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Seeing Maggie Chang so flustered and embarrassed, Minnie Wang couldn't help but giggle. She shot Shawn Young a mischievous look and said, "Hehe—I'm kind of a third wheel here, aren't I? Fine, I'll go downstairs and rest. Shawn, take good care of Maggie, okay? Got it?"
"Huh? Um—" Shawn Young didn't quite catch what Minnie Wang meant at first.
"Oh, you blockhead! How do you still not get it? Maggie just recovered, so of course she needs someone to look after her. And that job is yours! Take good care of her—" Minnie Wang said with a sly smile, glancing at Shawn Young's restless 'Little Shawn' down below. Her cute face flushed pink, and she secretly winked at Shawn, playfully sticking out her little tongue.
"Oh—okay, I will! I'll take good care of Maggie!" Shawn Young instantly understood the encouragement in Minnie's eyes and quickly agreed.
"Mm-hmm, good. I'm pretty tired too, so I won't bother you guys. I'll go downstairs and rest. You two—have fun!" Minnie Wang said, waving at them before slipping out of the room and closing the door behind her.
As soon as Minnie Wang left, Shawn Young and Maggie Chang fell silent, neither saying a word. The atmosphere was awkward and a little weird, but Maggie quickly broke the tension. Blushing, she said to Shawn, "Shawn, thank you so much for helping me get rid of all my scars—and for making me even better than before! You've helped me so much lately, and you've saved me from danger more than once. I just don't know how to thank you enough—"
Shawn Young quickly replied, "Maggie, don't say that! I promised your father I'd always take good care of you, so don't worry. As long as I'm around, no one will ever bully you—"
"Um—Shawn, I've always wondered, how did you meet my dad? Why did he trust you to look after me? Can you tell me what happened?" Hearing Shawn mention her father, Leon Chang, Maggie's long-held questions bubbled up and she asked anxiously.
"Uh—well—" Shawn Young hesitated, not sure how to begin.
"Shawn, you know, just a year ago, my dad, Leon Chang, was still a good family man. But after he got hooked on gambling, he totally changed. He ended up embezzling public funds and vanished without a trace. After he left, our whole family fell apart. The bank was one thing, but Beast's debt collectors came by almost every day, demanding we pay up. My mom and I gave them all our savings, but nothing changed."
The bank was a little better, but Beast's guys came around every few days, threatening to make us sell our old house to pay the debt. They even splashed paint on our front door and hung dead chickens and cats outside, scaring my mom and me so much we lived in constant fear. Especially Beast—he even tried to force me into prostitution. To escape all that horror, I had to run away with my mom from Westwood City to Nanning City. I didn't dare apply for a normal job because I was afraid the bank or Beast's people would find me. Luckily, I could play piano and spoke decent English, so I tutored middle schoolers during the day and played piano at parties and bars at night. We barely got by, but for two years, my mom and I lived in endless worry and hopelessness. So many men wanted my body and looks—I had to do everything I could to protect myself. Every time I think about those helpless days, I have nightmares. All of it was because of my dad! So, I really hate him—I hate that he left, hate that he lost his mind. Honestly, I've given up on him. I just want to know what happened to him now." Maggie spoke passionately to Shawn, tears sparkling in her eyes.
"Oh—Maggie, don't be like this. I—I do know about your father's... fate. I never told you because I was afraid it would upset you—" Shawn Young quickly tried to comfort her.
"It's okay, just tell me. I'm ready—I can handle it, even if you tell me my dad... is already dead. I can accept that." Maggie wiped her tears away and spoke with determination.
"Uh—okay—" Shawn realized he shouldn't hide the truth about Leon Chang's death from Maggie any longer. After all, short pain is better than long pain, and she would have to face this harsh reality eventually. So, after comforting her, Shawn told her the brutal truth: he saw Leon Chang in Myanmar, lost everything gambling, and then jumped to his death. However, he kept quiet about Leon Chang's spirit entrusting him with a mission, since that would be too unbelievable for her right now.
At the same time, Shawn only said he was in Myanmar for business, and that Leon Chang had some dealings with him. Leon joked that if he ever won big, he'd come back and introduce his precious daughter Maggie to Shawn as a girlfriend. So, they had a pretty good friendship! This explanation made sense logically.
Sure enough, after hearing Shawn's story, Maggie's face turned ghostly pale and tears welled up again. She sobbed, "I knew it—I just knew my dad must've gotten into trouble! I can't believe he stole so much money and ended up dying alone in a foreign country, with nothing left of him... Is this karma? Is this what he deserved?"
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"Maggie—please don't be too sad. Your dad didn't dare come back because he felt so guilty toward you and your mom. Life is unpredictable—if he'd known what would happen, he never would've gone down that path. It was all one bad decision, and he lost everything. Maggie—you need to stay strong—" Shawn comforted Maggie as she cried her heart out.
"Waa—Shawn, I'm so lost—so hurt—can you hold me?" Maggie suddenly felt weak and helpless, wanting nothing more than to cry in Shawn's arms.
"Uh—okay!" Seeing the beauty sobbing so sadly, Shawn Young's heart ached. He pulled Maggie Chang into his arms, holding her tight, gently stroking her smooth back and softly comforting her wounded heart.
"Waa—" In Shawn Young's warm, strong embrace, Maggie found a long-lost sense of security. She couldn't hold back her tears and almost wanted to cry out loud, but worried about disturbing Minnie Wang downstairs, she buried herself in Shawn's arms, hugging his waist tightly and sobbing softly.
"Maggie, please don't be too sad. The dead can't come back, but I promised your father I'd take care of you—and I will. Trust me!" Shawn comforted her gently.
"Waa—Shawn—will you always take care of me?" Maggie asked in a trembling voice between sobs.
"Of course—don't worry, Maggie. As long as I'm here, I'll take care of you for life!" Shawn promised earnestly.
"Then—will you treat me like... like a wife?" Maggie suddenly asked.
Shawn was stunned, not sure what she meant at first, but not wanting to upset her, he quickly replied, "A wife? Oh, yes—I definitely will!"
"Good! Then let me serve you like a wife!" Maggie suddenly stopped crying, lifted her face, wiped away her tears, and blushing shyly, spoke softly to Shawn.
"Uh! I—" Shawn was caught off guard, totally not expecting that.
"Don't worry—you've helped me so much, and I've never had a chance to repay you. Now, I want to serve you like a wife. Whatever you do with Minnie and the other women, I won't interfere. I don't need any title or status—I just want to stay by your side. Is that okay?" Maggie said firmly.
"Uh—I—I—" Shawn never expected Maggie to be so 'open-minded,' and was at a loss for words.
"If you don't object, that means you agree! Great—I'll start serving you now—" Maggie said, her cute face turning bright red.
"Serve me? Maggie—what... what do you want to do?" Shawn blurted out, instantly regretting how dumb that sounded.
"Silly—obviously, I mean the things you want me to do but are too shy to ask for—" Maggie shot him a shy, seductive look.
"Oh—" Even if Shawn was clueless before, he finally understood what Maggie meant.