Only you in my love

When Leon was out of earshot, Elaine reached for her daughter's hand and asked about her business trip. "It was great, I'm not tired at all," Michelle answered nonchalantly. "That's good." Elaine looked Michelle up and down. "Mimi, you've gained some weight."

"What?" Michelle consciously started to touch her face and chin, trying to see if she did get fatter.

She found that they were a lot softer than before. Nina and Leon spoiled her too much!

The hospital had fed her well, and she had eaten to her heart's content in the North Yard. It wasn't difficult to believe she'd gotten plumper.

"Mom, do I have double chin? A double chin won't suit me."

"No, you don't." Elaine smiled at her daughter reassuringly, pinching her plump cheeks. "By the way, Mimi, when did you last hear from Crystal?"

Michelle tapped her chin thoughtfully. "We haven't talked in a long time. Plus, she rarely updates her Moments. She must be very busy."

"I see..." Elaine seemed to be lost in thought.

"Mom, what made you ask about Crystal?" Michelle eyed her mother curiously. Crystal was the daughter of Baylor, their neighbor. Ever since she married into a rich family, the Zhang family had lived prosperously.

Crystal and her husband loved each other very much. When they were just dating, they were already very sweet with each other. Their affection only grew stronger when after got married.

Michelle had always envied such love stories while she waited for her happy ending.

What with everything that happened, Baylor and his wife should've been happy and content. Yet, there seemed to be something dark going on beneath the surface. Despite their wide smiles and loud laughter on Crystal's wedding day, there always seemed to be a sense of worry in their eyes.

It had been a while since her parents mentioned Crystal or her family.

'I wonder if something happened, 'Michelle thought to herself.

Elaine looked at her daughter with a complicated expression. She wanted to protect her daughter, but seeing the innocence in Michelle's eyes, she couldn't bring herself to tell the truth. Instead, she smiled brightly and answered, "Nothing." "Okay," Michelle answered dubiously.

"Mimi, go to bed early. You still have work tomorrow." Just as Elaine was about to leave her alone, she turned around abruptly and asked, "Do you usually go to work by train or by taxi?"

"Leon drives me to work." Michelle was taken aback by Elaine's sudden question and she spilled the beans.

As soon as those words left her mouth, she realized it. "Just sometimes," she added.

After a while, Elaine's expression softened and she said, "Don't forget to thank Leon for his hard work, alright?"

Michelle heaved a sigh of relief. Fortunately, her mother didn't notice anything off with her answer.

"Don't worry, of course I've thanked him."

"That's good." In that moment, Elaine made a decision. "Mimi, from now on, I'm going to drive you to work. You shouldn't trouble Leon all the time. If you take the subway, your dad and I will feel bad. There isn't a guarantee you'd get a seat." What she was saying made sense, but Michelle was surprised with what she was hearing.

"What?" Her voice sounded dubious and reluctant.

Elaine nodded firmly, as though the matter was settled.

She was determined not only to drive Michelle to work, but also to pick her up after.

Elaine figured she would tell Michelle in advance so that Michelle would tell Leon.

Michelle was quite unhappy about this. She felt like a child in kindergarten-her mother drove her to work and picked her up. Her life consisted of only two things: work and home.

Sometimes, her life had three parts: work, home, and a shooting.

This kind of life lasted for a week. Michelle could only contact Leon using her phone. She slowly began to realize that something was wrong.

One afternoon, she shot a furtive glance at her mother who was driving, then lowered her head to type on her phone. "Talking to Leon?" Elaine asked, without taking her eyes off the road. "!!!"

Shocked by Elaine's guess, she accidentally sent Leon three exclamation marks.

A second later, her phone pinged.

"What?" Leon replied.

Anxious to check her phone, Michelle quickly ducked her head and hastily texted Leon back.

"Nothing, just a typo."

Leon texted, "Are you off duty?"

"Yes."

After a while, Michelle added, "Leon, I think my mom knows that we're in love. Also, I think she's trying to..."

She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence, she was just too unsure what was going on in her mother's mind.

However, Leon finished the sentence for her.

"...stop us from seeing each other."

Michelle's eyes went wide with shock. Apparently, Leon suspected the same thing.

In fact, he had noticed it much sooner. He hadn't seen his girlfriend for a week, which made him realize the seriousness of the situation. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to deal with the situation, because the matters of C Island were much more pressing. Absentmindedly scrolling through his texts, he suddenly remembered the conversation he had with his father that morning.

His father, who seldom took the initiative to call him, video called him, wearing a very serious expression.

"Your mother and I already know."

Leon instantly understood what he meant by that.

With a determined smile, Leon asked, "Will you and Mom support me?"

"No, we won't," Bruce said bluntly, bursting Leon's bubble.

Bruce's words took Leon aback. The smile was completely wiped from his face. Even though he knew the answer, he still asked, "Why?"

"You're 28 years old," Bruce said sternly. "Your mom and I are still healthy. We will give you two more years to be away from C Island, and we won't stop you dating her."

Leon understood what he meant. He was allowed to fall in love with Michelle, but they were forbidden from getting married.

"There's less than a month left until the New Year. Come back next Monday, or your two years are up." Without giving Leon a chance to react, Bruce dropped the call.

Today was Thursday.

There were only three days left before Monday.

He would have to go back to C Island in three days.

Now, not just one, but two families were trying to stop him from marrying Michelle. One family was threatening him openly, while the other prevented the two from meeting. Leon pressed his fingers against his temples, anxious to find a solution. "Michelle, put on your earbuds. I'll call you. You don't have to say anything. Just listen to me."

"Okay."

Michelle fished out a pair of white earbuds from her bag. She texted, "I'm wearing them." Leon then called her.

Elaine, who was driving, glanced at Michelle. She knew Michelle was on a call with Leon, but decided to say nothing. "Michelle, I miss you so much."

His voice was so gentle, like a small stream that washed over Michelle's heart.

"Me too." She tried to speak as softly as she could, but even she could hear the tremble in her voice.

Leon smiled sadly. "Michelle, I'm sorry that I haven't had the time to see you."

He was too busy.

Because he was in Lexingport City, which was far from C Island, it was more difficult to deal with his work. As a result, he was preoccupied with work most of the time.

He didn't even have enough time to sleep the past few days.

Now that he was going back to C Island next week, he decided to put his work aside.

"It doesn't matter," Michelle whispered.

Even though he couldn't see her face, Leon could picture her sweet smile, which warmed his heart.

At the thought of Michelle's face, he felt much better. "Do you have any shoots tomorrow?"

"No."

"Then you'll have one." Leon's voice deepened. "Do you want me to be your model?" Michelle's eyes lit up. "Yes!"00000