Ava Kent awkwardly dug her foot into the floor, wanting to leave, but watching Julius Goodman's back made her reluctant.
She had so many things she wanted to say to him, but she couldn't.
"Come on."
Julius Goodman, upon reaching the door, noticed she hadn't followed and invited her, "Standing at the door like that is nonsense, come in."
"Oh."
Ava Kent walked in with her head down, like a quail.
Mrs. Goodman saw her and smiled kindly, "Ava's here, huh? Have you eaten?"
"Not yet, my mom is cooking." Ava smiled as she greeted, "Hi, Auntie."
"Eh, good girl, you're here to see Julius, right? Then go chat in the room. I'm busy now, so I won't entertain you."
"It's fine, Auntie, go ahead with what you're doing, don't worry about me."
Ava waited in the yard for Julius to come out of the kitchen, then followed him into the main room.
Julius Goodman's father was an alcoholic who often beat their mother and son when drunk. Mrs. Goodman couldn't bear it anymore, so she divorced him and took Julius back to her parents' home.
This house was his grandparents' old residence. After they passed away, only the mother and son were left.
Julius poured a cup of water and handed it to her, "Sit down."
"Thank you."
Ava took it with both hands, her gaze falling upon his hand.
Not only was Julius handsome, but his hands were also very attractive, extremely long and slender.
However, at this moment, several of his fingers were wounded, with both old scars and new ones.
Ava thought that at this time, Julius was already learning crafts from the jade carving master on the next street.
A few years ago, Mrs. Goodman had uterine fibroids, requiring extensive surgery fees, and at that time, their family had just lost the two elders, leaving them no savings and in debt, with no money for Mrs. Goodman's treatment.
Originally a top student who won scholarships every year, Julius found that the money could only help a little with household expenses.
He had no choice but to drop out and go home, doing odd jobs everywhere to gather money.
Because of the tough situation, he never went back to school.
"Your hands... Why are they wounded like this?"
"It's just a little injury, no big deal." Julius glanced at his hands, covered in several band-aids, instinctively hiding them under the table, "Anyway, why are you looking for me?"
Originally troubled without an excuse, Ava suddenly thought of one, "I remember you have many books about identifying jade and raw jadeite, I'm curious, and I want to borrow some to take a look."
The Roan Family deals in jewelry, including jade, and she has a natural affinity for jadeite, able to sense the presence of jade within raw stones and their quality.
She has also studied deeply, being knowledgeable in the field. In this industry, you have to know some basics, or else picking high-quality material without understanding would raise suspicions.
It can be said that as the Rowe Family developed better and better, she contributed a lot.
"Oh, wait here, I'll get them for you."
Julius didn't hesitate at all, not even asking why she suddenly became interested, and went straight to his room.
Soon, he returned with several introductory books, "There's extensive knowledge about jadeite here, start with the beginner ones, otherwise it might be hard to understand."
Ava's brows curved in a happy smile as she accepted the books, "Thank you, Julius."
"You're welcome." Julius awkwardly coughed, "I have lots of books here, come anytime when you finish. If you don't understand something, you can ask me."
"Alright, we've agreed then."
"Mm."
Julius nodded, his beautiful peach blossom eyes filled with gentle light, the corners of his lips holding a soft smile, as warm and heartening as the spring sunshine.
As Ava left, Mrs. Goodman enthusiastically invited her to stay for lunch.
She felt too embarrassed and politely declined, clutching the books as she dashed away.
She reached home in one breath, a thin layer of sweat over her delicate face.
Jennifer Von, hearing the door, peeked out the kitchen window, "What had you so urgent? Couldn't even stop you."
"I went to borrow some books from Julius." Ava ran to her room, unable to suppress the smile on her face.
After strolling around the lively alley and seeing those once incredibly familiar people, she truly felt she was alive, that this wasn't a dream.
She casually flipped through a few pages of the jadeite raw stone appreciation introductory book; it was very neat, yet the edges were slightly fuzzy, indicating that Julius often browsed through it.
Some crucial parts were underlined, with summaries written in small characters beside them.
Looking at the book's content, Ava could envision Julius seriously writing and drawing at his desk, diligent and hardworking.
Ava gently stroked the pages; this time, she wouldn't play the moth that burns itself to illuminate others.
Cherish life, stay away from Baron Roan.
Relying on the knowledge acquired in her previous life, she would earn money to support the family, ensuring her mother a comfortable and joyful life.
And Julius, she couldn't let him follow the same tragic path as before.
After finishing lunch, Jennifer Von had to return to watch the supermarket. Ava obediently tidied up the dishes and hand-washed the clothes by the well.
Once everything was done, she returned to her room and dug out her piggy bank.
It was the lucky money given by Jennifer Von since she was young, because it never depleted, so daily expenses never used that money.
Ava found a small hammer, broke the piggy bank, and counted the amount inside, not too much or too little, exactly four thousand five hundred.
She planned to find a time to visit the Rawstone Market.
School had just started, and fortunately, she had always been an excellent student. Even when Baron shut her at home, she often read to pass the time, making it easy to catch up.
Looking at the test papers on her desk, she barely needed to think and could answer quickly.
Thus, she spent the remaining time reviewing some knowledge points that needed memorization.
...
On the second morning, before Ava even left the alley, she ran into Julius, who was heading to work, and immediately perked up, waving happily, "Julius, morning!"
"Morning."
Julius rode a motorcycle, wearing a cool helmet, stopping in front of her, with a gentle smile, "Heading to school? Want me to give you a ride?"
"Uh... Wouldn't that be too troublesome?"
"No worries, it's not far anyway."
Julius gestured for her to get on, "Let's go."
Seeing the time was still early, and she could avoid cramming into buses, Ava didn't hold back and climbed onto the bike, grabbing Julius's shirt on his waist, "Thanks in advance."
"No need to thank me," Julius's voice was gentle yet brimming with youthful energy, "Hold tight, let's go."