CHAPTER 940: CHAPTER 940: ALWAYS LOVED, LOVED SO VERY MUCH

The person who arrived was Madame Goldie.

Madame Goldie found the room empty and immediately guessed that Leah Thorne had gone to find Justin Xavier. Worried, she drove over to catch up.

Now, Leah was sitting on the ground, holding herself as she quietly sobbed. Her trembling, delicate shoulders exuded a soft helplessness. Madame Goldie recalled the first time she met Leah a few years ago, when Justin Xavier had found her and asked her to help debut the then 18-year-old Leah.

As a top agent, Madame Goldie didn’t agree immediately; she wanted to meet Leah in person before giving her answer.

So, she met Leah.

It was overseas, in a foreign land. The 18-year-old Leah was sitting in a small rented room. There was a window in the room. She was hugging her knees, sitting by the window, raising her little face to look at the sunlight outside. At that moment, Madame Goldie was stunned. She didn’t know how to describe Leah; this 18-year-old girl was like... a mandrake blooming at the edge of a cliff, desperate yet enchanting.

That day, she brought Leah back to the country. That night, as they walked down the street,

Leah suddenly stopped in her tracks, staring blankly at a street performer.

"Leah, do you want to go up and sing a song?"

"Can I?" she asked softly.

"Of course, you can."

Madame Goldie approached and exchanged a few words with the performer, then took out a few bills from her bag, and the performer handed the guitar to her.

Madame Goldie handed the guitar to Leah, "Leah, play a song. After you return to the country, you’ll be a new person, bidding farewell to the past as you embark on your journey. Sing the song you most want to sing before you leave."

Leah sat on a high chair, placed the guitar in front of her, and her jade-like hand started to play.

The song she most wanted to sing before leaving?

Perhaps she didn’t even know what she wanted to sing, so she just played and sang casually.

Put out the cigarette,

It’ll be better for your health,

Even though it’s hard to get through the nights when I miss you;

I can’t bear the photos of our embrace,

Yet I don’t want to see them myself,

So I hide them behind the picture frame;

Open the window,

It’ll be better for your mood,

That way I can still smile while saying goodbye to you;

This is my favorite record,

You say it’s just a piece of music,

But it’ll make me miss you in the future...

Leah might not know what she was singing, but Madame Goldie, and everyone present, all recognized it. It was the classic hit from the 80s, Old Wolf’s "Escape from the Tiger’s Mouth."

The bustling city street suddenly quieted down for some reason, and everyone turned to look at this girl.

The girl was wearing a simple light blue pleated skirt, radiant like a red rose about to bloom. At 18, she was youthful and beautiful, carefree and untroubled.

But she chose to sing such a melancholic and mournful song.

The crowd didn’t understand why she would choose this song at 18?

The crowd didn’t understand why her clear voice singing this song made people... want to cry?

The girl continued to play and sing

Speaking vows to sacrifice life,

Looking back at this bustling world,

Every moment of loving you was like a speeding subway;

Tears that were promised not to fall,

Now are boiling in my eyes;

Tiger’s mouth of loving you,

I’ve escaped from danger...

She repeatedly sang those last two lines, loving you through the tiger’s mouth, I’ve escaped from danger...

Even though she said tears wouldn’t fall, now they were boiling in her eyes.

Back when Leah was 18, all that flashed through her mind was... these ten years, every moment of loving him.

Tiger’s mouth of loving you,

When will I truly escape danger?

At that time, Madame Goldie knew that Leah loved Justin Xavier.

Now, as Madame Goldie looked at Leah sobbing helplessly on the street, she realized again, Leah still deeply loved Justin Xavier, always has, very much so.

Madame Goldie draped a coat over Leah’s shoulders, "Leah, cry it out, and then we’ll go back."

Leah buried her head and sobbed for a while, then lifted her head. Her eyes were red and swollen, her face pale, like a child who had done something wrong, she whispered in a trembling voice, "Madame Goldie, I... twisted my ankle..."

Madame Goldie squatted down, unsure of what Justin Xavier would do if he were here. She raised her hand and gently patted Leah’s head, "It’s alright, it’s not your fault. I’ll take care of it once we get back."

"Okay." Leah nodded absentmindedly.

Madame Goldie noticed the diamond anklet Leah was holding tightly in her hand, "Leah, were you looking for the anklet on the street earlier? During the shoot today, Director Wright asked you to remove the anklet, and I’ve been keeping it. Did you forget?"

"Oh, I really forgot." Leah muttered, hiding her eyes under her lashes.

Madame Goldie didn’t think much of it. Since the incident with Justin Xavier, Leah had been out of sorts; forgetfulness was quite normal, "Leah, let’s head back."

Madame Goldie carefully helped Leah up, feeling as if she was guiding a lost kitten home.

This poor little kitten; if Justin Xavier knew, his heart would be torn apart.

...

The Xavier family mansion.

The luxury car sped towards the Xavier family mansion where the servants had already prepared a sumptuous dinner. Laura Xavier had even prepared a ritual for her son to ward off bad luck by jumping over a fire basin.

The family was sitting in the dining room eating dinner, and Old Master Xavier said, "Justin, even though you are out now, there’s still a lot of mess to clean up. President Stone hasn’t budged yet, and the company’s stock price still needs stabilizing. It’s all very tricky."

Justin Xavier elegantly used his knife and fork to cut his steak, with little emotion. He replied blandly, "Got it, I’ll take care of it."

The atmosphere between Old Master Xavier and Justin Xavier became tense. This time, Justin got himself into trouble because of Leah, which infuriated Old Master Xavier. Yet he kept his temper in check, as Justin was his most excellent successor.

But Justin’s attitude was too indifferent. Coming out without an apology, let alone his casual and arrogant demeanor, the only thing he proactively asked about was Leah.

Laura Xavier quickly intervened as she saw Old Master Xavier about to lose his temper, "Old Master, Justin, let’s not dwell on those unpleasant matters now. Let’s eat first. Chelsea, pour some red wine for the young master."

Chelsea was Laura’s newly adopted goddaughter, and Laura was quite enthusiastic about adopting goddaughters recently.

This Chelsea was quite lovely, just 18 years old, with some resemblance to Leah at 18 in her brows and eyes. She snuck a glance at Justin, her pretty face blushing.

"Young master, I’ll pour you some wine." Chelsea went over to Justin’s side to pour wine.

Justin didn’t look at Chelsea, but neither did he refuse.

Laura chuckled, "Justin, that’s more like it. Look how wonderful Chelsea is. In the future, let’s not bother with that little vixen Leah..."

Just as "little vixen" hasn’t finished echoing, "crash"—a loud noise erupted.