Brian concealed his stirring emotions adeptly beneath his expression of indifference.

He calmly responded to Joanne's surprised and curious look, "I just casually bought them."

As if Joanne would believe that!

Joanne held the handmade accessory in her hands, and dangled it before Brian, "What about this? You bought it casually?"

"..."

That was from six years ago when Brian and Wesley made a trip to Nepal together, and they were trapped in a small village by the heavy rain. They went to the nearest hotel to seek shelter, and the lady boss of the hotel was knitting something at the moment. Even though the craftsmanship was not complex, they learned that it was like a safety amulet of their country.

"Here, after it's done, write the name of the person you're gifting it to, then write your blessings, and give it to them. Let them take it with them everywhere, and then your blessings will come true!" The lady boss smiled as she said that to him.

After observing for two rounds, Brian had already memorized the steps to knitting it, and casually made one himself. The lady boss praised him for being gifted, exclaiming that he had done better than all the beginners. Thinking about how it would be a waste to trash such a nicely knitted amulet, she fetched some paper and pen for him, suggesting that he gift it to someone.

Brian took the paper and pen, looking out at the pouring rain, and felt lost for a moment.

Wesley was right beside him, leaning against a chair, watching him, "Whose name are you going to write?"

It was Joanne's birthday that day.

He carefully wrote "Joanne". As for the blessing...

Youth and beauty? She was in her prime age, she did not need such a blessing.

Happiness and contentment? She seemed to be rather happy with her life.

After serious consideration, he wrote "a lifetime of protection".

Wesley watched him writing very properly and carefully, and let out a laughter. "You're so serious. Are you for real?"

Brian said nothing, and put the slip of paper into the amulet and sealed it. With that, the rain had stopped.

He was not actually religious, and he did not believe in any superstitions.

But at that moment, he had very firmly wished that the amulet could bestow upon Joanne a lifetime of protection-it was not superstition, but a form of hope.

He subconsciously smiled as he thought of that, and he held the amulet in his hands for a moment, "I made this personally."

"..." Joanne was more shocked than when she first received those fourteen gifts.

That kind of handmade accessory usually possessed a special meaning. She had only expected it to be something which Brian had picked out personally.

Yet, it was knitted by him personally!

Joanne snatched the amulet back, "You've already given it to me, it's mine now!"

Like she was appraising a treasure, she placed the amulet in her hands and inspected it carefully. Her heart felt like it was dipped in honey; the sweetness seeped deep within her, and overwhelmed her with bliss.

A brief moment later, she looked at Brian, "But, what exactly is this?"

Brian raised a brow, "Guess."

Not waiting for Joanne's answer, he left to take a shower. Joanne pouted, and kept the present in her luggage like she was stowing away a treasure. She caressed those treasures once more before closing her luggage.

Unsure whether it was the exhilaration or jet lag, Joanne had difficulties falling asleep. So she persisted in asking Brian how he had picked all those presents.

That was how she had learned that Brian had asked help from a classmate in order to secure the limited edition doll.

She learned that the small accessory was something which had caught his eye at a foreign bazaar. It did not cost much, but he knew she would like such little knick-knacks.

As for the necklace, it was from the year of her 20th birthday, when Brian specially commissioned a designer to customize it for her.

...

Joanne gradually fell fast asleep as she listened on, while a smile was still on her face.

How she wished, if only she could be immersed in that blissfulness forever, and never wake up, never having to face the future...

But time will not stop for any specific person. The following day arrived as it should.

It was their last day in Paris. Brian asked Joanne where she felt like going. Joanne did not want to do the thinking and leaned on him, "Anywhere is fine! As long as you're with me!"

Brian smiled, not at all bothered by her clinginess. He arranged an itinerary; they would first be going to Notre-Dame, then to the Louvre.

When they were done visiting the Louvre, the sun had already set.

The light of dawn painted the streets of Paris a faint golden, like strokes made by an artist on a canvas, lighting up the city beautifully.

The day was soon ending.

Everything was going to come to an end.

Joanne suddenly hugged Brian so tightly, and buried her head in his chest. With a muffled voice, "I don't want to go back."

Since their visit to France, she had already said the same thing more than thrice.

Brian had guessed her worries, and rubbed her head, "The loan from Southern Union Bank is still in the talks. Who knows, maybe it would have successfully been granted after we return? Don't worry, alright?"

Joanne lifted her head, and forced a smile at Brian, "I believe in you! It will definitely happen!"

Even if Brian could not succeed in convincing Oscar, she would definitely make Oscar agree to it.

Brian smiled and took a look at his watch, "Are you hungry? Why don't we go eat something?"

The sky had already turned dark after they were done with dinner. Brian held onto Joanne's hand, asking, "Do you want to go walk around or return to the hotel?"

"Go..." Joanne was about to speak then her face suddenly felt cold. When she looked up, snow was falling.

It seemed like it would be a heavy snow. Joanne suddenly changed her mind, "Let's go for a walk!"

Following the snowfall, the temperature of the city had seemed to drop. Very soon, the ground was covered in a layer of snow; Joanne was trembling from the cold, but was still entertaining herself by leaving trails in the snow.

Brian wrapped her slightly cold hands, and then left her to play like a child along the way back to the hotel.

Seeing that they were a few steps away from the hotel, Joanne suddenly paused in her tracks, "I still want to look around for a bit more."

Brian knew that she liked snow, so he did not object. He accompanied her by the sideways, helping her brush off the snowflakes on her shoulders and hair.

Under the light, the contours of Joanne's profile appeared exceptionally alluring. A cold gust of wind blew past suddenly, and she shuddered. "So cold."

Brian cupped her face and ears, warming her face with his palms. He said, "Let's go back."

Yet Joanne did not move, and only grinned at Brian. She suddenly tiptoed and pecked on Brian's lips. Like a child who had successfully pulled off a prank, she turned and ran back to the hotel.

Brian was stunned for a good moment until he finally reacted. Watching the slim figure run off under the light, he squinted, and then decidedly chased after her, taking her hand as they returned to their room.

...

The next day, Brian and Joanne took the 9 o'clock flight back to their country.

Because of a certain someone, Joanne basically had no rest the previous night, so she was sleeping through the 10-odd-hour flight.

It was 5a.m. when Brian's private jet landed at the international airport of Arlington. The sky had turned bright right when they reached home from the airport.

Given that she had slept for over ten hours, and immediately took a shower after reaching home, Joanne was fully energized. Rubbing her hands in anticipation, she asked Brian what he would like to eat. Brian thought for a while, and said, "Porridge?"

Joanne grimaced.

She recalled the time when she had first made porridge for Brian; it was when he had suddenly suffered from gastric pain. She fetched him at the hospital and took him home, then made him a pot of porridge, but ended up scalding herself.

It seemed like... their relationship had started changing since then.

It started with a bowl of porridge, and it was about to end with a bowl of porridge as well. How nice.

She smiled, "Alright. You go rest, I'll let you know when it's done."

Joanne went right into the kitchen. She retrieved a serving of chilled soaked rice from the fridge, pouring it into the pot and cooked, then went on preparing other ingredients.

The fragrance of a pot of boiled beef porridge was soon in the air.

Joanne adjusted the fire, then quietly sneaked upstairs. As expected, Brian was fast asleep on the bed.

She carefully covered him in his blanket, and she leaned beside the bed, quietly looking at him. Eventually, she could not help but caress his face.

When Brian told her "I love you", she felt like she was the happiest person in the world.

Such a wonderful person loved her, devotedly for many years.

In the future, all he was going to miss was her. He would still have a career, friends, thousands of employees, and... numerous admirers.

In the future, he would be fine, right?

She felt her face growing warmer, and at that point, Brian woke up, and she quickly suppressed her tears.

"What time is it?" Brian asked.

"Exactly 7," Joanne said, "Do you want to sleep for another hour?"

Brian had already gotten up, "There will be a lot to do at the office today. I need to get to work earlier today."

Joanne spoke no more, and went off to prepare his clothes.

After half an hour, the two went downstairs. Martha had already prepared the porridge in bowls. She greeted as she saw them arriving, and said to Brian, "Today's breakfast is boiled beef porridge cooked by the madam. It smells really good."

Brian tasted the porridge. It was fragrant; the rice and beef were incredibly delicious. He looked at Joanne, and meanwhile, her expression was firmly confident. She said proudly with composure, "I know it tastes great."

She was just that confident!

Brian let out a laugh. He finished breakfast, and had Winston drive him to the office.

Joanne sent Brian off at the door. Before getting on the car, Brian suddenly asked her, "What time are you going to work?"

"Uh..." Joanne's face was filled with hesitation. "My leave is not over yet."

Brian squinted doubtfully. He sharply noticed that something was off-Joanne was very passionate about her job, so he thought she would be returning to work immediately.

Joanne rubbed the tip of her nose in guilt, and gave an excuse, "Too much has happened in these two months. I would like to take a break for a few more days."

"As you please," Brian said, "If you're feeling tired, it's okay to apply for a longer leave to rest at home."

Joanne pursed her lips and nodded, forcing a smile, "You better leave, and come home soon after work is done."

Brian got on the car. The black car very quickly disappeared from Joanne's sight.

She could no longer suppress the bitterness in her heart. Her eyes grew red, her vision blurred.

After standing at the spot for some time, she closed her eyes, then took out her phone and dialed Rosalyn's number.

"You're finally contacting me," Rosalyn's firm and confident voice could be heard. "How is it? Have you decided?"

"I've decided," Joanne said with as much composure as possible, "I need to meet you."

"Sure," Rosalyn said, "An hour from now, XX club at Greendale Road. Be punctual, I don't like waiting."

Joanne hung up, looking lost for a moment.

But very quickly after, she clenched her fists, and walked back into the house in determination.