Mandy sneered. She wanted Kaze to lose hope and dwell in despair. Mandy’s yelling startled the staff at the mayor’s office. Caleb rushed over upon receiving the word and grimaced at Mandy’s sarcastic remarks. He was about to say something when Kaze turned to him and asked with a fake smile, “This woman said she has met with the mayor and hit it off? Why didn’t I know about it?” “Um…” Caleb scowled at Mandy, who looked embarrassed, and said, “She left her business card, talking about South River University’s intention to build a campus in Lilyrose New City.” “Setting up a campus is a good thing.” Kaze nodded. Lilyrose needed the influx of good schools, and it was something worth considering. Mandy felt awkward to be exposed, but she quickly mocked, “Know your place, Lee. “It’s true that South River University would be good for the city’s economy, but this has nothing to do with you. “I hope you’re not thinking about getting a piece of the pie. I doubt Shangrila G
What? Hand over her task? Mandy froze with a scowl. She did not understand where Connor was coming from. He was casting her aside. “What’s going on, Mr. Lewis? Everything was fine. Why am I handing over my task?” Mandy panicked. Connor replied indifferently, “Setting up a campus in Lilyrose is important. You worked as a reporter at Sunrise News, so you don’t have the experience to carry out the task. “I’ve decided to let someone else take over. That’s all I have to say.” Connor then hung up, leaving Mandy’s blood running cold. That was not what Connor said when he sent her to Lilyrose. He said she had the charm to deal with men. Connor believed only Mandy could convince the mayor to give the green light to build the campus. Yet, Connor denied all that. “Why? How did that happen?” Mandy stood there in a daze. “Maybe because I donated 100 million dollars to South River University,” Kaze said with a fake smile. “You?” Mandy cocked her head back in disbeli
“Sure, Mr. Lee. Your participation will guarantee results,” Caleb said excitedly. There were too many eyes on Lilyrose New City. Even the four top families in Geranium City came early to set up shop.The neighboring powerful and rich families were tempted to dip their fingers. Behind these good schools lurked multiple, different entities. Caleb was afraid he could not hold the ground on his own. Even Mandy, a head of admission for South River University, turned her nose up at him. It would be a different story if Kaze were involved, though. As time had proven, anybody starting up issues would pay dearly. With Kaze in charge, no one would dare to mess around in Lilyrose. Soon, Caleb had several meetings with his team at the mayor’s office and determined a plan before making a public announcement. Lilyrose New City welcomed good schools from in and outside the state. The establishment of campuses in Lilyrose would be met with incentive policies. The well-established sc
“Just be straight with me. “I’ll help you if it means getting Kaze permanently out of the picture,” Cosmo said indifferently, brushing off Mandy’s flirting. Cosmo had been involved with too many women that he was immune to Mandy’s coyness. Cutting to the chase, Mandy said, “Kaze knows I have dirt on him, so he donated 100 million dollars to South River University to fire me. “You must help me, Mr. Cosmo. I want to make sure his wife’s cousin doesn’t get enrolled in South River University. “It’s not a big deal, but it will cause problems in the home. Heck, his wife might even divorce him.” Mandy’s voice was tainted with bitterness. Her mind was filled with nothing but getting even with Kaze. “You have a point.” Cosmo said, “You know what? Frederick Yale, a teaching faculty member at South River University is one of my people. I’ll get him to give you your job back at South River University. “Lilyrose is appealing to good schools to set up campuses there right now. My
“Oh, you’re more important to the school than the 100-million-dollar donation. “Even a billion-dollar donation doesn’t matter more than you,” Connor said uprightly while playing the whole thing off with a laugh. It did not occur to him that Mandy would seek help from the Sunrise Lees. Hence, he swallowed his pride and took the humiliation. After the call from Frederick, Connor agreed to let Mandy remain at South River University right away. The 100 million dollars was already in his bank account, and Connor had no intentions of returning the money. He had learned whatever he needed to know about Kaze. The Sunrise Lees disowned him, he took his wife’s last name, and earned a few quick bucks by chance. Connor saw no repercussions in defying him. With Connor saying good things on the other end, Mandy kept a smirk on her face. Connor no longer meant anything to her anymore. However, Mandy had no plans to cut ties with him just yet. Mandy said with a smile, “Alright. I’ll
Rose threw herself into Darcy’s arms and wailed. South River University had always been her dream school. To obtain the guaranteed admission spot at the School of Arts, Rose put in a lot of hard work. Now, she lost the right for admission. She lost it. Failed?The sudden change threw everybody off. “That’s impossible. How could you fail? I’m sure there’s some sort of mistake,” Agatha cried with an ashen look while scrolling through the name list displayed. Rose was on the list with several others, and all of them passed the observation review except for Rose. “Oh, my God. Rose is an amazing candidate. Why did they fail her?” Feeling faint, Agatha cocked her head and yelled angrily, “Are you sure everything went well, Kaze? What’s with this?” Kaze frowned and said, “South River University must have made a mistake.” Mandy was fired, so it made no sense something would go wrong. With the family getting on Kaze’s case, Darcy said, “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
“Admittedly, this individual isn’t the immediate family of the candidate, but they lived together under one roof. “We had to consider whether the living situation would have a bad influence on her well-being. “Hence, after careful consideration, we decided that the candidate isn’t a right fit for South River University.” Mandy spoke eloquently in the video. Standing in front of the screen, Darcy and the others had a bad feeling. Rose was the only one who did not pass the observation test, so Mandy was talking about Rose. Mandy said, “I’ll put on the interview tape with the family member, and you can be the judge.” Everybody held their breaths and stared intently at the screen. “Please introduce yourself.” “I am Kaze Lee, a family member of Rose Oceanid.” The camera angle cut to Kaze. “I heard that the Sunrise Lees disowned you because you committed an offense. That was when you married into the Quint family and took their last name.”“That’s right.” “Did you b
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Darcy uttered in contemplation, “Didn’t you notice Kaze admitting to all the slander Mandy made on the video? Do you think he’s that foolish?“The video was edited, right, Kaze?” Darcy refused to believe that her husband would be so foolish to admit something he did not do just for the heck of it. Kaze nodded with relief. “That’s right.” “Is there bad blood between you and Mandy?” Darcy asked. She had been curious. Kaze answered, “She made a biased article about Lil Dee, and when the public turned against him, she was fired. She hates me for it, but I didn’t even know her before the observation meeting.” For real? If that were the case, Mandy would be acting unreasonably. The family realized that they were simply unlucky. Agatha said in tears, “Even if this has nothing to do with Kaze, what are we going to do about this? Does Rose have to miss out on university?” Nelson said with a scowl, “She posted the video on the university’s
“Mr. Tenby, I thought you were speaking out for your friend, but you were just looking for an excuse to ask me out.“Try your luck with another girl. Here is not the place for you to pick up chicks.” The crowd gave Draig strange looks. Draig turned red. He glared at Buffy, tempted to lash out. Fuck. He got played. Buffy hit on him, and he simply responded. She turned things around and made it sound like he was picking her up. Unbothered by Draig’s rage, Buffy smiled charmingly. “Besides, a nice gentleman has invited me for dinner.” The crowd made guesses about who would be having dinner with Buffy. Buffy sauntered toward Kaze and sat next to him. As the crowd watched on in disbelief, Buffy hooked her arm around Kaze’s. Um… It was an eye-bulging moment. Nothing more needed to be said. It was unbelievable. Instead of steering clear, Buffy showed her fondness toward Kaze, a dumped divorcée. Buffy would make herself a laughingstock. Besides, Kaze did no
“Should I defend you instead?” Buffy pointed at Cyan. “I heard you mocking Kaze. You better watch it. “Otherwise, you can kiss your career online goodbye. I don’t care whether you’re with Golden Scale Corporation.” Cyan turned pale. She would not doubt Buffy’s words. Buffy’s father was the former deputy chief. Jude still held influence within the organization. She had access to wealth and resources through control over Gwake Corporation. It would not take much for Buffy to get Cyan canceled. All Buffy needed to do was bribe her way to the higher management of Golden Scale Corporation.Cyan held her tongue. Unable to stand Buffy’s arrogance, Draig stepped forward in disgruntlement. “You must be Ms. Gwake. Even if Cyan was a little harsh about Kaze, she was only looking out for Kaze. You are taking things far by assaulting Cyan.“Cyan is my friend. Shouldn’t you answer to me? “Oh, I should introduce myself.” Draig looked at Buffy and said indifferently, “I am Draig
“I’m telling you, Kaze. We won’t stand by and watch you prey on these socialites,” Cyan uttered indignantly as if she stood on the path of justice. Kaze sighed. “I really want to slap you awake if not for your dad, Cyan. “Draig, you’re something else to dig your own grave in your father’s name.” “Tsk!” “Who do you think you are?” Draig and Cyan turned their noses up at Kaze’s remark. Cyan clamored, “Come on. Show me what you got.“You’re a joke. I exposed you for who you are, and you, in turn, want to slap me? “I’d love to see you try—” A woman stormed into the place and raised her hand. “Smack!” The slap echoed through the silent room, and the crowd stirred. “Buffy?” “She’s the only daughter of Jude, the former deputy chief of the Viper’s Den South River State Branch. She’s the chairwoman of Gwake Corporation.” “She’s the one rumored to be dating Lee.” Chatters filled the room. The crowd looked at Buffy in shock. Buffy showed up out of nowhere and slappe
Kaze was definitely the only one to show up to Bronze Sparrow on a bicycle. It took guts to do so. Kaze grabbed his carbonated drink from the table and took a sip before turning to Draig. He said indifferently, “I didn’t know there was a rule that a divorcee can’t attend today’s celebration. “Is there a rule that guests can’t attend the party on a bike? “Who makes the rules?” Faced with Kaze’s questioning, Draig and the others were lost for words. The guests exchanged looks. There were no such rules. However, Kaze should know his place. Kaze was asking for a beatdown by crashing a high-profile party when he was just a nobody. Draig nodded furiously. “You never learn, Kaze.”“He’s hopeless now. He’s hit rock bottom, so he’ll stay put no matter what we say.” Cyan gritted her teeth. It was frustrating to deal with someone like Kaze. No one was getting through to him. Without looking at the pair, Kaze said blankly, “Are you done? You can leave if you’re done.”
Since the branch leader would show up, Cyan did not want the branch leader to know that she was associated with Kaze. It would only be damaging to her reputation. While the group sought Kaze out, the latter sat alone in a living room corner, snacking and scrolling on his phone. Kaze was too hungry to care about what anyone else thought of him. His cheeks were full. The rich and powerful furrowed their brows in disdain, keeping their distance from Kaze. For some reason, Cyan saw red. “Kaze!” She angrily yelled and got up in his face, “Why are you eating like you’ve been starving for days? “Why are you stealing food here? “Do you know where you are? You’re an embarrassment!” Cyan’s voice attracted a lot of attention. The crowd gathered and gossiped among themselves about Kaze. Kaze was just chilling on his own, eating, and playing a mobile game. Cyan and her friends came at him out of the blue. He was beyond annoyed. If Cyan was not Lock’s daughter, he would’ve sl
“Mr. Ettinger!” the Viper’s Den members greeted Collier with their heads down. Collier buttoned up his suit and nodded. “Ms. Delmore is still in the office. I came ahead of her to see if there’s anything more to do.” Since Kaze would be attending the celebration, Hannah and Collier wanted to make sure everything was in order. Cyan beamed at the sight of Collier and exclaimed, “Mr. Ettinger!” Recognizing Cyan, Collier greeted her with a smile, “It’s you, Ms. Yemen. Welcome. Why aren’t you heading inside? Are you waiting for someone?” Cyan was delighted by Collier’s warm welcome. She pointed at the head of the Viper’s Den members in charge of gatekeeping. “I want to get in but your people said we can’t enter without an invite. “I guess the other guests who went in didn’t need an invite.” That was the reason why Cyan and Draig seethed in a corner. They realized that no one produced an invitation to get into Bronze Sparrow. In other words, the Viper’s Den members were jus
As the air crackled with deadly intent, Draig’s heart pounded with dread. He was horrified that the Viper’s Den members were just as strong, if not stronger than him. Draig had no idea that these members were Viper’s Den South River State Branch’s key players. They were the elites of the elites in the South River State. “Easy there, gentlemen. Mr. Tenby is from abroad. He doesn’t know the rules of Arcadia. Please cut him some slack.” With Draig caught in a spot, Cyan came to the rescue. Since Cyan was nice about it, the leader of the pack scoffed and waved his arm. His companions quickly put away their weapons. “I don’t care where you came from, but you need to keep to the Arcadian rules since you’re here. You don’t get special favors here.” The leader stared at Draig and said icily, “This should not happen again. Now, get lost!” Draig burned with rage. The people, except for Kaze, had been bending over backward for Draig since his arrival in Arcadia. To think he
The Viper’s Den members yelled at Draig while pulling out their weapons. The air was thick with tension. Draig knew that it was not wise of him to fight during Hannah’s celebration. The Viper’s Den members would not stand by and let the commotion stew. Draig was caught between a rock and a hard place. By throwing the punch, he would be at odds with the Viper’s Den, but he could not turn the other cheek on the matter. “Just forget it, Mr. Tenby. Don’t get into it with a dropped loser. You’re only insulting yourself.” Cyan gave Draig an out. Draig retrieved his arm and scoffed. “Consider yourself lucky, Kaze.” A shadow of regret fleeted across Kaze’s eyes. If Draig were to start a fight, Kaze would have reason to finish him off and get rid of the annoyance. It was a shame that the Viper’s Den members stopped anything from happening. Cyan criticized, “Mr. Tenby is only looking out for you, Kaze. Yet, you stomped on his car key. You went too far. Hurry up and apologiz
“Nevermind. Why are we wasting our time with the likes of him? We don’t belong in the same world anyway.” Draig waved his arm. “Come on. Let’s get inside.” Dumping his car on the side of the road, Draig led Cyan and her friends into Bronze Sparrow. “Huh? How did Kaze get in? Can he get in?” one influencer exclaimed. The crowd watched in shock as Kaze stepped through the door. “Branch Leader!” The members of the Viper’s Den South River State Branch perked up when Kaze showed up. They, Hannah’s trusted aides, knew who Kaze was. Kaze acknowledged the greeting. “Is everybody here?” The head of the pack said in respect, “Many guests have arrived. Ms. Delmore and Mr. Ettinger will be here once they are done with work. Should I inform them to keep you company, sir?” “No, I’ll sit and wait.” Kaze waved his arm and made his way inside. “Hold it right there, Kaze!” Cyan’s angry voice came from behind. “Are you aware of the event at Bronze Sparrow? Do you know who the