Chapter 1456


    The old Vanessa would argue with him for hours over a movie''s plot-hole. She would not give up


    until the argument was won. Her pride, her confidence and her stubborn, unyielding spirit were


    everything that made her all the more different, and special from everyone else. The closer he got to


    her, the deeper his attraction towards her would get.


    Julien remembered clearly and very fondly that the first- ever movie they watched together was


    ''Who is the Murderer''. After it ended, they got into a huge, cutthroat quarrel about its plot even


    before setting foot outside of the cinema.


    They had ced a bet on who the murderer was half an hour into the movie. In the end, even


    though Vanessa turned out to be wrong, she still stubbornly believed that she had made the right


    call. She re- analyzed and scrutinized every clue she learned of before; still, she ended up with the


    same conclusion -that the real murderer was the one whom she had guessed.


    Julien exined that this was the actual plothole of the movie. Perhaps the scriptwriters did not


    want it to be an easy guess for the audience. Thus, he threw in another clue right before the movie''s


    climax to turn the table and ultimately change the murderer''s identity.


    Vanessa looked at him and said discontentedly, "We both watched the same movie and had the


    same clues, so how did you figure out who was the actual murderer?"


    Julien said, "Sometimes, things just aren''t the way they seem. There''s more than what meets the


    eye, and there are more forces at y."


    "Like what?" Vanessa pressed.


    Julien replied, "The market."


    Realization dawned on Vanessa. "That''s true. All thetest movies aremercial blockbusters.


    So, the market doese as a priority to the production team. Recently, there were many films with


    great reps and international awards which all turned out to be box office busts. Yet, terrible movies


    do well just because a popr celebrity was on it, and has huge support from the fans. Filmmakers


    have stopped caring about the quality of the film but focus on box office performance instead. They


    are worried about financial losses, and hence, the movie we watched and all others created to cater


    to market appetite, exist."


    "That''s the logic behind it." Julien nodded in agreement and continued, "However, such a superficial


    and chaotic movie market system will eventually fall apart, and films will one day return to its artistic


    roots. Only actors with strong acting skills will make it to the end."


    "You are indeed the well- admired Prince Charming to all girls of the school. There is good logic and


    sense in what you say." Vanessa shot Julien a thumbs-up. She then said to Julien with a smile, "If


    we have kids in the future, we must guide them well. We must never ever let them be fans that


    follow celebrities blindly."


    Julien was slightly stunned when he heard what Vanessa said. This was only their first movie date,


    yet this woman was already thinking about marriage and having kids in the future.


    Vanessa continued, "If we have a son, we would have to be stricter with him to make sure that he


    grows up with good habits. And if we have a daughter, she''d definitely be as gorgeous and adorable


    like I am. We should be gentle with her; whatever she wants, she gets. We absolutely can''t let her


    suffer in any way! A daughter must be brought upvishly!" Julien quietly studied her. Seeing her


    eyes light up with so much excitement, a stream of warmth slowly made its way to his chest, melting


    away the ice that enveloped his cold heart that he kept hidden from everyone. Would they really


    have children together?


    Would their first child be a boy or a girl?


    Would the child look like her, or would it look like him?


    If they could have children, he hoped that it would be a girl; a girl as lovely and confident as she


    was.


    Knock, knock...


    The knock on the door cut off Julien''s train of thoughts. He regained hisposure and then went


    to open the door. It was Karen Joy. "What''s the matter, Sis?"


    Without Julien''s consent, Karen Joy squeezed into his room. She looked around and sat down on


    the sofa. "Julien, let''s have a little chat."


    Julien shut the door gently. "What do you want to talk about?"


    Karen Joy uttered, "Let''s talk about the girl you like."


    rm was evident on Julien''s face. "There''s nothing to talk about."


    Karen Joy said, "Julien, we''re your family. So, why do you keep your guard up so much with us? We


    never thought of breaking you guys up, and just want to know more about her.


    Moreover, Mom and Dad aren''t unreasonable parents. In fact, as long as it''s a girl whom you truly


    love, they would never get in the way. Dad only got this mad today because he''s worried that you


    might get fooled given your young age."


    Julien muttered stubbornly, "I don''t mind getting fooled by her."


    Vanessa liked money, which he had and earned a lot of. As long as he could keep her by his side


    forever, did it matter if she had her own agenda?


    Karen Joy exasperated helplessly, "Why can''t you just have a serious talk with me about her,


    Julien?"


    Julien thought he had already made himself very clear about how he felt about the matter, so he did


    not speak another word.


    Karen Joy continued, "I heard your conversation with Mom and Dad in the study today. After you


    left, Mom felt so guilty that she cried."


    Julien remained silent.


    Karen Joy continued, "Grandma had been in poor health before she passed away. Mom worked to


    take care of the whole family since she got married to Dad. However, we have such a big family and


    no matter how hard she tried, there would be times when she was careless. Perhaps they were


    ustomed to taking less care of youpared to others, but they still love you. You have always


    been so ountable and independent, hence they didn''t think of treating you otherwise. But Julien,


    remember that you''re Mom''s son too. She really loves you."


    Julien replied, "I don''t want to hear it."


    It was impossible for Julien not to understand the rationale behind Karen Joy''s words. He did


    understand, but he could not shake the difort from his heart every time he thought about how


    he was not valued by his parents. He had only shared what he wanted to all these years today.


    Although he did feel much more relieved after, it was regrettable to see his parents be burdened by


    this.


    Karen Joy started, "Julien..."


    Julien emphasized again, "They are my parents too, Sis. Whatever it is, I can''t be angry at them.


    So, let''s just let go of what happened today and I''ll never bring it up again. And about Vanessa,


    please let everyone know that I don''t want anybody from the family to run a background check on


    her."


    N?velDrama.Org owns this.


    Mutual respect was the most important thing in a rtionship.


    He did not pry in the past, nor would he pry in the future. He would wait for her to tell him herself


    whatever she wanted him to know.