"Grandpa Tate, little one, are you two studying?"

Jacqueline Spann greeted them with a smile, her eyes betraying no emotion, as gentle as always.

"Not in school today, Jacqueline?" Grandpa Tate’s expression was a little stiff. He couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt, but Adrian Hawthorne was right. The girl was too calculating, and her parents weren’t good people. It was best to stay away from them.

By contrast, the Thorne family, though domineering, wore their flaws on their sleeves. They were also relatively simple-minded. Grandpa Tate would much rather deal with the Thornes and their overt faults than associate with the inscrutable Spann family—especially Jacqueline. His dislike for the girl had started the moment he heard from Adrian Hawthorne how she had deceived a candy peddler just to get some information.

You can tell a lot about a person from the little things. If Jacqueline could lie so easily over something small, she certainly wouldn’t hold to any principles when it came to bigger things.

Furthermore, though Grandpa Tate wasn’t a materialistic man, comparisons were inevitable. Jacqueline had studied under him for a long time, yet he’d received nothing from her—not a proper tuition payment, not even a single stick of firewood. Worse, Jacqueline would pretend not to know him in front of the other villagers, acting completely indifferent. While Grandpa Tate could understand her reasons, it still left a bitter taste in his mouth.

The Thorne family, however, was a different story. Not only had they provided a generous tuition payment for his mentorship, but they had also arranged a less strenuous job for Adrian Hawthorne. They had even put in a good word for them around the village, and now people were much more polite to him and Adrian. These were all tangible benefits. Comparing the two, Grandpa Tate’s heart naturally favored Xiaonan.

"My mom isn’t feeling well, so I’m at home taking care of her."

Jacqueline’s gaze fell on Xiaonan as she spoke. Her mother’s injury was a ’gift’ from the Thorne family, and it had also cost Jacqueline her ability to attend school. To her, the Thornes were a curse on her life; as long as they were around, she would never have a single good day.

Xiaonan pouted, deliberately holding up her hand and whining to Grandpa Tate, "Grandpa Tate, rub it. It hurts."

Grandpa Tate had felt a pang of sympathy for Jacqueline—the girl truly had a difficult life. But then he saw the dark bruise ringing Xiaonan’s chubby little hand, and his brow furrowed. He felt a surge of displeasure toward Phoenix Golding, and his sympathy for Jacqueline vanished.

"A little rub and it’ll stop hurting."

Grandpa Tate rubbed her hand gently, his eyes kind. A complex mix of emotions churned within him. ’When I returned to China, my eldest daughter-in-law was already pregnant. A letter later told me it was a boy. He must be fourteen by now, mustn’t he?’

’My younger son was still in school then, but he should be married with children of his own by now. And my daughter... I wonder if she’s found her Mr. Right?’

Fourteen years had passed in the blink of an eye, and he had never seen his wife or children again. Thankfully, his wife, though uneducated, was a spirited woman and a capable homemaker. He was sure she was the one holding the family together. Even without him, the household would not collapse.

Grandpa Tate had the utmost confidence in his wife, Rose Jennings. She was three years his senior, with ordinary looks and talents, the bride his mother had chosen for him. He had looked down on her at the time, refusing to return from abroad for the wedding. He had earned a government scholarship to study overseas at sixteen, and at eighteen, his mother had arranged his engagement to this young lady from a wealthy family—the woman who was meant to be his lifelong partner.

In truth, aside from his prestigious status as an overseas student, he had nothing to offer. His family background was no match for hers at all. Though he hailed from a scholarly lineage, the family’s fortunes had dwindled during his father’s time. After his father’s early death, his mother had been forced to sell off their assets just to get by.

Moreover, he had no siblings to help out; it was just him and his mother. Rose Jennings may have been plain and unlearned, but she came with a substantial dowry. Her family was one of the richest in his hometown. Marrying him was, for her, a step down into a life of hardship.