“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
Nanako did not expect to hear that Jiro’s brother had actually died in Aurous Hill. She felt a little embarrassed and thus, hurriedly said, “Sorry, Mr. Kobayashi. I had accidentally mentioned and reminded you of your painful memory.”Jiro hurriedly waved his hand before he said seriously, “It doesn’t matter. Although this is a very depressing matter, Miss Ito, you are not an outsider to me after all. I can also relieve some of my sadness and grievances by telling you about it too…”In fact, Jiro was not sad at all when he thought about his brother, Ichiro. On the contrary, he was actually very happy.The idea of the eldest son inheriting the family business had always been deeply ingrained in the mind of the Japanese.No matter how big or powerful a family was, the eldest son would always inherit the family business eventually. Even if the eldest son’s ability was not as good as the second son or the other sons’, he would still end up as the head of the family and his more capable
Jiro did not give up. Instead, he continued asking, “Then, why don’t you give it some thoughts now? What kind of man would be able to meet your criteria and standards?”Nanako thought carefully before she said, “First of all, the main criterion is that he would have to be better than me!”“Better than you? In what sense? In his career? Education? Or his achievements?”Nanako replied seriously, “He would have to be better and stronger than me in terms of his combat and fighting skills! I do not want to find a man who would not be able to defeat me in the future.”Jiro coughed awkwardly as he thought to himself, ‘Although Nanako looks like a quiet person, she’s actually a rather competitive person.’It would be fine if she enjoyed combat and fighting and wanted to pursue combat and fighting on her own. However, why would she have to look for a man who is stronger and more capable compared to her when it came to love?After all, he was a physically weak person who lacked strength. W
Aurora smiled shyly before she said obediently, “I got it, Dad. I’ll accompany Master Wade and drink a little with him then.”Charlie smiled slightly before he said, “Aurora, I will have to help you absorb the power of the magical pills after dinner. So, it isn’t very good for you to be drinking now. If you really want to drink with me, then you can just wait to drink with me after you win the championship.” Aurora bit her lower lip and she was felt very unconfident as she said, “Master Wade, to be honest, if I were to compete against Ito Nanako, I am not even 20% confident that I will be able to win…after all, Ito Nanako is really very strong and powerful. She has no rivals at all among those who are of the same age as her.”Charlie smiled before he asked, “Is Ito Nanako really that amazing?”Aurora said, “Ito Nanako had started practicing combat and fighting since she was five years old. Moreover, she had always been training under the top combat and fighting master from Japan.
Charlie nodded as he said, “Okay, you can take the medicine now and I’ll guide you to absorb the medicine quickly!”The magical pill itself was a very good medicine for the treatment of any physical or internal injuries. As it was shrouded in some Reiki, the effect of this medication had been qualitatively sublimated.Middle-aged and elderly people would have a lot of physical conditions in their bodies, and their organs would also have reached a certain degree of regression. Therefore, as soon as they took the magical pill, the effect of the medicine would act directly on these patients to repair their bodies and there was no need to guide them at all.However, since a young person’s body was still strong and since her organs would generally still be at their peak, the powerful magical effects of the pills would not be absorbed into her body if she were to just take the medicine blindly. If a human’s body were to be compared to a sponge, the body of a middle-aged or elderly perso
As Charlie was guiding the absorption of the medicine in Aurora’s body, Charlie deliberately placed some Reiki in Aurora’s body. This was so the Reiki could silently supplement Aurora’s body like the spring rain.The effect of the Reiki was even more powerful than the effect of the magical pill that he had previously concocted himself. It would not only greatly improve Aurora’s physical fitness, but it would also greatly strengthen her muscles, meridians, bones, and her internal organs.Although Aurora had been practicing combat and fighting for many years, she was still an ordinary person after all. For an ordinary person, the power of Reiki was even more powerful than a panacea.Aurora’s physical strength was beyond comparison now.When Charlie told Aurora that everything was done, Aurora let out a long sigh. After that, she hurriedly stood up before she walked over to the sandbag to perform several sets of punching movements.However, since Aurora did now know how much Charlie
Jacob zipped toward Raymond, his attitude immediately subservient, "I'm sure you've seen what Zachary Evans posted on his Twitter page, and to be honest, it's so terrible that my position in the Calligraphy and Painting Association has been affected too. I mean, you've made a lot of money, right?"Hell, even if you donated ten million, you'd still have another ten million and 970 thousand in net profits. So, all I'd like to ask is for you to post something to disclaim Zachary's post.Jacob's words left Raymond in thought.For Jacob, just being suspected of fraud would definitely be terrible. In fact, his position in the Calligraphy and Painting Association would definitely be threatened—if not dismissed altogether—if he wasn't cleared of suspicion.Since Jacob was Charlie Wade's father-in-law, Raymond had reason not to drive Jacob over the brink.But that also begged another question—it must be under Charlie's intention for Zachary to post his confession, and that meant Charlie in
Raymond couldn't help chuckling just as Jacob finished—he had honestly never heard of anyone who demanded a refund after donating to charity, but he was certainly seeing one now.Still, the receptionist was clearly experienced and slowly explained, "Sir, it's a legal clause of the country that all donations for philanthropy purposes can not be refunded under most circumstances—""It truly was a mistake," Jacob quickly said, cutting the receptionist off. "I was going to donate thirty thousand but pressed an extra zero by mistake. Please discuss this with your management—you just have to refund 27 thousand, see?""Sorry, sir," the receptionist apologized. "But it's a strict rule that we ourselves do not get to access the funds that have been donated into our accounts. Every donation will be screened extensively, and if you consider that there was a major oversight on your part, you may seek legal counsel to appeal for a refund. If the courts back your appeal, our organization will the
Nonetheless, Jacob darted into Treasure Measure and plucked off his mask, asking nervously, "Excuse me, Mr. Cole? It's me… Jacob Wilson…"Raymond looked up, pausing for a moment before acting as if he was actually curious, "Mr. Wilson! What brings you here? Don't tell me—you want that bronze sculpture back too?""No, no, no…" Jacob quickly shook his head. "I would never… I returned all the way from Dubai to apologize!""Apologize?" Raymond smiled faintly, and he did not play dumb this time as he asked bluntly, "Did you come back because of Zachary Evan's post?"Knowing he couldn't deny it any longer, Jacob nodded, "Yeah…"Raymond nodded and said calmly, "That's unnecessary. I was the one who benefited in the end."Jacob wasn't quite keeping up—thinking that Raymond was just trying to be nice by telling him he didn't have to apologize, he quickly pulled out his phone.Tapping on it and bringing up his transaction records, he handed it to Raymond reverently, "Mr. Cole, I understan
The cabbie chuckled. "You're a local yet you're heading to Antique Street right away as soon as you land instead of going home? And you're still saying you're not trying to pick up a killer bargain deal?"Come on, man—it's not just you, I want that too. We cabbies work ourselves to death only for ten thousand per month at best while our friend over there made twenty million in one night. I could keep driving cabs for the rest of my life and still not make that much money."Jacob knew that the cabbie must be talking about Raymond and became even more miserable then, grumbling unhappily, "I'm going to Antique Street for business—I'm not trying to pick up some missed bargain.""No? Then you didn't hear what happened yesterday?"The cabbie was immediately curious, and without waiting for Jacob's answer, he exclaimed happily, "Look, man—it was so ridiculous not even Hollywood would put it in their script. There were these fools who were trying to sell an antique trader a replica, but th
It was nighttime in Dubai as Jacob dragged his weary body from the hotel back to the airport.As he was flying economy this time, he was left sitting at the hard bench near the boarding terminal, waiting for it to open.While he waited, his heart was torn as he tapped into the website of the Aurous Hill Charity Fund, found their donation account, and wired the entire 300 thousand he had made over to them.He had picked the Aurous Hill Charity Fund because the circles of antique collectors in Aurous Hill were all discussing how Raymond had donated half of the 20 million he had made to that same charity fund.After Raymond skyrocketed to prominence in Antique Street and became a star, it could not be denied that people admired his profound ability.However, there were also people who envied his skill in turning the tables just as there were those who were jealous he had made twenty million in a single night.Still, Raymond moved fast—soon after word spread that he had made twenty m
Elaine quickly asked, "Well, what if you can't get it done?"Jacob was apprehensive even as he sighed. "If they really pressed the issue, guess I can't even stay at the Calligraphy and Painting Association now… We will see. If things get bad, I'll just resign. I won't ask for much right now, just as long as I don't have to go to jail."Elaine nodded. "Then you should try to reason things out with Raymond Cole or ask for Charlie's help if push comes to shove. Being humiliated is still better than prison.""Okay!"-It was nighttime at Aurous Hill by the time Elaine and Jacob arrived at their hotel.Charlie and Claire had just had dinner, and Claire pulled out her phone, saying, "I just checked my flight app, and it says my parents should have landed two hours ago. They are probably at the hotel, so I'll check in on them with a video call."She had yet to open her WhatsApp when Elaine called her on a video call.Jacob was planning to check in with Claire and Charlie to put their
Hearing what Jacob had said, Elaine became anxious and pressed him as he hung up, "What's going on? You're leaving? But we just got here! My shoes have just caught Dubai dirt, so why are we leaving so soon—"However, Jacob was wiping the sweat off his brow as he mumbled quietly, "Well, at this point, I have to leave or I won't be vice president anymore."Elaine immediately fumed. "We've been married for half our lives, and this is supposed to be our honeymoon, yet we're just leaving? I've posted about this on social media too—there are plenty of people who're waiting for more posts on our trip!"And don't forget—we spent a lot on our flight tickets and our hotels! The hotel bookings can't be refunded either!"Jacob scowled dolefully. "Well, what can we do? Why don't you stay? I'll go home and get this sorted out first….""Well, how long would that take?" Elaine asked."How should I know?" Jacob sighed, uneasy and annoyed. "Don Albert is saying I have to go back and donate the 300
"But I spent 98 thousand on that bronze sculpture!" Jacob exclaimed in agitation before he knew it. "I made 300 thousand from it, and that means my profit was 200 thousand at best, but I'm supposed to return that to him as well?! That means I'd have lost my own capital too!""I can't help you if you can't bear to part with that money, Mr. Wilson," Don Albert said quietly. "In that case, you'll just have to handle it yourself.""Wait, wait, wait!" Jacob immediately became antsy and cried out right then, "Please, Don Albert! I'll return the money! I'll return it, alright?! The entirety of my profits—202 thousand, okay? At least let me keep the money I spent, okay?""By that reasoning, Mr. Wilson, when a phone scammer is told by the cops to return the money they've made from defrauding, should he be allowed to keep the money he spent on telco charges? ""Oh, I…" Jacob was left stumped and could not come up with an answer.Don Albert then pressed on, "Mr. Wilson, I've offered a prom
"Mr. Wilson, what you boys did was truly heinous!" Don Arnold growled. "I scolded Zachary myself when I found out, and I was the one who told him to post that statement!"Jacob was shocked. "But why, Don Arnold? Are you friends with Raymond Cole?""Never met the guy," Don Arnold replied.That left Jacob even more confused. "Then why are you taking his side?""I've been doing my best to clean up my image over the past couple of years," Don Albert replied coolly. "I rarely get involved in mob business or anything illicit, and everyone in Aurous Hill knows that Zachary is my right-hand man, yet he confessed to committing such a heinous crime behind my back. What is that if not sullying my reputation?"Jacob was left reeling as he didn't expect Don Albert to be so serious, but he quickly explained, "I'm sorry. I didn't expect it to affect you so terribly… It's all Zachary's fault! I wouldn't have been aware that Raymond had returned at all, but he just had to tell me and come up with