a
puppet just letting John control her as they walked into Brian's office.

Seeing Nina's judgment of herself worsening, John's heart ached. He silently wiped
the blood off her hands.

It was not until he had cleaned up the blood on Nina's hands that John said, "It's
not your fault."

Nina stared back into John's eyes and could only feel guiltier.

"You always take my side. How can I believe you?" Nina couldn't stop her voice from
wavering.

John was at a loss. He didn't know what to say to his little girl.

She knew that he loved her, so his vision would always be skewed.

What was he to do though? It actually wasn't Nina's fault.

"It's my fault." With one knee squatting in front of Nina, John held her hands and
looked her in the eye. "I should have been on guard when I saw them."

Recently, Vivian had kept a low profile and seldom appeared in public. John and Nina
came to the hospital every
 ch to Brian's relief. She swiftly turned back to him though, catching him completely
off guard.

"Ms. Shi, what else can I do for you?" he asked.

"When I came here just now, I heard that a pregnant woman in the VIP ward upstairs
had a miscarriage. I just wanted to know if it was Mrs. Ye?"

Jessica's attention swiftly moved on from John and Nina.

Brian could finally stop holding his breath. He didn't know that Nina had anything to
do with the miscarriage and since Jessica was the one asking, he didn't hesitate in
sharing.

"Yes, it was Mrs. Ye who lost her child. It's a shame. I heard that they were really
looking forward to having this child," Brian said, feeling sorry for their family.

It was not until then that Jessica came to her senses. "How did that happen though?
Julie was fine all these days, wasn't she? How did she lose the baby all of a sudden?"

"She accidentally bumped into someone and fell." Brian had only just heard about it.

"Accident?" Jessica was so furious. "Was that person blind? Just wait and see.
Howard will not let that person off that easily."
 Brian didn't respond—he only smiled and watched Jessica leave.

When he pushed the door open and entered the office, he was greeted by the sight
of two preoccupied people.

Brian thought that there was something wrong with the examination report, so he
picked it up from the table and looked at it carefully. He couldn't find any flaws in the
report.

"Mrs. Shi? Is there anything wrong?" Brian looked down at Nina, who was sitting
there staring absently at nothing.

Nina raised her eyes and asked, "Really? Did the woman miscarry?"

"Huh?" Brian hesitated for a moment, thinking that she overheard the conversation
between him and Jessica outside the door. "She lost the baby."

With tears in her eyes, Nina nodded and said, "Okay. How is the situation looking
right now?"

"Mrs. Ye is emotionally unstable. Her husband is on his way here." That was all Brian
knew.

"I see." Nina slowly stood up and steeled her back, determined to take responsibility
for this matter.

She held John's hand and said, "Honey, come with me."
 "It has nothing to do with you," John replied calmly, raising his hand to tenderly tuck
a strand of Nina's hair behin

stopped what she was doing. Fear flashed through her eyes, and she had a bad
feeling about the situation.

'I'm screwed!' she thought to herself.

"Dr. Zhou." Vivian interrupted her thoughts by calling her name in a low, meaningful
tone.

"I will finish it soon." Dr. Zhou's mind was in a mess.

Howard was about to give in to his anger, but he suppressed it as soon as he heard
Nina's name.

Even if he weren't afraid of the Shi family, he did not want to incur the wrath of C
Island.

Nina was the princess of C Island, and he couldn't offend her just like that. He had
to know the whole story.

"Why did you meet her when you were supposed to be in bed?" Howard demanded in
a loud voice. "Don't lie!"

"I'm not lying, I swear! How could I lie about what happened to my own son?" Julie
was so angry that she nearly fainted, and her chest heaved violently. "Why aren't you
on my side this time?"

Vivian explained, "Dr. Zhou said that since the baby's condition was stable, Mom
could do some light exercise. I helped her walk, and we happened to meet Mr. Shi and
Nina. I don't know what happened to Nina, but she slipped and pulled Mom down."
 "Nina slipped? She's not a toddler or an old woman to be teetering while she walks."
Julie collapsed into her husband's arms and wailed with tearful eyes. "I think she did
it on purpose!"

Julie firmly believed that Nina sought to harm her baby, but she couldn't answer
when Howard asked her why Nina did so.

She could only cry and curse the younger woman.

Howard knew that Julie was upset, so he didn't stop her diatribe. He turned to his
daughter and asked, "Vivi, tell me what happened. If what your mother said is true,
then I will seek justice for her no matter what. Even though Nina is the princess of C
Island, she's not above the law!"

"Dad, it's all my fault." Vivian watched the nurse bandaging her wound. Her eyes
darkened, and there was a slight curve to her mouth that was hidden by her long hair.

"If I had protected Mom well, things wouldn't have ended this way. Ultimately,
everything's my fault." Vivian choked out in self-recrimination and sobbed bitterly.

Of course she couldn't pin the blame on Nina, or else Howard would think that his
wife and daughter were lying.

"Dad, I

e told Henry, "If he wants to talk, then let him come to the North Yard."

"Yes, sir." Henry didn't cut the call. After a moment of silence, he said, "Mr. Shi, I
haven't decided yet."
 "Okay." John wouldn't force Henry to do anything. "Ask someone else to bring him
here."

"Yes, sir." After Henry hung up the phone, Adrian said, "I'll drive him there."

"You?" Henry asked in disbelief, staring at the lazy man. "Why are you so idle?"

"Idle?" Adrian spread out his hands. "Obviously, I'm busy accompanying you." He
threw the other man a mischievous grin.

Henry blushed but said in a calm voice, "Please pay attention to your image."

Adrian smiled and said nothing. He grabbed the car keys and walked out.

He drove Howard to the North Yard. On the way, Howard snorted, "You're the CEO
of the Song Group. Why are you doing a lowly job of running errands for Mr. Shi?"

Adrian pretended not to understand Howard's sarcasm. He said with a carefree

smile, "You know what, one of my friends said the exact same thing!"

He glanced at Howard. "Come to think of it, you and he look quite alike."
 Adrian was a playboy. Even if he had changed after becoming the CEO of Song Group,
people didn't believe him. After all, a leopard cannot change its spots.

Noah, on the other hand, was responsible and mature. His father, Howard, didn't
take Adrian seriously.

"I'm not you. I don't have an illegitimate son."

Howard didn't have an illegitimate son. But his daughter had been born out of
wedlock.

And that was Vivian.

Adrian just snorted to himself and didn't show it. As long as Howard didn't cross
the line, he'd just let it slide.

Dark clouds blotted out the sun. Sheets of rain fell from the heavens.

Outside the window, the rain was streaming and the room was dim. When Nina looked
up, she could see the raindrops streaking across the glass window, leaving traces like
meteors.

Thick clouds of fog hung outside.

The sudden heavy rain made Nina even more restless.

Then, her phone rang. It was Noah.

 "Nin, please come to No. 144 River Road."

When Nina heard Noah's serious tone, she knew something was up. She got to her
feet and said, "I'll be there soon."

and a box.

"Beth Wang found the fingers in the pocket of this coat. The severed leg was found
in this box. There was a dirty piece of clothes in this box."

Nina took the coat and looked at the Logo on the box. It was a high-profile luxury
brand.

If a person could afford this brand, there should be a servant who specialized in
washing clothes for them. Why would they send the clothes to a low-end laundry shop?

"Have you asked who own this coat and this box?"

"Yes," Noah nodded. "I've sent someone to investigate. We'll get the result soon."

Putting down the coat, Nina walked towards Beth Wang and asked, "Do you know who
own the coat and the box?"

"Yes." Beth Wang had no reason to lie. "These two people are plasterers. My husband
works with them. A week ago, they asked someone to send the dirty clothes here. My
husband is in the hospital, so I didn't have time to wash them. I happen to be free this
afternoon, and I wanted to wash the clothes. Who knows..."

"Plasterers?" How could plasterers afford such expensive clothes?

Something was definitely amiss.

 Noah frowned and said, "Her husband hurt his leg at the construction site a week
ago. He's receiving the best treatment at Kanner Hospital."

Nina and Noah looked at each other and felt that something was off.

Noah gave Tom a look, which the latter immediately understood. He said to Beth,
"You need to come with us to the police station to make a statement."

"What? Why? Am I under arrest?" Beth glanced up at Nina and then quickly lowered
her head, looking all guilty.

Every fiber of Beth's being refused to go to the police station. "Do I have to go?
You can ask whatever you want to know here, and I'll gladly answer it.

I'm scared of that place," Beth muttered.

"Beth, you didn't do anything wrong. Don't be afraid." Tom meant to comfort Beth,
but the result was the opposite. The expression on Beth's face twisted in a fit of panic.

"No, no, no. I don't want to go. I didn't kill or dismember anyone. I have nothing to
do with any of it."

Beth's reaction confused everyone.

Noah said, "It's just a statement. You're not under arrest. We're not accusing you
 know? One million means a lot to people like us. If it weren't for my husband, I
wouldn't have done such a thing. Besides, Miss Ye said that that pregnant woman would
be completely safe. The miscarriage was an accident. Nobody wanted that to happen."

"You..." Nina was so angry that she could feel her heartbeat in her temples. Vivian
even paid one million to get rid of her own sibling.

She had taken one innocent life in the name of vengeance. The thought made Nina
sick to her stomach.

Tom asked, "Who is this Miss Ye?"

Mr. Black asked, "What miscarriage?"

"Vivian Ye." Nina spat Vivian's name. "Her mother, Julie, had a miscarriage."

Mr. Black's eyes widened. "Captain Ye's stepsister?"

"Shut up!" Tom scolded. Mr. Black pursed his lips and turned to get down to business.

Nina looked at Noah and found that his expression was so calm that it was
frightening.

"Noah..."

"Do whatever you want. Do let her go just because she's my stepsister." Noah's
heart sank into a dark void. He couldn't understand why Vivian would have done such a
horrible thing.t
 No one paid attention to Julie's miscarriage again. The most important thing right
now was the dismemberment.

Mr. Black came back and said, "The people who own these two clothes are not at
home. According to their neighbors, they left and went on a trip a week ago."

"What? A week ago?" Nina asked in confusion. "They must be dead. Three fingers
and a leg."

There was nothing but silence around.

Compared with catching the murderer, they wanted to protect the citizens more.

But it was already too late.

Noah had encountered such things before but he still clenched his fists. "Tom, the
three of them made a fortune at the same time. Look into it. Mr. Black will go and
search for places where the corpses may have been hidden. Nini and I will be visiting
the houses of the victims."

"Copy that," Tom said as he turned around.

Before Nina left with Tom, she looked back at Beth who was trembling.

Beth looked like a frightened rabbit. Nina's stare made her so scared to get down
on her knees. "Please, have mercy! We are living such a miserable life. I will g

.
 "Nini, you need to relax a little. Take a hot shower and some medicine so you wouldn't
catch a cold. We shouldn't be able to get ahold of the results until tomorrow, anyway.
No matter how anxious we get today, it will just be pointless."

"Alright," Nina responded.

"The North Yard is far away from here. You can go to my place for now." Noah then
drove Nina and Amy to his apartment just nearby.

According to the principle that no man could ever get close to Nina, Amy stood
between her and Noah all the time.

Noah and Nina didn't seem to care for Amy much and kept talking to each other.

"Here, Nini. These are clean clothes that you can use after you take a shower," Noah
said while holding a new set of clothes and trousers from his wardrobe and then handed
them over to Nina.

Nina took them and went to take a shower.

After she finished showering, she saw Amy sitting on the couch while Noah stood in
the balcony, staring blankly at the rainy night.

Nina walked over to him. "You used to say I'm like a sister to you. But I don't think
it's enough."
 Noah smiled when he heard what Nina said.

"Oh? What do you mean?" Nina turned to look at him, her eyes gleaming. "I want to
be your sister. Not just like a sister to you."

A stiff smile formed on Noah's face. His eyes glistened as he gazed into Nina's eyes.
He could read what she was thinking.

She knew he felt lonely.

She wanted to be his family.

"Thank you, Nini." The smile on his face gradually softened. He was at a loss for
words, not knowing how to describe the emotions that surged inside him.

"What are you thanking me?" Nina asked knowingly, expecting to hear the answer
she wanted.

Noah didn't treat the Ye family members as his family.

"Nina, I've always seen you as my sister. I've considered you family ever since you
started calling Aunt Kristina your aunt." Noah reached for the dry towel in Nina's hand
and stepped forward to dry her hair.

Letting him dry her hair, Nina smiled and called, "Brother."

Noah stopped what he was doing. Upon hearing Nina call him her brother, he knew
he couldn't confess his feeling
 sn't letting up."

John paused for a moment.

"I lied to your aunt Nina. You didn't notice that?"

"I did," Chester answered.

"Then why did you say that?"

"Uncle John, you can't lie to people. It makes it even worse that you're lying to Aunt
Nina."

John reached out and stroked Chester's hair. A small smile tugged at the corners
of his mouth. "You still have a lot to learn."

"I'm only ten years old." 'Isn't it too early to learn this?' he thought to himself.

John glanced at him and said, "I didn't ask you to look for a girlfriend now."

"Okay." Chester lowered his head. "I'll find a woman like Aunt Nina to be my wife
when I'm thirty."

"Don't even consider. There's only one Nina in the world." John raised his chin
proudly. "And she's mine."

John grabbed his coat as he made his way to the door. Before leaving, he warned,
"You better watch yourself. If you do anything to Nina, I will personally break your
legs."

Chester broke out into a cold sweat.

'Uncle John, I'm only ten years old!

Not thirty years old.'
 After hanging up the phone, Nina shook her head and sighed, "John's ridiculous. He
said he was one year old."

Noah just smiled. He thought back to the conversation between Nina and John just
now and asked her casually, "Is he afraid of thunder and rain?"

"Yes," Nina confessed. "Noah, I'm not sure if I can go out with you on rainy days
anymore. I think I'd like to just be with him."

"I will sort out the information and e-mail it to you. The more you analyze, the better
you will be at profiling," Noah said. "Its' a little cold out here. Let's go inside and have
a seat. Is he coming to pick you up later?"

"Did you hear that?" Nina was a little surprised.

Noah shook his head. "I took a guess."

Noah knew that John wasn't afraid of the thunder or rain, it was the water that
scared him. Very few people knew about that though. He assumed John would have told
Nina by now but it seemed not.

Maybe John didn't want her to worry about him.

After all, it was between John and Nina. Noah knew that it was none of his

Before Nina, the only woman who was even allowed near John was Vivian. This was a
well-known fact and this really sparked rumors throughout Lexingport City
 Nina knew that John didn't have any feelings for Vivian but she couldn't help the
jealousy that crept in.

Nina didn't know anything about John's life before they met. It was an area that
Vivian knew much better than her.

"Two days. You'll know in two days," John said intriguingly.

He gave Henry two days to decide whether he would go back to Ye family.

"Okay." Nina wasn't expecting him to be so mysterious, letting the suspense build.

For the next two days, she investigated the dismemberment case with Noah while
waiting to see what John's scheme was.

Noah and Nina had cracked the case. It was reported everywhere and it should be
as a result of it being such a massive breakthrough.

However, the limelight soon shifted to some hot topic about a rich family.

John's assistant turned out to be the illegitimate son of the chairman of the Ye
Group.
 Nina didn't pay attention to any kind of entertainment news. There were only two
things she would bother doing on the Internet: searching learning materials for herself
and gain unauthorized access to classified data about others.

It was James who reposted the news in the group chat of the Beggars' Sect.

Nina and James were playing with their phones on the sofa while John was busy with
his work in his office. Seeing the news, the two of them were stunned.

It took them a while to get back to their senses. After that, James sprang onto his
feet, and with wide eyes, called John's attention. "Uncle John! Uncle John! Your
assistant is Howard's son!"

But John acted as if he didn't hear anything. He continued to busy himself with his
work.

"Uncle John, did you hear me?" James knew that John was not the type to dwell on
the Internet often, so he thought that John still had no idea about their discovery.
James rushed to John to shove his phone on his face. "Uncle John, look! Look! Your
assistant is a member of the Ye family! Henry, he is..."

But his voice faded into silence after his persistent attempt to draw John's interest.
He put his phone down the moment John raised his head and looked at James in his eye.
James felt intimidated w

is not interested in the family's property. If he was, then he would have taken over
the family business. Besides, he isn't short on money. He is even the top on the rank
of richest people. Uncle John is only temporarily at the second place," said James.
 "I can't believe you still have the time to read such list. You seem to have a lot of
free time. Anyway, I hope for them to be good brothers," Nina added.

If there was no conflict of interests, there should be no friction between them.

Nina believed so.

All that Nina could wish for was for Henry to treat Noah well.

John stared at his wife intensely. He couldn't digest the thought that she began to
care about another man again. Just the thought of it made him upset.

"Where is Emma?" John asked as an excuse to send James away so he could be alone
with his wife. "You two don't date? Maybe you need money for a date. How much do
you need? Here you go."

"What?" Before James could react, John had already taken out a blank check and
placed it on the table.

John searched for James' eyes and hinted that he should take it and leave as soon
as possible.

With that gesture, John couldn't wait to ask his wife what was bothering him.

No one else should know what he would ask her.

 Looking at the blank check on the table, James didn't get John's signal. He didn't
grab the chance to run with it. Instead, he said languidly, "No. Emma has gone to the
filming site with the crew."

"Even so, you can go to her," John insisted with a frown on his face.

James said gloomily, "If I go there, I won't be able to bear to see her get ordered
around. I won't let her do those things. She said I would only cause her trouble, so I
decided not to go there."

He sighed and paused for a moment. "I miss her so much." James took out his phone
and opened the WeChat app. There, he was welcomed with the sight of Emma's picture.

It was the background image James had customized for their chat. In it was Emma
resting her head on the table sleeping out of tiredness. He couldn't help himself that
time but take a picture of her. She had her hair in a mess and her face stained with
mud.

Regardless, he found it cute to see her like that. Emma still looked effortlessly
beautiful even in that state.

The more he stared at the picture, the more he missed Emma. "Damn, Emma. I
couldn't help myself but miss you," Ja

mad. If he gets near me in the future, I will kick him away."

Her efforts to calm him down didn't seem to work. He was staring at her, not budging
or anything.
 Nina didn't know what to do to satisfy him.

So she asked, "What the hell—"

"Brother Noah?" Finally, he said something. She couldn't mistake the rage in his
tone.

"Huh?" Nina was perplexed and dumbfounded.

He pressed his body to her and whispered in her ear, "Why are you calling him
Brother Noah? You're getting closer and closer to him."

His voice was stern.

Nina came to understand where his anger was coming from.

"Honey, why are you so jealous? It's nothing to be jealous of." Nina smiled and
squinted her eyes. "If you're often jealous, you'll become less handsome."

"Don't change the topic!" John reached out his hand and held her chin tightly. He
raised her face and met her eyes once more.

He kissed her with burning passion. That was the only way for him to cope with his
anger.

"Tell me, Nina. Why? Tell me the truth."

'What if they become closer to each other?

No! I won't let that happen!' he thought to himself.

 "Honey, you're being unreasonably jealous again." Nina rolled her eyes at John, got
out of his arms, and walked away from the sofa.

"The reason I call him Brother Noah is that..." She was about to explain, but her
husband was already in front of her in a flash. He snaked his arm around her waist and
pressed her body against his. He playfully nibbled on her shoulder.

"Ouch!" She glared at him. "Why are you acting like a hungry dog?"

"I'm Nine's father, and you're Nine's mother." As John spoke, he reached for
Nina's chin and tipped her head backward. He stared deeply into his wife's eyes, his
blood boiling with anticipation.

"Hmm..." Nina frowned.

What the hell was wrong with him?

She thought he wanted her to explain, but just as she was about to, he pounced on
her like a wild animal.

The struggle did not last long. Eventually, it turned into something completely
different.

It had been a long time since John and Nina had been intimate with each other. They
could not control themselves now.
 When

real appearance?"

"What do you mean?" Adrian looked Henry up and down and didn't realize what he
meant.

Henry smiled and said, "Take off my glasses and put them on."

"Fine." Adrian took off Henry's glasses and put them on.

His eyes widened at what he saw.

"These aren't prescription glasses." Adrian was sure that he was not nearsighted.
He took the glasses off and put them on again, but nothing changed at all.

"Why do you bother wearing these if they're not prescription?" Adrian pushed the
glasses to the bridge of his nose as Henry turned around and started adjusting his hair.

Henry's hair had grown out like that of a Korean pop idol. His bangs completely
covered his forehead. After squeezing out every last drop of water from his hair,
Henry slicked it back, revealing his angular face in excruciating detail.

The moment Henry turned around, Adrian stood still, dumbfounded. "You and Noah
are really brothers."

When Henry pushed his hair back, Adrian realized his striking resemblance to Noah.
 "I figured you'd be surprised but won’t your mouth get numb?" Henry walked
towards Adrian and helped him close his mouth.

Hanging his mouth open for too long might dislocate his jaw.

Adrian came back to his senses. "How come I never found out your secret before?"

"You know now." Henry looked down at the glasses in his hand and then pointed to
his hair.

He hid it on purpose to avoid any suspicion. Even though Adrian managed to take his
glasses off several times, he was drunk and didn't see Henry's face clearly.

"You're good at acting," Adrian said as he held up the glasses. Henry didn't know if
he was praising or mocking him.

Henry took out the clothes that he was planning to wear tonight. He began to explain
as he buttoned up his top. "When my mother found out that I would work in Lexingport
City, she told me not to let other people see my face. Thus, my disguise."

"Our mother doesn't want you to go back to the Ye family yet you're doing the
opposite. How are you going to explain that?" Adrian pressed because he didn't want
him to go back to that family.

"That's my mother," Henry corrected deliberately.

Adrian cocked h
 ad's illegitimate child surfaced. Even a paternity test was conducted.

I think there is some kind of conspiracy behind this. I'm sure that what happened
to you was not an accident. Dad reassured us that he would get even with Nina, but he
didn't. Maybe they planned this."

Vivian continued to throw mud at Nina. "Mom, that must be it. Nina must have pushed
you to get even with me for getting close to Brother John.

It's my fault, I'm sorry…" Vivian hugged her mother and feigned a cry.

"Those wicked people!" Julie greeted her teeth and cursed. "I swear I will never let
this slide. I won't let go of Nina or Henry. I may not have a son right now, but I still
have you, Vivi. I believe that you can compete with Henry for the position of CEO.
Moreover, you've been working in the industry for a long time. I'm sure you're more
skilled than him."

"Mom…" Tears welled up in Vivian's eyes. Finally, her mother's attention was back to
her. "Don't worry, I won't let anyone take what’s ours."

"You really are my daughter," Julie claimed. They helped each other up as Julie
rubbed her daughter's hand. "Let's go. We need to welcome your brother."
 A Lamborghini pulled over at the Ye family estate's driveway.

Adrian and Henry got out of the car and saw a rolled-out red carpet flanked by two
line of servants.

"Welcome home, Mr. Ye," they said in unison.

The welcome gesture was grand, and everyone's smile was the same.

Adrian nudged Henry's arm and teased, "Your father went through all this trouble
to welcome you home.

Maybe he wants to make it up to you." "Well, it's unnecessary," Henry answered.

Adrian shoved his hands in his trouser pockets and pushed Henry with his body. "Go
on in, Mr. Ye."

"Why don't you come inside with me?" Henry really wanted to invite Adrian to meet
his father, but Adrian refused decisively.

"No. I don't want to get involved in the affairs of the Ye family. Besides, your father
certainly doesn't want to see me."

Howard had said firmly in front of Adrian that he would never have an illegitimate
child.
 Adrian knew that Howard would be embarrassed if they saw each other again.

"I'll go now. Call me when the dinner is almost over, and I'll come pick you up." Adrian
patted Henry on the shoulder, slid back into the car, and drove away.

Henry waited for the car to leave his sight before turning around and walking in.

He was

y. He frowned, feeling a little impatient. Then, he remembered he had something to

announce tonight, so he needed his two sons to be present. He called to the butler once
again and said, "Wait. Get Vivian and ask her to come here. Julie's not feeling well. Let
her rest."

When the last dish was served on the table, Vivian walked in gracefully and greeted
the three men on the table. "Good evening, Dad, Noah, Henry."

"Have a seat." Howard motioned for her to sit down.

Feeling her father's indifference, Vivian felt uneasy. She guessed that her father
had heard about the rumors going around. She was worried that he believed that she
had something to do with her mother's miscarriage.

She had to find a way to clear her father's suspicions.

"You look so much like Dad, Henry. I wonder why I hadn't noticed before. We have
seen each other so many times," Vivian commented. "Had I been more observant, I
would've realized."

"Really?" Henry smiled, but there was ice in his voice.

He thought, 'If she had realized earlier, I would have suffered or even been killed.
 She's so cruel and merciless that she has murdered her own unborn sibling. If she
could do that to her own flesh and blood, what more to a half-brother like me?'
 Henry's rhetorical question left a chill in the air.

Howard and Noah fixed their eyes on Vivian and made her uncomfortable.

"I don't know what I did wrong. I don't think Henry likes me." Vivian pursed her lips,
hurt reflected in her watery eyes.

Henry raised his eyebrow and said, "You're not confident enough.

You should be more confident and get rid of 'I think' statements. It's true I don't
like you."

Henry didn't like this girl at all. Vivian didn't have any advantage here.

She was not as beautiful as Nina, not as pure and lovely as Michelle, not as elegant
as Emma and certainly not as thoughtful as John's female assistant.

When Henry thought of women, they were the ones that came to mind. And she
couldn't hold a candle to them. The only thing Vivian had going for her was that she
was from a rich family.

Henry sighed in his heart.

Embarrassment became apparent on Vivian's face. She wanted to ask Henry why he
came back to the Ye family. But before she could speak, Howard spoke up.

"You three should try to get along with each other from now on." Howard
 "Sounds good." Howard was beaming. The wrinkles returned to the corners of his
eyes as he smiled broadly.

Seeing them chatting happily, Vivian felt ignored. She decided to remind that she
was still there.

"Does Henry have a girlfriend now?"

"No," Howard replied. He had a boyfriend.

Howard remembered one thing. Henry would get engaged to Vera. He had to mention
it in a roundabout way so that Henry wouldn't get pissed off.

"I'm glad you're not seeing anyone. I've got someone in mind. I'll introduce you to
Vera Fu soon. She's about your age. I think you'll like her."

"Let's talk about it later. I'm pretty busy right now," Henry refused politely.

Howard thought for a while and agreed. Henry would be very busy after he took over
the Ye Group, so Howard didn't mention it again.

He turned to Noah. "So when are you getting married, Noah?"

Noah didn't have a girlfriend. How could he get married?

Noah said calmly, "I'm still young."

Henry was speechless.

'Is he serious?'

That was a pretty flip answer to give their father.

What was he thinking?

 Howard said coldly, "Young? Hardly. You're already twenty-seven!"

"Mr. Shi didn't get married till he was thirty. I have three years left. Why rush it?"
Noah said slowly. He didn't talk back, but told the truth.

"You..." Howard was speechless for a moment. "But you're not Mr. Shi!"

"What's the difference?" Noah raised his eyebrows and glanced at everyone else
calmly.

Vivian whispered, "Can you compete with Brother John?"

"Yes, I can," Noah said calmly. "I have more money than him."

Henry widened his eyes and didn't know what to say.

He turned his head in disbelief and stared blankly at Noah's profile.

This wasn't like Noah at all.

This sounded familiar, but he couldn't figure out where Noah had gotten such a
harebrained idea.

After the meal, Noah and Henry left together. Henry couldn't help asking, "What's
wrong with you today?"
 "Wrong? You mean my saying I'm younger and richer than John?" Noah asked.

"Mm hmm." Henry nodded.

This wasn't Noah's style at all. He was normally calm and steady. Right now, he
sounded more like John and Nina.

The more he tho

d struggled, but couldn't break free.

"All right, all right. Quit it. Who cares who you are?" Adrian was drunk. He
approached Vivian and pinched her chin. At the same time, he waved his hand to tell his
men to stand down.

They thought Adrian was looking for a woman to play with, so they all turned around
with their backs to them. Adrian said unhappily, "What are you doing? Why would I
want a woman like this? She even killed her unborn sibling."

Vivian glared at Adrian and said, "Adrian, what are you talking about?"

"Seriously? You don't know what you did?" Adrian let go of her chin and slapped her.
"It was you, wasn't it? If you hadn't been such a bitch, they wouldn't have sent Henry
back to Ye family. You deserve every miserable thing that happens to you. You fucking
make me sick!"

Adrian's slap was neither too heavy nor too light. Everyone heard it, though Vivian's
pride was hurt more than anything.

"Adrian, what the hell?" Vivian glared at Adrian with malicious and insidious eyes.
This was no weak girl, but a cold, calculating woman. "They? Who are you talking about?"
 The narrow alley was pitch-black under the starless night sky and only the looming
wall of men was visible.

Adrian continued to slap Vivian. This time harder. He gnashed his teeth in anger and
said, "You know better than anyone why your mother had a miscarriage. Why did you
frame Mrs. Shi? How dare you do such a cruel thing? Now that Henry is back in the Ye
family, you won't be able to get the Ye Group anymore. Why aren't you stopping you
evil plots? Isn't it enough that you have the privilege to enjoy a peaceful life? Henry
is back! And my happiness is gone!"

Enduring the throbbing pain on her face, Vivian looked at Adrian and kept his words
in her mind.

She noticed that Adrian was not sober, so she grabbed the opportunity and asked,
"Did Nina asked Henry to come back just to take revenge on me?"

"Revenge?" Adrian dusted off his shirt with his hands as he was disgusted by her.
"This is not called 'revenge.' You deserve it!"

Vivian clenched her fists as firm as she could. She knew that she couldn't afford to
have a head-on collision with Adrian or offend the Song family.

She did what she had to do and contained her rage inside her. "You're too dr

Jessica earlier today, and I happen to stumble on something that would help us. I
know what to do. Since she is the princess of C Island, she should go back to her own
country."
 Julie gave her encouragement and said, "I trust you on that one. Do you still love Mr.
Shi? He is indeed an ideal husband. But he loves Nina. You need to move on."

Vivian's face twitched and she said, "I've loved him for so many years, Mom. How
can I afford to give up on him so easily? It doesn't matter if he loves me back or not.
I must have him even if I don't receive the same amount of affection in return."

"Then you have to start scribbling a genius plan. No man in this world doesn't cheat
on his wife. Just look at your father. He couldn't stop his lust so he cheated on me
while I was pregnant! Be smart and cunning, Vivian. You shouldn't keep your virginity all
the time. In special times, make the most out of it. I'm confident that Mr. Shi is not
the perfect man. He will cheat on his wife sooner or later."

Vivian blushed a rosy glow to her mother's words. She was still a virgin.

At Julie's words, her heart raced to the excitement as she was itching to give it a
try.
 It was examination week at L University. The halls were filled with silence and
anxiety since late June.

Nina and Michelle were engrossed in their studies in the library, preparing for the
final examinations. They were often preoccupied with books and found it difficult to
free themselves from them.

John was in his office. He always sat there for the entire day, often forgetting the
time. But there was one thing he could not forget. He would ask where his wife was at
5 p.m. every day.

"Where's my wife?"

Hearing that question, Richard would be at a loss. 'She's not my wife. How would I
know where she is?'

He had failed to answer that question a couple of times. This time, however, he was
able to answer the question. "Mrs. Shi is in L University's library."

"Is she studying again?" 'Is studying more important than having dinner with me?'
John thought to himself.

Nina did not come back on time for several times already.

"Go to L University." John put down his work and went to the university library.

However, if John wanted to get in the library, he had to use a student card.
 The library guard was a man in his 40s. He was respectful and dedicated. He halte

she whispered into John's ear with her arms around his neck.

"Where there are many people, I'll carry you on my back. When there are a few
people, I'll carry you in my arms." When John turned his head, they touched faces. It
felt a bit itchy.

Nina smiled and said, "Good idea."

John's broad shoulders made Nina feel at ease. She smiled and whispered, "Why did
you come here today?"

"I'm just afraid that a certain someone might not be able to find her way home,
forgetting that her husband is worriedly waiting for her." John pretended to be angry
and snorted.

Nina laughed out loud.

She remembered she had forgotten to come back home to have dinner with John
because of how busy she was. John would call her and remind her.

No wonder she felt there was something amiss early. He did not call her this
afternoon.

"Let me ask you a question. What do you call a person who apologizes if he has
committed a mistake?" Nina asked. "An honest man."

"Good. And what do you call a person who apologizes even if he has committed no
mistake?" "I don't know."

"A boyfriend." After saying that, Nina herself burst into laughter.

John also smiled. His little girl was so cute.

 Holding a book in her arms, Michelle walked beside Richard and whispered, "Is Nini
pregnant?"

Richard was not Henry. Richard was a man of few words and he seldom gave any
responses.

Michelle thought that Richard didn't hear her, so she asked again, "Is Nini pregnant?
Back then, Uncle John would carry her in his arms. Now he carries her on his back
instead."

Noticing that Michelle kept talking, Richard replied, "I don't know."

"Oh. Okay." Michelle was sure that her best friend was pregnant.

She decided to go back and check what pregnant women shouldn't do.

After two years, there would be a cute toddler following her.

Thinking about it made Michelle happy, she could not help but put on a bright smile.

The four of them had dinner at a restaurant.

Michelle had been staring at Nina's belly, tilting her head and wondering if the baby
in Nina's womb was only the size of a grain of rice.

John's gaze became intimidating. Perhaps it was because he caught Michelle staring
at his wife for too long. "Michelle," he called out coldly.
 The warning was obvious.

Michelle shivered all over. John's eyes were ominously cold.

Michelle was terrified,

so she looked away.

him?

Nina felt sorry for Chester, but even sorrier for John.

"I'm sorry."

For the first time, John did not get mad about Nina hugging Chester. He was once
in that situation, he was not as brave and as lucky as Chester.

There was not a person like Nina in his childhood. He had never asked Sam why he
had come back so late.

"We haven't eaten yet. Let's go eat," John lied.

Nina did not try and debunk John's little lie. She held Chester's hand and said with
a smile, "Let's go to dinner."

"Okay, let's eat!" Chester had no clue. He happily held Nina's hand and tugged on
John's sleeve.

John pretended not to know, but slowed down a bit.

They were like a typical family of three followed by a happy dog.

'Uncle John, Aunt Nina. I will be filial to you, just like how I am with Mom and Dad.'

That night when John was taking a shower, Nina touched her belly and rubbed it.
 The reason why John wanted a child was that he wanted a complete family.

"I want a complete family. It's something I've always longed for." With a gentle but
mischievous smile, Nina quietly went to Helen and took one of her needles. She found
John's stash of condoms and pricked them one by one.
 When John came out of the steaming shower, he happened to catch Nina tucking
something under the pillow.

Nina heard John's footsteps and hurriedly put the needle under the pillow. She
quickly pivoted and sat on a cross-legged pose as she beamed an alluring smile at John.

"Are you finished taking a bath?"

"Yes." John leaned against the door crevice and stood still with his hands crossed
over his chest.

He wondered,

'What did she put under the pillow? There are only condoms there.

Was she checking the condoms, thinking I pricked them again?'

He had always wanted a baby because he was afraid of losing her.

Nina once said that she wasn't ready to have a child yet.

John was a man who wouldn't force his way to something she didn't like.

Nina tried to hide her guilt under her smile as she saw that he was confused.

She had accused him of pricking the condoms before.

 Now, she was the one who did the same thing.

If John found out, he would certainly mock her.

She wouldn't let that happen.

Nina convinced herself that he was clueless about what she had done. She gradually
composed herself and lay in the bed.

"It's time to go to bed now, honey." Nina raised her eyebrows

ball and gripped on his groin.

"Honey, that hurts!" Nina narrowed her eyes and said, "I got jabbed by a needle!"

"But I haven't…" John bit his lips in torment. His little girl added an extra muscle in
that kick.

'Needle?' With a distressed expression,

John looked at Nina. Under the dim light of the room, a thin shiny object glistened
in Nina's bleeding finger.

He couldn't believe it! His wife was indeed pricked by a needle!

"What happened?" Nina was whimpering in pain. How could he care about his
recuperating crotch? He took her hand and saw the pin standing on her fingertip as
blood oozed out of the incision. "Let's go to the hospital!"

John quickly wrapped his robe around his body, wrapped Nina in the quilt, and carried
her outside.
 "No! There's no need to go to the hospital. Just pull it out and apply some first aid.
It doesn't hurt as much now." Nina shook her legs out of the blanket and refused to
go to the hospital.

Not only was the injury not that serious, but also they didn't wear any clothes. People
might misunderstand the situation and judge them if they went out like this.

How often did you see a man in a robe and a nude woman swathed in a quilt at a
hospital?
 "We have to go to the hospital now!" John insisted on taking his wife to the hospital.

Nina grew anxious and said, "Go on! Send me there! Tomorrow, the headlines will be
filled with nothing but our scandal. 'Mr. Shi rushed to the hospital in the middle of the
night with his wife. Was he so violent that he hurt his wife?'"

"What?" John glanced at her with a puzzled look.

With her arms wrapped around his neck, Nina looked at his face from the side, and
her eyes seemed to dare him that if he was not afraid of being teased by the media,
then he could take her to the hospital.

The two of them locked eyes for a moment until John decided to turn around and
head back to the bedroom. He picked up the tumbled nightgown on the floor and
carefully dressed her from her toes to her shoulders. His movements were cautious as
he was afraid of touching her finger.

After clothing Nina, John stood up and snatched the first aid kit.

Nina sat on the sofa near the window as she managed to pull out the needle and
wrapped the wound with some tissue paper.

"I did it!" Nina was enthusiastic as she raised her finger, and the white tissue was
stained with her fresh crimson blood.

Apparently, she was doing just fine.

John was filled with heartache when

 it for Chester." Nina rolled her eyes. "You flatter yourself too much."

John smiled and said, "Well, I feel admired."

"Come on, it's time to go to bed." Nina tapped his shoulder and stood up from his
encapsulating arms.

John was swift to stop her as he grabbed her arm and asked, "Shouldn't we continue
our moment?"

"I'm injured, remember?" Nina raised her finger deliberately in front of his face
for him to see clearly. She lifted the quilt and tucked herself in before closing her
eyes to sleep.

John grinned at her and went to the bathroom again.

He had an electrifying reaction in between his legs the moment she pounced on top
of him.

The two of them cuddled through the night and fell asleep.

When Nina opened her eyes the next morning, she found that she was buried against
John's brawny chest.

She stretched her hand and thumped the bridge of John's nose with her pointy
elbow.

"Ouch! Honey, you're so sweet that you wake me up in the special way possible." John
was pounded to his consciousness as he woke up to the morning sunshine. His voice was
hoarse as he squinted his blurry eyes to clarity.

His slender fingers slithered across Nina's palm as they interlocked with her fingers.

He said, "Honey, morning exercise?"

 With drowsy eyes, Nina turned around to face John. "Honey, we won't do morning
exercise today."

John smiled and wrapped her in his arms. "Then sleep a little longer."

"Okay, honey." Nina said that in a monotonous tone. It seemed she expected to hear
something else from John. He laughed and gently kissed her on the forehead.

They slept early last night. The sun had not yet risen when they woke up, so the both
of them decided to go back to sleep before heading downstairs for breakfast.

"My final exams are coming. It will be difficult for me to go to the campus from
here. I should stay there for a few days and come back after the exams, what do you
think?" Nina tore a small piece of bread to eat. She glanced at John as she put it in
her mouth, almost playfully.

"How many days?" John asked.

"Six. The exams will be held three days from now, and they'll last for another three
days. So a total of six."

That was too long for John.

He could not stand it. He wanted to have Nina close every second of the day.

"I'll go live with you then," John said decisively.

Nina almost spat out the milk she was drinking. "Honey, it's only six days. It's not
even a week. Do you really have to live in my apartment with me?"
 "Is there a problem with that?" John reached out to wipe the milk f

e news due to the earthquake. People were devastated.

John did not do anything for charity, nor did he care about other people's lives at
all. He only cared about people around him. However, it seemed that Nina has influenced
a change in that attitude.

His drive to go to C City was to help James.

He knew how kind-hearted his wife is.

She always exerted effort to extend help to other people.

"Okay." John nodded in agreement. He admired his wife so much.

James rushed from B City to C City at an almost impossible speed.

Emma's crew did encounter an earthquake but they were shooting in a square at that
time. No one from their crew was injured.

That was what they thought. No one noticed there was someone missing.

It was not until everyone was settled down in the morning that Director Xin realized
that Emma was missing.

"Where's Emma? Did anyone see her?"

Almost everyone shook their head. "No, sir."

However, there was one person who did not say a word. She was a nameless actress.

With a glass of warm water clasped in her hand, she lowered her eyes and did not
even dare to look at Director Xin. Her body was still trembling slightly.
 Last night, she ordered Emma to buy milk tea. That was when the earthquake
happened, and she did not hear from Emma since then.
 Someone noticed that there was something wrong with the actress and asked her
concernedly, "Alice, are you okay? Why are you shaking so hard? Are you sick?"

"No, no." Alice held the cup tighter and forced a smile.

"I don't think you feel well. Your face looks pale. You'd better go see the doctor.
I'm afraid that you can't continue to act."

"Can you leave me alone?" Alice glared at the person impatiently. The thought that
something might have happened to Emma scared her. "I've told you that I'm not sick!"

Everyone appeared stern and serious. They had saved themselves, but this natural
disaster still took some lives.

They witnessed a lot of people's breakdown and heartbreaks after being separated
from their loved ones forever.

Everyone was praying silently.

In her outburst, Alice's scream shattered their mourning and hopeful silence.

Director Xin turned around and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Alice flashed a flattering smile. "Thank you for your concern, Director
Xin. I'm fine."

"That's good." Director Xin's eyes gleamed with worry. "Who was the last one to
see Emma last night?"
 He must find Emma.

Emma wa

tor Xin felt his hair turn grey all of a sudden. "I just wish there would be no
aftershocks. We have to find Emma as soon as possible. I hope she's fine."

Although the earthquake struck fast, the epicenter was not in the city, so the
damage was not as severe. Several buildings collapsed and some people were injured.
Overall, there were a few casualties.

No matter what, there were still casualties.

Director Xin looked at the direction of Maple Road. A big crack had fissured the
ground and the buildings along the road crooked and tilted.

He could only pray that they find Emma quickly. If James discovered any of this,
things would get worse.

"Emma, Emma!" A voice echoed from afar, rushing steps growing louder with each
second. James arrived in an innocent excitement to see the crew at the center of the
square. He pulled one of them and asked, "Where's Emma? Did you see Emma? Where
is she?"

The person he grabbed was none other than Alice. She was inching backwards,
wanting to reduce her sense of existence from the crowd.

"Emma?" Alice was startled. Her face went pale with nervousness when she heard
the name. "Who are you?"
 James looked around, but he still could not find Emma. His eyes were as red as an
angry wolf's. "It doesn't matter who I am. Have you seen Emma?"

Alice had never met such a handsome and fierce man. Although he looked a little
disheveled and stressed out, he still gave off a vibe that she found completely
irresistible.

"No, no," she answered. A splash of color slowly crept up her usually pale face. "Are
you a friend of Emma's?"

James ignored her question and pushed her aside. He yelled in frustration, "Weren't
you together? How could you not have seen her? Are you blind?"

Alice staggered backward with the force of James' push. She almost fell, but
someone came in time to catch her.

The person who helped her was the one who had asked her before if she was sick.

Alice wanted to fall down so that she would have an excuse to accost James, but
someone steadied her. She turned around and saw the staff who caught her. "You again?
Can you stop ruining my plans?" she said angrily.

The staff let go of her and said nothing.

Alice did not appreciate his kindness at all.

Alice stared him down and then looked at James. She recognized the sort of clothes
James was wearing. They were expensive, the ki
 nd took the apron. "We have to wait. They have to check every shop. We are in the
middle of the street. It will take some time."

"I guess you're right. I hope they come soon. It's getting a little difficult to breathe
in here, and I'm starving," he said. "Are you an actress? I've never seen any actress
come here to buy milk tea.

The filming site is a little far away from here. Why did you come? If you hadn't
come, you wouldn't have ended up here with me, squatting in the dust like a trapped
little mouse." The man was good at dealing with people. He flashed his white teeth and
two dimples at Emma. "My name is Roman Chen, a student of C University."

Emma realized why this milk tea shop was popular. The man was rather attractive.

When she came all the way here, she happened to come across a group of girls who
were sipping their milk tea and giggling among themselves.

Emma gradually smiled.

She was reminded of how adorable her boyfriend was.

Wherever James went, there was always a group of avid female followers. They
swooned over him, but every time they came too close, he took the initiative to put his
arm around her shoulder and announce their relationship proudly.

He had a girlfriend.
 "I'm not an actress. I'm Emma Lin, an intern in the crew," Emma replied with a smile,
looking away, waiting for the rescue.

Her phone ran out of battery. She couldn't contact anyone.

Her boyfriend would surely be worried and angry.

He would slap himself across the face every time he boiled with rage.

As long as he couldn't contact her, he wouldn't think twice of hurting himself.

"Why do you hit yourself when you're angry? You can scold me," Emma once asked
him.

James glared at her and said, "What's the difference between beating you and
myself? No, there is a difference. It will only hurt for a few days if I beat myself, but
for a lifetime if I beat you."

Every time he said so, Emma curved her lips.

She had never met anyone who was so stupid. But this stupid man moved her deeply.

'James, I miss you,' she thought to herself.

"Emma, Emma, where are you?" There was a muffled wail. It was James. In her
hopeful prayer, she heard James calling outside the ruins. He seemed to be fen
 of the rocks.

He didn't care about himself. He only knew that the woman he loved was still alive,
could sing, and was waiting for him.

The rescue team also rushed over to help clear away the rubbles. A group of abled
survivors flurried in to join them.

Emma sang the song again and again, listening to the sound of digging outside. She
felt at ease.

At last,

the stone blocking Emma and Roman was moved away, and a ray of sunshine shone on
their faces.

The sudden light blinded them and prompted their hands to block the sun.

"Emma, come out. I'll carry you out." James couldn't see her clearly against the light,
but it was indeed Emma.

Emma only saw a tall figure. He stretched out a pair of strong hands and hugged her.

"James," Emma murmured, tears streaming down her cheeks.

They caught each other in a reuniting embrace.

Emma was relieved she was finally again with the greatest support in her life.

He was the happiest thing that came into her life. And now, he saved her.
 Emma and Roman were safe. They weren't hurt, and the only marks on their faces
and bodies were streaks of dust.

However, the rescue team still insisted for Roman to visit the hospital for a general
check-up.

He bent down to thank the rescue team. He glanced at James and Emma, who were
still locked in a tight embrace.

Roman and Emma only met by chance, and with it went through a life-of-death
experience together. They'd go their separate ways soon; they were just passers-by
in each other's life.

They didn't even try to ask for each other's numbers. They were just two boats
passing the same lighthouse once, each fading away into the horizon without a trace.

Roman made his way to the hospital.

James bent down and carried Emma away.

"Why are you here?" Emma asked as she got comfortable in James' arms. With her
arms around his neck, she felt warmth.

"I came because you missed me." James relaxed his pace and tried to walk as steadily
as possible. He wanted to carry Emma with as much stability as he could muster.

Emma thought,

'How did he know that I missed him?

 Can he read my mind?'

"You sent me two pictures, remember? One with a roadside view, and the

a. Furious, she asked, "Is he really a member of the Shi family? How could he fall in
love with Emma?"

"Well, you see, Emma is a top student of L Communication University. When she was
still a sophomore, she made a short film that dealt with public welfare. The film became
quite popular. She's good. This is also the reason why she has the privilege of working
for Director Xin as in intern." The man who answered her was one of Director Xin's
long-time employees. He was known to be knowledgeable in the entertainment industry.

He looked at Alice and added, "Maybe you're not aware that she's good friends with
Nina? You may not even know who Nina is."

"Well, who's she?" Alice knew nothing about Nina.

Before she got a response, a dark cloud covered the square in shade. A strong wind
blew.

A helicopter circled above the place, and everyone's eyes looked up.

There was nowhere to land the helicopter, but John needed to take James and Emma
up as soon as possible. So, he dropped a rope ladder.

Then, while John was still scrambling to climb down, Nina had already tied a safety
rope and jumped along the rope ladder.

"Nina!" John shouted.

'She's always so reckless!'

 Anger was prominent on John's face as he sat in the helicopter.

Nina shivered as she raised her head and looked at John. "Honey, wait for me to
bring them back here."

The people below saw a nimble and agile silhouette of a gallant woman. It seemed
she was descending from the sky. Her roughly tied hair swayed in the wind, and her
unbound strands of hair swept through her face.

When she was less than half a meter away from the ground, Nina jumped and landed
gently to the ground.

She glanced at the crowd around her and spotted James and Emma. She walked
toward them.

When Nina passed by Alice, she heard a man whisper, "That is Nina Lu, Mr. Shi's
wife, the princess of C Island and the campus belle of L University. She's a famous
painter. Her artworks cost a pretty penny.

She is one of Emma's friends. Just pray that Emma doesn't mention you, Alice, or
there will be hell to pay."

The man clicked his tongue. He did not dare think about the consequences.

Nina slowed down and gave a sharp and stern glance at Alice.

When Alice heard that, her temples began to throb in pain. She raised her head and
met Nina's eyes. Nina's cold gaze made Al
 forward steadily. Some of the moving air went into Nina's mouth.

It made her choke.

John pulled her up and held her in his arms. "Next time, tell me what you're going to
do before you do it."

It took a few seconds for Nina to recover. "I'm sorry. I won't make you worry like
that again."

"Okay." John caressed her waist and let her go.

The S-76 was an all-weather, civil transportation helicopter. The cabin was spacious
and comfortable. It could accommodate 12 people at most.

Emma changed into the dress Nina prepared for her. She then cleaned her face with
a wet towel. She looked much better, but her fatigue was still so obvious.

She was up all night. She was sleepy.

When Emma saw John, she bowed and nodded to express her gratitude. "Uncle
John…"

This was the first time that Emma had called him like that.

"Hello, Emma," John calmly greeted.

"Honey, what did you say just now?" James got excited upon hearing how Emma
greeted John. He even introduced Nina to Emma without thinking. "This is Aunt Nina."

Nina slapped James' head.

'Is he crazy? He

even let one of my good friends call me Auntie?' Nina thought with fury.
 Under Nina's stare, James stopped talking, turned around, and talked to Emma.

The helicopter flew back to Lexingport City and landed on the top floor of North
Yard's main building.

The family doctor, who had been waiting for a long time, examined Emma from head
to toe. She sustained no other injury except for a slight bruise.

Chester tugged on Nina's hand and asked, "Aunt Nina, how are the people in C City?"

Nina looked down at the child with a smile and touched his head. "I'm not sure about
the details of the disaster, but your uncle has done everything he can."

Nina had always thought that Sam wanted to send Chester to college in B City in
September for the future development of Shi family.

As it turned out, she was wrong.

It was Chester who wanted to take this path.

Chester looked at John and said, "Thank you, Uncle John."

"Okay. Never forget why you are doing this in the first place." This was John's only
hope for Chester.

Lexingport City was a complicated place. John had seen many people who held high
positions but didn't care about masses. He hoped that Chester would never be one of
them.
 Emma left North Yard not long

o contact my assistant for an interview."

John attached great importance to talent selection.

The boy looked stunned.

In the next moment, John strode toward Nina. Chester raised his head, and their
eyes met.

"Uncle..." he murmured.

"Shh..." John placed his index finger against his lips.

Chester continued to read as if nothing had happened.

Nina was immersed in her book. She got a little distracted when another person sat
down beside her, but she didn't look at the newcomer. She only reached out and pulled
her books toward her section of the table to make room for the other person on their
table.

John was taken aback.

Did that mean that Nina gave this seat to any random student who came over?

On the second day, when Nina arrived at the library to study, she saw a pile of
professional books on management on the table. It looked like one of the seats were
already occupied, but the person who brought the books was noticeably absent.

Nina told Chester, "Chester, don't be a dog in the manger like that guy. They can be
pretty insufferable."

Lost in thought, Chester said nothing. 'Aunt Nina, you are talking about Uncle John!'
 When Nina and Chester walked out of the library, Michelle was standing by the door
and waving at the two of them.

"Nini, here."

"Let's go, Chester. It's almost dinner time." Nina took Chester to meet Michelle and
planned to go to a nearby supermarket to buy groceries.

Michelle was holding a white paper bag in her hand. When Chester approached her,
she handed the bag to him and said, "Here you go, Chester."

Chester stared at the bag and made no move to take it. There was confusion mixed
in with the gratitude in his eyes.

"I did nothing to merit any reward."

Michelle grinned, revealing two cute canine teeth. "You're so cute!"

"Chester, you can take the gift from Aunt Michelle." Hearing Nina's words, Chester
reached out his hand to take the bag and politely bowed. "Thank you, Aunt Michelle."

There was no expression on his face—not even the usual excitement children showed
when then receive gifts. Even so, Chester's disciplined demeanor made Michelle happy.

"Little Chester, you are so cute. I like you so much. Oh, and you shouldn't call me
Aunt Michelle—my cousin and your brother are dating." Michelle reached out to pinch
his face, but Chester didn't really like
 "Okay. I'll—"

"I'll go get it," Michelle interjected and turned around to grab several packs of
instant noodles.

Other people were waiting for them. Then, Nina saw a girl, a classmate of hers, who
stalked toward the shelves angrily.

"Excuse me, where are the instant noodles?" she asked one of the staff with a feral
grin on her face. "You know, those crispy ones that will get break if you kneel on them."

"Instant noodles? Kneel on them?" The saleswoman was confused.

The girl gritted her teeth and said, "Yes, I'm buying them for my boyfriend so that
he can kneel on them. Don't worry, I won't waste food. He will have to eat all of the
noodles if he breaks them while kneeling."

"Ah, come with me. I'll take you to them," said the saleswoman with a stunned look.

The girl greeted Nina with a smile and left with a whole bag of instant noodles.

Nina's eyes went wide.

"If he breaks the instant noodles while kneeling, he will have to eat them all. Thus,
he has to keep some distance between the noodles and his knees. That would be very
tiring." Nina's eyes lit up. "She's so smart."

Everyone else was speechless.

They suddenly had a mental image of John's future.

 Henry and Adrian owned a luxury apartment.

It was a quiet, low-profile place. No one would think that the president of the Song
Group and the president of the Ye Group would have a residence in such an area.

Every weekend, the two of them came to stay here. They turned off their mobile
phones to avoid interruptions.

They came to the apartment and began to prepare hot pot.

Chester went to get the drinks while Michelle prepared the ingredients. Nina was
washing some fruits in the sink while Henry got the hot pot started.

Everyone had their own task except for Adrian who had nothing to do. He just went
around and took photos and posted them in his WeChat Moments.

While Nina was washing some grapes, Adrian walked over to her and picked one from
the pile she had already washed. He popped the grape into his mouth and smiled.

"Thanks, Nina," he said. Adrian felt that he had to find something to do, so he said,
"I'm going to go play some music."

He then turned around and went to the living room where he turned the stereo on
and connected his phone. He played some electronic dance music, the kind of music the
DJ played in dance clubs. He cranked up the

t to see her and greeted John.

 Chester said, "Uncle John."

Henry said, "John."

Michelle said, "Good afternoon, Uncle John. Since you're here, you can join us for
some hot pot."

The two-flavor hot pot was already boiling on the table, smelling incredibly delicious.

John heard footsteps behind him and smiled. Without turning around, he knew it was
his wife.

She could be a naughty little girl sometimes.

He deliberately slowed down his pace.

Nina seized the opportunity and pressed a fruit knife she was holding against his
waist.

"Don't move. Put your hands in the air." Nina's voice was cold, but her eyes were wild
with excitement. "This is a robbery."

With a faint smile tugging at the corner of John's mouth, he raised his hands
cooperatively. "Do you want my money, or do you want my body?"

Without hesitation, Nina blurted out, "I want your body."

"Are you sure?" John turned around, bent down, and swept Nina off her feet. She
was in his arms before she could protest.

"John!" She flailed around and blushed furiously. "Put me down! There are so many
people here!"
She just wanted to make a joke.

Why did he take it so seriously?

 With a playful look on her face, Michelle covered Chester's eyes.

He was too young to see or hear such mature exchanges.

"How's the sound insulation in your bedroom?" Michelle asked.

They looked at John as he carried Nina into the bedroom.

Adrian smiled, "Very, very good."

"Great. We have nothing to worry about then." Michelle breathed a sigh of relief
and took her hands off Chester's eyes.

Without waiting for John and Nina to join them, they started eating. Thankfully, as
they were enjoying the hot pot, they did not hear any sound coming from the bedroom.

James commented, "Adrian, why did you soundproof your bedroom?"

Henry almost choked on his food while Adrian turned his head at James. Henry
raised a fist to his lips and coughed. He glanced at Adrian, telling him with his eyes not
to say anything stupid.

No one knew about Henry and Adrian's relationship except for John and Nina.

Adrian understood and answered, "I'm afraid of disturbing others."

"Afraid of disturbing others? Why? That's even stranger.

 What could you possibly do to disturb others?" James asked.

"Just pay more attention to your girlfriend, James," Henry interjected, trying to
shift James' attention.

Emma lifted her head and smiled. "I'm fine. You guys just talk. The three of us can
continue eating."

"That's right. Talk more." Michelle picked up a piece of meat with her chopsticks
and tossed it into the h

nd challenge her worth. However, Emma had been a straight-A student since she
started studying. She did not have that many friends, but she did not offend anyone,
so everyone could only talk about her family background.

When James came across the news articles, he was so furious. "How dare these
people speak ill of my fiancee? I will destroy them," he grumbled.

Even James' mother, Angela, announced, "They can only decide whether my future
daughter-in-law is worthy of my son or not when they fill my shoes. Otherwise, they
should all just shut up."

Emma turned into a celebrity. Wherever she went, people followed and blessings
flowed, rendering her a little dizzy and overwhelmed.

She had never been so happy in her entire life.

When the Ye family received the invitation to James and Emma's engagement party,
Julie went to speak to her daughter. "This is your chance, Vivi. You haven't been able
to get close to Mr. Shi. You must get close to him at the engagement party. This time,
we will act according to plan, do you understand?"

"Yes, Mom," Vivian replied. "Recently, I've learned a lot about seduction and
manipulation according to your requirements. I won't let you down."
 "Silly girl, don't worry about letting me down. Just do your best to satisfy Mr. Shi
and ensnare him. You can't disappoint him this time, do you understand?" Julie patted
the back of her daughter's hand and smiled meaningfully.
 On July fifth, Nina had finally finished her last exam and strode out of the teaching
building with a sense of relief. A classmate handed Nina a rose as she pointed to a
direction and said, "Mrs. Shi, your husband is waiting for you over there."

The rose in her hand was decorated with little water droplets, dazzling in the setting
sun.

"What? My husband?" Nina reached out and took the rose. A wisp of a familiar
fragrance wafted into her nose.

Nina looked in the direction, trying to see John but to no avail.

"Thank you." Nina just decided to thank her and walk to the direction she pointed
at.

Just a few steps away, another classmate handed her a rose and pointed to the same
direction, saying the same words.

"Mrs. Shi, your husband is waiting for you over there."

Nina was stunned and took the second rose.

Then the third, the fourth, the fifth...

 After walking for some time now, Nina couldn't even count how many roses she had.
Her arms were filled with more than a bouquet by now.

What was John up to?

Was this because she finished her exams?

Nina looked down and carefully arranged the roses i

e to see how in love they were.

She always thought that showing off one's love was a childish thing to do, but once
she felt such pure emotion for John, she couldn't help wanting the world to see it.

She needed them all to know that John was hers.

The cashier smiled and said, "WeChat Pay or Alipay? Please show me the payment
code and I'll swipe it."

"Pay by card." John took out the black card and handed it to the cashier.

She took the card and realized that the couple in front of her had to be rich. She
did her best to be as careful as possible as she swiped the card.

After swiping the card a couple times, the cashier hesitantly said, "Sir, your card
has been frozen."

Nina was stunned. "Who would even think about freezing your card?"

"You!" John calmly took the card and turned his head to face Nina. "When did you
freeze it?"

"Me? I only froze the secondary card." Nina stopped dead. Her mouth hung open as
she slowly blinked. She couldn't believe it.
"So I have the principal card?"

"Yes."

Nina was shocked.

John had given her the principal card, and he used the secondary card himself.
 John neither used WeChat or Alipay, nor did he bring any cash with him. Knowing
this, Nina took out her mobile phone and was about to pay.

"We'll buy them tomorrow," John said, stopping Nina.

He would not allow his wife to pay for the things he intended to buy for her.

He was not going to lose face like that.

"Set them aside, and don't let anyone else touch them. I'll come to buy them
tomorrow." Hearing John's words, the cashier simply nodded and did not say anything.

"Thank you," John said. Nina put her phone away, and the two of them left the store
hand in hand.

On their way back, Nina asked, "Why did you give me the principal card?"

"Because I want to. And why did you freeze it?" John asked.

"I want to leave you some money in case you go bankrupt one day," Nina answered
bluntly.

John turned his head at her, speechless.

To this day, she was still thinking that he would go bankrupt someday.

"I've never seen a CEO who comes to work late and leaves early." Nina sighed and
shook her head.
 All the things that happened in the past kept rolling in her mind.

She understood that it was natural for men to get an erection in the morning. Other
men calmed down by themselves, but John was

's great," Michelle smiled. "By the way, Uncle John, are you going to Spring City with
Nini? I have training sessions to attend during summer vacation, so I can't go with her."

Nina looked up at John. She had said that it did not matter to her whether he went
to Spring City with her or not, but it would make her happy if he did.

"I'm busy," John said plainly.

Nina nodded. It was really fine with her.

She would come home soon anyway.

She said, "I won't be coming back to North Yard. It's more convenient for me to go
to the airport from here. Do you want to stay here with me or...?"

"I'll stay here with you." John had already known that she would not go back to
North Yard, so he had already asked someone to bring some necessities here.

Chester was sent to the Shi family villa on Stone Road. Michelle also went home. Her
parents were on vacation and would return in time for James and Emma's engagement
party.

The next day, the engagement party was held as scheduled. It was a grand party
with a lot of celebrities and noblemen in attendance. There were even designated media
people present.

It was a night of drinking, dancing, and unrestrained revelry. Many people came with
different intentions.
 James and Emma had not shown up yet at the banquet hall. James' parents, Daniel
and Angela, welcomed all their friends and guests. They did not sit down until Emma's
parents arrived. They looked very harmonious from afar.

Wearing an elegant long dress, Vivian walked through the crowd with a smile. She
asked one of the waiters where the bathroom was.

There were two bathrooms in total, one for the guests and one for the staff.

Vivian went into the guests' bathroom first, walked around, and then went into the
staff's.

The staff's bathroom was a certain distance from the banquet hall. To get there,
she needed to cross a small garden full of lovely, blooming roses.

In the bathroom, Vivian stood in front of the wash basin, put her handbag aside, and
turned on the tap. She washed her hands and checked her makeup in the mirror.

The staff was busy at the moment, so the bathroom was empty and quiet.

Vivian listened to the sound of flowing water for nearly two minutes. Then, she heard
footsteps approaching. She turned off the tap, took out a lipstick from her bag, and
applied some on her lips.

"Miss Ye." A w

"Emma is a good girl. My son-in-law, Jason, is a professor at L University. Not long

ago, I told him about Emma. He had nothing but good words for her. He also praised
her brilliant dissertation. Maybe she can be James' tutor in the future. Let's see if
he'll study well and hard this time under his wife's tutelage."

Sam spoke with a hint of disappointment in his eyes, which amused everyone.

Hearing her father mention her ex-husband's name, Jessica felt as if a big invisible
hand reached for her throat and squeezed it.

"Dad, my..." Jessica wanted to address Jason as her husband, but then she realized
he was not her husband anymore. "Do you often contact Jason?" she asked.

"Of course." Every time Sam mentioned Jason, he looked happy and proud. "He calls
me every week and asks how I'm doing. He even plays chess with me online sometimes."

"I see." Swallowing the bitter lump in her throat and shielding her now misty eyes,
Jessica stood up and excused herself. "I have to go to the bathroom. Excuse me."

Then, Jessica turned around and left.

That was Vivian's cue to leave her spot and follow Jessica.
 Jessica trudged all the way to the corner of the small garden with her back to the
light and sobbing softly.

Jason called her father every week, but never replied to her messages.

He would never come back to her anymore.

Jessica choked through the sobs until she heard footsteps coming up from behind
her. She frantically wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to compose herself.

"Jessica?"

When Jessica turned around, she saw Vivian standing behind her. She forced a smile
and asked, "Vivi, what are you doing here?"

"I saw you come out here all by yourself and I was worried about you. There are all
kinds of people here tonight and it's dangerous to just be by yourself." As Vivian spoke,
she walked over and took Jessica's hand. Seeing Jessica's slightly red eyes, Vivian
looked away and changed the topic, smiling. "Jessica, let's go inside."

Jessica glanced up at Vivian. She was grateful that Vivian didn't pry about the
redness of her eyes. Jessica knew she wouldn't have been able to g

ade up an excuse and left with Jessica.

The waiter found a corner that was hidden away from cameras. He then wiped the
glass with his index finger.
 He also used the jasmine-scented hand cream.

Unknown to anyone, it was not just a simple hand cream.

After carrying out the plan, the waiter strode over to John's side. "Mr. Shi."

John took the wine glass while the waiter retreated into the background.

"I also want some wine." Nina was about to pick up the glass, but John wasn't having
any of her nonsense. He stopped her and said to the waiter, "Orange juice."

The waiter swiftly came back with some orange juice for Nina.

Nina and John clinked glasses.

The waiter stood and watched from afar. As soon as he saw John take a sip, he left.

He marched into the garden and walked past Vivian.

All they needed was a sly glance to understand that the deed was done.

The waiter's payment was placed under the washbasin and he picked it up after
washing the hand cream off his finger.
 When Vivian returned to the banquet hall, she did not focus on John and Nina but
on two men standing not far away.

They were Adrian and Henry.

After a few moments, she looked away and spotted Vera.

"Vera." Vivian walked over to her, a glass of red wine in hand.

Seeing Vivian, Vera whispered something to her mother and excused herself.

"Vivian, I've been looking for you everywhere. Where have you been?" Vera seldom
attended banquets, and she had just returned from abroad. She did not know many
ladies in Lexingport City.

She had just met Vivian recently when the latter accidentally occupied her parking
space.

Unbeknownst to Vera, her meeting with Vivian was not a coincidence. It was part of
Vivian's elaborate plan.

"I accompanied Jessica upstairs. I want to make sure she's okay. She's a little tired.
She's resting now." Vivian clinked glasses with Vera. "Have you met my brother?"

"No, not yet." Vera took a sip of her wine and shook her head. "I'm excited to meet
Henry. I'm really curious about him."
 "He's ove

c expression on Nina's face. "Okay. How about I call them Beauty and the Beast?"

Nina was speechless.

John whipped his head to them.

"James is not... the Beast." Dora stood up and spoke for her brother. "My brother
is good-looking, and he's gentle to Emma. He may not be as smart as her, but he's okay."

Michelle tilted her head and said, "Well, I don't know how to describe them. I'm not
as brainy as my cousin either. All I think about is eating and playing games."

If Michelle was not thinking about new recipes, she was playing games to practice
her skills. How could she think about other things?

Dora laughed. The others also laughed with her.

All of a sudden, John felt a little uncomfortable. He did not think about it too much
since he thought he was just tired.

He patted Nina's waist and said, "Honey..."

"Shh, it's starting. Let's see what kind of words James will say." Nina stared at
James and Emma who were standing in the spotlight.

John simply smiled. He turned around and went back to his hotel room.
 While John was waiting for the elevator, he happened to meet Vivian coming
downstairs.

"Mr. Shi? Are you going upstairs?" Vivian asked in surprise.

"Yes." Then he entered the elevator and pressed the button. He didn't even give her
a glance.

She didn't seem to be bothered though. Instead, she gave a weird smile and watched
the elevator doors shut.

Everything was going according to her plan.

John would go back to his room and sleep deeply, unaware of what would happen next.

Standing at the doors of the elevator, Vivian took her phone out of her bag, and
lifted it to her ear.

No one called her.

She pretended to be answering a phone call.

She was just putting on an act for the surveillance cameras. They were recording
everything so she had to put on a show to avoid suspicion.

"Okay, I'm waiting for the elevator," Vivian said to herself. She put her phone in her
bag and pressed the elevator button.
 She stepped into the elevator and went back to Jessica's room.

Vivian got to the room a short while later and knocked on the door.

Jessica strode over to the door to see who it was.

eaned back as if he was there and fell down.

Everyone was so immersed in this moment that nobody noticed her blunder. Even
Michelle was too distracted to notice.

The only person who had his concentration fixed on Nina was Noah. He saw her falling
and rushed over to catch her.

"Nini, are you okay?"

"Noah." With half of her body leaning against Noah's chest, Nina stood up and looked
around, but couldn't see John anywhere. "When did John leave?"

Noah propped Nina up, withdrew his hands and said, "I didn't see him."

"I'll give him a call." Nina called several times, but John didn't answer. She went to
elevator and was about to go look for John back in the room.

As soon as she got out of the elevator, a hotel waitress slumped to the floor in front
of the door to her room with a scream.

"Ah!"

The sudden shout shocked Nina senseless. She rushed into the room only to find a
bunch of clothes scattered on the floor. As she looked deeper into the room, she saw
the horrific sight of John in the bed with another woman.

Nina's phone fell to the floor.

The sound didn't wake the two people up.
 Nina stood at the door in a daze. The scene of John and a woman sleeping together
in the bed was now seared into her memory. Her throat was so tight that she could not
breathe.

In their own bedroom, her husband was lying with another woman.

Nina wanted to rush in and hit them. Thankfully, her rational brain, which had served
her all these years, stopped her from doing so and reminded her that she should never
act like a shrew.

Sometimes, things weren't what they seemed.

Nina comforted herself inwardly. Her fingers slowly clenching into fists, she stared
at the scene for a long time without saying anything

"Mrs. Shi, are you okay?" The one who screamed just now was a young waitress. She
took off her high heels and got up from the floor.

"Nothing." Nina shook her head.

She gritted her teeth and whirled around to leave.

Every step she took was like a knife cutting her foot.

Then, she suddenly stopped, her fists clenched tightly. She turned around and
looked at the door. Her eyes were as dark as an abys
 at John.

'Why hasn't he woken up yet?'

John finally stirred from his deep slumber. Unaware of what had happened, he sat
up with a frown on his face, wiping away the water stains from his face.

"Honey? What's going on?" John looked at the empty fish tank in Nina's hands in
confusion.

Then, he spied Noah standing with his back to them, and his eyes became cold.

Nina snorted, "You should see who's in the bed first."

His frown deepening, John turned and saw Vivian shivering against the headboard.

John rolled out of bed and stared at the woman in growing horror. "Why is she
here?"

"How do I know?" Nina took a step to the side and kept her distance from John.

He smelled of another woman's perfume,

and she hated it.

"I...I don't know what happened. I...I don't know..." Vivian buried her head in her
knees and began to sob, like she was being raped.

"Fuck off!" John growled at Vivian in a low, menacing voice.

John came up to have a short nap. How in the world could Vivian creep into his bed?
 "She can't fuck off now." Nina scolded coldly, "Are you afraid that others won't
know? You two go out like this. Who believes that nothing has happened between you
two? "

Even Nina herself might not believe it.

Nina believed that John wouldn't act recklessly, but she didn't believe that Vivian
wouldn't trick John.

If Noah hadn't told Nina to calm down, if Vivian and John hadn't had sex, if both of
Vivian and John had chance to been set up, Nina would have slapped Vivian to death.

John didn't dare to make a sound when he faced Nina's scolding. He subconsciously
reached out his hand to pull Nina, but she took a step back and shook it off.

Who knew if his hand had touched Vivian's body or not.

After a moment of silence, John opened his mouth slightly and said, "I'll find it out."

"No, thanks." Nina would figure it out herself.

Noah and Nina walked out of the room one after another. John's shirt was half wet,
and there was a grass hanging on his short hair. He looked so embarrassed that he
couldn't catch up with Nina in this way.

As long as he went downstairs in th

 ad sex with someone, she couldn't be with Adrian. She didn't know if that playboy
was sick or not.

Henry pushed away the woman in his arms and strode towards the big suite. He was
so angry that he wanted to settle accounts with Adrian.

Vera stood still, moved.

"What the hell is going on? Why did you have sex while chatting? Why did she sleep
on the same bed with you when she woke up? Are you still naked? " Adrian walked back
and forth in a bath towel.

He was sure that nothing had happened between him and Vera. It was impossible.

'Is it possible that Vera found out the relationship between me and Henry, so she
deliberately framed me and wanted me to break up with Henry so that she could marry
Henry?' Adrian stopped pacing back and forth, this idea startled him.

He was sure that it must be the case.

"Damn it! She must have gone to see Henry." Adrian put on his clothes, turned around
and ran out.

Adrian just took two steps and bumped into Henry.

"Who is it?" Adrian looked up and saw Henry's dark face. Adrian stammered, "Henry?
What...What are you doing here? "
 Henry grabbed Adrian's collar and gritted his teeth, "What did you do to Vera?"

Adrian knew that Vera had gone to complain about him even though she was the bad
person.

Adrian hurriedly explained, "Don't listen to her nonsense. This matter..."

Bang...

As Henry closed the door, he punched Adrian in the face, grabbed his collar and
forced him to the wall step by step. "I don't care about your dissolute past, but from
now on, don't be unable to control your body all day long. You just want to have sex with
anyone."

It was the first time that Adrian had seen Henry so angry. Henry's face was as dark
as a pan, and his words were harsh. Henry was not a refined person who usually wore
glasses.

Adrian was annoyed by his words. He punched Henry back and forced Henry to step
back.

"Yes, I just can't control my body." Adrian deliberately said something to irritate
Henry. Adrian raised his hand and touched his face, which was red and swollen.

How heavy Henry punched him?

Did he get disfigured?

 Adrian punched Henry, and the anger of being wronged almost disappeared. He
looked at the mirror to check the injury on

e victim.

Nina picked up her phone and was about to answer it, but the other party had already
hung up. There was only a number on the screen.

"Hang up?" She lifted the quilt and sat up, waiting for the next call, but the third
call didn't come.

Nina clenched her phone.

Why didn't he stop calling her after only two calls?

Couldn't he call her third time?

She would answer the third one.

After waiting for a while, Nina still didn't receive a third call from John.

She threw the phone away, covered her face with the quilt and lay still.

Inexplicable grievance ignited in her heart, as if the thing in her hand suddenly
became invisible.

Every woman would be angry when she saw her husband lying next to another woman,
and the woman would leave when she was angry. Wasn't this a scene that everyone
knew?

And the woman's husband would come out to explain.

 Not only didn't John come out, he only called her two times, but he wouldn't call one
more.

Nina pursed her lips and felt wronged. Her eyes were moistened unconsciously, and
she just fell asleep.

She didn't know that John was on his way here.

 At the police station of Lexingport City.

"Boss, it's already 11 o'clock. Don't forget to go back to bed early." Tom stood up
from the chair.

"I'll go back after I finish this. Be careful on your way back." Noah replied, still
concentrating on his work.

Tom smiled, "Boss, I just want to go home and have a rest. I'm not going to catch
the bad person. It's safe. I'm leaving."

Tom had just taken two steps when he heard a young man's voice from outside. He
was a little excited and told the police what happened.

Coincidentally, Black came in with his neck twisted. Tom pulled Black and asked,
"What happened outside?"

Black stopped and said, "It's not a big deal. The man caught a thief in L University's
apartment and was telling the story of catching a thief."

"L University's apartment? Thief? " Tom doubted, "That place has always been in
good order. Where did the thief come from?"

Black shook his head, "I don't know. Maybe the man is a new comer. He didn't find
a right place and time, so that man caught him and dragged the thief here directly."

Tom and Black smiled.

 Noah suddenly turned around and asked, "Th

e you? It's dangerous. "

John stopped and glared at Noah, with anger and embarrassment in his eyes.

Noah had been dealing with criminals for many years, their eyes were much more
horrible than John's.

The eyes of the criminals were dark and gloomy, frightening, with crime and evil
hidden in them.

And John's eyes were just full of anger.

Noah didn't know him before, but he had heard a lot of shocking rumors about John.
Later, he had contact with John because of Nini, and gradually Noah was no longer as
afraid as before.

Noah sent John out in person. At that time, Richard just arrived. Before the car
stopped, Richard felt the murderous look from John.

Richard's hands trembled.

John sat in the passenger seat and turned to look at Noah and warned him silently
not to tell Nina what had happened tonight.

Noah nodded with a smile and waved goodbye. "John, be careful on the way. Besides,
next time when you climb the balcony, pay attention to the surrounding environment
and time choice. Ten o'clock is still early for modern young people. There are people
around. "

John was speechless...

Could it be over?
 John just wanted to leave here as soon as possible.

On the other hand, Richard mistakenly thought that they still needed to talk, so he
didn't drive until John turned to look at him. The wind that came in turned into an
invisible knife.

After realizing what had happened, Richard stepped on the accelerator and the car
sped away.

Noah stood by the road and watched them leave. Then he picked up his phone and
called Nina.

"Nini, John is looking for you."

"He didn't."

A muffled voice came from the other end of the phone. Noah knew that NIna was
hiding in the quilt, so he persuaded, "Don't be too depressed. John is on his way to find
you. You... "

"Are you going to persuade me for him? Noah. " Nina uncovered the quilt and sat up.
She said discontentedly, "He only called two times. I didn't answer it, so he didn't call
anymore."

Noah said, "He called you two times but you didn't answer, so he went straight to
you."
 "Why haven't he found me yet?" Nina stood up and went to the balcony. She looked
down and said, "There's no one downstairs now."

"Ahem..." Noah wanted to tell her that John climbed to the balcony and let others
send him to the police station as a thief, but he promised John not to tell her.

John had to talk about it

soon as the phone was connected, he was complained by Michelle's angrily.

"Uncle John, you've gone too far. Humph, bye."

As soon as John opened his mouth, there was only the sound of "beep". Then,
Michelle hung up the phone.

Since Michelle was so angry, his wife would only be angrier.

John was so anxious that he had to disturb the newly engaged James.

However, as soon as the phone was connected, there was a burst of complaints.

"Uncle John, why didn't you go to coax Aunt Nina? Why did you call me? Are you
going to laugh at me together after coaxing Aunt Nina? It's my engagement party
tonight, but you and Adrian took the limelight. The top search is all about you,
everywhere. Emma and I have no exposure at all. I want everyone to know that I'm
engaged to Emma. Can't you find some other time to make trouble? Why? Can't you? "
The more James said, the more excited he became.

John hung up the phone directly, in case James would cry like a pig on the phone.

Both of them were complaining, but John sensed something different.

"The top search?" John asked in confusion.

 Richard opened the top search and was surprised to see the title.

"Mr. John." The hand of Richard that handed the phone to John was trembling
uncontrollably.
 Adrian slept with the fiancee of the CEO of Ye Group, and the former friends
became rivals in love.

It seemed that the relationship between John and Vivian had been rekindled, and
the status of Mrs. Nina was in jeopardy.

The two hot search events instantly caught the attention of John. At this moment,
he was too busy to care about himself. He had no mood to pay attention to the affairs
of Adrian and others, but clicked the hot search related to himself.

John took a rough glance at the picture and saw that Vivian was wearing his coat. He
immediately frowned.

"Remove the hot search that is not in accordance with the fact and ask the legal
department to send a lawyer's letter to the media who spread the rumor." John handed
the phone to Richard and John had always been efficient in dealing with things.

After a pause, John added, "Besides, ask Vivian to buy the whole brand of this
clothes since she wore mine."

Although Richard knew the first two things clearly, he was really shocked by the
third thing.

The brands that John wore were all customized for him, only for him

sweat off her forehead. The wind from the balcony dispelled the haze of her dream.
 And the wind brought the man's steps.

"Who?" Nina keenly sensed that there was someone. She vigilantly looked at the
balcony and got out of bed.

Afraid of disturbing the other party with the light on, Nina fumbled for a pair of
slippers as a weapon in her hand. She walked quietly to the balcony and hid behind the
door.

She saw a tall figure in the dark night.

When John heard the wary sound of Nina, he stopped.

Since he had been noticed, why not go in generously.

John didn't hide anymore and he walked forward as usual. When he was about to
make a sound, Nina, who was hiding behind the door, waved her slippers at the man's
head.

Slap...

The sound of slippers hitting something could be heard in the air.

John raised his arm to block the attack. His strong arm made him unharmed.

"Honey, it's me." At the same time, John held Nina's wrist and pulled her into his
arms. He circled her waist into the room and slammed the door.

The man's familiar breath came to Nina's face.

 John pressed Nina against the door and bowed his head, intending to kiss her.
However, she nimbly slid down the wall and avoided his kiss.

At last, John came to her. Although Nina was happy, she couldn't forget that he and
Vivian were lying on the same bed.

Nina was unhappy.

"Why are you here?" Nina turned around and turned on the light. The dim room
instantly became bright.

Nina stood in the light in a slip pajama. The shirt on John became a little wrinkled
because of the twists and turns. He frowned slightly, and looked dejected when he saw
the calm expression of Nina.

John knew why she had such a reaction.

He didn't blame her. His gloomy face gradually lit up.

His little girl was jealous, very Jealous.

"What are you laughing at?" Nina really didn't understand his emotional change,
which was really confusing.

Without answering, John unbuttoned his shirt. The first, the second...
 His solid chest was gradually exposed to the air. With a flicker in Nina's eyes, she
turned her head and snorted.

'Don't think that you can seduce me and I will let it

ill be broken as soon as you kneel down on it."

"Break as soon as kneeling down on it?" It was not until then that John realized
something and asked, "Kneel down?"

"Yes, it's just the instant noodles that will be broken as soon as kneeling down on
it." Seeing that he was a little stunned, Nina finally showed a sincere smile.

When John saw her smile, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and answered briskly,
"No problem."

As long as he could make his wife laugh, he would accept the punishment of kneeling
down.

John asked Richard to go back to have a rest. John went back to have a rest, and he
held the Nina and slept peacefully.

The next morning, John got up early, simply freshened up and went to the
supermarket.

Then, the saleslady led John to the instant noodles section. He looked around and
found no one around. Then he asked, "Which kind of instant noodles is easy to break?"

"Well, which one of your instant noodles is easier to break?"

Two voices sounded at the same time. At the same time, John and Adrian looked up
in surprise. The two eyes met...
 "Instant noodles are easy to break when they are not soaked in water. The main
reason is that the tastes are different. They are probably all in this section. You can
choose according to your preferences." The saleswoman said a few words
enthusiastically and was called over by others.

John looked at Adrian, and so did Adrian. The eyes of the two were full of inquiry.

"John, what a coincidence! You are here to buy noodles, too?" Adrian smiled to hide
his guilt and explained to himself, "Henry suddenly wanted to eat noodles, so I bought
it for him to make breakfast."

"Yes, my wife also wants to eat noodles." John also felt a little guilty. If others knew
that he had bought instant noodles so that Nina could punish him to kneel down, things
would be out of control.

"Ha ha, what a coincidence!" Adrian threw a big bag of instant noodles into the
shopping cart.

John kept looking at his hand. Just now, he heard Adrian say that he wanted the
instant noodles to be broken easily. Was it so fragile?

"Why did you choose this one?" Asked John.

Adrian's heart jolted. He picked it ran

e message, she was shocked. She didn't ask him to buy it for him to eat, but for
kneeling!
 Big boy sent another message to explain, "I'm hungry."

Looking at the message, Nina's mouth twitched for two times and replied, "Okay.

Don't eat it when you buy it next time."

John stared at his phone for a while and fixed his eyes on the instant noodles on the
table. As expected, he opened it and made noodles for himself.

After soaking the noodles, he didn't eat it. Instead, he took a photo and sent it to
Adrian. Only the photo without a text explanation, and he believed that Adrian could
understand.

John was revenging.

As expected, Adrian felt deeply malice. It took Adrian a lot of effort to maintain
the posture of kneeling down and not breaking the instant noodles. In less than three
seconds, he was so angry because of John's photo that he made a crisp sound.

The instant noodles were broken into pieces.

Adrian's eyes widened, "! ！ ！"

After Nina checked in and got on the plane, a staff of the airport quietly made a
phone call.

"Miss Vivian, Nina is on the plane."

 As soon as Vivian hung up the phone, Julie rushed in with her phone in her hand. She
had just read the hot news titled "Vivian And One Hundred And Thirty Million".

"Vivi, what's going on?" Pointing at the news on the phone, Julie said discontentedly,
"I asked you to seduce John, not to spend one hundred million."

One hundred million was not a small amount of money for Vivian. Although she had
been scheming in the Ye family for so many years, it was impossible for her to save one
hundred million. In the end, she had to sell a lot of her jewelry to pay the money.

Vivian didn't expect that John would be so heartless and make her lose so much
money, but she was also lucky because of misfortune. At least in others' eyes, she was
an infatuated woman.

As long as Vivian's plan in Spring City went smoothly and Nina was sent back to C
Island, it would be easy for Vivian to get what she wanted.

"Mom, I have my own plan. Don't worry." Vivian took a glance at her mother's phone
and didn't care about the news.

"I'm worried." Julie sat next to Vivian angrily and scolded her, "We planned to make
th

ter's words, but she suddenly felt that the U disk in her hand was a little hot.

"Vivi, isn't it too much to irritate Sam?" Julie was resourceful but timid. After all,
Sam was a respected man in the Shi family. If they were really found out, a big disaster
would be imminent.
 Vivian persuaded her mother, "Mom, if we aren't ruthless, we won't get what we
want. John is going to propose to Nina in Spring City tonight. If the two of them make
up, my one hundred and thirty million dollars will be in vain, won't it? If anything
happens to Sam, John will definitely come back. At that time, I will try to make Nina
give up John."

Thinking of her daughter's flawless plan, Julie couldn't help nodding in agreement,
but then she thought of something and quickly reminded Vivian, "Vivi, don't forget that
Nina is the princess of C Island. We can't offend her."

"I don't intend to offend her. I just want to send her back to C Island to live a good
life there as a princess and marry a powerful man. She has nothing to do with this city."
Vivian had already made a plan and everything was under her control.
 It was already six o'clock in the afternoon when Nina arrived at Spring City. The
scorching summer sun was slanting in the sky, and golden color was sprinkled all over
the ground through the glass window.

Carrying a small bag on her back, Nina went back to her ocean view villa with her
hands empty. The first thing she did was to throw herself into the big bed and have a
comfortable sleep.

The sea breeze gently blew the gauze curtain, and the thin moonlight came in and
sprinkled on the soft bed of Nina. She was sleeping soundly.

Moonlight was shining on the surface of the sea. A cruise ship with the logo of the
royal family of C Island was slowly heading for Spring City.

On the deck of the cruise ship stood a woman with blonde hair. She was tall, and her
amber eyes were even colder than the moonlight. The most obvious thing on her deep
features was her red lips.

She used to be the international movie queen, Anne, who had been out of the movie
for many years. Now she was the queen of C Island, and also the mother of Nina.

The forty-five year old queen Anne was well maintained. At first glance, she was a
twenty year old fair skinned girl.

Anne was absorbed i

ne and the others didn't know where Vivian was, but Vivian knew their route. After
all, this wasn't the sea area of C Island.
 Vivian took the same flight with John. She knew that there would be a risk of being
exposed and it might become a flaw. But when she saw the back of John at the airport,
she really couldn't help but want to follow him, so she changed the air ticket
temporarily. However, she still restrained herself and chose the different grades to
avoid a direct encounter with John.

Sometimes when Vivian liked someone, she would feel happy as long as she took the
same plane with him.

This kind of happiness was too shallow, and Vivian hoped that it could be deeper and
deeper. She wanted to live with John and have children.

In order to achieve this goal, Vivian had to do anything.

Standing at the place where the ocean view villa of Nina could be seen, Vivian's eyes
gradually became ferocious. She stared at the seemingly calm sea and smiled gloomily.

"Nina, you can go back tonight. They are here to pick you up. That's your home."

Vivian hid a dagger in her smile and it disappeared in the sea breeze. Vivian picked
up her phone and dialed a number.
 The phone on the table was buzzing.

With sleepy eyes, Nina reached out her hand to touch the phone and answered it,
but she didn't see the virtual network number on the phone clearly.

"Hello?"

"Nina, good evening." Vivian's gentle voice was full of joy, as if she had seen a friend
she hadn't seen for days.

"Vivian?" Nina suddenly sat up from the bed, with surprise in her slightly open eyes.

Only the people whose phone numbers she had saved could call her. How could Vivian
get through to her?

Before Nina asked, Vivian had already answered her question.

"Do you want to know why I can call you?" With a friendly smile on her face, Vivian
said, "Nina, you're so good at hiding yourself. The famous painter Elk is you and the
top-level hacker Elk is also you. It turns out that you like elks so much. No wonder
there's a cute elk hung on John's phone."

Nina was stunned. She didn't expect that Vivian had found out her identity. Nina
used the name Elk just because she was lazy. It was troublesome to pick out different
names for different identities. Besides, there were so many people w

I still want to struggle."

 "Go ahead." Obviously, Nina had guessed it. She raised her eyebrows and didn't take
it seriously.

Vivian finally came to the point. "After John proposes to you, come to the seaside.
I'll wait for you at a huge reef. I won't hurt you. If you don't trust me, you can bring
John here."

Nina asked suspiciously, "Do you allow me to take him with me?"

She thought, 'It isn't like what she usually does. Does she really plan to give up so
that she dares to be so calm?'

"Yes. I have a precondition. Don't let John know that I'm here for the time being.
Just tell him that you want to go to the beach for a while and ask him to come with
you." Vivian's eyes were cunning, but her voice was extremely calm.

"You can only ask John to come with you. If he refuses, you can only come alone."

Nina wanted to know what tricks Vivian was going to play, so she said, "I know."

"See you then. I hope he will come with you later, but I don't think he will." After
saying that, Vivian hung up the phone.

Nina was confused.

'How does she know that John won't go with me?'

 Less than a minute after the phone was hung up, John called Nina.

Nina answered the phone with a bright smile, "Honey, good evening."

Hearing the cheerful voice of his wife, John smiled. "Good evening, honey."

"Honey, what's up?" Nina asked with a smile. In order not to disappoint him, she had
to pretend that she knew nothing.

All of a sudden, he felt that his wife was a little strange. 'She was at odds with me
last night, but why does she become so obedient tonight?

Does she feel better after coming to Spring City?

Just as Nelson and his wife say, changing a place will help someone change his or her
mood.

Travel makes people forget their troubles, so they are still traveling all over the
world, leaving their child to us.'

"Are you happy after you go to Spring City?" John asked.

Every year, Nina took a holiday in Spring City, because she could see the direction
of C Island. She was a little happy, but she was more melancholy because she missed
her home.
 The reason why she was so happy was that she was curious about how John would
propose.

"Yes,

y that Nina finally found what had been put into the dinner and then he didn't need
to rush out.

It was a piece of paper. Nina frowned and said, "Not a ring? Shouldn't it be a ring?"

It was totally different from what she had imagined.

'Is he planning to write a note to propose?' Nina thought.

She stared at the piece of paper and didn't even read it. She put the dinner on the
ground, pointed at the dark place where the temporary actor was crouching and
shouted, "You, where is John?"

The actor was speechless. 'Do you have sharp eyes? Have you seen me?'

Knowing the surprise of John's proposal, Nina kept an eye. Although she was eating,
she looked at the actor out of the corner of her eyes and knew where he was hiding.

"Come out. I see you." Nina said helplessly, "It's okay if you don't come out. Point at
the route."

The actor reached out his hand in the dim light to show the direction. The light in
the villa could only light up his hand.

Nina went straight to the destination, ignoring the sign of the comic character
standing quietly in the darkness.
 Nina walked along the direction which the actor pointed at and reached a place which
was a certain distance from the sea. On both sides of the road, there were small trees
as tall as people. Small colorful lights flickered and there was brightness in front of
her.

After walking for a few minutes, Nina couldn't feel the strong sea wind, but only
the breeze. She looked back and couldn't see the sea.

Part of the sea was blocked by the huge reef and the rest was dark.

Sitting on the reef, Vivian hid herself in the dark night. Although Nina couldn't see
her, she could see the little figure of Nina with the flickering colorful lights.

Nina just glanced around casually and continued to walk a few steps forward. She
saw John standing straight ten meters away, who was holding a bouquet of roses in his
hands. He was so nervous that his legs were closed together.

At the same time, John also saw his wife coming slowly. He immediately straightened
his collar and walked over with the bouquet of flowers in his hands.

"Honey,

ut no one believed me. Now, if anyone doesn't believe me, I will show them my hand."
Nina rubbed against John's body with a smile.

"You're so lovely." He chuckled.

She raised her chin and snorted, "Of course."

 "My little girl," John said with a smile, patting Nina on the back. "I've prepared the
proposal for a long time, but it's still disturbed by you. No matter what I do, you always
do something out of my expectation."

"So are there other surprises?" Nina blinked curiously.

"On your way here." Then he pinched her face, patted her on the shoulder and said,
"Go back and walk again."

Looking at the dark road, Nina thought it would be troublesome for her to run back
and slowly walk again, so she pouted and said, "I want to look at the surprises from
here."

With a doting smile, John said, "Then it will be reverse."

"It doesn't matter. Maybe it's another story." With excitement and curiosity, Nina
walked over.

Then he picked up his clothes and put one hand in his trouser pocket, staring at her
figure.
 Nina walked to the dim light and looked at the wooden road in front of her. She
looked carefully at both sides and found that there was a sign of half a meter high on
both sides.

She reached out and touched the sign, and the darkness in front of her suddenly
became bright. The signs on both sides of the road were lit up in order, like the lights
lit up one after another at night, lighting up the entire crooked road.

These signs were different from ordinary signs. They were all comic characters, and
they looked like she and John.

Two comic characters on the first sign were kissing in the way of holding a koala.
Beside them, there was a vigorous and powerful line: Honey, remember to kiss me when
you see me.

As soon as Nina saw it, she knew it was John who wrote it. She burst into laughter
and looked at the comics with different postures on both sides. They were all her and
John's past.

Nina, who was good at observing, also saw a little bit of the style of John on the
lines of the characters in the comics. She turned around and asked the man behind her,
"Did you draw it?"

"Yes. Not bad, right? " John raised his eyebrows and

n."
 There was still a year left before the summer vacation next year. He would find a
psychologist as soon as possible and cooperate with the treatment actively.

He didn't even want to take this step before.

But looking at the expectant eyes of his little girl, he was willing to take this step.

Even if he would face the fear deep in his heart.

"Next year?" Nina's eyes flickered. Why was Vivian so sure that John didn't want
to go to the seaside with her?

Was there any secret that Nina didn't know about John?

"Next year." John rubbed Nina's head, his eyes flickering as if he was thinking about
something important.

Seeing this, Nina nodded and said, "Okay, you have to watch the sea with me next
summer vacation. But wait for me here. I have something to do and will be back soon. "

"What's the matter?" John held her hand and was worried about her.

However, John had already told Richard and others to stay as far away from him
and Nina as possible. They couldn't be seen within a kilometer.

Nina said vaguely, "I just have something to deal with. Just wait for me."

Then, Nina turned around to look for Vivian.

 Sitting on the reef, Vivian was enjoying the sea breeze. When she heard the
footsteps behind her, she smiled sinisterly.

"Nina, do you miss home?" Vivian asked in a soft voice, staring ahead with burning
eyes. "If your family comes to pick you up, will you go back?"

Nina felt that Vivian's behavior was very strange. She seemed to be talking with
friends. She was not affected, as if she really cared about Nina.

"No, I won't." Nina said firmly, "I will be where he is."

"Yes, wherever John is, you're with him, but now you are here and he hasn't come
with you." With a gentle smile, Vivian stood up and looked at Nina.

After staying in the dark for a long time, they would gradually adapt to the darkness.
Both of them could vaguely see each other's outline and face.

Even in the dark night, Nina's special temperament still could not be ignored and the
jealousy in Vivian's heart was even greater.

She only blamed herself for not having a life as good as Nina's. She wasn't born in
a good family, didn't have a beautiful face and wasn't rich.

She didn't have so

is phone call that made Nina's hesitation disappear. How could she doubt John?
 Nina shook off Vivian's hand and answered the phone.

"Honey, it's raining." The man's deep voice came through the phone. John was
anxiously looking for Nina.

"Find a place to hide from the rain. Don't be afraid. I'll come to you right away."
Nina was also nervous. She was afraid that John would be afraid.

Seeing that her plan was about to fail, Vivian had no other choice. She held Nina in
her arms and fell into the sea together.

"Ah!" Nina let out a cry. Her voice passed through the phone and reached the ears
of John.

"What's wrong?" John looked up nervously, only to find that it was dark everywhere.

Then he heard the sound of falling into the water on the phone.

The sound was like a space tunnel, bringing him back to his ten-year-old birthday.
Fear immediately spread through his limbs. His body gradually stiffened and his slightly
white lips opened, but he did not shout out the words that he wanted to say.

With a shake of his hand, John's phone fell to the ground.

 Vivian and Nina fell into the sea together.

Vivian was mentally prepared and smoothly surfaced. However, Nina was forced to
drink two mouthfuls of sea water before she popped out her head and coughed several
times on the sea.

Suddenly, it began to rain cats and dogs. The rain fell on their faces, making them
feel a little painful, and the wind blew even colder.

The rain was getting heavier and heavier on the sea, causing waves one after another.
According to this, there would be big waves later.

They had to swim back to the shore as soon as possible.

Without even taking a look at Vivian, Nina swam straight to the shore. After Nina
swam a little, she was blocked by Vivian.

"Nina, you are here now. Don't you want to have a try? I promise that John won't
come to save you. "

The sound of the rain was so loud that Nina didn't hear clearly what Vivian was
saying. Vivian turned around and shouted for help towards the shore.

"Help! Help! Someone fell into the sea!"

Vivian's voice was so soft that it was not so penetrating as to resist the sound of
the torrential rain, and then reached the ears of John.
 It was true that Vivia

tonight's wind was cold, and the rain was bone piercing. She took out her cell phone,
but it had been soaked in the sea and could not be turned on.

"Use mine." Vivian took out her phone and even found the phone number of James,
"I know you don't believe me. Then you can verify it yourself. Is John lying to you?"

After hesitating for a while, Nina finally took her phone.

"Who is it? Why do you call me at night? It's disturbing! " James roared angrily.

Nina said calmly, "Me."

"Aunt Nina?" James immediately became obedient and asked, "Aunt Nina, what can
I do for you?"

"I..." Nina's voice paused. "Is John afraid of rain?"

"He is not afraid. He is a man. Why is he afraid of rain?" Patting his chest, James
promised, "Uncle John is not afraid of rain. Ah, Aunt Nina, my father called me. If
there is nothing else, I will hang up first. It's the first time that my father called me.
There must be something urgent. Bye, Aunt Nina. "

James was in a hurry to hang up the phone.

The beep in Nina's ear didn't bring her thoughts back. The words from James kept
hovering in her mind.

'John is not afraid of rain.

He lied to me.'
 The clothes soaked in rain and sea water were very cold, and a gust of wind blew,
making Nina teeth tremble.

"Nina, are you Okay?" Vivian asked indifferently.

There was only endless darkness in front of Nina. It was so dark that she couldn't
breathe. Her eyes darkened and she fainted.

Vivian took half a step back, and Nina missed her body and fell to the ground. The
rain ruthlessly patted her pale face and wet body.

"Are you fainting now? It's really useless. " Vivian cast a disdainful glance at Nina
and dialed a number.

"Hello, are you arriving at the wharf of Spring City? Someone saw Nina fainting
nearby. Come and save her as soon as possible. " Vivian used a voice changer so that it
was impossible to tell whether Vivian's voice was a man or a woman.

As soon as she finished speaking, Vivian threw her phone into the sea, turned around
and left proudly.

Vivian also had to go back to Lexingport City that night. Sending Nina away was only
half of the plan, and there was still half waiting for her to deal with.

"Anne, that person called us again and said that the little princess fainted near the
dock of Sp

ve a rest. I'll stay here with Nina myself."

 "Your Majesty, go to bed. I'll take care of the little princess."

"No, I can take care of her by myself." Anne waved her hand to refuse, indicating
them to leave the room first.

"Queen Anne," the doctor hesitated for a moment before handing the examination
report to her.

"What's wrong?" Anne took it over in confusion and opened it. She was stunned by
the content on the report.

The doctor lowered her eyes and said, "The little princess is pregnant."

Anne's hand trembled, and the examination report fell to the ground. Her eyes
flashed with astonishment and unknown complexity.

"Is Nina pregnant?"

"Yes, the little princess has been pregnant for six weeks."

"Six weeks..." Anne's voice also trembled. "More than a month. Nina has been
pregnant for more than a month."

The doctor and Rebecca didn't say anything. They just kept silent, and so did Anne.

After a while, Anne recovered from the shock and ordered coldly, "Except the three
of us, no one is allowed to know about it, including the little princess. Do you hear me?"

"Yes." The two said in unison.

 In Lexingport City.

The operation light in Kanner Hospital was still on.

At present, in Lexingport City, there were only Daniel and his wife, Jessica, and Dora
and Chester of Shi family.

Daniel was standing at the door of the operating room with Angela in his arms,
staring at the red light of the operating room.

Jessica sat on a cold chair and lowered her head remorsefully. Tears fell down from
her eyes and she sobbed silently.

It had been more than an hour since the operation, but Sam hadn't come out of the
operating room safely.

"Dora, will Grandpa be Okay?" Chester sat on the chair and touched his knees
uneasily.

Dora sat next to Chester, with her soft hand on the back of Chester's cold hand,
and comforted, "Grandpa will come out soon. It's Okay."

Dora's eyes were as red as rabbit's. she comforted her brother, but she cried,
"Waah... Waah I don't know if Grandpa will be okay. The doctor said that Grandpa
couldn't bear the stimulation at his old age... It's all aunt's fault. Grandpa fell from
such a high place. "

ulie was ready. After hanging up the phone, she rushed to Kanner Hospital.
 Vivian called back and promised Jessica.

Within ten minutes, Julie arrived at the hospital.

Jessica held her hand and said, "Mrs. Julie, you must save my father. Now only you
can save my father."

Julie unhurriedly raised her hand to tuck her hair behind her ear. Now that Jessica
had something to ask for, just call her Mrs. Julie. Jessica had never been nice to her
before.

"I am also very sad about Sam's accident. Because you are so good to Vivi, I would
definitely save Sam, but..." Julie's eyes flashed with shrewdness. "I have a condition.
If you agree, I will go in and transfuse blood to Sam."

"As long as you are willing to save my father, I will promise you anything." At this
moment, Jessica was burning with anxiety. She pushed Julie towards the operating
room.

Julie said slowly, "You haven't heard my conditions yet."

"Go ahead." Daniel was the one who could make the decision here.

Julie said unhurriedly, "Let my daughter marry John."

 Both of Daniel and Angela were stunned. Apparently, they didn't expect that Julie
would propose such a condition.

Julie was taking advantage of the situation to rob them?

Jessica hesitated. She didn't want to continue the stalemate with her brother. For
some reason, her brother had blocked her phone and WeChat.

Before Jessica could figure out what had happened, this matter happened.

Julie saw their hesitation and contempt in the eyes of the two children, but Julie
didn't care.

For her daughter's happiness and for the rich life in the rest of her life, she didn't
care about what others thought.

"Whether you think I'm despicable or taking advantage of you, I just want my
daughter to marry John." Julie pretended that if they didn't agree, she wouldn't save
Sam. She was a little tough. "My daughter has been admiring John since childhood. As
a mother, I can't bear to see her tears all day long. I can only help her in this way. As
long as you agree to let my daughter marry John, I will transfuse blood. Otherwise,
why should I save a

oved out of Lexingport City two days ago. Now only Miss Vivian's mother, Julie, is
still in Lexingport City. John, I'm going to take Julie to the hospital now. "

When John heard that there were three people with panda blood in Lexingport City,
a glimmer of hope lit up in his eyes, but in the end, it was all shattered.

"No, thanks." John hung up the phone in a low voice.

 Not to mention that Jessica was begging him bitterly, the person lying in the
operating room was his father who gave birth to him and raised him, John couldn't sit
by and do nothing.

Not only would he not sit by and do nothing, but he would save his father at any price.

But... He hesitated when he thought of Nina.

Coincidentally, the doctor in the operating room ran out again. "Oh, no, No. He is
dying. Come in with me quickly."

Julie looked back at John, waiting for his answer.

As long as John nodded, she would go in immediately.

John's fingers had turned pale. It was just a simple move, but he couldn't move his
head at all.

Finally, John nodded.

 At twelve o'clock in the evening, the red light of the operating room turned off.

Everyone stood up. They had been waiting for the result for several hours.

Sam was rescued successfully.

However, one of his legs was broken and he could only live in a wheelchair in the
future.

Such a result was already a blessing in the misfortune for Shi family. It was better
than losing his life.

Sam was sent to the ICU. Julie came out of the operating room weakly, and the color
on her face obviously faded a lot.

"Mrs. Julie, are you Okay?" Jessica immediately went to hold Julie and said, "Thank
you so much tonight."

Julie shook her head and said, "You're welcome. As long as John doesn't forget to
marry my daughter, I hope John can fulfill his promise this morning."

Everyone's eyes fell on John. They all knew that there was nothing that John
couldn't do with his words.

But people who knew him well knew that he had broken many of his original shackles
for Nina. No one knew whether he would go back on his word when it came to Nina.

Even if John broke his promise, no one in Lexing

 snorted and didn't shake off his daughter's hand.

Knowing that she was in the wrong, Jessica loosened her grip and said nothing.

"Grandpa, you are fine. That's great." Dora pouted and held Sam in her arms, tears
welling up again.

"Dora, Grandpa is fine. Don't worry." Sam smiled and looked up at his grandsons,
telling them not to worry.

Seeing Sam's smile, the others heaved a sigh of relief.

Seeing the whole family and his future granddaughter-in-law here, Sam felt much
better.

When people were old, they would only ask for a full house of children and
grandchildren.

But there was no Jason.

He looked around and found that there was one person missing. His daughter-in-law,
Nina, was not here.

But John was here. Didn't he go to Spring City to make some romantic proposal?

Why did John come back alone?

"Little bastard, how was your proposal last night?" Sam didn't pay much attention
to his own health. Anyway, he would always be sick when he was old.

It was just that he should pay more attention to the emotional life of his children
while he was still alive.
 The other people's expressions changed, but only James didn't know what happened
last night, he jumped out excitedly and said, "Oh, Uncle John, you can play romance
now? Tell me. Was Aunt Nina moved to tears last night? "

James glanced at the people here, but didn't see Nina.

"Why isn't Aunt Nina here?" As soon as James asked, he felt that the air was getting
cold. His mother glared at him and winked at him.

"Didn't Uncle John tell Aunt Nina that something happened to Grandpa?" Asked
James, confused.

"Yes." Finally, John spoke. With an unusual expression on his face, he said, "She
didn't come... I don't want her to worry. "

John wanted to say that he didn't have time, but finally changed his words.

The moment someone told John that his little girl had fallen into the sea, the seed
in his heart that he wanted to save her had taken root and sprouted. The shadow of
the past was like a huge iron chain, tying him to the spot.

He tried his best to break free, but he couldn't.

However, bad news came from Lexingport City. Richard dragged him onto the plane,
leaving only Amy looking for Ni

"Well, aunt, he is out of breath," said Emma sadly.

 "What?" Angela came over and took a look at her son. Seeing that his face was
flushed with anger, she loosened her hand and said, "An accident."

James took a deep breath and thought, 'What a mother! She just got away with
saying it was an accident.'

"Dad, don't worry. The boy is strong and doesn't need a lot of tonics. But I will ask
the kitchen to prepare some tonics for him to eat." Angela immediately explained to
Sam. She was afraid that Sam would have a psychological burden if he knew what
happened last night, so they could only hide it from him.

Sam was too old to be in good health. If he had a knot in his heart again, he would
be depressed.

"Well, he should eat more nutritious food." Sam smiled and looked much better.

As expected, people were in high spirits at happy events.

"By the way, Grandpa, I told Jason about your surgery. He is on his way back. He will
arrive this afternoon." Suddenly, it occurred to James and he mentioned it casually.

The expression on Jessica's face suddenly changed.

'Jason is coming back?'

 At three o'clock in the afternoon, Jason came to the hospital as expected.

He was no longer in a suit as he used to be. The black T-shirt he was wearing didn't
look so monotonous with a light yellow daisy on it. He was wearing light gray casual
trousers, which made his legs look very long.

It was the first time that Jessica had seen Jason in such casual clothes. He exuded
the unique charm of a middle-aged man. The smile at the corners of his mouth was
confident and charming.

"Dad, I just heard you and James chatting and laughing. It seems that you are
recovering well." Jason came in with some tonics.

In a panic, Jessica stood up from the chair and used her phone as a mirror to look
at her makeup.

Knowing that Jason would come back, she had fixed her makeup.

In her heart, she hoped that Jason would come up and hold her waist as before and
praise her for her beauty.

However, she was disappointed.

Jason just smiled politely at her.

 "Jason, it's all because of James' thoughtlessness that he told you that something
happened to me. You must have been tired on the way back, r

her here.

However, he didn't expect that Jessica would misunderstand them.

Jason was just Maya's teacher, but in the eyes of Jessica, there was something else.
She sneered, "Jason, you've found a little girlfriend so soon. Have you ever told her
that you got married?"

Jason was stunned. He felt a pain in his heart when he looked at the mocking eyes
of Jessica. Maya was about to explain, but he stopped her.

Maya knew who Jessica was at the first sight, because Jason always brought her
photos with him. Every night, he stared at the direction of Lexingport City and it would
take him one or two hours to do that.

Maya thought, 'It turns out that Mr. Fu doesn't miss his family, but his wife.

Besides doing research, Mr. Fu spends his time missing his wife day after day. He
never feels bored.'

"Yes, I got married and divorced." Appearing as a gentleman, Jason patted on Maya's
shoulder and said, "Go get the medicine first and wait for me at the place where we
live."

"Okay." Maya left.

Seeing that Maya was about to leave, Jessica stopped her and said loudly, "You can't
go."
 As expected, Maya stopped and took a timid look at Jessica. She clearly saw jealousy
and indignation in Jessica's eyes.

"I..." Maya turned to look at Jason, as if she was asking for help, "Mr. Jason..."

"Maya, it's Okay. You can go out now." Jason smiled gently, giving Maya enough
courage to push the door open.

When Maya pushed the door open, she happened to meet Richard who had brought
the chessboard. She moved aside and made way for him.

At this moment, Jessica grabbed Maya's wrist and pressed it down hard. The pain
made Maya's face turn pale. "I have something to talk to you. Come out with me."

"What?" Maya looked at her in fear.

John said, "Richard, send Ms. Jessica back to Stone Road."

John's tone was deep and strong, and there was even an unknown depression in it,
making people dare not to say anything against him.

Jessica opened her mouth, but in the end, she was escorted back to Stone Road by
Richard.

Sam was playing chess with Jason in a wheelchair, while Jason was obviously absent-
minded, so he lost the game for no reason.

"What are you thinking about?" Sam knew what was on Jason's mind, but he still
asked.
 Jason replied, "Nothing. Sa

mless, with a cold light.

His little girl was so bold now that she even dared to make such a joke.

John didn't say anything, Nina was afraid that Mr. John would be hit hard. She
endured the pain in her heart for Mrs. Nina's death and comforted him with tears in
her eyes.

"Mr. John, I'm sorry for your loss."

"She won't die." With a calm expression in his eyes, John tore up all the documents
and threw them into the trash can.

How could his little girl be easily drown to death?

There was only one possibility that she had left. As for where she would go, he
couldn't tell.

No matter where she went, he would find her even if he searched the whole world.

After a thorough investigation, John found that Nina had cancelled her residence
and disappeared without a trace.

At the same time, according to the investigation, a luxury cruise ship appeared on
the sea of Spring City last night and left not long after it was ashore.

The cruise ship was headed for C Island, which was marked by the royal family of C
Island.

John heaved a sigh of relief. His little girl was fine, but her family took her away.

But...
How could he find her across the vast sea?
 When John was worrying about how to look for someone across the coast, a tsunami
appeared on the Internet.

The news that Nina was dead was on the top search.

God was jealous of Nina so that Nina drowned to death.

The person who posted this micro-blog message was an unknown beauty blogger,
whose location was in Spring City.

In just a few minutes, some media dug deeper into this matter, and soon exposed
and confirmed it.

When John looked at the top search, he frowned and his face was as gloomy as ink.
Amy quickly said, "I'll contact Richard immediately and remove the top search."

When she connected the phone, John's eyes flashed and he said to stop her.

"No need."

"?" Confused, Amy hung up the phone and let the news spread on the Internet.

John tapped his fingers gently on the table. A series of things had happened too
closely recently, and he needed to sort out his thoughts.

The wine incident at the engagement party, the news that his father suddenly knew
his sister and Jason divorced, and the news that his little girl drowned to death was on
the top search...
 Things happened one by one. It seemed that there was no certain con

tter?" John frowned.

"Miss Michelle broke the porcelain and scolded you. She asked you to give Mrs. Nina
back to her." Helen lowered her head.

Miss Michelle usually looked like a delicate girl, but she threw things without mercy,
and cursed without mercy.

What's more, Michelle cried and cursed, which scared Nine to find a place to hide.
Mr. James and Mr. Chester didn't dare to get close to her.

Fortunately, the sound insulation effect upstairs was good. If John heard what Miss
Michelle said, he would probably want to poison Miss Michelle to mute.

The rabbit was fiercer when the rabbit anxious than a dog who was biting people.

Helen was worried that John really wanted to poison Miss Michelle to mute, so she
pleaded for Michelle on purpose, "Miss Michelle said something outrageous just
because she couldn't accept Mrs. Nina's matter. I hope you won't punish her."

"It doesn't matter." John wouldn't do anything to Michelle.

She was his wife's best friend.

After lunch, John had left North Yard, and the two people on the sofa were still
sleeping soundly.

Instead of going to the company, John went to a psychological counseling room.

 Julie was in the house of the Ye family.

Julie sat on the balcony to have afternoon tea. She had just read the top search
news.

The news of Nina's drowning was still eye-catching.

Julie didn't care about the comments below the hot search. She only cared when
John would fulfill his promise to marry her daughter.

She called Vivian and asked her to come back early from the Ye Group to discuss
something important.

Vivian studied hard while working in the Ye Group. She was polite to everyone around
her and earned a good reputation. Even Henry had praised her many times in front of
Adrian.

"Boss, I want to ask for a leave and go home." Vivian was now Henry's assistant. She
never sought any personal privileges. She did everything before getting Henry's
approval.

Henry didn't have such a high request for her, so he nodded and let her go back.

As soon as she walked out of the office, she met Adrian.

"Mr. Song, are you waiting for boss again?" It was not the first time for Vivian to
see Adrian waiting for Henry to get off work. Adrian did it almost eve
 udy. She patted Vivian on the shoulder and said, "Go and inquire about what has
happened. He seldom comes back. Something must have happened."

What Julie thought was true.

Noah applied to leave Lexingport City to work in Spring City.

Knowing the news, Julie and Vivian were both happy and worried. They were worried
because Noah was still the biggest shareholder of the Ye Group even though he went
to Spring City.

However, after Noah left, they could do whatever they wanted and Noah would be
unable to do anything about it.

From this point of view, Noah's leaving was a good thing for Julie and Vivian.

At present, what they worried about most was whether John would find out what
they had done.

Julie and Vivian did guess that Amy and Lena were investigating secretly, but they
didn't guess that some other people who were good at investigating were also working
for John secretly.

Richard stayed with John. In addition to helping John deal with the company's
affairs, he was also responsible for training John's fighting skills.

John also had a plan.

 The sea of C Island was deep and cyan. The island, which covered an area of only one
hundred and sixty thousand square kilometers, stood in the boundless sea. The waters
and skies merged in one colour.

Nina was in a coma because of the rain of Spring City. She woke up many times in a
daze. She only saw the figures shaking in front of her eyes and falling into a coma again.

When Nina was completely awake, she was already in the bedroom of Scher Mountain.
The huge crystal light was on, and the breeze from the balcony brought the unique
smell of C Island.

Nina glanced around the room. The decorations in the bedroom were the same as
when she left two years ago, and there was no change.

"What happened?" Nina opened her mouth and whispered, "Why am I home?"

Nina suspected that she was dreaming, so she turned over and ran to the balcony.
She looked at the direction of the land of C Island, and many distinctive buildings were
reflected in her eyes.

She looked down and saw a mirage on the cyan sea. It was Scher Mountain.

At this time, Nina was in the castle of Scher Mountain, where the royal family of
Scher Mounta

a little dejected.

The ring, the phone, the pendant, the watch that Nina clenched tightly in her hand...
Anything related to that place was confiscated by Queen Anne.
 "Rebecca, have you seen my ring?" Nina pointed at her finger where her ring should
be on to Rebecca and said, "It's the wedding ring that my husband proposed to me."

Although Nina was angry that John had lied to her, the ring was a token of the two
of them. She couldn't lose it anyway.

She couldn't lose anything that John had given her.

"My little princess," Rebecca's voice suddenly became serious, "You are not married
yet. How can you have a proposal ring and a husband? As the princess of C Island, you
should know what to say and do. "

The panic on Nina's face gradually became serious. She stopped searching and looked
at Rebecca with burning eyes.

"What do you mean?" Nina's voice was as cold as the ice in winter.

Rebecca looked at the cold eyes of Nina in a neither humble nor pushy way and
emphasized again, "Little princess, you are not married, nor do you have a wedding ring
or husband. Please be careful about what you say and do."
 The day when Nina quietly left C Island, she knew clearly that her mother would
catch her back sooner or later. Therefore, when she woke up and found that it was not
a dream to live on Scher Mountain, Nina behaved very calm.

Nina also knew that the moment her mother saw her, her mother would investigate
what had happened in the past two years of her. She couldn't hide the marriage with
John from her mother.

Therefore, she admitted frankly that she was married, and when it came to John,
she called him "husband" as usual.

But she didn't expect that Rebecca would directly say that she was not married.

Rebecca must have been instructed by her mother to say so, which meant that her
mother did not admit John's identity.

"I'm married. I not only have a wedding ring, but also a husband." Nina announced
loudly, "John is my husband, my only husband in my life."

Rebecca had watched Nina grow up. She knew that Nina was as cold as Queen Anne
and would never give any unnecessary explanation.

What Nina said surprised her. The little princess had changed a lot.

Rebecca felt surprised and worry at the same time. Since the little princess could
say such firm words, it could be seen that the status of John in t

and saw her daughter standing at the door when she woke up.
 "Nina," Anne said with a joyful face. She quickened her pace and hugged her
daughter, who was about the same height as her. With red eyes, Anne said, "You're
finally awake. My little princess is finally awake. You've made me so worried."

Nina had little communication with her parents. When she was suddenly held in her
mother's arms, she was still a little uncomfortable. Her body was slightly stiff, but she
felt warm.

This was her childhood's greed, and she did not expect to realize it until now.

"Mother," Nina gradually relaxed the tensed cells all over her body. "I'm awake.
Don't worry, mother."

"It's good that you are awake." Anne took her daughter into the room and sat on
the sofa to ask if her daughter was feeling well.

Facing her mother's questions, Nina answered them seriously at first, but later she
just responded simply.

Anne noticed that there was something wrong with Nina's expression. "Nina, do you
have something on your mind?"

"Yes." Nina said frankly, "Mother, I want to take back my ring, cell phone and watch.
I want to contact my husband and my friend."

Anne let go of her daughter's hand and Anne's face changed.

 The mother and daughter looked into each other's eyes, not giving in.

The room was so quiet that people could hear the sea breeze. Anne looked serious
and Nina looked indifferent. They were in a stalemate for a moment.

"Nina, I've handled everything for you. Don't worry." Anne had always been strict
as Nina's mother, and even a comforting word from her was stiff.

However, Nina could be persuaded by reason but not be cowed by force.

"You mean I'm dead? The way you deal with it is to fake the death certificate of
me, cancel my household registration and say that I'm dead. " For the first time in
Nina's life, she hated her mother.

Since Nina was a child, she didn't have her mother's company, Nina had been
restricted by various rules and learned different skills. At that time, she only
complained in her heart, and gradually became numb.

She could let it go, but she couldn't let John go.

Everyone she met in Lexingport City brought her different emotional experience.
She had her own home and friends. She became to have flesh and blood, crying, laughing,
and playing cute...

"Nina, I did all this for your own good." Seeing the hatred in her daughter's eyes,
Anne's heart suddenly twitched and her voice softened.
 When her daughter ran away from home, sh

could change his clothes.

If Anne played the role of strict mother at home, then Bruce was a kind father.

At the age of forty-seven, Bruce was handsome and strong. Except for a little fat,
he had no shortcomings and didn't even have wrinkled when he smiled.

"Nina, my dear daughter, you're finally back. How have you been doing outside these
two years? Are you happy? " Bruce didn't know that Nina was married outside, nor did
he know how his daughter came back. He just thought that his daughter was tired of
the life outside and came back by herself.

When he heard the news that Nina ran away from home, he was scolded by his wife
secretly because he thought what Nina did was not wrong and liked him when he was
young.

But when he saw that his daughter's expression was much better than two years
ago, Bruce felt comforted.

She looked like a normal girl now.

However, this smile was like a forced smile after eating something bitter.

"Yes, I'm very happy in the past two years."

"Then why do you look unhappy?" Compared with his wife's communication with his
daughter, Bruce had more communication with his daughter. The two of them had a
close parent-child relationship.

Nina opened her innocent eyes and lowered her face. "I can't contact my friends."
 "Friends? My daughter has friends? " Said Bruce with a bright smile.

The smile on her father's face calmed Nina down a lot. She nodded and said, "Her
name is Michelle, just like the rabbit my brother gave me when I was a child, and Noah,
he is a very righteous person. James and Emma have just been engaged, and I don't
know where they are playing, and..."

After a pause, Nina decided to confess to her father, "I'm married."

Bruce was speechless... Bruce was stunned for a while. He had never encountered
any big waves in his life, but this was beyond his endurance.

His own daughter got married?

But he didn't know.

"Where did this pig come from? Why is he so arrogant?" With indignation, Bruce
stood up and rolled up his sleeves.

"Father, calm down and pay attention to your image management." Nina quickly
reached out and grabbed her father, who was about to explode. She was too familiar
with this state, and her brother had said something similar.

Bruce was so angry, "Did your mother know about it? You just said that you couldn't
contact your friends. Is it because your mother didn

e was stunned and didn't react until his daughter leaned over.
 "What did you call me?" With a trembling voice, Bruce slowly raised his hand to touch
his daughter's back, which was so thin that he felt sorry for her.

It was not until Nina called father that her body was truly relaxed. She hugged her
father and said, "Father, thank you. Thank you for not scolding me like my mother did
when you heard the news of my marriage, and denying the marriage I chose. "

Tears welled up in Bruce's eyes.

Her daughter had grown up and knew that her father needed care.

It had been more than 20 years. It was not easy to hear his daughter call him father.

"Don't mind what your mother said. It's your freedom to choose a marriage. I will
support you." Bruce's heart was completely captured by his daughter's coquetry.

With her father's support, Nina no longer felt helpless.

"Father, you won't let me marry Vicente, will you?" In fact, Nina had always known
about it, but she didn't want to mention it.

Now with her father's support, she had to solve the political marriage as soon as
possible.
 The next day.

There was a large-scale war on Scher Mountain.

The war was so large that all the people in the castle lowered their heads, not daring
to breathe heavily. Everyone talked and did things with all their heart.

Bruce and Anne had a dispute.

"Anyway, we can't force our daughter to marry into Nangong family. She doesn't
like Vicente." Said Bruce firmly, turning his back to his wife.

He couldn't speak loudly in front of his wife.

Anne sneered and sat elegantly on the sofa. She picked up a cup of coffee and sipped
it. "What's the point of saying that now? Who made the marriage in person? Who
picked Vicente as our son-in-law? Now you are blaming me instead. "

Bruce felt guilty, "Then I regret it now. I don't want my daughter to marry Vicente.
I take back what I said before."

"Regret?" Anne raised her head to look at her husband, who still had his back to her,
and shook her head. "Others may take back their words, but only you can't. Why didn't
you think about your daughter's feelings when you talked about the marriage with
Vicente?"

"I..." Bruce was rendered speechless. He turned around and looked at the woman who
was sitting on the sofa and drinking coffee
 an't deprive their brotherhood, can you? And the phone... "

"She can't have her phone." Anne said worriedly, "She can't contact the people in
Lexingport City anymore. I'm afraid that John will come to make trouble."

Bruce was helpless, 'Can I finish my words?'

"Nina just wants the mobile phone's pendant, not the mobile phone."

"No phone?" Anne stared at her husband suspiciously, "Are you going to help her
secretly contact John?"

Hearing this, Bruce's heart skipped a beat?

"No." Bruce shook his head and denied.

Anne continued to stare at him, "You'd better not. John doesn't deserve our
daughter. Don't make a match between them, or we will live separately. "

"Please don't," said Bruce timidly, "I promise I won't make a match between them.
Is that Okay?"

"That's good." Anne finally smiled with satisfaction. "For your sake, I'll send the
watch and the mobile phone's pendant to Nina."

"Thank you, honey." With a smile, Bruce went to bring them to his daughter in person.

After the man left, Anne ordered that no one whose surname was Shi was allowed
to enter or leave C Island.

This order undoubtedly gave a fatal blow to Lexingport City's seafood restaurant.
 Everyone in Lexingport City knew that John's wife died recently.

The staff of Time Group were even more trembling, afraid that they would be
unlucky.

None of them dared to talk about Nina's death. They made a detour when they saw
John. They knew that they must work hard and that the proposals must be flawless.

Since Nina drowned, John had become more silent and unpredictable than before.

He didn't smile at all, like a walking corpse.

He worked crazily, constantly broadening the company's business field and marching
into different industries. He won one project after another at an astonishing speed.

Some might think that John wanted to paralyze himself with work, but no one could
get in touch with him after four o'clock in the afternoon.

From four o'clock in the afternoon to eight o'clock in the evening, John wasn't
working. He had two other important things to do.

Psychological consulting and fighting training.

It seemed that he had become a machine in his own mind, but he didn't feel tired.
He just felt that he was too weak, but haste didn't bring success.
 He waited every day and lived a suffering life.

He was waiting to be strong enough to bring Nina back from her parents on C Island.

Therefore he must

sfaction and said, "You lied to me. You're not beautiful."

After she finished speaking, she ran towards John.

"John, stop!" Michelle roared angrily, startling the people passing by. They all looked
at this little girl in horror.

It shocked everyone that she dared to shout at John.

The receptionist immediately came up to stop her and dragged her out.

Although Michelle was small in size, she had a strong explosive force. She stepped
on the receptionist's foot and rushed towards John.

John looked back.

Seeing that it was Michelle, he stopped. He knew that she had been looking for him
recently.

The moment Michelle saw John, all the bitterness and pain in her heart surged out,
as if she had found a way to vent her feelings.

"John, return my dear Nini to me. Didn't you say that you would protect her well?"

John stood still, allowing Michelle to use all her strength to kick him, but John wasn't
hurt at all.

Compared with Nina, Michelle's kicks and beats were just a scratch.
 "You said you would protect Nini, but you didn't protect her well. You couldn't
protect her and her favorite restaurant.

Do you want to forget her and start a new marriage after you close Seafood
Restaurant? You want to marry Vivian."
 Michelle's last sentence surprised John. 'Why does she connect these two things?'

"What do you know?" Then he narrowed his eagle-like sharp eyes.

John's cold tone stopped Michelle from kicking him. She was timid and then became
brave to look into his eyes and saw a murderous look.

Nina once told Michelle that one would become angry when other's words about his
or her bad thoughts were true.

Michelle was so angry that her face turned pale. She pointed at John and cursed,
"Just as the netizens say, you'll really marry your childhood sweetheart. Nini must be
killed by you two!

You're a bad guy, a scum, a heartbreaker! Shit!" Since the news that Nina drowned
was confirmed, Michelle was like a crazy wild dog, completely irrational.

Hearing Michelle's words, John remained calm and indifferent, but there was deep
pain in his eyes.

Except for Nina, no one dared to irritate John.

The people passing by were frightened by Michelle's scolding and kept away from
her.

th his eyes closed and didn't feel any pain, even though James didn't apply the
medicine gently.
 When James was wiping the last bruise on John's legs, James' eyes suddenly turned
red. "Uncle John, do you know you've lost weight? You're so thin. I'm sure that Aunt
Nina will feel uncomfortable when you hug her. She doesn't like this."

When James mentioned Nina, John's eyelashes trembled.

On Scher Mountain, Bruce took the watch and the pendant to meet Nina.

He felt guilty and said, "I can only take back these two things. The ring is still kept
by your mother."

"Thank you, Dad." Holding the watch and the pendant in her hands, Nina finally
revealed a smile which hadn't been seen for a long time.

She felt happy that she could get back the watch and the pendant.

As for the ring, she thought she could take it back slowly.

At present, the happiest thing for Nina was that she could get the watch. When
everyone fell asleep at night, she could secretly contact John.
 At night.

Nina was sitting in front of the dressing mirror and carefully applying skin care
products. Rebecca stood beside her and watched her every move.

"Rebecca, I want to sleep." Nina stood up and walked to the bed, yawning. She indeed
looked like very sleepy.

Rebecca knew that pregnant women tended to feel sleepy, so she didn't think too
much about why the little princess went to bed so early tonight.

She waved her hand to let the others go out. After Nina lied in the quilt, Rebecca
personally put down the gauze curtain for her. "Good night, little princess."

"Good night, Rebecca." Nina slowly closed her eyes and breathed evenly.

Rebecca turned off the light and left.

A bright moon was hanging at the place where the sea and the sky met. The blue sky
was full of shiny stars, constantly blinking at the sea.

The sparkling sea gently rippled a castle, and some of the rooms in the castle still
had yellow light in it.

When all the lights in the room went out, it was late at night.
 A light blue light suddenly came out of the dark room, which was as ethereal as
smoke and couldn't be captured.

The light blue light came out of the

little face on the screen, his fingers trembling uncontrollably. He opened his slightly
dry lips, but even without the movement of Nina to keep quiet, he could not speak.

Thousands of words were stuck in his throat. He couldn't make any sound and didn't
know what to say.

Following the instructions of Nina, he opened the chatting interface and realized
that the room was dark and she couldn't see anything.

John turned on the light, and Nina immediately saw his appearance.

He frowned and looked tired. His handsome face was thinner and more angular, and
even the collarbone on his shoulder and neck was more obvious.

It was only a week. How could he be so thin?

And the shirt he was wearing and the wall behind him...

"Are you not in North Yard? Where are you? " Nina sent him the message quickly,
"Why don't you go home and have a rest? Why don't you eat and sleep well? Why are
you so thin? "

In the video, John sat still without any movement, and only his deep black eyes
became moist at one point one.

"I miss you." John opened his mouth and didn't make a sound.

'Little girl, I miss you so much.

I really miss you very, very much...'

 Nina could read John's lips.

She opened her mouth but couldn't say anything. Hot tears fell down along her
cheeks.

The light blue light shone on the girl's silent crying face, which broke the man's
heart.

The worry that he hadn't seen her for a few days, the anxiety that he couldn't get
in touch with, and the thought hidden in the bottom of his heart were rolling in the
man's tears.

Then John said softly, "Don't cry."

Nina bit her lips tightly. When she loosened her grip, her lips were completely red,
and crystal tears were stained on them. Her pitiful look made John wanted to fly to
her side right now.

John sent a message to her, "Don't cry. I'm flustered when you cry."

Staring at the words full of missing and tension, Nina finally couldn't hold back the
grievance she had endured for several days.

"Waah...Waah..." Nina's mouth twitched and she accidentally cried out. She
nervously raised her hand to cover her mouth, sobbing, and her tears were like a lake
that had a levee failure, constantly surging out.

John was flustered, he reached out but couldn't hold her.

 His fingers only touched the cold screen.

"Don't cry, don't cry." The only thing John could do was to repeat this sentence. His
voice was low and weak. "Wait for me."

'Wai

o angry that she ordered the bodyguards outside the door to come in. "Go and grab
the watch from the little princess."

The two bodyguards approached Nina and politely said, "Little princess, please hand
over your watch."

"No way." Nina raised her chin, not afraid of their fierce looks at all.

"I'm sorry, your highness." After saying that, the bodyguards went straight to grab
it.

Nina was agile and dodged several times in a row. And because she was a princess,
the two bodyguards didn't dare to be serious, fearing that they would hurt the little
princess and get into trouble.

Seeing that the bodyguard was at a disadvantage, Anne said abruptly, "Grab it. I'll
take the responsibility if anything happens."

With the queen's words, one of the bodyguards quickly approached Nina, quickly
grabbed her arm and pressed it back. Nina bowed and took a deep breath.

It hurt...

"My little princess, please forgive me." Another bodyguard reached out to take the
watch held in Nina's hand.

Nina squeezed so hard that her whole palm was sweating.

 The bodyguards could only break her fingers one by one. Seeing that the watch was
about to be taken away, Nina chose to lower her head and beg.

"No, mother, No. I beg you. Please don't take it away. I beg you."