Zachary burst out laughing. “I’ve never thought of you as a down-to-earth person.”“I’m not unapproachable either.”Zachary chuckled. “You may not be unapproachable, but even I must use my connections to meet you. If Josh and I weren’t friends, I probably wouldn’t be able to see you regardless of how much money I offered.”Julian said, “I’m busy. You’re the head of your family too. You should know how busy people in our positions are.”“The matter I want to discuss can’t be described briefly. You can head to Summervale and meet Ms. Crawford. I’ll talk to Josh.”Julian said, “Look for Josh as much as possible. It’s easier for you two to communicate anyway. Don’t disturb me unless the situation is dire.”He could think of nothing else but his first love at the moment. Besides, his parents had been urging him to go to Summervale before someone else snatched Quinn away. Quinn was Julian’s fated partner. He had to rely on her to be an ordinary healthy man as well. His parents were
Quinn replied with alacrity, “Alright, I’ll let my mom know and ask her to prepare more food tonight. She’ll be really happy to know that you love her cooking so much.”Julian smiled. “Mrs. Crawford’s cooking is truly delicious.”“Make sure to eat plenty tonight, Mr. Bucham. I’ll go for my training now and I’ll fetch you from the airport later. See you tonight.”“Sure, I’ll switch my phone to airplane mode now. See you.”While Julian exchanged goodbyes, he was reluctant to hang up first. After he noticed that Quinn had ended the call, he moved the phone away from his ear.His phone’s screen displayed a photo of Quinn. When Quinn attended Zachary and Serenity’s wedding, Julian had taken several portraits of her and sent them to her. He also kept those photos on his phone and set one of them as his wallpaper.He could see Quinn every time he unlocked his phone.Quinn looked both stunning and full of youthful energy with a brilliant smile. Julian found himself increasingly drawn to
Quinn smiled and offered to help him with the luggage, but Julian stopped her, saying, “I only packed two sets of clothes in my suitcase, so it’s not heavy. You don’t need to help. Besides, I’m a grown man, how can I let you carry my luggage?”“You came from afar after all. Oh, and I got you two grilled sausages. I know you don’t like spicy food, so I got the non-spicy ones for you. I got the extra hot ones for myself.Julian took the small bag she handed to him with the two grilled sausages. He took one out and had a bite.Quinn offered him the other snacks she had bought. While Julian received them, she grabbed his suitcase and continued to munch on her sausage as they walked ahead.Watching her confidently pull his suitcase and eat simultaneously, Julian could not help but smile. He told her that no help was needed with his luggage, but she insisted.Julian let Quinn do as she pleased.Quinn continued pulling the suitcase while Julian followed behind her. Both of them munched o
Julian chuckled and said, “It seems like elders are all like that, right? My parents are the same. They love to nag. My dad, even though he’s such a macho man, he’s no different. Not to mention my mom. Whenever I see my dad now, I’m like a mouse meeting a cat. I just want to hide in a hole to avoid his nagging.”They both got into the car.Julian, who initially thought he would be driving, saw Quinn go ahead and sit in the driver’s seat. He asked, “Are you driving?”“Yeah, I’ll drive. You’re not familiar with this place, and my car is pretty normal. I’m afraid you won’t be comfortable driving it. Don’t worry, I’m a good driver, and everything will be fine.”Julian walked around the car and took the passenger seat. He fastened his seatbelt and added, “I’ve driven all kinds of cars before. Back when I didn’t make much money, I rode bicycles, and e-bikes, and even took the bus.“Now I drive a slightly more expensive car when I go out, mainly to keep up appearances.”If Julian had no
Quinn said, “Your martial skills are so good that you don’t really need bodyguards. That night, I think I acted too quickly. Even if I hadn’t intervened, those thugs wouldn’t stand a chance against you. You would have surely handled them quite effectively with your skills.“I interfered and acted rashly, which actually robbed you of the chance to show your skills, and I missed the opportunity to witness your full capabilities.”Julian hurriedly responded, “I’m indeed skilled, but I’m not as formidable as you imagine. That night, there were too many of them. I wouldn’t have been able to handle them all on my own. I’m not as skilled as you.“I have bodyguards at home, but I rarely use them. Occasionally, I might go out with a couple of them. However, the bodyguards I’ve hired are typically just tall and imposing. They might know a few basic moves, enough to intimidate troublemakers, but they wouldn’t be effective against skilled fighters.“If we encountered martial artists like last
Julian smiled and said, “You’re welcome to visit me anytime.“Oh, by the way, I sent two large boxes to you by courier. Have you received them? I tracked the shipment, they should be arriving today.”Julian had purchased a variety of specialty products from Wiltspoon, as well as some supplements for middle-aged and elderly people. He had them all shipped to Summervale, with Quinn as the recipient. After all, Quinn was his destined girl, and he wanted to make a good impression on her family.Having come all the way here, Julian felt that he could not arrive empty-handed.Quinn replied, “I’m not sure about that. I came to the airport to fetch you this afternoon, and if there was a delivery, it would be sent to my house. My mom is usually at home, and she’d help me receive them. Julian, what did you buy for me? You don’t have to spend so much.”“It’s just some specialty products from Wiltspoon. Last time when you left in a hurry, I didn’t prepare much for you. This time, I bought a
When they arrived at the Crawford residence, it was a scene of warmth and festivity with many lights illuminating the surroundings.The Crawfords were eagerly awaiting their arrival. Hearing the sound of a car, Will came out to see, and upon recognizing his sister’s vehicle, a smile graced his face. He approached the car and opened the door for Julian.“Mr. Bucham.”“Mr. Will, you can just call me Julian.”Julian was actually older than Will, but he had been addressing Will with honorifics. Will was a candid person like Duncan, and he did not mind how Julian addressed him.“Everyone is waiting for your return to have dinner together.”As he spoke, Will walked toward the trunk to take out Julian’s luggage.Quinn said, “Will, Julian booked a hotel. After dinner, I’ll drop him off at the hotel, so there’s no need to take his luggage down.”“I see. Julian, if you don’t mind, you can cancel the booking. We have empty rooms. You can stay here, and in the future, if you come to Summ
Quinn said to Will, “If you dare to drink, Mom will sell all the fine wine we have at home.”Quinn enjoyed drinking as well, but her tolerance was rather low. Her mother did not allow her to drink, emphasizing that she was a girl and that her poor alcohol tolerance could lead to accidents.Will chuckled and whispered, “That’s why we need to keep Julian at home. He’s a guest and he brings us suppers. In return, we can share a drink or two without getting too drunk. This way, it won’t affect our work the next day, and Mom won’t complain.”It was an ordeal for an alcohol enthusiast to resist drinking.Will thought of the last incident with Julian. When Julian came over, everyone in the house drank with him except Quinn. They had to use Julian as an excuse to satisfy their craving for alcohol. After all, the Crawford men could not overrule the lady of the house, their mother Zoey.Julian laughed and said, “During my stay here, if you feel like having supper, just let me know and I’l
Lilian often messed with the medicinal herbs her master cultivated, which led to her being chased and scolded by him.It seemed her son had inherited her restless nature.“How’s Sonny been lately?”Liberty had been on edge these past few days because Caroline had been preparing to lure her three brothers into a trap and had not had time to call her son.“Same as usual, but it seems like things have soured again with the Browns.”Serenity added, “Sonny still answers when Hank calls him, but he doesn’t seem happy when his grandparents visit. He doesn’t like going to the Browns’ place, and he doesn’t want to take their calls either.“Hank’s mother and sister are truly incorrigible. They must have been badmouthing you and Duncan in front of Sonny again, which is why he’s upset with them.”During the holidays, Sonny had stayed with the Browns for a few days and started to warm up to them.However, who would have thought that the mother and daughter would start spouting nonsense in f
Once the baby was born, he would apply the knowledge he had learned over the past few months to care for the baby. He was determined to be a competent and responsible father.Serenity released her arms from around him and shifted to her side.Zachary let go, too, allowing her to turn.Then, she planted countless gentle kisses on his face.“Babe, with you here, the baby and I will be just fine. Don’t worry too much,” Serenity comforted softly after kissing him.“You are my rock. If even you are nervous, I’ll start feeling anxious too, and that won’t be good.”Hearing this, Zachary immediately said, “Seren, don’t worry. I’ll protect both of you. Alright, I won’t be so nervous anymore.”He gently touched her rounded belly again. “Lil’ Bun should be a calm kid. He’s not that mischievous.”He felt that the baby’s movements were not too intense.Serenity wanted to tell him that there were times when the baby kicked more vigorously, but she decided against it, knowing it would only m
“Just hit the gym a few more times. Lately, you’ve been spending less time there.”Every day after work, he would come home and orbit around her. As a result, he had less time to work out.It was normal to gain a few pounds eating well and exercising less. Did he really think he could eat anything without gaining weight?The reason he could maintain a model-like physique before was that he exercised daily.“Ow.” Serenity suddenly cried out in pain.This startled Zachary so much that he nearly jumped up, asking anxiously, “Is it stomach pain? Are you going into labor? Let’s go to the hospital right away.”He was about to pick her up, but Serenity stopped him by pressing his hand.“Don’t be so nervous, Zachary. It's not time yet. It’s not happening so soon. It’s just the baby kicking again. His kicks are getting stronger.”As she entered the later stages of pregnancy, the little one inside her was growing stronger. Sometimes, a couple of kicks from the baby could actually hurt.
Zachary, afraid that his wife might refuse to spend time with him at his office in the future, emphasized that he was not busy today.He had already cleared his morning schedule because he needed to accompany his beloved wife for her prenatal checkup.His secretary was well aware of Serenity’s checkup dates. Whenever he saw Serenity turn up at the office with his boss, his secretary would quietly adjust his schedule.Sometimes, on the day of the Serenity’s checkup, his secretary would not schedule any appointments for Zachary at all.Even if appointments were scheduled, Zachary would request they be canceled or rescheduled.Now, in Zachary’s eyes, his wife’s matters were the most important.With Alex now able to share the workload, Zachary felt that he, as the eldest of his generation who had shouldered the bulk of the burden for so many years, deserved a break.Plus, there was the elite team the company had trained; if not now, then when would they be put to use?Everyone was
Tony turned around and left.Only after hearing the door close did Carrie dare to open her eyes.She had woken up while Tony and his son were on the phone, but she did not dare move, fearing that Tony might suspect her of eavesdropping.Just now, when that old lecher stood by the bed looking at her, there was definitely a murderous glint in his eyes. She could feel it.Sooner or later, he would kill her.Carrie was filled with panic. She wanted to escape but was afraid she would not succeed. No one was there to help her.For a moment, Carrie even considered running to Camryn to confess everything, but she quickly dismissed the thought. The reason she ended up in this situation was entirely due to Camryn.She and Camryn were sworn enemies. Their conflict would not end until one of them was dead. However, even if she died, she would drag Camryn down with her.-Meanwhile, in the CEO's office at York Corporation, Zachary, seated at his desk, kept glancing up at his pregnant wife.
“You should have gotten rid of them all back then and cultivated a network of people loyal only to you.” Manny felt that his father should not have spared those people in the first place.Tony said, “There were too many of them, all relatives and friends with the same goal as us. We couldn’t eliminate them all at once.”Back then, he had incited everyone to join him in wiping out the entire main family, sparing neither the elderly nor the children.It was because they were all from the collateral branches, jealous of the main family’s long-standing control, and shared a common goal that his conspiracy succeeded.He had also spent over a decade waiting for the right opportunity.Who would have thought that even after wiping out the main family, he still could not obtain the family seal, token, or totem? Without these, he could not become the true head of the family and could only act as a proxy. Many of the connections loyal to the head remained inaccessible.Moreover, much of the
It was his father. Manny composed himself and picked up Tony’s call as he walked toward his car.“Hey, Pops.”“How’s it going, Manny? Has there been any progress?”Tony was still in Carrie’s room at the moment, but had gotten up and walked to the balcony to call his son.Carrie was still fast asleep, though her face was set in a frown. She was obviously discomfited.Tony had pestered her for the majority of last night, so it would be weird if she did not feel any discomfort.Despite her begging, Tony would not let her go. He even forcefully drugged her to make her mess around with him while out of it. He was simply an old pervert.Before she passed out, she cursed him in her heart. However, she knew that Tony only treated her so roughly because she was just his mistress—a tool for him to vent his frustrations on.If she really was his wife, he definitely would not treat her like this.In the past, she had ambitions of taking Mrs. Longbottom’s place and becoming the real missus
Tati also finished her plate of pastries.She followed Isabella out.“Isa, you’re always so busy and exhausted. If you’re feeling even a little unwell, you should have a good rest. Stay home for the day. I can handle the work you have on hand. It’s the same either way.”Tati wanted Isabella to take the day off so Isabella could spend some time with Austin and nurture their relationship.However, Isabella still declined Tati’s kind offer.She said, “Not today. There’s an important meeting today, and I have two important clients to meet. I’m fine, really. Don’t worry. From now on, I won’t touch alcohol.”Given her current status and position, no one would dare to force her to drink during social engagements.Many people also knew that Isabella would not drink outside her home, fearing that she might fall victim to someone’s schemes.However, Isabella would occasionally make an exception. When she was in a good mood, she would have a couple of drinks.Hearing this, Tati stopped t
Austin still smiled gently and said, “It’s all thanks to Ms. Isabella’s guidance.”He felt that he had indeed improved a lot.Grandma May really understood him well. The wife she picked for him could actually help improve his culinary skills.“After eating the sweets, I feel much better.” Tati picked up another piece of pastry and ate it.Austin quietly retreated, not wanting to disturb their conversation and also to avoid overhearing their private matters.“Just ignore him. Are you really going to skip work because of him?”Isabella added calmly to Tati, “If you let him provoke you, he’ll only cling to you even more. If you act like he doesn’t exist and don’t respond no matter what he does, he’ll naturally give up once he sees that you’re completely unresponsive.”Tati said, “I’m afraid that he’ll go and bother Edith and Eleanor if he doesn’t get anywhere with me. They don’t have the same resolve as we do.”She, therefore, decided to bear the brunt of it.“Every time I see hi