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
Aurora hurriedly said, “Master Wade, you have to come for my match the day after tomorrow!”“Don’t worry. I’ll definitely be there!”***At this moment, at the country’s largest entertainment company, Yorkbel Entertainment Group, located at the central business district of Eastcliff, Yorkbel’s top female artiste, Quinn, was in the Yorkbel Entertainment Group’s studio as she was shooting for the cover of a fashion magazine at this time.This would be the fourth time that she was going to appear on the cover of a fashion magazine. Therefore, it was already commonplace to her.Quinn was inside the studio and she was wearing a black and white contrasting dress which was specifically tailored made for her by Chanel. She looked a little aloof in her glamor and she looked like a strong woman who could only be looked at from a distance, but could not be toyed with.After the photographer took several shots of her in succession, Quinn finally completed her task. At this time, her assistan
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