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
Scott was one of Max’s lackeys who had been following him around for years.Charlie asked curiously, “Oh, does Scott work in the same company as you?”“Yes,” Max answered with a smile, “He is one of my assistants.”Then, he turned to Charlie and said, “Come and help me. I don’t need any working experience from you nor do I expect you to have any, you just need to do some errands for me. You know, make me coffee, clean my office, etc. You are the best at serving people. I’ll give you three thousand dollars a month. What do you think?”Make him coffee, clean his office, etc?Three thousand a month?Charlie answered with a smile, “Oh, your offer is so lucrative. I don’t deserve it, I’ll pass.”Max nodded triumphantly and said, “I don’t want to brag, but trust me, you’ll make a lot of money if you work for me. Just look at Scott. He would have starved to death if it weren’t for me.”There was a tinge of embarrassment on Scott’s face, but he dared not contradict Max.Max said with
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