Chapter 99

Grace did not know how many times she had told the nice old woman from their neighborhood that Jay was not her boyfriend, but her “brother.” However, when the old lady found out that there was no blood relationship between the two of them, she was still dead-set on treating them as a couple.

The old woman all but cackled at the absurdity. She said with a smile at that time, “Maybe not now. But, you will be in the future. What brother and sister? It’s just a figure of speech. Your friendship now will be the basis of your relationship to grow from.”

That sounded pretty profound. But Grace couldn’t allow herself to hope for such things.

She stood to lose too much.

She could only hope that things would stay as they were with Jay. If they did, she would count herself lucky indeed.

As for Jay, when the old lady called him her “boyfriend,” he never protested or tried to argue that they were siblings, he would even respond with a smile.

Jason put Grace down on a stone bench in the small park, and then said, “It’s colder today. I’ll go get you more clothes to help you layer up.”

“Mm. Okay,” she agreed.

When he came back with more clothes, he saw that the aunties in the community seemed to be surrounding her and talking to her. She then blushed and waved her hands repeatedly as if denying something.

Jason’s footsteps could not help slowing down. He only felt that the blush on her cheeks was so cute, and it made her look adorable.

When the aunties saw him, they immediately left with grins on their faces. Before leaving, they even winked at Grace, which made her face even redder.

“What’s wrong?” Jason walked up and wrapped another layer of clothing around her.

Her almond-shaped, jet-black eyes looked a little embarrassed and she bit her lower lip as she glanced up at him. He’d thought her adorable and she was, undeniably so, but she was beautiful too.

Radiant, even.

With something in her that just seemed to glow.

The old ladies had recognized it. Maybe on some instinctual level, he had too, when he first saw her that night on the street.

Grace was… good.

Her soul was kind and giving.

She was strong.

But not so strong as to be inflexible.

He marveled at her resilience and her ability to give. Despite everything that was taken from her, she continued to be generous to others.

And that was quite incredible, in his humble opinion.

Her face flushed bright red as he continued to stare at her, until her cheeks looked like the skin of an apple. One couldn’t help wanting to take a bite.

All of a sudden, a burst of lust sprang up in Jason’s body. He calmly suppressed the physical reaction, but he had a strange feeling in his heart.

It seemed that her influence on him was…growing. Even just the blush on her face made him… want her.

“They… they thought you were my boyfriend,” she whispered.

“Isn’t this something that they’ve known for a while?” he asked.

“Then they said that you were too beautiful.” She was even more embarrassed now.

“And then?” he asked.

“After that, they started teaching me some husband-taming moves.” She couldn’t bring herself to tell him the details.

“Well then, in the future, you can use them on me to see if there’s any effect,” Jason said.

“Why, you too…” Grace bit down on her lower lip in embarrassment.

His throat could not help tightening up at this sight.

At this moment, her phone suddenly rang. She picked it up and answered. Her face immediately changed, and she responded in a low voice.

After finishing the call, she looked at him and said, “I will go back to my mother’s hometown during Thanksgiving this year. Just now, a call came from my mother’s side saying that my grandma wants to see me.”

When her father married her stepmother, he first threw her back to her mother’s hometown. During that time, it was her grandmother who had taken care of her, until she couldn’t any longer, due to her poor health. Grace’s dear paternal grandfather then stepped in and took over.

After that, Grace could only come back during the winter and summer holidays. After she graduated from high school, she would sometimes save enough money to buy a bus ticket, and she would go back to see her grandmother-until the disaster that happened to her three years ago…

At that time, her grandmother was already in worse health and often needed to rest in bed, and other relatives were busy trying to distance themselves from Grace. Even when she gave them a call, she would always be heartlessly hung up on.

This time, it could be said that it was the first time her mother’s side had called her in three years.

“Jay, my family on that side has avoided me since the accident.

It’s… why would they call me home to her now?”

Jason could imagine. And it filled his heart with dread.

Author’s Note: Thank you for all your love on Grace and Jason and I had read all your comments. I know I made some mistakes throughout it. I am so so so so sorry about the names and they are going back now. Just comment and ask.