Valerie was packing up breakfast dishes and didn't notice what Matthew had done. When she came out of the kitchen, he had already left, leaving only the hamster Neville huddled in the corner of its cage. Valerie was puzzled. "Peanut, you're usually running around at this hour. What's wrong with you today?" The bald spot on the hamster's ear looked like a peanut, so she named it Peanut.

Valerie heard a car engine outside and saw Matthew's macaron-blue Mini driving away. "Matthew's serious face doesn't fit his bright blue car at all," she thought.

Valerie suddenly remembered Matthew had asked her several times if she was scared of him. She thought, "Maybe he's also bothered by his serious face. People think he's scary for no reason, so he drives this cute little car to change their opinion of him. He's actually pretty funny."

She had seen many difficult people, and Matthew looked like the toughest kind, but he was actually very easy to deal with by simply agreeing with him.

It was time to leave for work. Valerie checked the map; Clutvale Estate was midway between her apartment and work. She then bought some gifts and headed there. She was going to tell Julian about her new address. Speaking of which, she wondered how Matthew knew she worked at Arcton Cars, since she had never told him.

While pondering this, she arrived at Clutvale Estate. Julian lived on the third floor, but she saw a familiar figure squatting on the stairs.

"Aiden!" she called out.

Aiden Warren was sitting on the stairs in a daze. When he heard her voice, he looked up quickly and saw Valerie. He jumped up happily. "Aunt Valerie!"

Valerie put the gifts on the ground and crouched down to hug Aiden. "Hi, Aiden. I haven't seen you for so long."

"Aunt Valerie, you you haven't come to see me for a while. I I've missed you," said Aiden. Three years ago, Aiden was diagnosed with an intellectual disability, which caused difficulties with communication and cognition, and also led to stammering.

Valerie patiently waited for Aiden to finish his sentence. She gently touched his soft hair, giving him a warm smile. "I'm sorry, Aiden. I've been busy with work lately. Why haven't you gone to school? You're going to be late. Where are your mom and dad?"

Aiden's expression changed immediately. He looked in the direction of his house, uneasy. Valerie had a bad feeling. "Are they fighting again?" she thought.

Just as that thought crossed her mind, she heard an angry roar from inside the house.

"We've been married for five years, and I've been giving you my entire salary—3,000 dollars a month—so how come we can't even come up with 4,000 dollars now!" It was Julian's voice.

But his voice was quickly drowned out by a woman's.

"Fine, you wanna know where the money goes? The family's daily expenses, the mortgage, the car loan, and Aiden's kindergarten. And now you're blaming me for not saving enough money. Some people make ten thousand dollars a month. Don't hang out with Valerie if you want to save money. She comes over for a meal now and then; that costs money, too! First, you paid for her schooling and then her shop. She's a bloodsucker!" said Ashley.

"Stop calling her that! Valerie is my sister. She has paid me back all the money," said Julian.

Ashley snorted. "Bullshit! Has she paid your family for raising her? She won't even bring her husband to your parents. She's probably married a poor guy. I don't understand why she would give up 60 thousand dollars. Didn't they teach her anything in college!"