“The veterans weren’t pleased that the martial arts students were eager to snatch jobs from them, so they taught the students a humbling lesson.” After the Chapmans’ butler reported back with the police’s response, Belarus smashed his expensive teapot in anger. Generally, matters involving the military were pretty sensitive, and the local authorities were reluctant to get involved. The martial arts students took a beating for nothing. The three family heads could do nothing about the matter. “Is Jesse a clairvoyant? How did he know that we would send a martial arts school to him? He was able to defuse whatever we threw at him.” They were frustrated. “Maybe we should send a drone to take a photo of Jesse. We can see who he really is.” Belarus hissed through clenched teeth. He ordered eyes on Shangrila Group’s event through a drone. The trio fixated on the screen. However, it went black when the drone was about to fly into the office building. Why did the screen go bl
The renaming ceremony was a success. News that Shangrila Group waged war with the top three families spread. The Novoelite Alliance formed by Perfect World Group, the local government, and Lefteria Group had challenged the authority of the top three families too. The public realized in shock that the top three families did not rank high in the popularity contest. Things were about to change in Lilyrose. Upon learning the news, the top three families kept a low profile for once. The three family heads had long seen it coming. They felt the pressure, but pinning their hopes on Albert as Lilyrose’s chief commander was their only recourse.The two hundred martial arts students and their principal, Dwight, were removed from the entrance of Shangrila Group by the police. They were not there to arrest Dwight and the others. However, their presence in front of a place of business was a disturbance. “Come on, darling. Let’s go. It’s a pity we didn’t get to see Jesse in person
“Think about it, Darcy. If Kaze were Jesse, why would he allow Gino’s party to throw cake in his face the other night?” Miru looked at Kaze in disdain. She would rather die than believe that Kaze and Jesse were the same person. Jesse was an aggressive and cut-throat man. He took back a company from the top three families and made Dwight a ceremony in a kneeling position, humiliating them. Miru felt a kick of adrenaline coursing through her veins. She was more than impressed with the man. What about Kaze? He could not even fight back when Gino and his friends smeared cake across his face. When Miru watched the video, she was furious for Darcy because she married a wimp. Jesse and Kaze were complete opposites. “You’re a snob like Gino, Miru.” Kaze pulled a sour look. “But you should know that the senior executives who attended the birthday party have been terminated. I made the call for their termination.” He would not allow Miru to put him down in front of Darcy. It wo
Shangrila Group brought the top three families down to their knees today. Zenny relished in the fact that he was the husband of Winnie, the CEO, and his ego got to his head. Without giving Zenny any attention, Darcy stared coldly at the malicious-looking Lyla. “Kaze is my husband. You deserved it for coming out of nowhere and calling him a loser. He can’t hit a woman, but I’m his wife, and I can.” Darcy walked away. “Babe…” Touched, Kaze went up to hold her hand. “Don’t touch me. Don’t lie to me again, Kaze. I have never looked down on you. I don’t need you to please me this way.” Darcy said angrily before leaving tearfully with Miru. Kaze called Winnie over to prove that he was not lying. Darcy wanted to see for herself whether it was true. However, Lyla’s words hurt her. Winnie had remarried, and even her mother-in-law gave Kaze an attitude. There was no way Kaze could be Jesse White. Darcy was still under the impression that Kaze was at Shangrila Group lookin
“What can I say? She hit you. I hit you at No. 9 Springvile District the other day too,” Kaze said without a care. “Ah! I’m going to kill you!” Lyla was livid. Zenny said angrily, “You’re one to talk, Kaze. Don’t tell me that you believe in your own bullshit. We went to the top three families after leaving Springvile District, and the family heads said that you were a loser.” That was the reason why Zenny and Lyla got cocky with Kaze. Smack! Kaze slapped Zenny in the face. “My wife told you to stop calling me a loser. Don’t you understand English?” “Son, tell Winnie to call security on him. You’re dead meat, Kaze. The security team of Shangrila Group was once in the military. The students of Tensor Martial Arts School were no match for them. I’m going to show you who is boss.” Lyla cried out loud and urged his son to give Winnie a call. “Save the phone call. She’s here,” Kaze said indifferently while glancing at Winnie coming up from behind them. “What’s the matter,
Quartet Group was supposed to be based in Sunrise. With Darcy taking over the company, she wanted to rent an office building and expand into new markets. Renting an office building should not pose an issue, so what could have gone wrong? Kaze wanted to check it out. He gave Snow a call to look into the situation while walking out. Clover Center was a newly built office building in the city, so the space was vacant. After careful deliberation with the senior executives, Darcy decided to rent the entire building, including the basement parking to run Quartet Group’s operation. Quartet Group and the realty for Clover Center had come to a verbal agreement in a matter of two days. The annual rent was 20 million dollars with an upfront payment of a two-million-dollar deposit.The representative of Quartet Group would sign the tenancy in the morning as Darcy was away, attending Shangrila Group’s renaming ceremony with Miru. Darcy assumed it was a straightforward transaction
“What are you trying to say, Ms. Quint?” Dave narrowed his eyes. “Our legal teams drafted the contract, and now you’re saying you’re not signing it. You’re wasting my time.” He sounded malice. His demeanor screamed gangster instead of a company director. Thud. Darcy threw the contract on the table and said curtly, “I’m not wasting your time. You were not serious with the deal. We agreed on 20 million dollars on a year’s lease, but the amount here has changed to 200 million dollars.” 200 million dollars? The rental went up tenfold. Another 200 million dollars and Darcy could buy the title deed to Clover Center outright. Riley and the others behind Darcy were startled. With haste, Riley stepped forward and grabbed the document for a look. Sure enough, the rental price was 200 million dollars. “You’ve gone too far to change your mind at the last minute, Mr. Pamela.” Riley hurled the papers down on the table furiously. She was near tears. It was a good thing she was n
Arrogance. It was pure arrogance. Darcy never imagined that Dave would tear the stamped receipt right before everybody’s eyes. “Do you think you can destroy the evidence by ripping the receipt in half, Mr. Pamela?” Darcy heaved her chest and pursed her lips. Click! Dave took out a brass lighter and set the receipt on fire while saying, “Don’t be mad, Ms. Quint. I can tell the stamp is fake on the receipt. I’m afraid someone has impersonated one of my employees and scammed you out of two million dollars.“You should demand your money back from the person. My company is not involved in this.” All that was left of the receipt was ashes. Dave would not even return the deposit to them. His message was loud and clear. Darcy could bite her tongue and sign the unfair contract or get nothing at all. “We’ll see about this, Mr. Pamela. See you in court.” Darcy turned around to leave. Riley and the others stormed off. “See you in court then. I’m not the one needing an offi
Jiro pointed at the corner, indicating that the men could kneel there. His men behind him laughed in agreement. They then started to scrutinize the women as if they were picking one for themselves. The way they browsed through the women as if they were products left the women feeling sick and disgusted. Cyan’s face paled. She tried to shake off Jiro’s hand but could not even break free. She turned to Draig with eyes begging for help. “Let go of her!” Draig stepped up and stared down at Jiro. Jiro glanced at Draig and then raised his brows. He curled his lips up and said, “Hmph. And here I thought I found someone that I like.” “I said, let go of her!” Draig said, stepping closer to Jiro. Jiro tightened his clutch over Cyan’s jaw, making her tear up. He chuckled and said, “Beat me and I’ll let her go.” “You bastard!” Draig cursed. Cyan did everything she could to set him up with Snow, but he had to return the favor. Even though Draig feared Jiro, he steeled himsel
Everyone on the couch gasped in shock. A moment ago, the influencers, who were giggling and chuckling, waiting for Wesley to show off his strength, instinctively shrank in fear. “How dare you beat Wesley! You guys are asking for it!” Wesley’s followers failed to realize the severity of the situation. They bolted up, grabbed the nearest beer bottles, and jumped at the enemies. Jiro raised his hand to signal his men, indicating he would handle this challenge himself. Then, he stepped forward. Punches and kicks were dished out in a flurry. In less than thirty seconds, Wesley’s men were all beaten up to the ground, twirling around in painful groans. Like Wesley, they, too, suffered broken arms and legs. Everyone thought Wesley would be able to teach the Ryokanians another lesson they could not forget but it turned out the other way around. Other than Kaze and a few more, most of them on the couch were horrified. Cyan instinctively glanced at Kaze. She started to regret
Kaze frowned. He tapped on Snow’s shoulder, gesturing to her to sit down as they could no longer walk away. Since they were not part of this, Kaze wanted to leave the matter to Wesley and let them deal with it. The men were not towering but all of them were buff and bulky. Their muscles were obvious even through their uniforms. Their necks had the same tattoo of a sword, amplifying their ferocity. One of the men's heads was bleeding. He was the Ryokanian whom Wesley had hit with a bottle of beer. Wesley wiped the beer and snacks off himself and then shouted at the men, “Who the fuck are you pieces of shit? Do you know who the hell am I? How dare you hit my friend with the bottle?!” The leader of the Ryokanians was a young man in a black karate uniform. He was around 180 cm tall, which was considered tall among Ryokanians. He had a buzz cut that amplified his stern and stoic expression; his presence felt sharp and strong. He had a glass of whiskey in his hand as he loo
Kaze turned a blind eye to those who looked down on him. He smiled it off and said, “I don’t care whatever you guys want to say. I know if I am a coward or not. I am just giving you a friendly reminder. “Or else, when shit hits the fan, I don’t think everyone can be safe. Whether you want to take my advice or not, it’s up to you. As for Cyan…” He looked at Cyan with a serious look and continued, “If you don’t want this gathering to be ruined, you can consider what I just said.” Although he knew Cyan disliked him and would never take his words seriously, for the sake of Lock, he gave a piece of advice and did what he could. “Hmph!” Cyan scoffed. She remained seated with the glass of wine in her hand, looking at Kaze condescendingly. With a disappointed look, she said, “Don’t even talk to me. Since when were we that close? Wesley said what needed to be said. You are afraid of the Ryokanians, so be it. Don’t drag us down with you. You really think everyone is as cowardly as yo
No one knew what Wesley had gone through. Even Kaze felt that the useless coward was surprisingly brave. Therefore, he spoke up to give a piece of friendly advice, “Wesley, the Ryokanian wore the uniform of the Refined Blade and there’s an apprentice badge on him. I think he has some background. “If everyone wants to have a fun and peaceful night, you should consider changing the venue, or else trouble will come knocking.” Kaze thrashed Bronze Sparrow himself, so he knew the Ryokanians’ status in the establishment. When Zoro was still in charge of the place, the Ryokanians were basically the kings. Other than teasing the ladies, they could bring back whoever they were fond of and Bronze Sparrow could not do anything about it. After Miru took over, the Ryokanians no longer possessed the privilege. However, since Miru wanted to expand her business in Riverbank, she did not make enemies with the Ryokanians, so they were still welcome in the establishment. As long as they
Kaze’s words changed the expression of everyone around him. The influencers were left speechless. Kaze practically called them gold diggers! Yet he himself was a live-in husband and son-in-law! He had no right to call them gold diggers! Draig’s expression darkened. He did not expect Kaze to lecture him in front of the women. More importantly, Kaze sounded right and reasonable, leaving him with no words to argue back. No women at the scene would argue against Kaze’s words, or else they would practically admit that they were gold diggers. What was more unacceptable were the words that came from Kaze’s mouth, someone Draig looked down upon. If they were from someone with a similar status, he would still accept it. Yet Kaze was just a live-in useless piece of trash that all men despised! He was not even worthy to be a slave, let alone lecturing Draig in public! Draig felt insulted. “That’s enough, Kaze!” Right before Draig could lash out at Kaze, Cyan stepped up a
Yet Kaze simply sat down without having any knowledge of his status and position. More importantly, everyone else realized something was wrong. Cyan and the others stared at him coldly, silently wishing he would be self-aware enough to move away. Kaze, however, sat like a rock and ignored the gazes on him. He even picked up a piece of melon and started eating. Draig’s expression darkened. Wesley noticed the change of expression on Draig’s face and he, too, was agitated. Even he dared not have ill thoughts about Snow, a woman with exquisite beauty, yet Kaze, a live-in husband, showed no boundaries. “Slam!” Wesley slammed the table and bolted up. He pointed at Kaze and bellowed coldly, “Kaze Lee, Draig allowed you to stay but can’t you read the room? “This isn’t a place for you! You are just a bodyguard! Don’t you know Draig is into Snow? They are the main highlights for tonight! A piece of useless pie like you should get the hell away! Get it?!” The influencers who wer
Kaze wondered if his generous cash handouts had backfired on Cyan. Maybe he should take back his donations and retract the sources allocated to her by Golden Scale Corporation. Everybody took their seats. An awkward moment followed. Somehow or rather, there were no seats left when it was Kaze’s turn to sit down. “Ha. Mr. Lee of Golden Scale Corporation.” Wesley looked at Kaze with a smirk and said sarcastically, “I’m sorry. I might have forgotten that you were attending when I reserved the booths.“But you’re just a sales manager. You are not qualified to sit with us.“Look around. They are all senior members of Golden Scale Corporation. They are your boss’ boss’ boss. “You might want to find somewhere else to sit.“If you’re short of money, just put it on my tab. “It’s my treat tonight! “Consider it a celebration of my release. I’m disappointed that you reported me to the police, though.” Wesley gestured gracefully for Kaze to leave. Draig let out an amused gr
Cyan frowned. “You’ve not been out for long, Wesley. It’s better not to start anything, especially with Ryokanians.” Wesley was no longer on par with her anyway, so there was nothing romantic going on between them. Nevertheless, Cyan would consider being friends with Wesley. Upon learning that she wanted to have a party at Bronze Sparrow, Wesley volunteered to reserve her seats. “Tsk. Ryokanians don’t mean squat. My cousin, Buffy, is now the chairwoman of Gwake Corporation. She asked for my release, and I was let out with no questions asked. One Ryokanian doesn’t scare me.” Wesley pouted in disdain. He saw Kaze behind the crowd and grimaced. “Get out of the way!” Wesley yelled at the people in front and made a beeline toward Kaze. He said curly, “Oh, if it isn’t the moocher? I didn’t expect to see you here.“Tell me. Who did you have to suck up to get in? “I doubt you can get into this exclusive place on your own. “I hate to say this, Cyan. “But why did you bring