Arrogant Man VS Unyielding Woman

"But I'm serious." A sad-looking Jean walked towards Moore. "Only when you go back to Chicago, Moore, will you inherit your adoptive parents' inheritance. Don't you already know that you need that kind of money to lead a comfortable life ahead? And since you don't want to recognize your father, you don't have to stay in H City to suffer. Don't you think so?" said Jean with a sincere intent.

"Jean, I'm not afraid of suffering." Moore looked at Jean and said with his head held high.

'I am not afraid of difficulties nor the many hardship that life throws my way.

I don't want too much. I will be happy as long as I can stay by your side and see that you are fine and happy every day, 'thought Moore to himself.

"But it's on my advice that you changed your mind and decided to stay. I regret this every time I think of it. You could have lived the life of a rich, affluent man, but look at you now..." Jean was subsumed with guilt as she pondered over the recent turn of events.

"Jean, stop worrying about me. I'm not as useless as you think." Moore watched Jean wringing her hands as she fidgeted restlessly. He couldn't help sighing. "Please know that I have no problem supporting myself," he remarked.

"Stop worrying? How can I be relieved? Even if you leave the hospital in a few days, you can't go to work immediately. You're still weak and will get tired too easily." A rush of anxieties came out of Jean as Moore tried to placate her. "Anyhow, I feel you shouldn't look for a job just yet. You have to rest for another three months before you return to normalcy."

She had already made up her mind about how Moore should take care of himself and she was determined to convince him too.

The way Jean forced Moore into agreeing made Moore feel warm and cared for. Her nervousness and anxiety for him meant that he was important to her.

'Is she fretting over me because she cares about me?' He was a little happy at the thought.

"Well, I promise. Even when I leave the hospital, I won't go to work immediately." Moore couldn't get Jean worried about him unnecessarily, and so nodded in quick agreement, making a promise to her.

"Really?" The fact that Moore had agreed to Jean without showing any resistance astonished Jean. She had thought it would take more time to persuade him, but this was totally unexpected. "Sure." Moore nodded reassuring Jean.

"Good." Jean knew that Moore did not agree this easily to deceive her but because of his sincere feelings towards her. This only made her happy. "Then I should work hard to support you."

The thought that Jean would support him moved Moore beyond words. With a glint in his eyes, he warmly smiled at Jean.

"Well, I am more than happy in that case." Moore nodded.

"From today onward, Mr. Bai, I'm the in-charge of your life," Jean said this in a mock-serious tone and patted Moore on the shoulder.

Moore chuckled out loud. "Oh, well. Sure! Why don't you go ahead and choose a room then?" he asked.

"There's no hurry to it, is it? Anyway, I'm the only one who is going to live in this big house for the time being. With five or six rooms to choose from, I know I am spoilt for choice! But I don't mind. Any room is okay by me. The master bedroom is yours, of course," Jean said.

Straight after that, Jean started checking out all the rooms one by one.

A smile played on Moore's lips as he followed the petite Jean who was busy taking in different views that each room offered.

"Wow! How beautifully decorated this room is!

Oh! What a fantastic room! This is a fantasy come true for any girl. I feel like a princess already!

Ah! What a superb combination of pink and blue! I think I'll go with this one. I am sure."

In her excitement, Jean had started talking hurriedly in a high pitch, as if she was unable to control her happiness.

Moore was infected by her enthusiasm too and couldn't help smiling broadly as she mused over one detail or other.

Seeing Jean positively beam with happiness burst his heart with joy.

But when she pushed the door to the last room, all her exclamations stopped and she turned pensively silent. She was captivated by how meticulous this room was.

Moore, who was a few paces behind, sensed her thoughts. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Come and see for yourself." Jean said that and stepped aside.

Moore looked at her curiously and then approached the spot at which she was.

Now that he was closer, he finally saw a wall with pictures of him right from his childhood giving a glimpse into his life.

His eyes were taking in all the framed moments of his past, but his heart was sinking.

"Moore!" Jean cried out with concern. "Don't be paranoid! Maybe, your foster parents, out of their love for you, specially decorated this room when they were still alive."

"It's impossible. No matter how much they loved me, and no matter how powerful they were, there are pictures here of the time when I wasn't adopted. It was impossible for them to get these. In fact, they were very open-minded. Both felt that it was wrong to investigate my past as they thought that could hurt me," he said with certainty.

Jean couldn't say anything more. Both of them now had a hunch that then behind all of this was probably Moore's biological father, Gary. He might have decorated the house for Moore but Moore was in no mood to recognize that ruthless man.

"Well, come in and take a look! Maybe our guess is wrong." Jean finally broke her silence.

Moore nodded slightly and then approached the other side of room with trepidation.

Jean was standing next to a bookshelf and pointed it out to him. "Besides the wall, these books are the only objects in the room. How about looking through them? Maybe you will find a clue here," she advised.

Moore nodded and picked up a book. After glancing through the pages, he stopped at the first page. He looked deadpan and serious.

Jean was keenly watching Moore. When she noticed him becoming impassive, she asked again, "What's wrong?"

"These books are all mine." Moore showed the page he was holding to Jean. "Moore" was neatly written in an intricate, loopy handwriting.

"Are you sure it's your book?" Jean looked closely at the handwriting and asked doubtfully.

"I'm quite sure. How can I not recognize my own handwriting? And indeed, I have read all of these books," Moore said with certainty.

"Then, perhaps our doubt doesn't hold. After all, your foster parents knew you best. Maybe they loved you so much that they prepared this room for you,"

Jean comforted him with an unsure laugh.

She knew that her words were not convincing at all, but in heart of hearts, she was praying that Gary was not behind all of this. After all, he had deeply hurt Moore. Instead of saying anything, Moore picked up a black notebook and opened it.

Reading slowly, his expression became more serious. At last he closed the notebook suddenly and gasped.

Hearing his labored breathing, Jean dashed to be by Moore's side. "What is it?" she asked.

"This house is really Gary's." Moore looked at Jean with a fearful look. "Although the paperwork is done in my name, I know that this house was handled by him."

Jean was shocked by the news and looked at Moore worried. She no longer knew how to say anything comforting to Moore.

With so much of excitement, Moore was struggling to breathe.

He looked around perplexed and finally accepted the fact with complex feelings. He closed his eyes in exhaustion.

The pain on Moore's face made Jean grit her teeth. She grabbed his hand and was going to take him out.

"Where do we go?" Moore opened his eyes, and looked at Jean like a lost puppy.

"Let's leave from here." Jean did not turn back and went straight into the living room. "I couldn't understand why your foster parents left you a house in H City after you signed away their inheritance in Chicago. Now I understand why. All this was designed by Gary. Moore, let's go, don't accept anything from him..." she said angrily. 000