Doris hurriedly replied, “Hello, Mr. Wade…”At this moment, Loreen stood up and spoke with an awkward tone, “Hello Miss Young…”Only now did Doris notice Loreen and said with surprise, “Oh? You’re here too, Loreen? Did you not go home?”Loreen said with an unnatural tone, “Um… I will have to head over to the airport in a while.”The moment Dylan who was standing aside saw Doris, a flash of affection was visible in his eyes. He had seen a lot of beautiful girls, but he had never seen a white-collar beauty with such captivating elegance and exquisiteness. Therefore, his heart immediately palpitated with eagerness.Subconsciously, he stood up and asked Loreen, “Loreen, why haven’t you introduced this beautiful lady yet?”Loreen immediately began introducing. “Oh yea, Miss Young. Let me introduce you to my cousin, Dylan.”Soon after, she turned to Dylan and said, “Cousin, this is our Emgrand Group’s vice chairperson, Miss Young.”Dylan stretched out his hand right away and said i
Dylan was just thinking about finding some common topics to try to get closer to Doris when he suddenly received a WhatsApp message from his mother, Sylvia.The content of the WhatsApp message hit him very hard, as if he were struck by lightning.“How did you useless brat provoke Charlie Wade?! Wrigley from the Golding family just called and chewed me out, saying that you were in trouble again and Charlie wants to extend your punishment period in Aurous Hill to two years!”Dylan was on the verge of collapse!“Two years?! Isn’t that going to kill me?”“I had just stayed in Cliffcouls of Aurous Hill for two days and I couldn’t take it any longer. I have no idea how I am supposed to endure it for a year. Why did Charlie suddenly add another year to my punishment time? What did I do to him?”As he thought about it, Dylan looked at Charlie and subconsciously asked, “Mr. Wade, I…”Charlie did not even wait for him to speak. He passed a cup of tea and said with a faint smile, “Come! Pl
With that, while gritting his teeth and stomping his feet, he picked up the teacup and finished it in a single gulp.Drinking the cup of tea was equivalent to agreeing tacitly to Charlie’s new arrangement.One year’s worth of sentence was suddenly doubled and became two years.Dylan could only cry without tears. At that instant, he was entirely devoid of energy like an empty shell without a soul.At this moment, Loreen was also a little surprised.The others did not know about the conflict between Dylan and Charlie but she knew everything about it.It was Charlie who made Dylan ride a bicycle from Eastcliff all the way to Aurous Hill, and made him suffer hardships for his reformation in Aurous Hill. When Charlie started playing charades with numbers all of a sudden now, she immediately had a bad feeling about it.So, she asked Dylan in a soft voice, “Dylan. What in the world just happened?”Dylan handed his handphone over to Loreen with great disappointment. A WhatsApp message,
Loreen really wanted to look into the actual relationship between Charlie and Doris.However, it was impossible to do so due to time constraints.She needed to rush off to Eastcliff and spend time with her family during the New Year. Therefore, after staying for about ten minutes, Loreen turned to both Claire and Charlie and said, “Claire, Charlie, I have to go now and head over to the airport for my flight. All the flights to Eastcliff are completely booked today. If I miss this flight, I would be spending the New Year here in Aurous Hill.”Claire replied, “Loreen, do you want us to send you off at the airport?”Loreen hurriedly said, “You don’t have to trouble yourselves. All of you should just stay here.”As soon as she finished speaking, she turned to Doris and greeted, “Miss Young, I shall take my leave now.”With a gentle nod, Doris replied, “Have a safe flight! Also, Happy New Year in advance!”“Thank you!” Loreen nodded. After bidding farewell to Claire’s parents, only t
Originally, Lady Wilson had agreed to work at the supermarket today.The supermarket supervisor had also promised to give her double pay today.However, Lady Wilson slumped on a chair and could not get up as her blood pressure rose critically all of a sudden, after her hard-earned money was stolen and getting mocked by Elaine.Although there was nothing serious with her health, she could only helplessly cancel the thought of going to work today as her blood pressure rose critically due to extreme anger.Seeing her hard-earned money was stolen and losing the opportunity of earning double pay at work, Lady Wilson was extremely dejected.She wanted to let Wendy work at the supermarket today for the double pay. However, once she thought of Christopher and Harold who were lying on the bed, paralyzed, and herself, who suffered hypertension, could not even take care of herself let alone the two paralyzed men, she dared not let Wendy leave.The four of them could only stay in the luxu
Charlie and his family next door started preparing New Year’s Eve dinner after noon.All kinds of ingredients were piled up on the entire kitchen counter.Charlie was the best cook in the family, so he did not decline to shoulder the responsibility and became the main chef for New Year’s Eve dinner.Due to her leg injury, Elaine sat on the floor prepping the vegetables. Claire helped Charlie wash and cut the vegetables and prepare other ingredients, while Jacob chopped the dumpling fillings manually with a kitchen knife.It was such a rare and harmonious atmosphere as the four of them were helping out in the kitchen.As the sky gradually darkened, dishes one after another were served on the dining table.At villa A04, Jennifer, Yara, and Yulia were getting busy in the kitchen as well.The three ladies lived quite a modest life. In addition to the preparation of dumpling dough and meat fillings, they also bought a chicken, a fish, and two pounds of ribs to cook a few home-cooked
At this moment, Charlie and his family were in the living room, eating New Year’s Eve dinner while watching the Spring Festival Gala on TV. The whole family was happy and harmonious, enjoying the atmosphere.Jacob and Elaine, the old couple who always found each other despicable, had made an exception and held back their bickering during the dinner.Jacob and Charlie drank some white wine together, in which Jacob was in a delightful mood.Claire wanted to drink some red wine with Elaine, but Elaine snatched the red wine from her hand and poured it for herself while saying very seriously, “Claire, you can’t drink alcohol if you are trying to get pregnant. It’s not good for the baby!”With that, she turned to Charlie and said with a smile, “My dear son-in-law, don’t drink too much. Drinking too much wine will affect seeds’ qualities in men! Eventually, it will affect the quality of pregnancy and the development of the fetus!” Claire was immediately flustered. Blushed in embarrassme
As Charlie looked at the photo of the snowy courtyard, he recalled that snowy night in Kyoto many days ago.Under that heavy snowfall, he saved Nanako and unintentionally saved both Jaime and Sophie Schulz.With this thought, he quietly sighed and replied Nanako, “Thank you, and a happy New Year to you too!”He did not respond to the matter of snowing Kyoto that Nanako had brought up. He knew that he should not have too many emotional interactions with Nanako.At first, he felt that she shouldn’t be burdened by the injuries inflicted by Aurora all her life, so he wanted to heal her.Now that she had been cured and he saved her life, so technically speaking, they were even-steven. He would only complicate things if he kept having unnecessary interactions with her.Charlie also knew that his hands were tied and was unable to return their feelings when it came to the women who admired him, including Nanako.Therefore, keeping these women at a distance could be considered the mo
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
If Charlie really did get Jimmy to stay, who knew what other rubbish Jimmy would spout.As for Jimmy, he was actually surprised Charlie was asking him to stay, and his instincts told him that Charlie definitely didn't mean well.Not only that, he was on foreign soil—wouldn't he be defenseless if Charlie called in his friends to beat him up?Hence, he shook his head without hesitation as he said, "I'm sorry, but my sister-in-law is quite keen for me to leave, so I have no reason to stay and add to her problems. And it is her big day. I can afford to let her save face instead of spilling the beans on her all at once.""Oh, but you were complaining about the lack of important people just now!" Charlie quickly interjected. "It just so happens that we have a big-shot on his way here, and he's a good friend of the groom. When I told him about you over the phone, he said to keep you here no matter what it took, since he would like to talk to you face to face."Jimmy frowned. "What, are y
And with those words, Jimmy turned to leave.Despite threatening Matilda, there was no such agreement, and he knew that Matilda was well aware of that.Regardless, the only strategy he had in mind when he came to Oskia was harassment. As such, he simply came up with a lie to make Matilda look bad in public. All it took from there was just for one person to relay what he had said—even if it were all lies, Matilda's character would still be called into question.He made himself very clear so that Matilda would understand that if she didn't give in, his family would keep hounding her to take their two pounds of flesh. Even if she wouldn't surrender the stateside estates and human resources of Smith Group Corporate Law, they would still claim a sizable chunk.But if that failed too, they would just have to destroy Matilda's reputation along with Smith Group Corporate Law.Either way, they were not letting her off easy!And reading that much from Jimmy's behavior, Matilda snapped co
Jimmy didn't expect Matilda to break down the share ownership of Smith Group Corporate Law to such detail, and he hollered as he was starting to feel embarrassed, "Now, you're just being irresponsible, Matilda. My father gave my brother a million to start the law firm in the first place, and they had agreed that the family would have a stake, albeit only at 49%, to not deny your decision-making as a startup. Or are you denying it?"Matilda immediately became furious and snapped, "Bullshit! That was just a loan of one million, and the agreed term was three years. However, your brother returned it in one! I even asked him to return the money with every single one of his siblings watching, since you might all get skeptical, yet suddenly, you're calling it an investment?""You said he's returned it? Well, what proof do you have?" Jimmy quickly shot back. "Our entire family can testify that the money hasn't come back to us!""So, this is how you're going to play it?" Matilda smirked. "Th
In the first place, Jimmy had come to Oskia to claim a stake in Smith Group Corporate Law, ideally strong-arming Paul and Matilda into splitting the firm in two, with Jimmy taking everything in the States while Paul kept what was left.The way Jimmy saw it, Paul and Matilda were going to be permanently residing in Oskia anyway. There was no way they could manage things over in another country properly, so it was basically returning the firm to the rightful owner.Naturally, Jimmy also knew that despite bearing the Smith family name, the success of Smith Group Corporate Law was all the work of Jimmy's brother and Matilda. Jimmy's father had helped to a certain extent, but that extent of financial support wouldn't amount to an investment at all. No judge in the world would support his claim to the law firm's shares.Therefore, when he learned that Matilda was remarrying, he thought he could seize the moment to cause a scene. Nothing could be better if she and Paul decided to sacrifice
Jimmy deliberately raised his voice as he said coolly, "Oh, but I didn't want to intervene. It's you and your mother who left the States in a split second, taking with you the law firm which bears the Smith family name. Don't you think such behavior is inappropriate?"Seeing the surprised reactions of the guests, Paul promptly retorted, "The law firm uses the Smith family name, but it is my parents' legacy! They worked blood and sweat to build it from the ground up, and as their only son, I have a veto when it comes to decisions. Or did we need your permission to move to Oskia?""Where's your conscience, Paul?" Jimmy pursed his lips. "Even if you don't know how Smith Group Corporate Law was founded, is that the case for you? It would have been a joke if it weren't for my father's connections!"Hell, it's no exaggeration that it was my father who fought to expand the law firm across America, and just using the family name means you're borrowing the family's influence. The family hono
The blonde man's voice drew everyone's attention in an instant.Despite his foreign appearance, he spoke Oskian fluently and walked with a haughty gait, almost as though he was above the rest.Paul's expression turned grim the instant he saw him, and he hurried over with Charlie.Still, before Paul could speak, Charlie stopped him, frowning at the man as he said, "Don't you think it's inappropriate to come slinging personal attacks at someone else's wedding?"The man clearly didn't know Charlie, and he wasn't worried, seeing that he was young.Snorting in disdain, he asked, "You must be from the groom's family, yes? Please tell him that he doesn't deserve my sister-in-law.""It's up to the happy couple to decide that," Charlie retorted quietly. "Deserving someone is no issue as long as they both love each other."The man pursed his lips and looked pointedly around him. "Just look at how simple this wedding is. Forget picking an unassuming city like Aurous Hill—is there a single
Pausing, Charlie then said, "I'll call Steve to drop by later too. I'm sure folks in Aurous Hill won't know him, but your potential troublemaker might.""I-Is that really fine?" Yolden blurted."What's not fine about it?" Charlie chuckled. "He has been treated like a tool ever since he came to Aurous Hill, and now that he has a chance to strut about, he wouldn't ask for more."Yolden appeared slightly relieved at that, and Charlie asked, "By the way, where's Paul, Matilda, and Autumn?""Getting their makeup done," Yolden replied. "Paul's my best man while Autumn's the maid of honor.""Good," Charlie nodded with a grin. "Don't worry—the wedding's going to be a success."As they spoke, Matilda stepped out of the dressing room in a stark-white wedding dress, flanked by Autumn and Paul.Seeing Charlie, Autumn nodded politely, "Good morning, Mr. Wade."As Charlie nodded in turn, Paul started, "G-Good morning… Mr. Wade…"Seeing that he was nervous and tentative, Charlie knew that he