"She won''t listen to me, but she''ll listen to you. Could you bear to watch our daughter leave us? You wouldn''t want to and you''re not willing to either, so you have to instill this idea in her. When she looks for a boyfriend in the future, she should not look for people abroad. Not even people from a different city."


    "Honey, don''t overthink this." Avery patted Elliot on the shoulder. "She is still young. Marriage is still a long way off."


    "Honey, you give me peace of mind." Elliot felt much better.


    "Haha! Being worried about this is pointless. Sometimes, the more you''re afraid of something, the more likely it''ll happen. So, before things happen, it''s best not to think about them."


    "Hmm..."


    In the neighboring city, after the old woman brought Irene home, Irene took a candy out of her bag and passed it to her.


    "The teacher gave it to me."


    The old woman epted the candy and asked, "Why did she give you candy? Did she give some to the other children as well?"


    "Because no one yed with me, and she was scared that I would cry." Irene ced her bag down and said maturely, "I didn''t cry today. I''m not that sad that they don''t y with me anymore." The old woman unwrapped the candy and gave it to Irene.


    "Irene, there will eventually be a lot of brave children who will be your friends."


    "Grandma, I thought you wouldn''t allow me to have candy. It will rot my teeth," Irene said.


    "It''s fine if you have some asionally, because you''re suffering right now. I''m worried about you." Grandma held Irene''s hand and led her to the dining area. "Madam has gone to Avonsville. She might work there. We will have to live alone together in the future."


    "Oh. Then, Grandma, can you take me out to y?"


    "Sure! But now it''s too cold. The weather''s not suitable for ying outside." The old woman ced the food she had made on the table. "Were you full in school?"


    Irene thought for a while before shaking her head. "I didn''t dare to take more food. I''m afraid that, if I eat too much, the other children won''t have enough to eat."Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    "Silly child. You should just look after yourself. What happens if you''re hungry?" The old woman grabbed the eating utensils and portioned out food for Irene. "You''ll lose out easily that way." "Grandma, I''m not afraid of losing out. As long as I can be with you every day after school, I''m happy." Irene smiled widely.


    "Silly girl. Madam told me to take good care of you before she left. She cares a lot for you, too." The old woman sat in the chair and looked at Irene. "I really hope that you can continue living peacefully like this."


    "Why wouldn''t I? With me looking like this now, who would like me? Even bad people would be afraid of me when they see my face." Irene sniffled and cheered herself and the old woman up.


    "The scar on your face is used to


    scare off bad people. Irene, don''t feel


    inferior to others. Looking nice is pointless. You have to be strong mentally You have to always remember: you''re no worse than anyone else. Other people scolding you orughing at you won''t affect you at all. In the future, you will surely be much better off than the people whoughed at you," the old woman said encouragingly.


    Irene nodded and started wolfing down her food.


    At eleven that night, Avery received a message from Leah.


    She was actually about to sleep, but before she went to bed, she picked up her phone to check the time. As she nced at the clock, she noticed Leah''s message.


    [Avery, I was just talking to my mother. She said that Natalie hase to Avonsville and told me to be careful. I think she won''te looking for me to cause trouble, but I''m afraid that she might hurt you all, so t''m letting you know. You guys should be careful.]


    When Avery saw the message, she immediately replied, [Okay, thank you for letting us know. We will watch out. Have your parents gone to bed yet? Are they feeling better after moving to the t?]


    [I really must thank you and Elliot for


    tonight. Thank you for the house that you have given us. This gift is too expensive. I feel that we should not ept it, but George has told me that he has already agreed to take it. He was too forward. If I were to be more polite, it would make me seem pretentious.]