"Kind of. I just suddenly feel a lot of pressure." Julian took out a can of beer and went to sit on the balcony.The view here was nice, unlike the view from the living room. People wouldn't be passing through all the time, disrupting the atmosphere.Julian decided to test what Gabriel and Lilia said as he lowered his head. I looked at Julian, who seemed down. "What's wrong?" I asked, sitting next to him."I used to think that as long as I worked hard, I could solve most problems."Julian gazed at the distant stars. His cold voice carried a trace of loneliness. "But now that I look at it, the number of employees under me keeps growing. It's as if their lives are resting on my shoulders. I can't afford to make even the smallest mistake because who would pay them otherwise?"Julian raised the can of beer and took a sip.I was just an ordinary employee. Most of the time, it was enough for me to take care of myself. But when I heard him and put myself in his shoes, I could feel t
Willow lay in bed, with Lilia sitting beside her.Willow's eyes shimmered. "Grandpa, Grandma, are you still sad now?"Afraid she hadn't expressed herself clearly enough, she quickly added, "Mom's been gone for so many years...""We're still a bit sad. But it's getting better now that it has been so long," Lilia replied emotionally.Willow looked a little downcast. "I feel the same. Mom was so kind and gentle to me. I really loved her, so I could never understand why she left me."And her father as well. The two people she loved deeply left her suddenly.Just thinking about it made Willow so upset that tears welled up."It's okay, Willow. You have a new mom now," Gabriel said, not wanting Willow to cry.Though Willow still felt sad, her emotions started to improve after she heard Gabriel's words. "Yes, this mom also treats me really well."…In the morning, Willow woke up and found her grandparents gone.She panicked so much that she didn't even change her clothes as she slip
Willow lifted her chin. "It's a secret."Lilia and Gabriel immediately clapped. "You're amazing, Willow. You're able to keep a secret at such a young age."Willow smiled shyly.After exercising and taking a bath, the whole family sat at the dining table for breakfast.Now that Willow could talk to her grandparents, she couldn't wait to tell them everything as she talked non-stop. "Grandpa, Grandma, the chef we hired makes really delicious food. You can ask him to make anything, and he'll make it for you. Don't be shy!"Lilia still felt as if she was dreaming. Just yesterday, they had only suggested something to Willow, and she had already improved now."Alright," said Gabriel.Lilia suddenly thought of something and quickly said, "To celebrate you finally being able to chat with us, why don't we take you out to have some fun after school?""I think I can't," Willow uttered immediately. Lilia looked at Willow in confusion. "Why not?""I have to go home and train with my coa
In the office, I started working seriously.…Julian walked out of the office and went to a secluded corner, dialing Amber's number."Yes? What's the matter?" Amber asked."Didn't I tell you not to contact Aralyn unless there was a reason? Looks like you still haven't learned your lesson. Do I really have to cut off all of the family's living expenses?"Each word from Julian was colder than the last."I'm your mother! I'm not happy with Aralyn as my daughter-in-law. Can't I say something about it?" Amber asked sharply, sounding as if she were perfectly justified.But Julian wasn't buying it at all. "No, you can't."Amber was almost choked speechless by Julian's words, but she knew Julian meant what he said."You don't even have the right to cut off our living expenses. Don't forget that we're the ones who handed the company to you. You're enjoying the results of our hard work, and yet you don't want to support us? How do you think that's fair?"Julian sneered, "Mom, I guess y
Julian then noticed that, in addition to the commonly seen merchandise on the market, the applicants had also created some everyday products that hadn't been made into merchandise before. "Very professional," he commented, quite satisfied."Yes. Now that we've hired people for both the merchandise and comic departments, if all goes smoothly, we'll be able to produce the rest of the merchandise within the next couple of days. I think the comic's followers aren't growing fast enough."So, I'm suggesting the finance department allocate more funds to the promotions team. After all, early-stage promotion mainly relies on spending money," Mark voiced his opinions.Julian, who never lacked money, replied, "Approved."It was because of Aralyn that Mark learned just how many ways there were to make money in the comic industry.And the prospects looked so promising."There are very few applicants for the translation department, which handles international promotions, but I'll keep an eye
"Strictly speaking, she's not an employee of Hughes Group," Mark said in a friendly manner.Shayne frowned. Seeing that this approach wasn't working, he simply stated his reason for coming, "I want to see her."Mark smiled politely. "You can call her and ask if she's willing to meet you."Mr. Pearce, I'm just an employee. Please don't make things difficult for me."Shayne stared at Mark. "She blocked me.""Then I'm sorry. I can't help you," Mark uttered in a professional tone.Shayne tried to bypass Mark to go find Aralyn, but Mark stepped forward to block him.Just then, the office door opened.…I stood at the door, looking at Shayne.Shayne looked at me. "Aralyn.""Don't say my name as if we're close," I said coldly, staring at him in disdain. "We're nothing more than strangers."For once, Shayne's expression showed sadness.But I didn't feel the slightest bit of sympathy. Instead, I found him pretentious and turned my gaze away.Mark stepped up to me and whispered, "D
"If you had even a shred of sense and thought about everything you did to me, you couldn't possibly think I still have the slightest attachment to you."Shayne slammed the table and stood up. "Is this about me making you sleep with Rowan?"I leaned back on the couch and looked up at him. "Is that the only thing?"Shayne acted as if he couldn't hear me. "But I don't care about it anymore!""Heh." I realized I shouldn't have come to talk to him at all.Seeing me get up, Shayne hurriedly ran in front of me. "Aralyn…"I ignored him and walked straight past. Glancing back at his dejected figure, I calmly said, "I've always been thankful that I chose to leave you."…Back in the office, Julian, who had been focused on work, set his tasks aside and approached me. "Are you okay?"I nodded. "I'm fine. I just don't know what got into him. He suddenly said he regrets the divorce as if it would make any difference had he refused back then."I didn't bother to hide the disdain in my eyes.
Mark didn't even think before replying, "Well, the company has a rule—if you complete three days' work in one day, the remaining two days are vacation."I found it a bit hard to believe. "Does such a great company really exist?"Mark teased with a smile, "Well, you've seen one now. The average price for these peripheral products is ten dollars, and your royalty margin is still 15%. The company just decided to spend a large sum of money to boost traffic."If all goes as planned, the sales of these peripheral products should break records day by day. We're worried that when the demand surges, production might not keep up."So, we're planning to stock up in advance to avoid running out of inventory when the comic goes viral. You just sit back and wait for the royalty money to roll in."When I heard that, I couldn't help but anticipate it. "Thank you.""You're welcome."With that, he left, not daring to glance at Julian.Julian followed him. "Help me print out the bank transfer rec
It only made him realize that Luna was very clearly after his money."Very fulfilling," he replied perfunctorily.He was so busy every day that his mind was filled with work; he had no time to spare to think about Luna. He felt happy that way."Do you have money to spend now? Do you need me to give you some?" Luna asked with concern."I do. And no, thank you for your concern." Rowan didn't want to talk to her now, but for Julian's sake, he forced himself to endure it.Luna suddenly felt a bit wronged. The man who used to dote on her now didn't care about her at all."You've become so cold. You said you forgave me, but you actually still resent me, right? I apologized to you, though. And I truly want to reconcile with you."After sending it, she stared at the screen.Rowan looked at it, unsure how to reply. He hesitated for a moment, deciding to use work as an excuse. "I know, but I've been really busy lately.""Then when you're free, can we have a good talk?""Mm."Rowan tos
"Alright," Luna agreed."I don't want to take risks, and I think neither do you."Emilia sighed. "The publishing industry is tough these days."Luna just smiled. "With me here, you can rest assured.""Then I'll have our company's staff create a book cover for you first, and you can put it up to see how it goes.""Alright."…As Luna had solved a problem that had troubled her for a long time, her mood naturally improved. She was even looking forward to tomorrow.Once the other party sent her the finished cover, she put it on her homepage.After that, she hired people to help hype it up, hoping for good sales. Even if it didn't sell well, she had to at least surpass Aralyn.She could then show off in front of Shayne and Julian, proving that she was better than Aralyn. Then, she could make them admire her and willingly abandon Aralyn to live a good life with her.Her career was her top priority. Only when her comic was recognized could she gain the admiration of others.A smil
His voice was low and affectionate. In the quiet of the night, it sounded even more pleasant.I leaned into his embrace and asked softly, "Does this feel better?""Yes," he replied without hesitation.…The marketing department acted swiftly. As soon as they received Mark's instructions, they immediately began executing the plan.In less than an hour, news of Aralyn's comic book release and strong sales emerged out of nowhere, dominating multiple charts. Photos of Aralyn signing copies of the book also appeared online.Luna had just been feeling relieved that the sales of her merchandise had already far surpassed Aralyn's.Even though the products hadn't been manufactured yet, plenty of people had already purchased them.Most importantly, she didn't have to share the profits with anyone.That meant she was making more money than Aralyn.Luna had thought that aside from men, she had already surpassed Aralyn in every other way.But when she saw that Aralyn's comic had somehow
I stroked her hair. "I love you too."With all the preparations made, Willow burrowed into the covers.As always, I read her a story. She always had all sorts of strange and curious questions, and I answered them every time.…Julian sat in the study, thinking.Luna had been keeping a close eye on Aralyn lately, and he was worried that she might do something outrageous—either hurting Aralyn or making her feel troubled.Hence, his solution was to keep Luna busy.Luna was jealous whenever she saw Aralyn living well, she was trying to outshine Aralyn desperately.All he had to do was make sure she had no time to focus on anything else.Julian took out his phone and dialed Mark.Mark had already finished his work for the day and was idly passing the time, so he was a bit surprised to receive the call. "Mr. Hughes, do you need something?""Yes. Have the marketing department send out some press releases saying that Aralyn's comic has been published and is selling well," Julian ans
As I looked at her, I felt that my marriage with Shayne was probably quite similar to her previous job.Before the divorce—before I had met normal men—I also thought Shayne treated me well.I even kept thinking that since he was rich and handsome, he was already much better than most people.If I hadn't gotten divorced and met Julian, I probably would have never realized that my standards were too low, not that Shayne was a great partner.At this moment, Ximena also realized just how much she had missed out on. "After joining Julian's company, I finally realized that it wasn't supposed to be like this. Sure, making money is important, but so is life."We earn money to enjoy life, not to throw ourselves entirely into work and abandon life itself."Watching as emotions filled her face, I couldn't help but feel happy for her. "Exactly. If we ignore our children and don't get to be there as they grow up, no matter how much money we make, what's the point?"When you look back one day
"Could it be Avery who told him?" Alice asked hesitantly.Mark shrugged. "I'm not sure either.""Since you saw them, it's a possibility. I'll ask her about it tomorrow."Mark didn't stop her. "Alright.""You really live up to your reputation as the most gossipy man in the company. You catch every key piece of information," Alice remarked."It's not talent; it's just hard work," Mark responded, looking embarrassed.Alice burst into laughter. "You're too modest!"The topic ended, and as she sipped her juice, her eyes were filled with sarcasm.Mark noticed the shift in her emotions and immediately asked, "What are you thinking about?""I just think Joseph is utterly shameless! We're not even a couple, yet he has the nerve to ask me for money. And when I give him some, he complains that it's too little and wants more."So what if I make a lot of money? That doesn't mean I should give it to him. I don't owe him anything. It's ridiculous!"Mark was just as indignant. "Exactly! Eve
Before Alice spoke, she also looked around carefully. After confirming that no familiar faces were nearby, she whispered back, "I suspect there's a mole in our company.""A mole?" Mark asked, his expression full of wariness. "Why do you say that?"Alice analyzed the situation. "Look, I never told anyone which project team I'm in, right?"Mark nodded. "You do keep a low profile.""But somehow, Joseph knows I'm making a lot of money. He's been pestering me every day lately." Alice frowned."I've been very careful to avoid him, but somehow, he always manages to track me down precisely and then acts pitiful in front of me. He says he's starving and asks me for money to buy food."The more Alice thought about it, the more frustrated she became. "I'm a kind person, so of course, I wouldn't just stand by and watch someone starve to death in front of me.""Right," Mark agreed.Alice became even angrier as she spoke. "So, I took ten dollars from my wallet and gave it to him so he could
Furious and humiliated, Shayne slapped Zach hard across the face.Zach's face turned red. He covered his cheek, staring at Shayne in disbelief."When did you become so cold that you don't even want your mother anymore?" Shayne asked in shock.Zach glared at Shayne, his voice dripping with disdain and mockery. "You're not qualified to say that to me. I got tricked into doing something bad because I didn't know how cruel the world could be. But I'm willing to take responsibility for my choices. And you? You chose to abandon your wife and child, and now you regret it."Zach sneered in contempt, "Rather than showing up in front of Mom, saying you love her and regret everything—which makes her hate you more—she'd much rather you just stay away from her."His words were like poison. "Shayne, honestly, you're really selfish. When you were married, you never gave Mom the love she wanted. You ignored her every day. After the divorce, you're still constantly bothering her instead of givin
Julian stood in front of me and said, "Mr. Pearce, this is my girlfriend. Please show some respect."Shayne locked eyes with Julian. "But Mr. Hughes, don't you think you're being despicable? You pursued her when she was still vulnerable, having just gotten divorced from me. You took advantage of the situation. A gentleman wouldn't do that!"Julian chuckled. "As far as I remember, I never said I wanted to be a gentleman, did I?"Shayne was at a loss for words."You and I have different mindsets. You value being a gentleman, while I think winning the heart of the one I love is more important. Aralyn is exceptional. While you're concerned about appearances and hesitate to take action, someone already swept her off her feet."Rather than being a gentleman praised by everyone but losing the one I love, I'd rather be a scoundrel. At least the one I love is by my side when I feel lonely."Julian's tone grew even calmer. "Besides, you said so much just now because you regret divorcing Ar