Only you in my love

At the Stone Road

As Leon was steadily parking the car, he noticed the dog, Nine, lying on the ground. Its white hair was all spread out all around it.

Upon hearing the car door opening, Nine looked up and stared at him. It then stood up quickly, wagging its tail to greet him.

Its eyes had sparked up in delight and anticipation, but the light soon extinguished upon seeing Leon. Depressed once more, it lowered its ears and stopped wagging its tail. Slowly, it lied down on the ground and continued to wait.

Leon bent down to pat Nine's head, ruffling the tuft of hair there deliberately.

He then said angrily, "Do you really dislike me that much, Nine?"

Nine didn't even react.

Leon asked again, "Is this your way of welcoming me?"

But Nine continued to ignore him.

Leon smiled and said, "Since you're so quiet, I'll take it that you are welcoming me."

Nine reacted by closing its eyes.

Leon couldn't believe his eyes.

The guard who had witnessed the whole scene was stunned.

He wasn't expecting Nine to behave that way towards Leon.

For a moment, he was at a loss of what to do. He braced himself before explaining, "Mr. Lu, Nine is waiting for Van and Don to come back from school." Feeling a little better, Leon asked, "Does Nine wait for them every day?"

"Not really. Nine wanted to go to school with the boys this morning. And it took a long time for them to console the dog."

Leon touched its head again. But this time, it was out of comfort. Nine opened its eyes and looked up at him momentarily before closing them once more.

Nine was only four years old. It had always been an energetic dog. But today, it looked sick. Worse, it almost looked lifeless.

"Could it be sick?"

"I've already had a doctor examine it. It's not sick."

"Well, that's good to hear." Leon then straightened up and walked inside the house.

The old butler Jake was already there to greet him without fail. He smiled and said, "Mr. Lu, you' here."

Leon nodded his head in acknowledgement. "Where's Sam?"

"He's in the bamboo forest." Jake began to guide him towards there.

However, Leon stopped in his tracks upon hearing that Sam was in the bamboo forest.

Jessica had planted the bamboo forest herself. There was a pavilion built in it that was perfectly quiet and isolated.

Leon had been to the Shi family's residence so many times now, but he had never stepped foot in the bamboo forest.

He had been avoiding Jessica deliberately.

He could never forget how Jessica had made things difficult for Nina. Of course, Jessica had already amended for her mistakes. By now, Nina had already forgiven her. Even Van and Don had grown closer to her. However, Leon could never forget the things she had done. He could never forgive her.

Nonetheless, he wasn't angry at her anymore. He just chose to ignore her.

Leon was never a forgiving man especially when it came to those who bullied his sister. He had wanted to make sure that Jessica would pay for what she had done, but Nina and his two nephews had convinced him to let the past go.

The others knew Leon's attitude toward Jessica, and they pretended they didn't know.

Leon smiled and asked gently, "It may be sunny, but it's still cold outside. What is Sam doing in the bamboo forest?"

A complicated expression crossed Jake's face. Nonetheless, he answered the question truthfully. "He's demonstrating the tea ceremony to Jessica."

Sam would spare two afternoons every week to teach Jessica tea ceremony since the pavilion had been built two years ago.

"I don't want to bother them. So please send a message to Sam for me. Tell him that I'll be picking up Van and Don from school today," Leon said, looking straight at Jake.

"Very well then," Jake answered.

"And also, Van and Don won't be back for dinner tonight. I'll be taking them to Michelle's house later. They did mention that they want to visit Michelle last weekend, didn't they? I think they miss her, and she misses them, too. I'll send them back after dinner." Leon was the uncle of the two kids after all. There was no reason for Jake to disagree.

With that, Leon turned around and left. Jake set off to the bamboo forest and informed Sam of Leon's plans. Sam didn't find anything strange about it, but he asked, "Did Van and Don really mention anything about Michelle these days?"

Leon had been to the Shi family's house last Saturday. Jake and Sam were there as well. They even stayed there even after Leon had already left.

But they never heard Van and Don mention Michelle. In fact, the two children were only talking about their parents. It seemed like they were both envious of their parents who were still on their honeymoon.

Confused, Jake said, "I don't really remember."

Sam said, "I don't think they mentioned her either."

Jessica smiled and said, "Maybe the two of you have just forgotten it. Leon is a young man after all. That means he still has a strong memory, isn't it?"

"That's right." Sam agreed.

As they continued talking, Leon arrived at the gate. He glanced at the dog, who was still lying on the ground, completely lethargic and depressed. He then squatted down in front of it and touched its head.

A smile spread on his face, but it was a different smile from the one he showed to Jake and the others. This one was more genuine as if it was reserved only for family.

"Hey Nine! Do you want to come with me to pick up Van and Don? Stand up if you agree."

Nine immediately stood up. Its eyes were glowing in ecstasy. It was as if it could completely understand Leon.

Smiling, Leon opened the car door. Nine jumped inside and sat up straight on the seat.

It was still early so Leon decided to bring Nine back to the C Mansion where he could change his clothes.

Just as he was about to head out again, he bumped into Valerie. She asked, "Are you going out?" It was then she noticed the suit he was wearing. "Are you going to attend a dinner party?"

"Yes." He was having dinner with his girlfriend and her mother after all. It might as well be the grandest dinner he had ever had.

The mere thought of it filled him with so much tenderness.

The corners of his lips were slowly curling up into a smile. The mere sight of it seemed to attract Valerie. She couldn't help but think just how Leon was so much better than Baker in all aspects.

She wondered why she was so afraid of him at that time. And now, she was regretting it. If only she had followed his wishes and married him back then, she didn't have to pretend to be his friend just to get close to him again.

But now, there was nothing more she could do but to watch him from afar.

She couldn't stand it any longer. She had to do something in order to win his heart again.

With an elegant smile, Valerie said, "I was actually planning to go shopping later. I'll buy a new dress and go with you to the dinner party."

"There's no need for you to accompany me." Leon smiled at her.

The expression on Valerie's face changed. Nonetheless, she forced a smile and asked, "What do you mean?"

Looking straight into her eyes, Leon answered, "I no longer need you to accompany me at any dinner parties in the future. In fact, I don't want anyone spreading gossips about us again. Now that Michelle is back, I'm afraid that she might misunderstand the nature of our relationship."

Valerie tried her best to keep her smile.

"You said we should ignore those rumors back then. And that had saved me a lot of unnecessary troubles. It's been three years since I've been pestered by a woman. So thank you."

Leon stared at Valerie with cold eyes, and she could hardly keep her smile.

Valerie opened her mouth, wanting to say something else, but no words came out of her.

She thought, 'What should I say? No big deal?"

She suddenly found the idea disgusting.

Nonetheless, she couldn't stop herself from feeling bad as she stared into Leon's eyes.

Leon was still soft, but it sent a chill down her spine.

"Since the rumors have something to do with you..." Leon deliberately paused for a moment. He watched as her pupils dilated out of fear. Nonetheless, she quickly tried to hide it. Valerie's heart was beating so fast against her chest.

Leon continued, "Since the rumors have something to do with you, I think you might already have a plan on how to get rid of them. So how long do you need for them to completely go away?"

Leon might be smiling on the outside, but Valerie could feel his coldness. It was as if winter came earlier than expected. The coldness seemed to seep through her bones and spread throughout her limbs. Before she knew it, she was completely frozen.

As Valerie kept silent, Leon continued, "If you still haven't made up your mind until now, you should probably go back and think about it. But remember, I don't want to wait for too long."

For so long, Valerie had thought that she had the upper hand, but she was proven wrong. Leon had everything under his control this whole time.

He was giving her another chance.

It was Leon who gave her the chance, and not the other way around.

If he wanted to take everything back, he could do it himself at any time.

This revelation was like a knife on her throat. Her entire life depended on the person who was holding the knife.

The fact that he was warning her that he didn't want to wait for too long was a warning in itself. If she didn't act quickly enough, he would have no qualms to cut off her throat with the knife.

Valerie felt as if all the blood in her body had run cold. Her lips trembled as she said, "Okay." Her voice was so low that one had to strain their ears a bit to hear her. It was as if there was something stuck in her throat. In fact, she couldn't even hear herself as well.0000000