I Returned to the Day He Brought His First Love Home-Chapter 103: Saved Her Face. Nolan Winslow’s Decision

Chapter 103: Chapter 103: Saved Her Face. Nolan Winslow’s Decision

"Boss, you..."

BANG—

Grace Winslow was about to speak when a loud bang suddenly came from outside.

Her heart trembled.

The man on top of her frowned, then quickly got up and left.

She could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

She scrambled up, untied the ropes on her feet, and looked around. Spotting a wooden stick in the corner, she quickly picked it up for self-defense.

From outside came the shouts of the scar-faced man from before, along with another voice that sounded somewhat familiar.

Grace Winslow slowly crept toward the door.

Just as she reached it, a dark figure flew backward and slammed heavily onto the ground.

She jumped in fright. Seeing someone was about to enter, she instinctively raised the wooden stick in her hands and swung it down.

"Grace Winslow?"

The next moment, a familiar voice rang out from the doorway.

Grace Winslow let out the breath she had been holding.

Her body went limp. After a period of extreme tension, the sudden release left her muscles aching. Her legs trembled so much that she couldn’t even stand steady.

The wooden stick fell from her hand, and she collapsed to the ground.

A tall figure walked in through the doorway. His gaze fell upon Grace Winslow. Seeing that she was all right—aside from her disheveled clothes and the injuries on her face, she had no other wounds—he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are you okay?"

Grace Winslow’s throat was tight. Unable to speak, she could only shake her head.

Archer Rhys took off his coat and draped it over her shoulders.

"Sorry, I’m late." He reached down and lifted Grace Winslow into his arms.

Grace Winslow had no strength, her hands resting against his chest. Her eyes asked him how he knew she was in trouble.

Archer Rhys understood her look and explained, "We got a break in the case at the Public Security Bureau. Gordon Lynch finally talked. He said he had other men who came to Prospera Town before he was caught. They might have found out you were the one who reported him and took down the human traffickers here."

"Chief Dunn guessed they would definitely come after you, so he sent people to the textile factory to check on you. They found out you left at noon and never came back."

"We realized something was wrong and immediately split up to search for you everywhere."

"I found the clue you left on the side of the road, and that’s how I found this place."

"As long as you’re okay. I’ll take you back."

After his quick explanation, Archer Rhys turned to leave with Grace Winslow in his arms.

Grace Winslow tugged on his clothes and pointed at the man inside, who had been knocked to the ground and now lay motionless.

"I didn’t hold back. Even if he wakes up, he won’t be able to escape. Don’t worry, someone will come to take care of him. Let me get you home first."

With that, he held Grace Winslow protectively and quickly left.

Grace Winslow finally relaxed completely. Breathing in Archer Rhys’s pleasant scent, her eyelids grew heavy, and before long, she had fallen asleep.

’I’ve been through so much today.’

’I almost lost my life.’

Now that she could relax, she was utterly exhausted.

Grace Winslow didn’t know how she got back to her dorm.

When she opened her eyes, she was already in her dorm bed.

Her clothes were intact. Clearly, Archer Rhys had done nothing after bringing her back.

She let out a slow breath, clutching the fabric of her clothes.

’This incident will probably become common knowledge. Who knows what kinds of rumors will start spreading.’

Grace Winslow got up, changed her clothes, and then went out to wash up.

It was just the time when people left for work in the morning. The hallway was bustling with people, all laughing and talking as they rushed to brush their teeth, wash their faces, and head to their shifts.

When they saw Grace Winslow come out, they all greeted her with a smile.

There was none of the ridicule or gawking she had expected.

Grace Winslow was a little puzzled.

But she didn’t ask any questions.

After washing up, she went to the office.

As soon as she walked in, May Callahan couldn’t help but ask, "Didn’t you have a family matter to take care of yesterday? How come you’re here so early today? I thought you’d be taking a half-day off."

Grace Winslow gave a slight smile. "I felt bad about leaving yesterday without requesting time off."

"What’s there to feel bad about? You can’t control when family emergencies happen. Your brother came to the factory to find you himself, so it must have been something important. Is everything okay now?" May Callahan said, waving her hand dismissively.

"Oh, right. I already submitted a leave request for you to the personnel department, so don’t worry, you won’t be marked as absent."

After a pause, May Callahan added. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

A warm feeling spread through Grace Winslow’s heart.

’Archer Rhys must have arranged this behind the scenes.’

’I can’t believe how thoughtful he is.’

’He saved my reputation. Now that no one knows I was kidnapped, there won’t be any gossip.’

Although she tried not to care, she still didn’t like being the subject of constant discussion.

After chatting with May Callahan for a few more minutes, Grace Winslow started on her work for the day.

The textile factory was flooded with orders. Besides the orders from Dylan Lockwood, the Bureau of Commerce had also negotiated several more. However, those were for the old dress designs. The autumn coats and jackets were exclusively supplied to Dylan Lockwood for now; at least until the end of the year, no contracts would be signed with other clients.

With so many orders, the textile factory expanded by another production workshop, adding another hundred jobs.

This solved the employment problem for some of the educated youth who had returned to the city.

When salaries were paid in November, Grace Winslow received 2,800 yuan.

She did a quick calculation. The money she had now totaled over 6,000 yuan.

By the time she resigned and left, she estimated she could be a "ten-thousand-yuan household."

After all, the factory still had a lot of orders.

’With orders for hundreds of thousands of pieces a month, she could earn a few hundred yuan in commission each month without lifting a finger.’

The day she got paid, Grace Winslow took the day off, deposited the money in the bank, bought a lot of things, and went home.

Prospera Town was visibly becoming more lively.

Many educated youth had returned from the countryside, and the townspeople, who used to wear only black, white, and gray, were now wearing much more colorful clothing.

Grace Winslow even saw people wearing clothes she had designed.

They really did look stylish.

No wonder Ivy White loved wearing clothes like this in her past life.

"Grace, I heard the college entrance exams are really being reinstated in December. Did that kid Archer Rhys secretly tell you so you could study for it?" The moment Grace Winslow walked in the door, she was pulled aside by Nolan Winslow.

Grace Winslow had thought the news of her kidnapping had reached Nolan Winslow’s ears; she was surprised he was asking about this instead.

She breathed a sigh of relief and passed the credit to Archer Rhys. "Yeah, he mentioned it to me back when he was in the hospital."

"So there’s been an official announcement?"

"Yes, we heard at the factory. The factory director even asked if I wanted to try taking it. Being a college student is a huge deal. If you can get in, you’ll get an assigned job—a stable career with the state!" Nolan Winslow said with a smiling nod.

Then, he remembered what Grace Winslow had told him about starting a business. He hesitated but still said, "Grace, I talked with your sister-in-law about the business idea. We’re not the type to be overly ambitious. Going into business isn’t really for us."

"We’re happy with our stable government jobs. The money we make each month is enough to raise our two kids."

"Your sister-in-law is about to give birth soon. We... we’re afraid we can’t afford any major upheavals or setbacks."

Grace Winslow felt it was a bit of a shame, but she completely understood Nolan Winslow and Lily Callahan’s concerns.

After all, even with the economy opening up, not everyone dared to risk everything they had for a chance to strike it big.