Charlie said helplessly, “How can a couple not have any children together? We’re both normal people and we aren’t infertile anyway. If we don’t have a child, then we’ll become a joke to others. What if others think that you aren’t fertile? Do you really want them to look down on you?”Claire curled her lips before she said, “Then, if anyone asks me, then I will tell them that you’re the one who isn’t fertile then. Wouldn’t that be fine then?”After that, Claire said again, “Besides that, don’t you know that you’ve just been promoted to the second level? Do you know how many more levels you have to be upgraded to before you can be prepared to have children?”Charlie replied immediately, “I guess it must be the third level!”Claire hummed, “You can dream on!”After that, Claire picked up Charlie’s quilt from the floor before she threw it on top of him. After that, she said, “Each of us will be using our own quilts! You are not allowed to cross the boundary! As long as your hands, fe
Charlie’s heart was thumping violently after asking the question. He didn’t know what Claire’s reply would be.At this moment, he suddenly felt an object hit his face, and he felt the soft texture of the object in the next second. It was the little teddy bear that Claire usually hugged to sleep.Then, Claire’s whiny voice resonated into his ears, “Hey, you’re so greedy. Usually, when playing mobile games, the further you progress, the more difficult the missions are. How can it be so easy?”Charlie pouted and said, “Dear, games nowadays can progress very quickly and easily. You can upgrade to Level 80 with a single slash!”Claire cleared her throat and imitated the computerized voice of the online platform’s customer service, “I’m sorry, dear, this kind of upgrade is not available in our system. May I suggest that you consider trying other games?”Charlie said frantically, “Oh no no, I don’t want to try other games. May I know if there is a shortcut for me to upgrade to the next l
Claire said, “Please do not end the call yet. Please rate my service after the beep, press one for very satisfied, press two for satisfied, press three for not satisfied.”Charlie wailed, “One! Very satisfied!”Claire smiled gleefully and said, “Dear, thank you for your rating. This is the end of our conversation, see you again next time.”***That night, Charlie was tossing and turning, unable to sleep well.Although he had only been upgraded a level, this was the first time he had shared a bed with Claire since their wedding.Despite that, they were actually sleeping within the respective boundary. They used their own pillows and tugged in their own blankets.Of course, Charlie didn’t dare to cross the 38th parallel north between them. Otherwise, he would be extremely devastated if he was demoted one level in an instant!On the other hand, Claire couldn’t fall asleep too. She was very nervous and in jitters.Her heart was thumping so violently it almost jumped out of her rib
Charlie was burning in the wrath of fury at the moment.He did not expect that there would be traffickers bold enough to extend their vile hands at the orphans!When he thought of the possibility of the children being sold to a beggar syndicate that might even disable them, he wanted to disfigure these human traffickers into a million pieces.He said into the phone, “Stephanie, where are you now? Are you at the orphanage?”“Yes!” Stephanie answered frantically, “I just came back from the police station, Mrs. Lewis and the others are still there.”“Good,” Charlie said, “Wait for me in the orphanage, I’ll be there right away!”He ended the call and hurried out without even informing Claire about it.Coming down the stairs, Elaine, wearing shiny red pajamas, urged impatiently, “Charlie, go and make breakfast, I’m starving.”Charlie frowned indignantly and blurted, “Make your own breakfast if you’re so hungry.”Elaine gritted her teeth and cursed, “Oh! You think you’re so amazing
Jacob exclaimed restlessly, “Two years is too long! That shrew still doesn’t know that Matilda is back and I can’t hide it for long. What I was thinking is to divorce her first before she knows about Matilda.”Then, he sighed and said in a somewhat depressing tone, “You also heard what the shrew said yesterday. She threatened that she wouldn’t let me off the hook so easily if I have another woman. I’m afraid that she’ll go after Matilda if she learns about her! Matilda is so gentle, dignified, and has such a mild temperament, she won’t be able to withstand the shrew’s attack.”Charlie said, “Dad, I really want to help you with this, but I’m sorry, my hands are tied. You’ll have to figure this out yourself.”Frankly, Charlie wanted to just wipe Elaine clean off the grid. He already had this idea when that woman stole his card, but he couldn’t bear seeing Claire so upset. Otherwise, Elaine would not live another day in this world!If he didn’t release Elaine, Jacob would have the mos
Charlie took out his phone and called Albert.Albert was the king of Aurous Hill’s underworld, after all. He must have a lot more informers than anyone in the city.Albert’s respectful voice sounded as soon as the call was answered. “Master Wade, what can I do for you?”Charlie said in a stern voice, “Last night in Aurous Hill Welfare Institute, there were 10 two to three-year-old children kidnapped by traffickers. You have been the king of the underworld in the city for a long time, help me find out if anyone releases any information about buying children or inquiring about children.”Many cases could be solved not because of the efficiency of the investigators or the high-tech investigative tools they were equipped with, but because the criminals left key clues in their respective groups.For example, when someone is killed, the police would start their investigation by identifying the corpse and proceeding from there, but people in the underworld would know who the victim’s ene
Charlie nodded and said, “Good! When you get anything, let me know as soon as possible!”Albert uttered respectfully, “Okay, Master Wade!”Charlie ended the call. He calmed himself down before turning back to Mrs. Lewis and Stephanie, and said, “Mrs. Lewis, Steph, don’t worry, I’ve asked my friends to ask around. He’s quite capable and he has a lot of informers, I’m sure he’ll have some answers soon.”Mrs. Lewis blurted out, her eyes red with tears, “Charlie, thank you so much!”Charlie quickly said, “Mrs. Lewis, what are you talking about? I grew up in this orphanage and the children here are like my own brothers and sisters. Now that they’re missing, I’ll definitely do all I can to get them back!”Stephanie uttered, choking and sobbing, “Charlie, you donated so much money yesterday. On our way back, Mrs. Lewis said that they’ll install a set of CCTVs around the orphanage thanks to your donation, who knows…”Stephanie couldn’t finish her sentence before she started crying again.
Isaac knew that Charlie must be angry about something when he heard his tone. He said without hesitation, “Okay, Mr. Wade, I’ll get it done right now!”Then, Isaac quickly asked, “Oh yes, Mr. Wade, I’ll pick you up by helicopter right now. Do I go directly to Aurous Welfare Institute?”Charlie didn’t want anyone to know about his capabilities, so he asked, “Is there any place suitable for helicopter landing near the orphanage?”Isaac was silent for a while before saying, “Yes, there is a building nearby called Golden Line Tower with a helicopter landing pad on the roof. You can go there now, I’ll set off now and will be there soon!”“Okay!” Charlie said, “Hurry!”“I’m on it, Mr. Wade!”After ending the call, Charlie turned to the ladies and said, “Mrs. Lewis, Steph, my friend may have some clues. I need to go to meet him now. Please wait patiently for my news and don’t worry.”Stephanie quickly said, “Charlie, let me go with you, please!”Charlie said, “Steph, you’d better stay
Later, after Charlie told Jeremiah over the phone about the joint venture with the Ackers to establish Curtis Autos, the old man was awash with tears, especially after Charlie told him that it was Keith who suggested it. After all, Curtis was his favorite son whose death he could never really get over. Moreover, he once believed that only his family mourned Curtis while the Ackers never did, and he held a grudge over his son's passing. As such, he was surprised that Keith held such great respect toward his late son and didn't hesitate to say yes when Charlie invited him to Aurous Hill to sign an agreement with the Ackers.Still, Charlie wasn't in a hurry to arrange for a specific time, and he was going to let the Ackers sort out the human resources of Godot Autos over a few days. It still wouldn't be too late by then.Moreover, he was keen to allow the buzz to have time to grow so that the automotive industry would be astounded by the joint project between the Ackers and the Wade
Christian was the first to exclaim in approval, "Yes! Curtis Autos sounds wonderful! It has my vote!""Seconded!" Kaiden nodded, pumping the air with his right fist. "I've looked up to Curtis the most, and I absolutely agree with naming the company after him!"Jaxson was nodding too. "Me too!""Yes!" Lulu chirped.Yolden couldn't help agreeing as well. "Curtis Autos is definitely a good name!"Merlin raised his hand gingerly as well. "Quit it with your flattery already," Keith chuckled, and he turned toward Charlie solemnly. "In the end, Curtis is Charlie's father, and the final decision goes to him!"Charlie's eyes were welling up with tears—his parents had been gone for almost three decades, yet he had never thought of dedicating anything to their memory.As such, Keith's suggestion to use Curtis's name for the car company left him thrilled. After all, wouldn't his father's soul be honored if Curtis Autos rocked the country, maybe even the world?With that in mind, he nodd
Charlie also had to agree that this was an opportunity to formally reconcile the Wades and the Ackers.While he couldn't reveal himself just yet, the Wades and the Ackers had been in-laws for years. Even if they had had a dispute for the longest time, restoring good relations made sense now that the Ackers had come to Oskia, and it wouldn't arouse any suspicion.That was why Charlie agreed to it without hesitation, even making a mental note to invite his paternal grandfather, Jeremiah, to Aurous Hill.The old geezers could meet up and clear the air while deciding on the partnership.Yolden was prepared to resign as a professor as well so that he could help the Ackers and Charlie fully develop their automotive company.With a general direction planned, he asked everyone, "Since we're creating a new brand, has anyone come up with a name?"No one was feeling inspired at that moment, but that was when Lulu, who had been silent throughout, said, "Since Charlie and our family are worki
Neither Charlie nor the Ackers expected Yolden's insight to cover all corners.In fact, it felt like the man had a blueprint ready and was only waiting for the time to put it to use.That was why everyone was immensely approving of Yolden and wanted no other man for the job of CEO.Kaeden smiled, "Well, since everyone has agreed, let's put this to rest as soon as possible—this will be a joint investment between our family and the Wades, and Professor Hart will take the post of CEO. Let's all do our best to make this a good one!"Yolden also made up his mind, deciding that he didn't want to let slip a chance to realize his ambitions. "I'll resign from the university after my honeymoon trip. It probably shouldn't be long, and I can get involved in early preparations via teleconference."Charlie nodded. "Then, we can have Uncle Kaeden stay on schedule while I'll ask the Wades to send a representative over to sign a memorandum for the investment."Keith smiled and nodded. "You should
Charlie hadn't been born and raised in Aurous Hill, but he still started living here at the age of eight and was more attached to this place than Eastcliff.If he was going to take part in this automotive investment with the Ackers, he naturally found Aurous Hill the ideal location.Not only would it create a huge number of jobs for Aurous Hill, but it would also rake in much economic flow for the region.Yolden also nodded at his suggestion. "If the first plant is meant to cover the demand of the entire local market, there's no reason for a coastal plant. Aurous Hill stands at an intersection between the north and the south, so transportation is convenient. It's also killing two birds with one stone, as Mr. Wade is fond of the city."Charlie couldn't help but agree. "I won't lie—Aurous Hill has been good to me, and I hope to give back. Nothing's better than succeeding in that respect."Yolden spread his hands, "Heavy industries are certainly ideal to contribute to Aurous Hill's e
Yolden had actually been researching new energy for a while—in fact, it was when Tesla's first car models were produced.He was passionate about the subject and had his own opinions as well as ambitions, but he was busy teaching, so he couldn't realize any of it.But was this not a golden opportunity tailor-made for him?Seeing that Yolden was clearly interested, Charlie turned toward Kaeden, "Actually, the professor is getting married soon. There's no way we'd split up newlyweds so soon after the wedding, right? So, is it possible to set up base in Aurous Hill instead?""Not a problem!" Kaeden replied without hesitation. "Our family is planning to return to Oskia anyway, and everyone knows about Ashley and Curtis. So, why don't we invest in this enterprise alongside the Wades and have the base set up in Aurous Hill? And then bring Godot under as a subsidiary?"Turning to Yolden, he continued, "By the way, Godot's plant is already in the province—barely 100 miles from Aurous Hill,
Pausing, Yolden continued, "Moreover, the greatest advantage of AI is that it is self-conscious and has the processing power to analyze astronomical proportions of data. As car sales grow, every car owner's driving data will add precious new data to our data vault, and it will be processed by AI for even greater space of imagination."For example, kst's say I experienced a bumpiness along a certain road, and when the sensors pick up on that anomaly, the data will be uploaded to the servers along with images of the road condition in real time. The processing AI module would determine in no time at all that there was damage and label said location on the map, and then forward the data to other vehicles close to that location, sending notifications when they are close enough and providing the appropriate advice for countermeasures."Naturally, the AI can even be refined further so that it immediately warns us to slow down while uploading the data to the servers and informing any cars cl
Yolden's mind short-circuited at those words. "The most advanced AI module?!"He had been working on Wall Street for years, having invested in substantial startup tech companies as well as assisting plenty of Nasdaq tech enterprises with their IPO. That was why he especially had a sharp six sense for cutting-edge technology.It had been a while since he had gotten up the saddle, and AI had just become the trend recently, but he still paid close attention. He was well aware what applications were possible for AI modules, but he was shocked that Charlie already possessed what all the online giants were coveting!Thrilled, he quickly asked Charlie, "Can the Rothschilds resolve all the hardware and software issues? High-processing power display cards are a dime a dozen these days, and local enterprises are all planning to sell them one by one. The demand is just that high!"Charlie chuckled. "Don't worry—the Rothschilds will handle both issues for me, even the data centers. We bought i
Keith, who had been silent throughout, waved him off as he said solemnly, "Please don't sell yourself short, Professor Hart. I'm sure you can do well in this position, but it's still a matter of will."If your heart is truly set on educating future generations, then I'm sure you'd reject our offer no matter what we say."However, if you felt the slightest interest, even anticipation, for such a major project, then you really should consider our offer."We've already invested in Godot Autos for 3 billion USD and over 10 billion if we're counting in Ricebolt. But we still have 30 billion more in capital available—and that means it's 40 billion USD at play."I doubt any other global car maker can afford that much, let alone a new car maker. So, I dare say that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"Keith's words spoke to Yolden's very soul—a startup capital of forty billion US dollars was certainly unprecedented for electric-powered vehicles. Even Ricebolt had barely garnered ove