.
Jasmine asked again, âAre you very, very well?â.
Seeing that Jasmine was so concerned about him, Boyce preferred to dig a hole and hide in it to hide his embarrassment.
He drank some water that was on a table and replied, âIâm fine.â
Jasmine felt slightly relieved after listening to him. She remembered that there was an unused toothbrush in the house, so she found it and handed it to Boyce and said, âYou can use my cup.â
He left Boyce alone while he brushed his teeth. Next, he fried some eggs, just in time for the porridge to be ready.
When they were eating together, Jasmine asked, âDo you want chicken?â As expected, Boyce was taken aback by her question.
Jasmine nodded toward the door, where the chicken was dancing animatedly, âItâs the directorâs gift to you. Theyâre treating you real nice, huh?â
Someone gave her a watermelon last night, while this morning she received a chicken as a gift.
Boyce knew that people sent them things thanks to Jasmine and her efforts. He looked at her with warm eyes.
Jasmine was a very kind girl, so it was no wonder people returned her kindness with their own. Besides, the people of this town were very simple and honest.
After breakfast, they both went into town to buy some daily supplies and new shirts for Boyce.
Since Boyce was wearing Keithâs shirts, Jasmine bought some shirts in the same size for Boyce.
She didnât like that Boyce owed Keith a favor, so she felt obligated to return the favor.
Even if it wasnât much, she felt she should return the favor.
When they got back from town, they dropped off the materials at his house and went to school. Jasmine bought some study materials for the students, she couldnât wait to give them as gifts.
Keith was also at school, so Jasmine also gave him back his shirt, âThank you for your clothes.â
Initially, Keith didnât accept the shirt, âBah, itâs just a shirt, itâs basically free, you can keep it.â
âNo, I insist,â Jasmine said as she held out her hands again, âIâm not particularly well off though, I donât like to take advantage of others, same goes for my boyfriend.â
Jasmine was a straightforward person when it came to dealing with other people. If Keith wasnât in love with her, and hadnât declared it, she might have paid him differently. However, Keith was in love with her, so she had to repay this favor as soon as possible.
She couldnât leave Keith hanging with her favor.
Keith took the shirt and asked, âYou really are very considerate of your boyfriend, huh. Did you pay for this?â
Jasmine held Boyceâs arm and replied, âHeâs my boyfriend, what belongs to me belongs to him too.â
If Keith didnât know Boyceâs identity, he would have insulted Boyce as a man who blatantly leaned on his girlfriend.
However, Boyce was someone with a rather remarkable background, so even if Keith himself pursued higher education, he doubted he would end up living better than Boyce.
Reluctantly, he admitted defeat, picked up his clothes and said, âIâll go to my classes now.â
Jasmine nodded in response.
âGive me the bag,â Jasmine reached for the bag containing the gifts for the students, which was being held by Boyce. Boyce did not agree, âIâll go in with you.â
Jasmine asked with a smile, âDo you like kids?â.
Boyce didnât know the answer to that question, although he liked the two boys at Matthewâs house, he wasnât sure if he would like other boys or not.
Jasmine smiled, âI like kids. If I ever have children, I will give them the best things in the world, love them, let them enjoy a world full of love.â
Boyce knew she lacked family love, having grown up in a rather poor environment. He patted her on the head, âYouâre still a child.â
Jasmine glared at him, âThe child is you, not me.â
Then she walked with long strides toward the classroom. Boyce laughed and followed in her footsteps.
When they reached the classroom, Jasmine, holding the bag in her hand, motioned for everyone to come to her. The students were curious about what was in the bag as they approached her.
The contents of the bag werenât exactly big and fancy, just some fruit-shaped erasers, pink notebooks, car-shaped stationery boxes among other random toys.
Still, everyone was more than happy.
One of the students, who had no mother, cried as she hugged Jasmine. She never knew what her mother looked like. Jasmine heard that her mother was someone who was not from the area and moved to town with the studentâs father, hated the fact that they were poor, and left after giving birth.
Her father had to work instead of taking care of her, so she was left to her grandparents.
Her grandparents were old, as expected. Therefore, they could not give her clean clothes. When Jasmine met her, she was dark and thin, and she was wearing a shirt so incredibly dirty that she couldnât tell what color it was, and she also had hair as messy as a weed-covered field.
Jasmine took her home, gave her a shower, and washed her clothes as best she could.
This time, she specifically bought her a new skirt.
The girl had never worn new clothes before, as all her clothes were hand-me-downs from other people when they outgrew them.
When she saw the skirt, she felt sad but grateful.
She was sad because her mother had abandoned her, but she was grateful that a woman who was not her mother loved her as her mother should have.
Jasmine patted her back, âDonât cry, Jenny.â
The girlâs name was Jennifer Marsh. Everyone gave her the nickname âJennyâ as she was thin and small for her age. She looked like a five year old even though she was seven.
Jasmine wiped away her tears. She remembered her tragic childhood as she glanced at Jenny.
Because Jasmine knew all too well how painful it must be for Jenny and other children in similar situations, she had always done everything she could to help these children. However, her capabilities were limited by her wealth and influence, or lack thereof.
Therefore, she could not help all the children she wanted to.
Boyce was right, she had to improve herself so she could help and support more children.
She decided to finish her college studies before helping them.
âAre you crying, Miss Burke?â Jenny wiped Jasmineâs tears.
Jasmine wasnât crying, her eyes began to water as she remembered her childhood. Her home was a war zone most of the time, all she saw was her father relentlessly abusing the hell out of her mother, let alone receiving parental love from them.
Boyce walked over to her, put his hand on her shoulder, patted her back and said in a pained tone, âDonât cry.â
She was holding back tears when Boyce said that. With his pat, she felt supported, so she turned around and cried boldly undeterred in his embrace. Chris, with his broken leg, limped slowly into the classroom. When she saw Jasmine crying in Boyceâs embrace, she frowned, continued to limp forward and questioned Boyce, âHow dare you bully Miss Burke.â
âI tell you, even though we are boys and girls, we can help our teacher fight the bad guys. A lot of ants can move an elephant, you know?â said Chris in a proud tone.
Jasmine wiped away her tears, pulled out of Boyceâs embrace and said, âNo oneâs bullying me, okay?â
âThen why are you crying?â asked Chris.
âI got some sand in my eyes, OK?â. Jasmine pulled out the car-shaped stationery box and handed it to Chris, âThis is for you.â
Upon seeing his gift, Chris was so happy that he forgot about his injured knee as he ran over to Jasmine to grab his present. As soon as he was able to get his hands on the stationery box, he opened it and saw that it was the double-decker car-shaped stationery box he had always wanted.
âThank you, Miss Burke!â with that, she had completely forgotten about âavengingâ her teacher.
After her outburst of happiness, she blinked and glanced at Jasmine again, âMiss Burke, are you dating this man?â
After all, she was crying in his embrace not too long ago.
She wasnât crying because sheâd been harassed, so those tears could be tears of happiness, or else why would she be crying while hugging him?
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