"God is helping me!"

Joanne ran out of the elevator, gloating, she totally ignored Brian's expression... he looked dangerous.

She went back home and the evening's coming, the cook had already prepared all the cooking material. All Joanne had to do was to fry.

She took the apron and after a quick thought, she asked the cook to stay with her. She started to tell the cook some cooking tricks she learned while cooking.

The cook was confused, so he asked, "Mrs. Lambert, why would you tell me these?"

Joanne smiled, "Brian would like your dishes more this way."

The cook laughed, and said, "Well, then you should do the cooking because Mr. Lambert likes your dishes much more than anyone else's!"

"..."

Joanne tried to smile, but she could only force an unnatural smile, so she gave up and went back to stirring. Somehow, she got choked by the smell of chili.

It stung sharply, Joanne couldn't control her tears anymore.

The cook went to her, "Ah, Mrs. Lambert, let me do it for you, you should take a break."

"I'm fine." Joanne was strong-headed, "I just got choked, not a big deal."

"I won't even have the chance to cook for him... soon..."

After the cooking, Joanne pulled herself together. She put on a happy face and had dinner with Brian.

After the dinner, Brian went to his study to have a video conference, and Joanne followed him upstairs.

He thought Joanne was going back to her room, however, once he set his feet on the ground of study, he felt being pulled by someone.

He looked back, and it was Joanne.

She gave him her puppy eyes. "I'll be quiet, I promise I won't distract you!"

In the study.

Brian was sitting at the desk, having a conference in a language that Joanne didn't understand. Joanne sat on the couch next to French windows with a book on her lap. However, it seemed that she had been on the same page for a long time already; she was staring at Brian all the time.

Brian also checked her from time to time, and when that happened, she would look at the book immediately, pretending to read.

"I promised I wouldn't distract him!"

In the end, Joanne was distracted by the flying snowflakes outside.

"It's snowing... so hopefully I can see a silver world again tomorrow?"

"This winter will probably be the most beautiful winter in my life..."

All of a sudden, there came footsteps, and Joanne raised her head. It was Brian.

Before she could say anything, Brian suddenly leaned to her, she shocked to move backward, and then she stared at Brian vigilantly.

Brian turned her book upside down, and said, "You've held the book upside down for the whole night."

Joanne was embarrassed, so she said, "Well, I wanted to try to read the book upside down."

"..." Brian sat by her and held her shoulders, he took her into his arms and said, "Day after tomorrow we're going to Bordeaux, get ready for that tomorrow."

Joanne nodded and answered, "No problem!"

She checked the time, it's already half past ten, so she decided to go back to her own bedroom.

She stood up, but she didn't move.

Brian looked at her calmly and asked, "What now?"

Joanne smiled brightly, her eyes were filled with hope. "Can you give me a piggyback? Like you used to do when we're kids."

Brian immediately recalled what happened 14 years ago.

Back then, Joanne wanted to see him so much, and she was bored of the big house, so she just ran out of the house, despite those adults' interruption.

He followed her and showed her around outside. Her tender face got a sunburn in no time, and she sweated a lot, so finally, she asked him to take her back.

He said yes, while she just stood there, unwilling to move, and she took a glance on his back from time to time. What she wanted was so obvious that you could easily tell from her bright eyes.

Brian didn't want to say yes to that too, however, somehow his body reacted faster than his brain. Thus, in the end, he squatted down just in front of her and said, "Hurry up."

She got on his back with a big smile, and he carried her home.

On the way back home, Joanne talked and talked. He couldn't remember what exactly she had said, but he remembered that she was so happy... like a child who finally got her candy.

Who knew she would do it again? Her eyes were just the same like years ago, they're bright, full of joy and hope.

Joanne expected Brian to spoil her like when they're kids, and she was ready to get on his back, however...

Bang! he flicked her forehead and complained seemingly. "How old are you?"

Brian went directly out, and Joanne didn't have the time to complain about the flick. She just followed him and tried to get his neck, and then they laughed and fought noisily into the bedroom.

They stayed together for the whole following day, and the next day, they flew to Bordeaux.

Brian's private plane landed at Bordeaux's airport at 3 pm.

The temperature of Bordeaux in December was just about the same like the temperature in Arlington, but the weather's better. Bordeaux had warmer sunshine and less chill wind.

Brian's secretary had arranged everything for them, so once they left the airport, they're directly sent to the hotel by a car.

Everything was always fresh and alien for a foreigner. Joanne was so curious that she looked around all the time, whenever she saw something interesting, she would ask Brian, "What's this?"

And surprisingly, Brian could always give her an answer.

So she was even more curious. "You've never stayed in France, how come you know this place so well?"

Brian was calm, "I come here once a year since I bought the chateau." He took Joanne's hand, "I'll bring you here every year, you won't be surprised about the stuff here at all as long as you can come for several times more."

Joanne was stunned, and then, she forced herself to smile, hiding her sorrow away. "OK!"

After they arrived at the hotel, Brian asked, "Do you want to take a nap?"

"No, I've slept on the plane for more than 10 hours already." Joanne wore a scarf, and then took Brian's hand. "Let's take a walk."

Brian asked in reply, "How about going to the chateau?"

Joanne didn't care about the destination that much, so she said, "Up to you!"

Six years ago, Brian bought a chateau there. The chateau had a very good soil condition and climate condition; it's a perfect vineyard. So quickly, in the following years, it got well-known to everyone, and the wine it produced was recognized as GRAND-CRU; the chateau itself was also regarded as the most beautiful chateau there.

However, the glory of a chateau always belonged to summer. In winter, there's no leaf on vines, they're all naked, and the soil's so dry that you couldn't recognize any vigor there. The only thing worth seeing was the constructions there.

Brian took Joanne to the top of a small hill and asked her to look further.

She looked over in the direction he showed, and she saw the sun sinking.

The sun was so golden. The whole vineyard became golden because of that, it was glittering and twinkling in silence as if it's telling the legend of its summer.

Maybe because the chateau was too tranquil, maybe because the view was too peaceful, Joanne felt calm and peaceful too.

She sat down with Brian right there and leaned herself against him; everything was so peaceful.

Brian pulled her scarf and asked, "Do you feel cold?"

"No." Joanne shook her head and hugged him. "I don't want to go back anymore."

Brian thought she said that because she liked the views there too much, so he asked, "Because of the sunset?"

Joanne rubbed her head against his chest and answered, "Yes, it's too beautiful!"

Actually, what she enjoyed was not the views.

It's him, it's the peace that hadn't been broken.

A suited middle-aged man went to them with two young men. He bowed to Brian and smiled, and then he said, "This is our new wine, please have a taste."

The two young men put a tray in front of them; there're two glasses and some wine.

Brian thanked them, and then the three gentlemen left.

Joanne looked around and almost laughed out, the surrounding was too barren, so she asked, "Are we really going to try the new wine here?"

Brian was quite relaxed. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "Why not?"

He poured the wine into the glasses, Joanne took a sip. She couldn't tell if it's good wine or not, but she was already satisfied.

All she wanted was the memory of spending time with Brian.

The sun was going down, and it's getting darker and darker; there's only a thin line of brightness.

Brian stood up and reached out to Joanne. "Let me show you the cellar."

Joanne held his hand and wanted to stand up, but then she realized that she had been sitting for too long that her legs felt numb. She couldn't even move her feet, let alone walking down the hill.

She was embarrassed, so she said, "Give me a break."

Brian suddenly squatted down in front of her and said, "Hurry up."

Joanne was surprised. She stared at his back, and the past 14 years just flipped in her memory.

Fourteen years ago, Brian was just a teenager, his back was not so broad, not so sturdy nor so masculine.

But now, he's a man, he's got duties, and he's got a lot of expectations on his shoulder.

His backbone should always stay straight proudly; it should never be a bow for anyone nor anything.

Joanne got on his back, she put her chin on his shoulder and asked, "Aren't you afraid of being seen like this by your employees?"

Brian didn't care about that at all. "So what? I'm carrying my own love."

Joanne couldn't help but laugh; she put her arms around his neck and leaned against his back. She enjoyed the sunset.

It's beautiful, however, it couldn't last long.

"The setting sun is beautiful, yet the dusk is so near." Everyone knew the poem, and it's exactly what Joanne was thinking about.

Eventually, Joanne wanted to maintain Brian's "cool boss" image, so once they walked down the hill and her feet felt fine, she asked him to put her down, and then followed him to see the cellar.

The cellar was elegant; it's quiet and artistical. The workers there were wearing uniforms, and the smell of wine was everywhere... Many clients and journalists would be taken there to have a look.

Joanne would love to stay there for a long time if they had enough time.