“No!” Kaze was not happy with Agatha’s tone, so he declined instantly. Agatha was the one staying in his house but she acted like she was the owner. She always ordered him around as if he were a servant. “What is with that attitude?” Agatha widened her eyes and continued, “You are not even the CEO yet and you are talking to me like that? Look at you, what do you think you are capable of? Nothing! If not for Darcy’s BFF, making you a nominal CEO, you are still a driver at Shangrila Group.” Kaze was speechless. He declined her request and she came up with a ton of reasons to make fun of him. He looked at Agatha and forced a smile on his face. “Aunt Agatha, I am paid to be a driver at Shangrila but I am driving for free now. So, I get to say no.” He did not reveal his identity as chairman. Even if he did, the truth would not be able to overcome the prejudice in Agatha’s heart. Agatha was fuming. She pointed at Kaze and said, “You want money for driving your own famil
“An experienced driver with that much mileage?” Agatha was curious. She tried looking around but no one in the family matched the criteria. Then it must be a driver Kaze got externally. She got angry and said, “Kaze, you good-for-nothing trash! You can’t even afford to eat the other day and now you are wasting money to hire a driver?” She simply assumed Kaze was trying to save face by hiring a driver instead of driving Rose around. “I hired a driver? If you say so,” Kaze said with a smile. Agatha then went to Agnes and said, “Look at your son-in-law! He’s useless and a big spender!” She was annoyed and insisted that he drove today. “Kaze, don’t you dare hire another person to drive!” Agnes poked him in the arm. Kaze smiled and said, “I didn’t spend any money. It’s free.” “Free? Who are you kidding?” Agatha said. Then, she heard heavy breathing from the door and saw her husband running into the house. Surprised, she asked, “Nelson? What are you doing here? I
Nelson decided to put his grievance aside and bring the car around. Then, Darcy came back from work and saw Kaze and Rose with luggage, seemingly going out for a trip. “Where are you guys going?” “Rose had some friends organizing a camp or gathering at Mountain Dew.” Kaze did not find interest in accompanying some kids, so he invited his wife over. “Why don’t you join us, Darcy? We can continue where we left off the other day at Mountain Dew Estate.” Darcy saw Kaze’s wink and understood immediately. She instantly blushed. The last time she was at Mountain Dew Estate, she was drugged by Deborah and slept the entire night. She left in a hurry the next day due to work, so she did not get to enjoy the place with Kaze. “I’m not going.” Darcy looked at Kaze and said meaningfully, “I want to rest well at night. I have an important meeting tomorrow.” Kaze rubbed his nose and smiled awkwardly. The last time he was at Mountain Dew Estate, he made love to Darcy. Since it h
“Hi, Kaze.” Rose’s friends greeted him, with a casual attitude, somewhat perfunctory, and even sized him up curiously. Before Rose came to Lilyrose, her friends heard about her complaining about Kaze. Even though Rose had completely changed her mind about Kaze after spending some time with him, her friends remained prejudiced. They even looked down on Kaze. Mei said with a smile, “Kaze, you must be here to drive us around. Appreciate it.” “Yeah, we’ll pay you for the service,” Welt added. They knew Kaze married Darcy and he was never taken seriously. They also knew that his mother-in-law always scolded and beat him. There was once when they video-called Rose and they heard Agnes scolding Kaze in the back and threatening to throw him out of the house. Bronya spread the news in her circle and it sparked a heated discussion. Having no position in the family was terrible. Welt offered to pay Kaze for his service out of goodwill. He felt bad and pitied Kaze, and so did
Welt sounded courteous but the contempt underneath was obvious. He even asked Kaze to bring Nelson packs of cigarettes but did not offer Kaze anything. “Welt, what are you doing? You think you are at home? If you are thirsty, go get something to drink yourself.” Rose stepped in and defended Kaze. Welt came from a wealthy family and Rose simply thought he was acting like a spoiled young master. Welt’s expression turned gloomy. He had always liked Rose and he was the one who suggested the trip. However, Rose talked back to him because of Kaze, which further lowered his impression of Kaze. As the atmosphere grew tense, Bronya intervened, “Rose, come on. Welt is just trying to be nice and he blurted out without much thought. Don’t mind him.” “Yeah. We are all inside the car already except Kaze, so Welt is just asking out of convenience.” Bronya and Gepard defended Welt. Rose pursed her lips and stared at Welt quietly. “It’s okay. I can go get a pack of cigarettes and
“Alright, since Welt prepared everything, I don’t need to worry. You guys have fun and stay safe. I’ll be going then. “Kaze, you better keep them safe as well.” Nelson shot a warning gaze at Kaze before he drove off. He had decided to use every connection he had to inform the discipline department to stop answering Kaze’s requests. The sky had turned dark, so Welt said, “Let’s go check in first. We’ll put our luggage in the room before we have dinner.” When they entered the lobby, another group of youngsters came over. “Hey, isn’t that Rose? You guys are here as well?” They strutted in with a proud demeanor and their luggage was being carried by the bellboy. The leader of the group was the one who called out to Rose and he was staring at her eagerly. “Taz?” Rose’s expression shifted. She instinctively turned around to look for Kaze but she just remembered that he excused himself to the washroom. Taz was the son of Samson Hobbs. He was her senior when they studied
Welt sounded stern and he called Taz a fool in front of Rose. Taz was a proud person. The moment Welt stepped in, his smiley face was replaced by a gloomy look. “You little punk, who do you think you are talking to?” Slap! Taz slapped Welt on the face. Welt did not expect the sudden slap. The force of the slap sent him to the floor. “Welt!” “Taz! Why did you hit him?!” Rose and her friends were shocked and quickly went over to Welt. “Let go of me!” Welt was equally prideful. He pushed his friends away and shouted at Taz, “You hit me?!” “Talk shit, get hit.” Taz raised his hands and prepared to throw a punch. Welt was frightened and quickly moved away. “Haha! Stupid punk! Taz can hit anyone he wants. Stop bullshitting in front of us!” “Yeah! I think this punk likes Rose as well. The last one who tried to snatch Taz’s date was hospitalized with a broken leg.” The youngsters around Taz scoffed and sneered at Welt. Welt was embarrassed and angry at the sam
“Rose, if you are not having dinner with me tonight, then you and your friends won’t be checking in to Mountain Dew Estate!” Since Rose had openly rejected him, Taz revealed his true nature and threatened her. Rose and her friends were agitated. Taz was being a jerk. His fondness for Rose was merely his wishful thinking and now that Rose had rejected him, he tried to coerce her into submission. Rose shouted angrily, “Taz, you are a jerk! I won’t go to dinner with you!” Taz’s expression turned heavier. He grunted and said, “It’s dark now and Mountain Dew Estate is the only resort here. I’d like to see where you guys are going to spend the night.” “Why don’t you come to stay in our room?” Taz’s friends continued to tease her. “Yeah. Good idea, we can make a lot of love and maybe a baby or two.” “Rose is still a student. What if she has to bring her baby to class in the future?” They harassed her openly. Rose was flushed with anger. Her friends felt bad either but th
“Whoosh!” The swift swing of the dagger left a huge cut on Kaze’s shirt at the abdomen. The old man had switched his stance to kneeling on one knee. The pain in his eyes had been replaced by frosty murderous intent, with a hint of shock and resentment as if he did not expect Kaze to dodge the lethal blow. “Old man, you’re a wicked one.” Kaze was also shocked. He looked down at his collar T-shirt and the wide opening at his stomach. The chilling wind on his skin sent chills down his spine. A split second later he would be gutted on the spot. “Swoosh!” After missing the ambush, the old man jumped like a nimble fox for a follow-up attack. This time, he switched his target from Kaze to Darcy. The dagger in his hand glared coldly as it thrusted toward Kaze’s chest. He was shocked that Kaze was able to dodge his lethal blow. He also realized Kaze was a tough opponent, so he switched to an easier one—Darcy. He acted like a gambler who had lost everything. With nothing
“Huh?” Phoenix narrowed her eyes and shot a sharp gaze at Joan. “Thump!” Joan fell on her knees immediately, looking horrified. “I-Impossible! My family spent tens of millions to make this walking cane, how can it…” Her family members were also similarly horrified, all falling onto their knees after her and even prostrating on the ground. If they were charged with attempted murder on Phoenix’s life, she and her entire family would be uprooted completely. Phoenix’s expression darkened. With gritted teeth, she said, “Take all of them away and investigate what really happened!” Her men who followed her from Ridgesouth came up, dragging Joan and her family away despite them crying for help. Those who resisted were slapped and knocked out before being shoved into the car. “Kaze, how did you know about the walking cane?” Agnes asked, her voice trembling. She felt grateful for escaping what seemed to be a disaster. Kaze’s offensive behavior shocked her, but it was to expos
“Huh?! Y-You hit me?!” Joan screamed as she covered her face. “Madam Quint, do something about this monkey! He’s disrespecting you and slapped me in front of everyone!” “You wretched boy, on your knees!” Phoenix’s expression darkened, her eyes on Kaze resentful. “If your family failed to teach you manners, I’ll do it for them!” “Greedy, self-righteous, ignorant, use your age to pressure others…” Kaze was determined to teach Phoenix a lesson about shame and humility today, so there was no way he would show her any respect. “People like you don’t even know what you are doing even with age, what gives you the right to lecture me?” “Kaze, shut it! Are you trying to get yourself into more trouble?!” Agnes bellowed, almost passing out due to the anger. Kaze had offended Phoenix. “Me? Ignorant?!” Phoenix scoffed due to disbelief. Her eyes were burning with the flames of anger as she said, “You disrespectful little bastard, I will show you what ignorance is!” As the words
The Ridgesouth Quints may be a prominent family, but their influence did not extend as far as the South River State. If that were not the case, the Ridgesouth Quints would not have waited until now to appoint Darcy as a proxy to expand their influence in the South River State. Kent came from a wealthy family, and he was the mayor of Riverbank. He had no reason to curry favor with the Quints by giving them a villa. The Ridgesouth Quints should be the ones showering Kent with gifts to do business in Riverbank. “What? How dare you say that we are unworthy!”“If we are unworthy, what about you? You’re just a moocher.”“Insolence!” Joan and the others flipped out. “Bam.” Phoenix slammed her cane to the floor and said chillingly, “You said that the Quints are unworthy, boy. What about you? Why would the mayor give you a villa? “You better give a convincing answer. If you don’t, ha!” “It’s none of your business,” Kaze replied bluntly.Silence hung heavy in the air. E
“Gone too far?” Phoenix said furiously, “Do you want to get it too, boy?” “Shut up, Kaze!” Not wanting the situation to escalate, Agnes charged over and said ingratiatingly, “I’m sorry, Madam Quint. We didn’t do a good job raising Sky. He simply didn’t think straight in the heat of the moment.”“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry!” Darcy apologized as well. “I’ll wipe the blood off you, Madam Quint. We don’t want to get your hands dirty.” Joan pulled out a tissue and cleaned Phoenix’s hands fawningly while uttering sarcastically, “You have no idea, Madam Quint. Some people have the money. They just don’t want to spend it.“As far as I know, our little leader is living in a villa worth several hundred million dollars in Riverbank. The villa was a gift from Mayor Synder too.“They didn’t give a bracelet that was only worth half a million because they have no money. They simply do not care enough for you, Madam Quint. “They’re just trying to fob you off since you’re only an old
“We from Chrysant City have given Madam Quint a bullet-proof Lincoln stretch from Uleania. The Lincoln will be Madam Quint’s ride in Riverbank,” a middle-aged man with glasses said smugly.Kaze glanced at the Lincoln stretch not too far away, understanding the value of the car. “Madam Quint can’t be staying in the hotel throughout her trip. We, the branch in Takeno City, are a family in politics, so we lack funding. Still, we borrowed a villa from a major corporation to accommodate Madam Quint,” a representative of the Takeno Quints said with a chuckle. The Takeno Quints talked about borrowing. Their primary focus was on politics, so they could not be honest about their net worth. However, every branch of the Quints presented Phoenix with expensive gifts. Each gift was worth at least five million dollars. The five-hundred-thousand-dollar bracelet from Darcy’s family seemed modest in comparison. Sure enough, Phoenix grew upset and raised her free arm to slap the gift box
Even Darcy did not think Phoenix would deny her. It was true that Darcy was supposed to gather all family branches in Riverbank. She would have to discipline the unruly and unite the rest. Her goal was to consolidate the family’s power and resources under her control. It was a clear and comprehensive strategy. Darcy had not anticipated such a response from her first meeting with Phoenix. It was harsh. Phoenix completely dismissed her. Darcy, though accepting fault, felt hurt. Agnes felt like her world was crumbling down. If Darcy was stripped of her leadership role, the family would go back to when things were bad. Ever since Darcy became the family head in the South River State, Agnes was treated like royalty everywhere she went. She was addicted to the privileges. Agnes never wanted to go back to those days when people would look down on her.“Darcy, where’s the gift you got for Madam Quint? Hurry up and apologize to her.” Agnes grabbed Darcy hastily. A
“You should know that Madam Quint loves flowers, and you came empty-handed. No flowers, no gifts.” “You talk about respect for Madam Quint. It’s all talk. What have you done for her?” “You are hicks from a small place like Lilyrose. Where are your manners? You’re lucky to become the head of the South River Quints, but you will always lack refinement.” “I’m starting to worry about this leader taking us to new heights. I guess we can consider ourselves lucky if she doesn’t bring us down.” “Yeah! She was late and came empty-handed. This tells us all we need to know about this family.” Taking Joan’s lead, the other family members lay into Darcy’s family thick and hard. “That’s enough!” Before Kaze said anything, Sky had a go at these people. “You tried to set my sister up, and now you’re putting the blame on us!“Only you had information of Madam Quint’s flight. You only let us know half an hour before the plane touched down. “Why didn’t we come earlier to wait in the airp
Kaze narrowed his eyes at the woman and drew close. “You’re a member of the South River Quints. Should you stand by your leader instead of stirring the pot and causing the scene? “Does family even mean anything to you? “Are you defying the family? “Who are you to disrespect Madam Quint and the family?” The woman staggered back with each question, her face draining of color.“I… You…” Flustered, she glared at Kaze. Still, she was at a loss in the face of Kaze’s questioning. “I assure you, Madam Quint. My daughter, Joan, doesn’t mean any disrespect.” A grizzled-haired middle-aged man with glasses came forward with an ashen face. “She was just trying to defend your honor, Madam Quint. She’s upset because someone disrespected you and arrived late.” This person was manipulative. While sticking up for his daughter, he also took the opportunity to belittle Darcy. “Doesn’t mean any disrespect?” Kaze snapped back, “Madam Quint hasn’t said a thing, but a nobody came out