Charlie had never expected Aurora to own a speedboat here.Seeing that she was eager, he smiled and said, “Great, let’s check it out together. But how about your driving skill? I won’t be thrown into the lake, won’t I?”Aurora blushed and said shyly, “You won’t, Master Wade. You can rest assured that I have a very steady skill on that! Even if you fall into the lake, I’ll save you too.”Quinton who stood aside said hurriedly, “Sis, take me, I’d like to go along too…”Quinton was not Aurora’s biological brother, but instead, both were cousins sharing the same grandmother. Therefore, Quinton did not live in this villa, but occasionally visited as a guest.As such, when he heard about Aurora’s intention to go for a boat ride, he couldn’t help but feel enthusiastic.Aurora stared at him and said coquettishly, “Why are you tagging along? Why are you going everywhere we go too?”Quinton pouted aggrievedly and he was about to say something when Graham, who was on the side, said to him,
Aurora smiled before she said, “Master Wade, please trust my skills!”Charlie nodded before he stepped on the speedboat and sat down next to Aurora.At this time, Aurora pressed the start button. The four side-by-side V8 marine engines roared loudly. The low idling sound was even more powerful compared to the feeling of a supercar.Aurora drove the speedboat slowly out of the dock. After that, she smiled mischievously at Charlie before she said, “Master Wade, please sit tight!”After she was done speaking, she suddenly increased the accelerator to its maximum power!The entire speedboat burst forward with great power as it rushed forward.Although Charlie had been prepared for this, he was still shocked by the huge power of this speedboat.The lake was very wide. So, driving this speedboat was not like driving on land where you would have to pay attention to the conditions of the road at all times.On the lake, it was still alright to close your eyes for a moment before you ope
At this time, at Aurous International Hotel, Ito Nanako brought her assistant and a few maids that she had brought from home with her as she returned to her hotel room after leaving the stadium.The Ito family had booked the only two presidential suites available at Aurous International Hotel a long time in advance because Nanako would be coming to Aurous Hill this time.Amongst those two presidential suites, Nanako would be staying in one of the presidential suites by herself. Meanwhile, her coach, assistant, and subordinates would be staying in the other presidential suite. The Ito family had also sent someone to Aurous Hill as early as half a month ago just to transform one of the bedrooms in the presidential suite that Nanako would be staying in into her own exclusive training room.It was said that the renovation fee alone had cost millions of dollars. If the price of the long-term rental of these two presidential suites were included in the cost, then the Ito family would ha
Hiroshi replied embarrassedly, “Miss, the chairman really attaches great importance to the collaboration with Kobayashi Pharma. So, please do not be so stubborn and wilful…”Nanako replied lightly, “I’m sorry, Tanaka-san. I want to continue training now.”After that, Nanako hung up the phone directly.Nanako was twenty-two years old this year and she was a senior at the University of Tokyo, which was the top university in Japan. She was a very simple and innocent person, and her gentle and quiet temperament and personality also brought about a bit of inherent coldness and indifference.She was the most beautiful girl for four continuous years in the University of Tokyo. Besides that, many top families in Japan were also competing for Nanako to become their daughter-in-law as she was the best and most preferred candidate. However, Nanako was actually just a simple and innocent girl who loved combat and fighting.She did not understand the relationship between men and women, and she
As soon as Hiroshi heard this, he hurriedly blurted out, “Chairman, you can rest assured that I would never reveal anything you say to me to anyone.”Yahiko replied in satisfaction, “Kobayashi Pharma is currently producing a type of stomach powder that has excellent efficacy and the sales of this medication is very good. Moreover, it’s actively expanding in the global market. Nowadays, people would usually encounter some form of stomach upset. Therefore, the market for this kind of medication is very wide. As soon as this drug is launched globally, then the annual profits will definitely reach at least tens of billions of dollars.”Hiroshi exclaimed, “There’s such a big market just for stomach medicine?”Yahiko replied, “This is just my preliminary estimation. I’ve already asked the pharmaceutical laboratory in the University of Tokyo to analyze and compare Kobayashi Pharma’s stomach powder with the stomach medicine produced by several other companies on the market. In the final con
“That’s great!” Yahiko replied approvingly. “It’s as expected of the daughter of the Ito family. You aren’t arrogant or impetuous and you did not forget your original goal!”Although Nanako was speaking to her father over the phone, she subconsciously bowed slightly towards the east as she said respectfully, “Thank you for your praise, Eminent Father! I will continue to work hard!”Yahiko hummed before he said, “By the way, Nanako, did the chairman of Kobayashi Pharma, Kobayashi Jiro, go over there and ask to see you?”“Yes, Eminent Father!”Yahiko replied, “You are not young anymore. You should not continue staying away from the opposite sex all the time. I have made contact with this young man, Jiro, before. He is only two years older than you and he is a very promising young man. It isn’t a bad idea for you to have more contact with him in the future.”Nanako hurriedly replied, “Eminent Father, I do not have any thoughts about the affairs and relationship between men and women
When Yahiko heard Nanako’s promise, his voice softened slightly as he asked, “Nanako, have you eaten your lunch yet?”Nanako replied truthfully, “Eminent Father, I continued training after returning from the stadium so I have not eaten lunch yet.”Yahiko hummed as he said, “That’s good. Since it is also noon now, I think you should just ask Jiro to stay and have lunch with you then. That way, you would have already done your best to serve and entertain him on behalf of your father.”“Ask him to stay for lunch?”Nanako could not help but feel a little reluctant.She had always had a relatively cold personality. When her family was teaching her feminine etiquette, she had always been asked to maintain a sufficient distance from men outside. In addition, Nanako had been obsessed with combat and fighting for many years. Therefore, she did not have much contact with men at all.Aside from her own family members, Nanako had never dined privately with any young men although she was alre
After that, Jiro sighed again with deep annoyance as he said regretfully, “I’ve just arrived at Aurous Hill this morning. I came here directly immediately after completing the immigration procedures. I did not make it in time to go to the stadium to watch your match today, Miss Ito. I heard that you defeated your opponent in just one round today. I feel really regretful that I was not able to watch the match!”Nanako replied, “Mr. Kobayashi, you’re too kind.”“From now on, I’ll definitely be there to cheer for you in every single one of your matches, Miss Ito!”“To be honest, my Kobayashi Pharma sponsored this combat and fighting championship. When the time comes, I will be presenting the trophies to the winners of the championship. I can’t wait and I am already looking forward to the finals, where I will be presenting the champion’s trophy to you, Miss Ito!”Nanako replied humbly, “Mr. Kobayashi, before the competition is over, no one knows for certain who will win the championshi
Reservations in Heaven Springs had always been unpredictable, and most rooms weren't open to the general public—even if said rooms were vacant for the night.It was not as if Albert Rhodes didn't want to make money when he built Heaven Springs. He simply didn't do it solely for profit, but only mostly for social events and posturing.Back when he was a humbler member of society, he realized that many bigwigs and even his fellows cared for pride a lot. Be it food, liquor, or even simply everyday consumption, they always strove for the best and the most expensive.That was why polite society valued their privacy and established their respective social circles, which was why Heaven Springs ensured that everything was first-rate: atmosphere, service, food, and clientele.Just like how bigwigs wouldn't dine at the same table as their goons, said goons wouldn't eat at the fancy places those bigwigs frequented even if they had money, as it may appear as if they were overstepping.That wa
As such, intent on keeping up his pretense, Jacob answered the phone, "Looking for me, Matilda?""Uh-huh," Matilda replied, and asked, "You didn't show up at Senior University, and your sub is saying you probably won't be coming for a while? Is that true?""Oh—right, that," Jacob quickly said. "Well, it's true—the gist of it is that the Association is getting busy with a project. As the vice president, I probably shouldn't be staying at Senior University all the time, right?""Heck, Mr. Bay called me last minute, telling me how busy we're going to be and that I was needed. That's why I had to go back, but I will head over to campus again when I have the time."Matilda knew right then that those were all excuses.However, she did not expose Jacob, instead asking, "Well, when are you free? So that I can send you my wedding invitation?""Oh, the invitation?" Jacob quickly chuckled. "You really didn't have to come to me—just pass it to Walker, my sub lecturer. He can pass it to me wh
The next afternoon, there was a sudden change of lecturers for the calligraphy class.Despite being the vice president of the Calligraphy and Painting Association, Jacob never showed up, instead getting a substitute instructor to replace him.Matilda had come with the invitation Yolden had written for Jacob, but seeing that Jacob wasn't at the lecture hall, she waited until the class was over to ask the sub, "Excuse me, can I ask why Mr. Wilson wasn't teaching this class?""He's busy at the association," the sub replied. "So, I'm taking over his class."Curious, Matilda pressed, "Then, would you happen to know when he will be coming?""Probably not for a while," the sub replied. "He delegated other classes to me as well, telling me that I could just stick to the PowerPoint slides."Then, he asked, "Do you have business with Mr. Wilson?"Matilda nodded. "Yes, but I can call him myself. Thank you."Leaving the lecture hall, Matilda called Jacob, who was goofing off in his office
On the other end, Matilda was left staring at Jacob's reply in confusion.She had presumed that Jacob would understand when she mentioned inviting his whole family that he should be coming up with an excuse to skip attending her wedding.That was the most ideal solution.As such, she was shocked that instead of playing along, Jacob's reply was short and blunt.[No problem. The four of us will be there!]Perplexed, Matilda was left wondering what Jacob meant. Was he really going to attend her wedding with Elaine?The thought left Matilda frowning as she absolutely didn't want to see Elaine—especially not at her own wedding.Yolden was writing an invitation when he saw the somber look on her face, and he couldn't help asking, "Is there a problem?""Jacob replied," Matilda admitted. "And he's saying that he will bring his whole family.""Really?" Yolden was confused too, as he was hardly as eccentric as Jacob. "But he's afraid of his wife and shouldn't be telling her at all…
Charlie was driving Jacob to Thompson First when the latter received the text from Matilda.Seeing that they were reaching the front gates, Jacob promptly snapped at Charlie, "Charlie, stop the car now!"Charlie did so and asked in curiosity, "What's wrong?""Matilda just texted me," Jacob replied, showing the chat log between him and Matilda.Charlie was just glancing at it nonchalantly when he saw that Matilda's contact name was 'AAA July Florist'."Wait, why is that Aunt Matilda's contact name?" He exclaimed in surprise."I changed it."Jacob explained gingerly while reading through the text Matilda sent. "Her profile picture is an iris, so I changed her contact name to a florist since I'm mostly worried Elaine would peek into my phone.""Anyway, she's asking if I'm attending her wedding with Yolden. They would send us an invitation if I accept, extended to our whole family… what do you think I should say?"Charlie asked in return. "You're planning to skip it, aren't you? T
Then, Matilda suggested, "How about this—I'll ask him before deciding." "I'll pass on inviting the rest of my former classmates too. They're too vain and love comparing, so I'd rather not have anything to do with that. Also, there are our Korean friends who have it together, and they were telling us to invite them if we were going to get married. We have to keep our promise, right?""Yeah—then, it's basically decided. Aside from Charlie, we shall invite our colleagues and Korean friends while we wait for an answer from Jacob."Yolden nodded and said, "Now, I'll talk about the honeymoon—cut me short if you have a different opinion."Matilda nodded, resting her chin on her hands and smiling. "Shoot. I'm all ears."Feeling a little embarrassed by Matilda's glowing stare, Yolden took a sip of his ice water before continuing, "My idea is to head to the States for our honeymoon after the wedding…"He trailed off, staring at Matilda and waiting for a response.However, she was merely
"Oh, Jacob…?"Matilda chuckled awkwardly. "Just today, he offered to buy me dinner, but I said I didn't have the time, and I also told him about our wedding… So, we should invite him since he's aware of it.""Jacob offered to buy you dinner?" Yolden exclaimed in surprise. "Did he say why?""Nope," Matilda shrugged, smiling. "Probably just dinner between old classmates."However, she was actually smart enough to guess Jacob's intention even though Jacob was inviting her somewhere near campus. That was why she had also mentioned she was marrying Yolden while turning down Jacob, all so that he would give up on her.After she had managed to get over their past fling completely, she didn't want to give Jacob false hopes before she walked down the aisle.In the same regard, she didn't want to worry Yolden, and therefore, had deliberately discouraged Jacob.Be that as it may, Yolden was smart too.He knew about Matilda and Jacob's past and that her son, Paul's full name was Paul Jam
Before Charlie had arrived, Jacob was still furious that Matilda would soon marry Yolden.After Charlie came, however, he was instead worried that Matilda would send him a wedding invitation.Meanwhile, Matilda and Yolden were discussing their list of guests.They had different social circles, but most of their friends were Stateside, and they only had some distant relatives in this country.Still, they had colleagues in Aurous Hill. Matilda had classmates too, but she was out of touch with them aside from Jacob, whom she often met.Still, as they discussed who should be invited, Matilda first suggested, "Let's go through everyone. First, our Stateside friends… I don't think we should tell them at all since it's a long journey, and inviting them would seem tactless. What do you think?"Yolden nodded, smiling, "I was just thinking the same thing. We're close with our Stateside friends and always keep in touch, but inviting them to our wedding might be a stretch. We'd just hit a wa
With that being said, once Matilda was thrown in the mix, Elaine would suddenly become an African honey badger, with every bit of black air force energy that was implied.As such, if Jacob had managed to be brave and take that one step back then, Charlie would have tried to help, stopping Elaine from harassing Jacob or Matilda.However, the reality was that Jacob had to bungle the chance when Matilda offered it to him.That was why the best option was for Jacob to understand that he couldn't get together with Matilda now so that he would feel much better.And since he had always been a coward, Charlie's slight intimidation cleared his head considerably.He then sighed, "Well, that's just life—you don't always get what you want, and you should never try to claim what you couldn't. I couldn't bring myself to choose Matilda over thirty years ago, so not being together now only makes sense.""Now, I can only pray that Elaine never finds out… or at least that things don't get out of h