CHAPTER 102: CHAPTER 102: DOES SHE LOOK LIKE JUSTIN HOLDEN AS A CHILD?

The weekend mall, under bright lights, was full of various shops.

Jean Ellison held Jesse’s hand, strolling leisurely through the children’s clothing section.

Jesse set her eyes on a blue dress adorned with little stars, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Mom, does this look nice?"

Jesse looked up, full of expectation.

Jean crouched down, touched the fabric of the dress, smiled, and nodded: "It looks great. The little stars are shiny, shall we try it on if you like it?"

"Okay."

Jesse nodded happily.

Just as Jean was about to take Jesse to the fitting room with the dress, a slightly familiar but absolutely unwelcome female voice rang out with surprise.

"Uncle, Auntie, look at this tea set. It’s so elegant, perfectly matching your taste. You rushed back this time and couldn’t prepare a proper gift. Please let me..."

Jean’s body stiffened slightly.

Following the voice, she indeed saw Justin Holden’s parents standing in a nearby boutique home shop, accompanied by the smiling, affectionate Leah.

Leah was holding a set of exquisite ceramic tea sets, eagerly gifting them to Mr. and Mrs. Holden.

Mrs. Holden, wearing a well-tailored Fragrant Cloud Silk qipao, exuded elegance with a gentle smile, lightly refusing.

"Leah, you’re too courteous. We’re just happy to see you; there’s no need to spend on these things. Put it down, we can’t accept it."

Mr. Holden nodded beside her, speaking kindly yet firmly: "Indeed, Leah, we appreciate the thought, but no need for gifts. We have more things than we can place."

Yet Leah persistently refused to take no for an answer, insisting in a slightly playful tone.

"Uncle, Auntie, how can this be? We haven’t seen each other for so many years. I’ve always thought about you in my heart. This is just a small token. If you don’t accept it, you’re treating me like an outsider."

As she spoke, her gaze inadvertently swept outside the store, coincidentally catching sight of Jean trying to leave quietly with her child.

A gleam flashed in Leah’s eyes. She immediately raised her voice with just the right amount of enthusiasm to greet.

"Jean? What a coincidence, you’re shopping too?"

This call successfully drew Mr. and Mrs. Holden’s attention as well.

Jean’s steps came to a halt, knowing she couldn’t avoid it. She could only turn around, showing a slightly awkward yet appropriate smile: "Editor-in-Chief Sutton, what a coincidence."

She looked at Mr. and Mrs. Holden, nodding slightly in greeting: "Hello to both of you."

Mr. and Mrs. Holden paused momentarily with a sense of familiarity when their eyes fell on Jean.

Mrs. Holden even slightly frowned, with a trace of obvious puzzlement in her eyes.

This lady... looks so familiar.

The eyebrows, the contours, especially those cold, bright eyes, resembled exceedingly... resembled that girl they knew so well, who later encountered misfortune, Claire Caldwell from the Caldwell family.

But upon closer inspection, the aura was completely different.

Claire was bright, bold, with an innocent arrogance.

Whereas this woman before them exuded a serene, slightly aloof elegance, with a more understated and subdued attire.

Leah had already walked over enthusiastically, affectionately pulling Jean’s arm, half-persuading and half-coercing her in front of Mr. and Mrs. Holden, introducing her with a smile: "Uncle, Auntie, let me introduce you. This is an outstanding reporter from our magazine, Miss Jean Ellison."

Her tone was natural, like she was merely running into a colleague and introducing casually, yet she deliberately highlighted certain information.

"Reporter Ellison is a talented woman at our agency with excellent work abilities. She lives alone with her child, which is not easy."

While speaking, she deliberately bent down to pat Jesse’s head, sighing.

"This is Reporter Ellison’s daughter, Jesse, isn’t she adorable? So well-behaved and smart. Ah, Uncle, Auntie, if there are any reliable good men around you, please keep an eye out for our Reporter Ellison. She has such good qualities, raising a child alone is too hard."

Mrs. Holden listened to Leah, but her gaze never left Jean’s face, that familiarity making her heart uncertain.

Unable to hold back, she spoke, voice gentle yet carrying an imperceptible scrutiny: "Miss Ellison... is it? You look somewhat familiar. I wonder, are your parents..."

Jean’s heart tightened, but she maintained her composure, lowered her gaze, speaking clearly and calmly.

"Hello, Auntie. My parents are from Mount Pullen, simple farmers, they rarely come out, so you probably haven’t met them." She gave an already prepared, untraceable answer unlikely to provoke associations.

"Mount Pullen..."

Mrs. Holden pondered a moment, seeming unfamiliar with the place name, also unable to associate the well-bred Claire with ’farmers.’

Her doubts reduced a bit, but that inexplicable familiarity still lingered.

Mr. Holden didn’t have too much thought, only finding the girl quite graceful, and followed up with a question: "Miss Ellison, you’re working hard in Kingswell City alone? Which university did you graduate from?"

Jean silently took a breath, responding with the flawless alma mater on her resume: "Kingswell University."

"Kingswell University?"

Mr. and Mrs. Holden’s faces immediately lit up with surprised smiles at the mention.

"Oh, what a coincidence, our Justin is also a Kingswell University graduate, you’re alumni, Miss Ellison, do you know our Justin, Justin Holden?"

Jean felt her palms slightly dampen with sweat, striving to make her voice sound natural and ordinary: "Yes, I know. Lawyer Holden is very famous. We... recently became acquainted over some work issues, not very familiar."

She deliberately emphasized just met and not familiar.

"I see."

Mrs. Holden smiled as if finding the world to be small.

Her gaze now completely focused on Jesse, who stood quietly beside her mother, curiously watching them with big eyes.

Taking a closer look, Mrs. Holden’s smile slightly froze on her face.

She crouched to be at eye level with Jesse, growing more amazed the more she looked.

"This child... is truly beautiful. Old man, look, see if this child’s eyebrows and little nose... don’t they resemble Justin’s when he was little?"

At her words, Mr. Holden pushed his glasses closer to take a good look.

Jesse, shy under the gazes of two strangers, hid behind her mother but still curiously peeked at them.

After a moment, Mr. Holden unwittingly nodded and marveled.

"You don’t say... There is a resemblance, especially the eyes and the little grown-up look, truly reminiscent of Justin’s when he was a child!"

With that said, Jean’s heart nearly leapt into her throat, a fine layer of cold sweat appearing on her back.

Leah stood aside with a still appropriate smile, her gaze subtly shifting between Mr. and Mrs. Holden and Jean, a hint of amusement hidden deep in her eyes.

The more Mrs. Holden glanced at Jesse, the more she liked her, a spontaneous sense of affection softening her heart.

Suddenly recalling something, she removed a jade bracelet, beautifully vibrant green, from her wrist, smiling as she tried to hand it to Jesse.

"Ah, it’s our first meeting, and grandma didn’t prepare any greeting gift. Wear this bracelet, alright?"

It was obvious the bracelet was of great value.

Jean was startled, quickly stopping her: "Auntie, this is too valuable. I really can’t accept it."

Yet Mrs. Holden insisted, her tone gentle yet undismissable: "Ah, it’s a gift for the child, not you. I feel an affinity with this child, liking her from the heart. It’s just a small thing, not worth much."

"It really isn’t possible, Auntie, it’s too expensive..."

Jean was so anxious that her face slightly paled, tightly protecting Jesse’s hand.

At that moment, Jesse looked at the vibrant green bracelet, then at her mother’s anxious expression, suddenly reaching out her small hand to gently push back Mrs. Holden’s hand with the bracelet.

She looked up, voice childish yet unusually serious.

"Thank you, grandma, but Jesse can’t accept it."

"Mom said not to take things from others easily, especially very valuable things."

The young girl’s clear and courteous words left both Mr. and Mrs. Holden momentarily stunned.