Chapter 1 Chapter 1

Her emaciated body was ruthlessly pinned to the ground, her hands stained with blood. "Look at you," she heard a voice full of contempt say from above her. "The former most promising up-and-coming lawyer is now nothing but a worthless pile of dirt!" Serenity Lewis raised her head with great effort and stared at the cold, exquisite face in front of her. Who would have thought that the most popular star in the entertainment industry who was as pure and innocent as white snow in the public's eye could be so vicious in real life? "Jenny Hall," she spoke with a weak and trembling voice. "Why?""Why?" Jenny sneered. Her lips curled up in biting scorn as her sinister eyes glinted. "You killed my sister, and you dare to ask me why?!""It wasn't me!" Serenity denied, frantically shaking her head. "I was wrongly accused!" She laboriously tried to get up on her feet, and her eyes were fixed on the man standing next to Jenny Hall. That man... was her boyfriend! That was the man who had promised to protect her for the rest of her life! In the past, he would get distressed for a whole day even when a needle merely pricked her finger, yet now, all he did was watch silently as another woman tortured her. "Z-Zeke...!" Serenity shouted with all her might and pleaded, "I beg you... Please believe me..." Outwardly, he was exactly the same as he always was—dressed in a smart suit and a pair of leather shoes—yet his eyes were icy cold as he stared at her. Gone was all the warmth. The only thing left was cold indifference. "Zeke," Jenny affectionately grabbed the man's arm. Her ruthless expression changed as she faced him, and she now turned into an innocent woman who had been wronged. "You're not feeling sorry for this woman, are you? I'm only doing this so my sister can rest in peace.""She brought this upon herself," Zeke replied, gently stroking Jenny's smooth silky hair as he continued, "She's not worth any sympathy. Do whatever you like." Serenity's eyes widened. Brought this upon herself?! Ha! This man who used to treasure her as if she was the most precious thing in the world to him had nothing more to say but accuse her of bringing it all onto herself! Serenity had no idea where she got the strength, but she suddenly broke free from the person pinning her down to the ground and crawled forward, doing anything she could to get closer to the man. "Zeke, I don't know what actually happened in that car crash... but I wasn't drunk when I was driving, and it was definitely Mira Hall's car... that crashed into my car..." Crush! A foot stomped down on the back of her left hand. The pain pierced through her bones, but it was nothing compared to the agony that wrecked her heart. She looked up strenuously and stared at Zeke, who had just stomped on her. She could never believe that he would ever do such a thing. Serenity took a deep breath, her voice as raspy as if her throat was filled with sand as she asked, "Have you ever loved me?""The thing that I regret the most in my life," Zeke replied in the coldest voice, "is once having you as my girlfriend.""Crush her hands!" Jenny interrupted. "Just destroy them, Zeke! Those are the hands that killed my sister!" The next moment, Serenity heard the man's voice reply, "Okay!" *** "Ah!" Serenity's eyes opened violently, realizing that she had just dreamt about the incident in prison again. She looked down at her coarse calloused hands. After having spent three years in prison, her hands would never be as smooth and delicate as they used to be anymore. Although the nails on all of her ten fingers had grown back, there were still some lingering effects of the injury on her hands. In that incident, they had broken all the bones in her fingers, but she was ultimately not crippled because the bones eventually healed. Unfortunately, her joints were now crooked, and she could no longer perform many fine movements very well. In fact, on a particularly cold or damp day, her fingers would be in excruciating pain. Sometimes the pain was so unbearable that she wished she could cut off her hands just to get rid of the pain. After that car crash, she had been accused of drunk driving and killing Mira Hall, who was not only the eldest daughter of the wealthy Hall family, but also the fiancee of Solaria's most powerful man, Jackson Valor. Following that, Serenity's family turned their backs on her, and she had been kicked out of the house. She was then sentenced to three years in prison. Serenity got up to her feet and picked up the cleaning tools that were lying beside her. She was wearing fluorescent overalls, a sanitation worker's uniform. Her delicate face was flushed slightly red because of the cold weather. Beneath her almond-shaped eyes were a dainty nose and soft pink lips, and her hair was tied up in a high ponytail. Based on her appearance alone, many would assume that she was a college student fresh out of high school, but there was no youthful vigor in her eyes like many young people had. Instead, her eyes were dull and grave. She was supposed to be on the night shift that evening and had just taken a nap in the sanitation station, and she was just about to be late for work. Just as she was about to leave, she overheard some colleagues scrolling through their phones, reading the news, and saying, "Guys, look! Zeke Shaw and Jenny Hall are getting engaged! What a lucky woman! She's a popular star, she's from a wealthy family, and now she's marrying into another wealthy family!" Serenity shuddered before hurrying out of the room. Zeke Shaw and Jenny Hall... Those names were like scars of pain carved into her bones. It was a cold January night, but Serenity still held firmly to the broom in her hands and swept the streets. The joints of her fingers throbbed in pain unceasingly because of the biting cold. 'Just bear with it a little longer and it will be over soon,' she told herself. For a sanitation worker like her, even painkillers had become a luxury now. As she was working, a Ferrari suddenly came to a screeching halt in front of her, and out came a man and a woman. Serenity quickly paled as she recognized the man. The man came from a rich family and had tried to molest her in the past, and Serenity had given him hell for it. "Isn't that the great lawyer, Ms. Lewis?" Travis Dawn mockingly asked. "What are you doing here sweeping the streets, Miss Hotshot?""It would be strange if she was still a lawyer!" said the woman beside him with a snigger. "Don't you underestimate this lawyer!" replied Travis while leering at Serenity. "Back then, she used to be Zeke Shaw's girlfriend, you know!""Have you heard that your ex-boyfriend is going to get engaged with Jenny Hall? How about reconsidering my offer? You know you can get way more money than however much you get sweeping the streets!" Serenity had no plans to just stand there and take it from him, so she desperately tried to slip away from the man, but Travis managed to grab her arm and pinned her against the wall in the alley. Seeing that Travis was about to assault her, Serenity kicked him in his lower region and took the chance to slip away while he was still grunting in pain. Travis was now so enraged that he saw blood. He would never let that woman go! He then got into his Ferrari and chased after her down the street. By then Serenity had already escaped to the other side of the street, but what struck her as odd was how quiet it was. Usually, the street would be filled with cars and people at this time of day, but right now, there was not even a trace of a soul there. It was as if... the street had been completely abandoned. Soon, Serenity had been cornered by the Ferrari. Travis got out of the car and charged straight toward her, but just then, there was the sound of footsteps approaching. The eerie silence of the night made the sound of the footsteps exceptionally clear. Subsequently, Serenity saw a tall man approaching. His bangs covered up his eyes, so she could not see what he looked like, and he was wearing an old and shabby-looking shirt. "Get out of my way!" Travis yelled at the man. "This doesn't concern you!" The man glanced languidly at Travis. Oddly enough, it made Travis's hair stand on end. That cold icy gaze made Travis feel as if he was nothing but dead meat in the eyes of that man. Travis spat and then raised his fist as he aimed it at the man's face. However, the next thing he knew, he was trampled under the man's foot with one side of his face pressed against the pavement. He had ended up in an utterly helpless and incapacitated position. After that, all Serenity could see was a one-sided attack, where it was obvious that one man had already claimed complete victory over the other. Meanwhile, in a car that was parked in a hidden corner nearby, Connor Gunn watched on and murmured, "Please don't lose your mind, Mr. Valor!" Every time Jackson lost control, only God could tell what might happen. There was a possibility that he might even end up killing someone. He remembered seeing Jackson lose control once, and after that... he never expected to see Jackson in that state ever again. Strangely enough, although the streets had been blocked, somehow those people and that Ferrari had managed to slip through, thus disturbing Mr. Valor's peace. In truth, Mr. Valor would always block the streets here every year on this day, and he would then put on a shabby old shirt and sit alone in silence. No one knew why he did this, and no one dared to ask, almost as if it was taboo to even bring up the subject. Even Connor, who had been working with Mr. Valor for so many years, had no clue as to why he would do such a thing. When Connor noticed his boss pulling the slightly rotund man up from the ground and continuing to beat him up, he debated whether he should get out there and stop him. Just then, he saw the woman who had almost gotten raped suddenly speak up, and he saw his boss... stop beating the man?!

Chapter 2 Chapter 2

What Serenity had said at the time was, "If you keep beating him up like that, he'll die!""So what?" Jackson peered down at the man who was laboriously struggling to get up from the ground, his gaze piercingly cold. Serenity was taken aback. It was only then that she had a good look at the man's face. He had a flawlessly handsome face with a straight nose and lips that were thin but shapely. His facial features were delicate, but there was not a trace of emotion in his expressions. One could even say that his eyes were dead calm, almost as if human lives meant nothing to him at all, and he had no qualms about either taking someone else's life or even his own life! Serenity took a deep breath and told him, "It's not worth losing your freedom to a scum like him." The man stared straight at her for a while before releasing his grip on Travis. Knowing that he had just narrowly escaped, Travis hurried away with a face smeared with his own blood and quickly got into his car with his female companion before fleeing. In the car, he gritted his teeth and vowed, "I'll bring my men over and teach that b*stard a lesson!" However, the woman beside him who had been silent all along suddenly widened her eyes as she finally realized why that man just now had seemed so familiar. She remembered how she had seen the very same man in the banquet earlier from afar, and that man was... "Jackson Valor! That man just now was Jackson Valor!""Jackson Valor?!" Travis turned pale as if he'd just seen a ghost. "The richest man in Solaria? Impossible!""But he really did look a lot like Jackson Valor..." the woman insisted. They stared at each other, both turning just as pale as death... ** Serenity looked at the man in front of her and stammered, "Thank you for... just now." The man said nothing. Instead, he just walked over to the other side and sat down on the ground with his back against the wall. Was he not... going home? The temperature could go down as low as 10 degrees in this weather at night. If he stayed here all night, Serenity was not sure if he would still be alive the next morning! Grateful that he had just saved her earlier, Serenity stepped toward the man. "Aren't you going home?" she asked as she stood in front of the man. "What about your family? Do you have their contact number? I can make a call for you and ask them to come get you." The man slowly raised his head. His dull and somber eyes met hers, yet he still would not answer her. Serenity was suddenly struck by a deathly chill. At that moment, it was as if she could see exactly what she looked like after being sentenced. At the time, the whole world seemed dark and bleak. Though she was still alive, her life was bereft of any hope. "If you have nowhere to go, you can come home with me." Those were the words that flowed effortlessly out of her mouth. ** Serenity could never have imagined that she would have the boldness to act on a sudden urge to bring home a man she did not even know. Perhaps it was because the man had just saved her, or perhaps... it was because she saw herself as she used to be in this man. "This is where I live," Serenity said. "If you don't mind, then I'll lay a mat on the floor for you to sleep on." Hearing no objections from the man, Serenity riffled through her place and got him a clean towel and a new toothbrush. "You can clean yourself up a little in the bathroom, but I don't have any clothes in your size, so you'd better not get your clothes wet." As she waited for the man to clean up inside the bathroom, Serenity began to lay out a mat on the floor and took out a spare quilt blanket. Her rental room was not very big at all. It only had an area of slightly more than a hundred square feet, and it only consisted of a small room and a separate tiny bathroom. When the man re-emerged from the bathroom, he was still wearing the same shabby clothes, but his hair was dripping wet as he had just washed it. Seeing that the man's hair was still dripping with water, Serenity picked up a towel and said, "Lean down." The man stared fixedly at her. "I'm only trying to dry your hair," she explained. "I have no other intentions. If you leave your hair dripping wet like that, you might catch a cold." The man stared intently at her for a long time before asking, "Are you concerned about me?" His voice was frigid, but it sounded inexplicably appealing. "That's right." Serenity did not avert her eyes from him as she continued, "Since I brought you home, I just don't want you to get sick." His long eyelashes fluttered slightly, and he slowly leaned down toward her. Serenity then covered his hair with the towel and began drying it as she asked, "What's your name?" After a long silence, he simply replied, "Jack.""Jack," she echoed him, thinking it must be a nickname. "My name's Serenity Lewis. Where do you live? Where's your family?""I don't have any family," he replied. Her movements stiffened abruptly. Was this man an orphan? Was that why he was on the streets? She then reflected how, although she did have a family, she might as well be an orphan too. The only difference between them, perhaps, was that she had managed to rent a place, so she had a roof over her head. "Looks like we've got a lot of things in common," she smiled bitterly, then continued drying his hair. Once his hair was almost dry, she put the towel away and began to comb his hair. After brushing his hair back and revealing his forehead, she realized that the man was, in fact, even more handsome than she thought. His exquisite features were striking and sharply defined especially his eyes, which were now focused on her. No longer were they dull and lifeless. They were now filled with a trace of curiosity. "Are you hungry?" she asked. "I'll get you something to eat." All the while as she was sweeping the streets that evening, she had never noticed him eating anything. She grabbed a packet of instant noodles and an egg, then cooked him a simple bowl of noodles with her induction cooker. "Here you go," she said. "But be careful, because it's hot. Don't slurp it up too quickly or you'll scald your tongue." The man lowered his head and quietly tucked into the noodles. As she silently stared at him, she could not help but feel that the loneliness that had been filling her rental room had somehow suddenly dissipated. Could it be because there was now another person in here? Once the man had finished the food, Serenity cleaned up the dishes and said, "I have to keep the lights on when I sleep. I hope you don't mind it." Ever since she was released after serving her sentence, she had developed a habit of sleeping with the lights on. "Okay," the man replied simply. Serenity then got into her bed while the man lay down on the mat laid out on the floor. She closed her eyes and tried very hard to fall asleep. At some point, she had begun to be afraid of falling asleep because as soon as she fell asleep, she would always dream of the incident three years ago, of the painful memories that made it hard for her to fall asleep... In fact, she often thought that she would eventually die in that tiny room where the air was thick with the mustiness of mold. Strangely though, that night, she slept soundly till the break of dawn, undisturbed by any nightmares. Serenity stared at the figure lying on the floor beside her bed, still in a daze of sleep. Was it because of him? Was it because there was not only her in this room anymore? Was it because there was someone else with her now... staying by her side? She could not help herself from getting out of bed and kneeling next to the sleeping figure before resting her hand on the man's face. She could feel his warmth spreading to the palm of her hand. So, he was real. She had not just imagined him. Last night, she really had brought a man back to her rental room. When she returned to her senses, she realized that the man was already awake, though she had no idea since when. Those striking eyes of his were now staring intently at her.

Chapter 3 Chapter 3

"I'm sorry," Serenity's face suddenly turned red. "I... I was just... If... If you've got nowhere to go, you can stay with me here." She blurted those words out nervously at first, but now that she had gotten it off her chest, she was filled with a sense of relief. The man's obsidian-like eyes were fixed on her flushed red face, and a look of surprise seemed to have flashed across his face. "If you don't want to stay here," she said, biting her lips, "it's fine. Just pretend that I never said anything." His thin lips finally parted as he asked, "Do you want me to stay here?" His voice was as cold as a winter spring, and the silence of the room made it sound even more crystal clear. Had those words come from another man's lips, it would have sounded like flirting. However, this man's voice made it sound as if it was a factual question that demanded a definite ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. There was simply no room for ambiguity or mystery in his tone, even his eyes were perfectly calm. Serenity pursed her lips and replied, "Yes, I'd like you to stay here." And that was her honest answer. He stared at her, and a faint smile slowly bloomed on his thin lips as he said, "Okay, then." It was the first time she had ever seen him smile, and although it was such a faint and subdued smile, it was still so... incredibly beautiful. ** Before Serenity went off to work, she gave Jackson 5 dollars so that he could get himself something to eat. As soon as he exited the apartment building, there was already someone waiting for him. "Mr. Valor," the man greeted when he saw Jackson. "Let's go," Jackson casually replied. He then got into a black Mercedes parked in front of him, looking at the five-dollar bill in his hand. "Mr. Valor," Connor Gunn, Jackson Valor's longtime personal assistant, began reporting as soon as he got into the car, "The woman you were with last night is a contract worker at the Sanitation Office. She rented a room here a month ago and was released after serving her full sentence two months ago." "Released after serving her full sentence?" "Yes," Connor continued while carefully studying his boss's expressions. "Her name is Serenity Lewis. Three years ago, she was the one who killed Miss Mira Hall in a car crash. She was charged with drunk driving. She's also Zeke Shaw's ex-girlfriend. She was sentenced to three years in prison, and her lawyer's license was revoked." "Serenity Lewis..." Jackson murmured the woman's name as a faint but playful smile cropped up on his lips. "Interesting." Back then, Mira Hall had been very eager to marry him, so he had agreed, seeing that she was a pretty good candidate for a wife, and if he had to choose a woman to marry, Mira seemed not to be a bad choice at all. But then, she had unexpectedly died in a car crash before the wedding could happen. If this woman, Serenity Lewis, found out about his connections to Mira Hall, Jackson wondered what kind of expressions he would see on her face. In any case, after all these years, it was the first time a woman had ever taken his hand and boldly brought him back to her place before confessing to him in a gentle but firm voice that she liked him. Out of the blue, Jackson asked, "Connor, what kind of woman do you think deserves someone like me?" "Huh?" Connor responded in surprise, unsure of what to say. "I guess it depends on what kind of woman you like, Mr. Valor." Jackson blushed slightly. "Make sure I've got all of Serenity Lewis's information ready on my desk when I get back to the office," he ordered. "Roger," Connor nodded with an affirmative, wondering if Mr. Valor had... taken a liking to Serenity Lewis? ** When she got back from work, Serenity got a call from her father, asking her to go home and saying that since she was now released from prison, she should go home and pay respects to her mother's ashes. This confused Serenity. Ever since she had been released, her family had always seemed too eager to cut all connections with her. In fact, over the last three years, none of them had ever visited her. It was as if she was dead to them from then on. Her biological mother had passed away a long time ago, and she was only three years old then. Three months after that, her father remarried and had another daughter, whose name was Aria Lewis. Ever since she was very young, Serenity always knew that Aria was her father and her stepmother's favorite child, and they would often neglect her. This drove her to work very hard so that she could get the best grades in her exam. Because of that, she had always excelled academically, and slowly, even her father had begun to be proud enough of her to show her off to his friends as a very smart girl. Then, she had become Zeke Shaw's girlfriend, and that was the period when she felt most loved and cherished by her family. Her father now regarded her with pride and respect, her stepmother began to treat her more kindly, and even her half-sister Aria had started fawning over her. She knew that it was all just because of her relationship with Zeke Shaw, the young heir to the wealthy Shaw family. Still, at the time, she had just wanted to feel at least a glimmer of what it felt like to be loved by her family. However, that car crash proved that it was all just wishful thinking and that her family never truly cared for her at all. Now, her stepmother, Catherine Fisher, explained to her that Aria had managed to get into the show business after working very hard, but in order to be cast in a better role, she had had to make lots of special arrangements. Catherine then implored her, "You know we don't have much money, Serenity, but your sister needs some money right now, so... Why don't you lend us some money? Later, when your sister becomes a superstar, she'll definitely pay it all back to you.""I don't have any money," Serenity replied briefly. Catherine's expression froze. Then she smiled gently and continued, "Even if you don't, I'm sure Zeke Shaw must have some! You were his girlfriend back then, but he instantly broke up with you as soon as you got into trouble. Don't you think he should make some compensation to you?""But even you, Dad, and Aria all distanced yourselves from me back then too, didn't you?""Oh!" Grayson Lewis, Serenity's father, snapped angrily, "So, you're begrudging us for what we did in the past, huh? Well, if you hadn't killed someone, your sister would've been a superstar by now, considering she got a lead role a long time ago!" Serenity sneered. Back then, Aria had gotten a lead role because the Shaw Group was a major investor in the TV series, and Zeke Shaw had even instructed them to cast Aria in the lead role himself. Then, after he had broken up with Serenity, Aria also naturally lost the lead role. Aria then asked Serenity in a soft voice, "You're still angry with us because we didn't help you when you were in trouble, aren't you, Serenity?""But it was you who offended not just the Hall family but Jackson Valor himself! Even the Shaw family was so nervous about it that they forced Zeke to break up with you, so what did you expect us to do? If we had stayed by your side back then and helped you with the lawsuit, it would mean that our family would have offended Jackson Valor and the Hall family! We're just ordinary people, you know! There was no way that we could stand their wrath!""Everything you’ve said makes perfect sense," Serenity smiled suddenly, looking straight at Aria. "But since you wouldn't stand by me when I was at rock bottom, why should I do anything to help you climb your way up?"

Chapter 4 Chapter 4

Aria's countenance changed abruptly. Grayson, on the other hand, had already slapped Serenity hard across her face. "How dare you speak like that?!" Grayson berated. "You're the one who killed someone and got thrown into prison! Do you know how much trouble this family got into because of you?! You have no future left, so now you want to drag your sister down with you?!" His eyes were filled with disgust for this daughter of his. He recalled how impressed his friends had been back when they had gained a connection with the Shaw family, and he was then reminded of how humiliated he had felt after that when Serenity had gotten into trouble! One side of Serenity's face was burning with pain, yet her eyes remained perfectly still and unperturbed, almost as if none of what had just happened mattered to her. "I only came here to pay my respects to my mother's ashes, but now I think I'd better get my mother's urn out of here. She doesn't have to be here anymore, and I will never set foot in this house ever again." After finishing her sentence, Serenity turned and left the place she had once called home. This ‘home’ no longer had a place for her. *** When Serenity returned to her place, the whole room was completely dark, and none of the lights were on. She turned the light switch on, and the scene that greeted her was that of an empty room. It was clear at a glance that there was no one inside the small hundred-square-foot room. Where was Jack? Had he left? The thought made her feel a little empty. Was she really all alone, after all? She smiled wryly. Just as she was about to turn around and close the door, she saw a tall figure slowly walking toward her, which made her freeze. It was Jack! And he was still wearing the same shabby clothes, but he was holding a plastic bag in his hand. His thick bangs covered up almost half of his face, making it hard to see what he really looked like at a glance. But Serenity knew that beneath those bangs was a dashingly handsome face. Could someone like that really be... a homeless wanderer? Subsequently, she realized that in truth, she really did not know this man at all. She did not understand him one bit, yet she had brought him home just like that. She knew it was an impulsive move, and perhaps even dangerous, but... she just could not stop herself. Perhaps it was because after all was said and done, humans were social animals at their core. "I'm back," Jack spoke in a nonchalant voice, yet for some reason, to Serenity, it was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard. Her throat tightened, and her voice sounded stiff as she said, "I... I thought you were never coming back again." He stared at her and replied, "I just went out to buy something." She quickly turned sideways, pulled him into the room, and closed the door behind them. She then noticed that there were two big buns in the plastic bag that he was holding, and she smiled. It felt as if a weight had been lifted off her chest. "Let's eat those together later," she said. "Right now, I... I'm going to pay my respects to my mother's ashes. Today is the anniversary of my mother's death." After that, Serenity pulled out some candles and incense sticks from her bag and placed a framed photo on the shelf. Within the frame was a black and white photo of a woman aged around 30 years old. She looked like a gentle and mild-natured woman. Serenity then lit a candle and then incense sticks before respectfully bowing at the urn of ashes. "I've begun my new life, Mom, and things are going really well. I now have a job to support myself, and I earn enough money to stand on my own two feet, so you don't have to worry about me anymore. In fact, I have a feeling that my life is going to get better from now on..." Jackson stood aside, watching the woman who was smiling but with misty eyes. The light from the candle and the ceiling light danced on her face, speckling it with bands of light and shadow. She had shapely eyebrows, a tiny pert nose, and moderately thick pink lips. She was a pretty woman indeed, but Jackson had seen too many gorgeous women in his life. In fact, Mira Hall, his former fiancee, was regarded as a rare beauty, so to Jackson, Serenity seemed just like an average-looking woman. He had read through her background information before, so he knew that today was the anniversary of her mother's death. However, why would a woman fresh out of prison sweeping the streets for a living say that her life was going really well? "Besides," she said in a gentle voice, "I have someone by my side now." She then turned around, and her almond-shaped eyes focused on him. Under the flickering candlelight, she looked calm and composed, yet at the same time, perfectly happy and content. It was just as if his presence there completed her life. The next moment, she turned back to the photo of the woman and added, "So, you see, my life really is going very well, so you don't have to worry about me, Mom." After that, she bowed respectfully once again and burned an incense stick for her mother. She then stood there in respectful silence, looking at the woman in the framed photo. After about fifteen minutes, the incense was all burnt out, so Serenity blew out the candle and told Jackson, "Let's go. I'll clean the place up a little and make us some soup, then we'll have dinner together.""Okay," he replied. She then quickly cleaned up the place and got an egg and a tomato from the fridge. Then, she quickly rustled up a pot of tomato egg drop soup, which was then paired with the bun Jackson had bought, and that was their dinner for the night. "By the way," she started asking as they were eating, "What have you been doing for a living all this time, Jack?""Anything." He answered. "I'd take any job I could find. If I can't find anything to do, I'd find a spot to rest." Rest? Was that what he was doing that night on the streets? Serenity figured he must have suffered a lot in the past. After all, no one who was not at their wit's end would sit by the roadside on a cold winter night. "So, how old are you?" she asked. "27," he replied. "We're the same age!" she responded in surprise. "Which month were you born in?""November.""I was born in July," she said. "That means that I'm older than you by a few months. Since neither you nor I have any family, why don't I be your big sister from now on? You can call me Sis. You'll be my little brother!""Big sister?" he chuckled. No one would ever dare to claim themselves as Jackson Valor's big sister, yet this woman just brazenly asked him to be her little brother? If she knew who he really was, would she ever dare to say such things? But it was precisely because she did not know who he was that made this so interesting. "You don't agree to it?" Serenity asked, her eyes dull. She was only three years old when her mother had died. All she knew was that her mother had had a miscarriage and had not survived. She overheard some relatives say that she was already six months pregnant at the time and that the baby was a boy, but he had only lived for ten minutes. If that boy had lived, he would be her little brother, and perhaps, she would not end up so lonely if he was still here! "Are you sure you want to be my big sister?" He suddenly asked. She raised her head abruptly and looked into the eyes behind the thick bangs. They were crystal clear, yet at the same time, they were also foggy and mysterious. "Yeah," she replied. "But I'm homeless and jobless. I don't even have the basic needs of life! Why on earth would you want to be my sister?"