Charlie smiled in response to Yule’s remark and said, “I have many things to attend to in Aurous Hill, so I have to go back.”Yule nodded gently and said with a sigh, “Please come to Eastcliff often to visit us. My wife and I are looking forward to your return to Eastcliff.”Charlie simply hummed and didn’t say anything more.Yule tacitly dropped the subject and asked, “Charlie, you said you were going to your friend’s grandmother’s birthday banquet tomorrow. Have you prepared a gift?”Charlie replied, “Not yet. I plan to hit the streets to look for it later.”Although Charlie had the Rejuvenating Pill that was a significant and precious gift to the elderly, he couldn’t give Loreen’s grandmother such an expensive gift for her birthday since he had never even met her before. Therefore, he planned to buy a gift with a price range of a hundred thousand to show his sincerity.Hearing that, Yule laughed and said, “I have a small painting at home—it is Henri Matisse’s Portrait de Famil
Charlie rubbed his nose awkwardly as he answered, “Uhm… I’m your best friend’s husband!”Loreen replied in a somewhat indifferent tone, “I know. A fake husband and a fake marriage for four years. I wonder how much longer this make-believe game will last.”Just when they were chatting, a limited edition Bentley drove up to the front of the villa and stopped beside them. The back seat window was wound down, and a luxuriously dressed woman poked her head out of the window. The woman looked at Loreen and asked, “Loreen, why are you out here?”As soon as Loreen saw the woman, she hurriedly smiled and said, “Oh, auntie! Where is uncle?”The woman in the car answered, “He’s busy with his work. He’ll come at noon before the banquet starts.”Loreen continued, “Where’s cuz?”The woman sighed and replied, “I haven’t seen him since last night. Argh, I’m so pissed. He is so stubborn! It wasn’t long after his surgery that he started to stay out all night again. Talk to him, will you?”Loreen
Charlie didn’t know who Loreen’s cousin was, but he didn’t find it weird to bump into an arrogant rich kid or two since he was in Eastcliff. The place was known for having a lot of rich people, and eight or nine out of ten over-privileged rich kids would turn out to be obnoxious and cocky.When he and Loreen arrived at the entrance of the Thomas family’s house, the front porch and garage were already full of all kinds of luxury cars.Two men were warmly welcoming and greeting the guests outside the door, and Loreen hurried forward and said, “Dad, uncle, let me introduce you to my friend from Aurous Hill, Charlie Wade.”The men sized Charlie up, and Loreen’s uncle replied, “I haven’t heard of any Wade family members in Aurous Hill.”Loreen quickly explained, “Oh, Charlie is not from any family. He was my college mate.”Back then, Lord Wilson signed Charlie up into a one-year program at Aurous University where he was not only Claire’s classmate but also Loreen’s.Loreen didn’t stat
With a cold expression, Loreen stated, “Dad, I’m not interested. Please don’t ask me again to get to know him!”With that, she looked at Charlie and added, “Charlie, let’s go inside!”“You!” Javier chided angrily. “Why are you so stubborn? If you could be with the young master of the Golding family, you wouldn’t have to go to Aurous Hill anymore!”Subconsciously, Loreen took a glimpse at Charlie again before she responded to her father in a stern voice, “I like Aurous Hill! I will definitely look for a husband there!”Javier rebuked, “What are you talking about? There is no prominent family in Aurous Hill! How can you find a suitable candidate there? Besides, how can my daughter marry a man from such a sh*thole?”Disappointed, Loreen answered, “Dad, why have you become so snobbish now?”“I’m snobbish?” Javier growled. “I’m doing this for your own good!”At this moment, Loreen’s uncle spoke up, “That’s enough, Javier. Don’t rush it. Let Loreen go in with her friend.”Since his b
Charlie followed Loreen into the house.The residences of prominent families in Eastcliff were extremely luxurious. Once you entered the door, the living hall alone was almost as big as a small banquet hall.At this moment, the living hall was very crowded and bustling with people and their chattery sounds. Many of Eastcliff’s prominent figures gathered in the hall, chatting in groups.Lady Thomas, accompanied by her husband, was talking and laughing with several old friends of her age.Loreen hurriedly said to Charlie, “My grandma is over there. Let’s go and meet her.”Charlie nodded and said with a smile, “We are just in time to give your grandmother the gift I prepared.”They walked in front of the old couple, and Loreen greeted them with a warm smile, “Grandma, Grandpa, let me introduce you... this is my college mate, Charlie Wade!”Lady Thomas smiled and said, “Oh my, it’s Loreen’s college mate! Welcome!”Then, she added, “By the way, Loreen, I remember a young girl who wa
At this moment, Loreen said to Dylan, “Cuz, let me introduce you to my college mate.”Charlie turned around with a wide grin on his face as soon as Loreen said that. The moment Dylan saw him, he opened his eyes so widely as if he saw a ghost!He was so shocked that it took him a long while before he came to his senses. Then, he started gritting his teeth and growling, “Oh! Charlie Wade! I was about to go after your *ss, and now you even dare to show up at my grandma’s house! I’ll f*cking kill you today!”Loreen shrieked in bewilderment and said, “Cuz, what are you talking about? Charlie is our guest... you can’t talk to him like that!”Dylan shouted, “Do you know why I had that surgery?”Loreen blurted, “My mom told me that you swallowed a necklace.”“That’s right!” Dylan shouted furiously. He added, “And why did I do that? It’s all because of this motherf*cker!”Charlie smirked. “Mr. Koch, please be reasonable and honest. Did I force you to swallow that necklace? Did I pry your
When Charlie saw that Dylan still had the same attitude as he did before, he could not help but sneer as he said, “Dylan, it seems that you really don’t know how to learn from your own past mistakes. Have you already forgotten how you swallowed the necklace the last time?”Back then, the main reason why Dylan was forced to swallow the necklace was that he lost a bet with Charlie. He thought very highly of himself just because he bought a necklace that was worth tens of millions of dollars. At the same time, he believed that the Rejuvenating Pill that Charlie gave to Jasmine was worthless.However, he really did not expect that a Rejuvenating Pill could be sold for a rocket high price of two billion dollars at Jasmine’s birthday banquet.After Dylan came back home, he had been pondering over this matter. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that something was not right.He had always felt that it was completely impossible for anyone to be willing to spend two billion dolla
Charlie nodded before he said, “Okay then. Let’s place our bets. If I lose, I will eat my painting. If you lose, you will eat your jade pendant.”“F*ck!” Dylan gritted his teeth and continued, “Okay! I don’t believe you! It is settled then! I bought my jade pendant for twenty four million dollars! I even have the receipt as proof of my transaction. How much is your broken painting worth?”Charlie did not actually know how much the painting was worth. However, he knew that the price of the Portrait de Famille painting by Henri Matisse had been rising rapidly in recent years. Therefore, Charlie was confident that the price of his painting was definitely worth much more compared to the price of the jade pendant.Although it was just a painting, it was by no means any random graffiti. Instead, it was a painting that had been very beautifully crafted by a professional artist.Henri Mattise’s top painting, the had once been auctioned off for a price of more than four
Holding up a thumb at Charlie, Julien exclaimed in approval, "You're right, my friend! That's far more exciting than having him jailed!"Just hearing that he would be sent to a kennel, Jimmy knew nothing would come of it—even if he didn't know the details, it was so obvious that Julien was thrilled by the very idea!Turning nervously toward Charlie, he was sobbing as he asked, "Mr. Wade…? What's this about a kennel…?"Julien chuckled coolly even before Charlie said a word. "A kennel is where you keep dogs, of course. Though there are literal dogs and metaphorical dogs, and you are the latter."Oh, don't worry. It's a really nice place where you get your own cage, and you'll be fed every day. You don't even have to work, so just sit tight and keep eating until the day you die."Jimmy's soul left his body in that instant.He was going to be locked in a cage?! That was way worse than being locked up and sent to jail! Where was the humanity around here?!Even as the thought struck h
Matilda was actually caught off guard by Jimmy's pleas, and even Paul found it hard to watch.Turning to Charlie, he said, "Please, Mr. Wade—my uncle can be a little despicable, but he is my father's brother. Please, let him have a chance to turn over a new leaf, seeing that he's earnestly repenting."While Paul spoke with Charlie, Jimmy was still confused and wondered why Paul would plead his case with Charlie instead of Julien. If there was anyone Paul should ask, it was Yolden since he was Julien's friend. So, why would he ask some young man instead of Yolden?That was when Charlie asked in curiosity, "You want to let him off? After he tried to take away your parents' legacy?"Paul smiled awkwardly. "I mean, I know the guy. He made sure to travel all this way to make a scene because he had nothing legal that could help him claim Smith Group Corporate Law from us. Otherwise, he'd have already filed the lawsuit in the States. Sure, it's a dirty move, but that's basically a des
As Julien finished, he realized something was wrong and turned toward Charlie before he knew it.Charlie held his gaze in turn, his expression quizzical and amused.Julien cleared his throat right then. "See, there are people who can order me around, but they have my utmost respect. However, a third-rate lawyer like you? Who do you think you are?"That was when Julien's butler called, and he reported respectfully as soon as the call was answered, "Sir, I've spoken with Nate Ellis, the owner of Ares LLC. He has since agreed to fire Jimmy Smith right away as well as disbar him nationwide."Julien asked, "Good. Anything else?""Well, Mr. Ellis also delivered some documents that can be used as evidence against Jimmy Smith, which he claims is enough for a lifetime sentence. If you deem it necessary, we can have it sent to the FBI.""Yes, let's go with that!" Julien replied, his tone satisfied. "And ask the director to handle it personally—I want this prick to never set foot stateside
Jimmy was sweating profusely in fear, but he argued back before he knew it, "That's impossible! Everything you say is bullshit! Gaiman simply thought he had a fair chance of winning and didn't want to pay Ares that much, and I have no idea who he partnered with, and I'm certainly not involved. Don't you try to slander me!"Nate chuckled. "Come on, Jimmy. We're all adults here, so there are things we shouldn't have to be so direct about. Mills Gaiman and your old classmate met in private many times, not to mention the private conferences you three had in secret, discussing your overall strategy and decisive points. Just so you know, Gaiman recorded every conversation, and I have the tapes with me."Jimmy's heart was left pounding as he blurted, "B-Bullshit! That's impossible!""Grow up, Jimmy," Mr.Goodman chuckled. "Every partner in every law firm always strives to rise higher, so I'm going to need as much leverage as I can. Otherwise, I'm not about to let them advance any further, e
Although the ringtone and vibration frequency were the ones Jimmy always used, this call somehow felt more urgent, leaving him exceedingly uneasy.When it abruptly stopped and left a missed call on his log, Nate Ellis soon sent a text: [Answer your damn phone this instant!]Just seeing the text left Jimmy feeling like his throat had gone dry, and as he gulped, it felt like his throat was being ripped, leaving him hurting.Still, he couldn't care less as his boss called again.Having seen the text, Jimmy didn't hesitate this time and promptly answered, watching Julien's smug face as he started tentatively, "Y-Yes, boss...?"Nate immediately yelled at him hysterically, "What the hell did you do?! Why did the Rothschilds call to complain about you?! And the complaint was from their heir apparent, at that! I worked hard for them and always toed the line for years, and I still haven't gotten a chance to meet the man, so how the fuck did you upset him?!"Jimmy's heart sank to rock bott
Fuming, Jimmy snapped at Julien, "If you insist on playing it like that, I will call my boss, and you can talk to him yourself!"Julien chuckled. "That's unnecessary. I've never met him. He would never recognize my voice."Jimmy laughed and nodded despite himself. "Impressive—you can really come up with anything! You don't have his number because he's beneath you, you refuse to call him because he's beneath you, and when I say I'll call him for you, you say he won't recognize your voice. Well, how do you suppose we should sort this out? At least prove you're a Rothschild, or anyone could claim that they are—"Julien held up a hand to stop him. "Then, how about this? I'll ask my butler to talk to your boss."Jimmy laughed even more loudly as if it were the best joke ever. "Hahaha!!! Butler, you say?! You really know how to talk! Alright, I'll wait and see what your 'butler' can do… I mean, what you can do. We'll see whether my boss calls me!"Julien ignored him and whipped out his
Naturally, Jimmy couldn't care less about Julien's suggestion, even looking at him pointedly from head to toe while smirking in contempt, "What, do you think I'd just do what any nutjob tells me to do just because they're claiming to be the Rothschilds' heir apparent?"Julien nodded, still smiling. "Good point, but don't worry—it's the same whether you call him or he calls you."Jimmy laughed. "I was offering you a way out, but you want to keep pressing your luck? Since you don't care to back off, let's see how you're going to finish this fight."Then, he shrugged while pointing at Yolden. "Well, it's the perfect chance to measure Matilda's husband, I guess."Based on what he saw of Yolden, there was no way he would buy Julien's claims, and thus labeled him an impostor in his mind.An ordinary lecturer in Aurous Hill, being friends with the Rothschilds' heir apparent? Not to mention that there had been plenty of fraudulent cases outside the States where the Rothschild name was use
Jimmy was taken aback since he didn't recognize Julien at all, mainly because the Rothschilds had always kept out of the public eye.In fact, it was basically impossible to gather genuine information about the Rothschilds online, as it was a mix of press releases and gossip. Most online biographies would only be about the older generations or certain frivolous figures. Any information about key members like Steve would never be searchable online.Matilda was confused as well, not quite understanding who Julien was since he wasn't on the list of guests invited.Seeing that she was confused, Julien turned and smiled at Yolden, "So, Professor, shouldn't you introduce me to the bride?"Yolden finally remembered that and quickly nodded, "Sorry, it slipped my mind."Turning toward Matilda, he smiled, "Darling, this is Julien Rothschild… A friend of mine from the states…"Julien's full name left everyone within earshot gaping as the Rothschild name was way too famous across the globe.
Seeing that Jimmy was getting a little nervous, Charlie smiled and assured him, "Please, you have nothing to worry about. No one's going to do anything to you, but if you feel threatened in any way, you can call the cops. The Oskian emergency hotline is 110, by the way."Jimmy was slightly relieved as he could see that Charlie really wasn't trying to make things awkward for him, and he straightened his collar as he said, "Actually, I didn't mean to cause trouble—I'm pleased that Matilda has found true love once more, and if we can be friends, I can set aside my claim and stay for the rest of this wedding, offering the newlyweds our best wishes as a representative of my family."Still, his expression showed contempt as he turned toward Yolden. "Also, I'm really curious and looking forward to seeing what connections Professor Hart might have that you say could be better than Bill.""You'll see soon enough," Charlie smiled and nodded.Jimmy remained skeptical and scoffed, "I really do