To Be Yours Again novel (Jenny and Alex)
Chapter 271

Chapter 271 Come Up With Solutions

Alec seemed to have recognized Joey too. Although he never interacted with Joey, he had helped Jenny investigate his stepmother, and he learned a thing or two about the boy in the process. He interjected to break the tension between the two, "Jenny, let's not get too riled up. Sit down and talk it out with him." Then, he called a waiter over to get them a quiet dining room.

Joey was reluctant to follow them but had no choice because Jenny was staring at him. They took their seats in the room, and Alec ordered some food. After that, he turned to Joey. "Tell us now. Why did you drop out?"

Feeling their eyes on him, he sighed and told them his story. After his stepmother was sent to jail, his dad, who had grown increasingly displeased with him, put all the blame on him. Not long after, his dad stopped paying for his school fees and pocket money. At his wits' end, he decided to quit school and work.

"You're only sixteen. Are you going to work retail forever?" Jenny was upset but didn't get mad at him because she understood he was in a difficult position.

He shook his head. "I don't want to, but I don't have a choice." It would be hard for a sixteen-year-old to continue school without basic financial support for meals.

"Can your boss legally hire you? You're technically child labor," Alec questioned, wondering if any boss would be so careless.

Joey panicked when he brought up the topic. "I...I lied about my age.

Restaurants of this level usually didn't run stringent background checks. If one lied about their age and claimed that they had lost their identification card, no one would raise a brow.

"Go back to school. Don't worry about the school fees and your monthly expenses." Jenny looked at him, angry but sympathetic. However, Joey merely bit his lip without agreeing to her plea. He didn't reach out to Jenny for help to avoid creating problems for her-he always felt that his existence was trouble, and the last thing he wanted was to annoy others. Although Jenny had volunteered to pay for his schooling. he was reluctant to be indebted to her because he had received too much kindness at this point.

"Are you really going to work here forever?" She fumed at his silence.

Alec quickly assuaged her, "Relax. I get him." After all, it was normal for a teenage boy to be egoistic and sensitive. Alec furnished a name card and wrote a phone number on it. Then, he handed it to Joey. "This is the number of the person in charge of our company's philanthropic arm. Call him, and he'll settle your living expenses for you to continue studying. Of course, this comes with a condition-you must sponsor another child in a similar situation after you graduate from university and start working. Can you do that?"

Even though it was an optional request, most children sponsored by the trust managed to fulfill the promise, and he trusted that Joey could do that too.

Joey was flustered upon seeing the name card. "Can I...accept this?" He refused to accept unconditional kindness and would rather earn the sponsorship, such as accepting Alec's conditional help.

"Of course. Do you really think that all poor kids could only end up quitting school and working?" Alec smiled at him weakly and added, "You're still young. When you run into problems, you should come up with solutions. Don't give up easily. Even if Jenny and I didn't sponsor you, you could have told your teacher about your situation. They could have figured out a way to help you, so you didn't have to quit school to work."

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