The nosy guys cheered delightfully and hopped into the car, but since they only had two cars there, the rest had to take a taxi to Hyatt Hotel.Charlie got into the BMW 760. Claire sat in the front passenger seat while Mrs. Lewis, Stephanie, and Harvey sat in the back.Charlie said after starting the car, “Guys, sit tight. Later when I reach the straight road ahead, I can win the race with just a step on the accelerator.” Then, he looked at Mrs. Lewis and said, “Mrs. Lewis, please hold on to the handrails. Once I accelerate, I will win a Mercedes-Benz for the orphanage! You can sell it for three hundred thousand dollars, then use the money to buy toys and books for the children!”Mrs. Lewis nodded with a gentle smile. “I thank you on behalf of our children!”Meanwhile, five people were inside Max’s car, all of whom were his lackeys.Max drove and stopped beside Charlie’s car, wound down the window, and said with a smirk, “Hey, buddy, whenever you’re ready, man! I’ll give you a t
If he really went back on his words, he would be a laughingstock forever!However, he didn’t want to give away his brand new car to the orphanage!For an instant, he even thought that he would simply drive away, skip the dinner, and never interact with his orphanage friends again in the future!Something struck his mind again and he had a change of plans. He shifted to the right lane swiftly and tailgated the car in front of him!Max had the perfect plan laid out in his mind, and that was to stage a car accident! That way, the race would be forfeited due to unexpected circumstances, so he would not lose!Thus, he eyed the cars on the road, searching for a scapegoat.At this moment, the guy in the front passenger seat yelped in horror, “Max! Max! You’re going to hit the car! You’re going to hit it!”Max smirked and thought, ‘Yeah, I want to hit it!’However, as he got closer and closer, he realized that it was a black Porsche Cayenne. He stepped on the brakes immediately!A Por
Although the Porsche was a luxury car brand, an ordinary Cayenne was just over a million.German’s Volkwagen was considered a common car brand too, however, the Phaeton was a very rare and expensive model.The top-spec Phaeton was worth more than two million dollars which were equivalent to the top-spec Audi A8, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, and BMW 7-Series.Earlier, Max was so taken aback by the Porsche Cayenne’s logo that he had instinctively tried to crash into a cheaper car. When he saw the Phaeton, he only recognized the Volkswagen logo and the car looked like a cheap Passat, so he ran into it swiftly.Never did he expect that it had turned out to be the underrated Phaeton…When he thought of the car’s price tag—2 freaking million dollars!—he was so depressed that he wished he could die right there and then.The parts-to-whole price ratio was an important element in a car that would reflect the auto maintenance cost in ordinary use. In other words, if the parts of a car were taken
The Four Great Guardians were well-known figures in Aurous Hill, and Jayden was the most famous of them all.His nickname in the underworld was Chief Jay.Max never expected that he would run into Jayden’s Phaeton in order to avoid a Porsche Cayenne.He regretted his decision very much. If he knew that it would end up like this, he would have crashed his car into the Porsche!No! If he knew it would be like this, he wouldn’t agree to race with Charlie! It was a trap!Yes, that’s right!Charlie was to blame for all of this! The b*stard had tricked him! His BMW 520 must be a modified car since it was surprisingly powerful.If Charlie hadn’t set up the trap, he wouldn’t have made such a decision!Max hated Charlie very much as he thought of it.Jayden snorted at Max’s pale and shaky face, and growled, “Hey, show me your driver’s license and ID!”Max nodded profusely, went into the car to retrieve all the cards, and handed them to Jayden respectfully. Jayden glanced at the cards
Max shivered in fright and horror. His mind was in a big mess, he didn’t know what to do.Jayden shrugged him off indifferently. He went back to his Phaeton to take his personal belongings and then tossed the car key to Max.“I have a spare key for this car, I’ll give it to you when you hand me the new car. Don’t worry, although I’m a mobster, I never blackmail anyone. I’ll take what’s mine, I won’t take anything that is not. We in the underworld have a principle—honesty!”“However, if you don’t fulfill my demand, I’ll track you down!”Then, he raised his hand to hail a cab, got in, and left like a gust of wind.Max’s friends watched the scene in awe and bewilderment.Jayden was truly the boss in the underworld, acting very decisively and with a no-nonsense attitude. He had simply tossed his 2 million dollar car here and left. He was so awesome.On the other hand, Max was crouching on the floor, wailing and crying.Where could he get the money to buy a new Phaeton? Even if he s
“Alright.” Stephanie nodded indifferently. She called one of the friends who was sitting in Max’s car.“Hey, Max said that you had an accident, right? How are you guys? Is everyone okay? Mrs. Lewis is very worried!”The man cleared his throat and stuttered awkwardly, “Um… Max ran into a Phae…”Before he could finish, Max snatched the phone off the man’s hand and blurted, “Stephanie, I’m fine, we crashed into a Passat. I’m negotiating with the driver now to resolve the problem. Don’t worry, we’re almost done here, I’ll be there soon.”Stephanie said flatly, “Okay then, we’ll wait for you at the hotel entrance. We’ve been here for a long time.”Max quickly said, “Ah, I’m so sorry for the delay. Please tell Charlie that I’m sorry for not being able to complete the race, we’ll race again in a few days!”Stephanie mumbled a reluctant ‘Okay’ and ended the call.The man who had received Stephanie’s call asked, “Max, are you still going to the reunion after what happened?”“Of course!”
Max glared at Charlie indignantly and said, “Do you think I’m afraid of you? If it wasn’t for the accident, I would have won!”Stephanie said with an irritated pout, “Yeah, keep up with your bluff! Just now, Charlie simply stepped on the accelerator, and you were nowhere to be seen! In my opinion, you would definitely lose if that accident didn’t occur.”“Huh! Are you kidding me?” Max huffed, trying to make an excuse, “Charlie was able to overtake me in the first place because I forgot to switch the function into sports mode.”Then, he quickly changed the subject, “Ah! You don’t understand cars, this conversation is meaningless. Hurry, let’s go in. I’ve made a reservation.”Charlie shrugged nonchalantly and entered the Hyatt Hotel with the crowd.The Hyatt Hotel was a comprehensive hotel integrating dining, entertainment, and leisure, but due to its remote location, its popularity and scale paled in comparison to Shangri-La and Glorious Club.Max led the group into the hotel. A w
Charlie and Claire sat down on Mrs. Lewis’s right-hand side at her request. The others took their seats one by one.As soon as everyone sat down, Mrs. Lewis glanced at all of them and donned a gentle smile. “Kids, I’m so happy and thankful that you still remember me for all these years and even visit me!”Everyone on the table quickly said, “Mrs. Lewis, what are you talking about? It’s what we should do.”Mrs. Lewis asked, “How have you all been all these years?”They answered with a smile, “Thanks for your concern, we are doing quite well.”After leaving the orphanage for many years, everyone led their own lives in the direction they could head, but in general, they were just ordinary people. Regardless of the ideology and ambitions in the past, all of it diminished by the cruel reality. They eventually returned to ordinary life.Everyone had changed a lot. As they talked about their lives, they sounded casual and relaxed, but the listeners fell silent. Apparently, not all of th
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