Chapter 276

She looked so tiny in the photograph. Her chubby cheeks and thick black hair were adorable. Jason never imagined he'd be mesmerized by a child's picture, but looking at her, he felt genuine love. He even thought that if she were to appear before him right now, he might hug and kiss her.

Was it because this was her as a child? Was that why he found her so cute? He'd never felt this way about other children.

Jason examined photograph after photograph. They started with pictures of Grace and her mother, then transitioned to pictures of Grace alone. In these solo photos, she looked older—about five or six years old. There weren't many of these photos, far fewer than those with her mother.

"When my mother was alive, she loved taking pictures with me, but after she died, I took fewer," Grace said wistfully, gazing at the photos. She only took a few occasionally, mostly of herself. She didn't fit in with her father's new family.

Suddenly, Jason's eyes narrowed sharply, focusing on one photograph. He paused, struggling to retrieve it from the damaged album.

"What's wrong?" Grace asked, confused.

"This photo of you" He hesitated. "How old were you?"

Grace looked and saw the little girl, dressed in a floral dress, standing before a fence with lush mountains in the background. A warm look filled her eyes. "I was eight or nine. I loved that floral dress; it was expensive—over $100 at the time. Only well-off families could afford such a dress for their children. I didn't dare tell my grandmother then, but she saw how much I liked it, so she saved and bought it for me."

She would never forget her grandmother's affection. The older she grew, the more she understood the dress hadn't been easily obtained. Her grandmother must have been under immense pressure to buy it. Her grandfather, first uncle, second uncle, and third aunt probably blamed her for spending the money. After all, it cost over $100, a significant amount when people earned only about $800 a month. Her grandmother earned her income through various hand-finishing jobs.

"What was the name of the place where you lived?" Jason asked, his voice subtly different.

"It was Lu Village. Haven't all the villages merged into a town now? It's Shang Lu Town," Grace replied, surprised by his question. He'd been to Shang Lu Town looking for her.

Jason's eyes darkened. "Was that dress uncommon in your town?"

"I was the only one wearing it in the village. My cousin, Stella Lindsay, was furious for a long time. She kept saying Grandma was biased and tried to take the dress away," Grace said, remembering her cousin's angry expression.

"What happened next? Did she take the dress?" he asked.

"I tore it playing outside; I couldn't wear it anymore. I got sick after that," she said.