Jacob did not eat dinner at home that night.According to him, he was having dinner with several leaders of the Calligraphy and Painting Association as well as a few core members of the Senior University.Jacob called Charlie a little after nine oâclock.When Jacob called, Charlie was watching television with his wife in the living room.His mother-in-law, Elaine, had put on a caviar anti-aging facial mask as she lay down on the two-seater sofa in a leisurely manner while she scrolled through her online short video platform. As she was scrolling on her cell phone, she muttered, âOh! That Japanese girl who came to Aurous Hill to participate in the combat and fighting championship has a pretty good appearance!âCharlie knew that she was definitely talking about Nanako. At this time, he did not say anything, but his cell phone had already started vibrating.When Charlie saw that it was a phone call from Jacob, he hurriedly answered the phone and said, âHello, Dad.âJacob sounded a
She was very excited, and she said to Charlie, âMy good son-in-law, why didnât Mom find out that you were so good in the past?âCharlie laughed, but he did not say anything. If he had known that he would be able to deal with a shrewd woman like Elaine simply by spending fifty thousand dollars a month, he would have spent that money a long time ago to save himself from all that trouble.At this time, Elaine was simply thinking of flattering Charlie, and she deliberately said to Claire, âOh, Claire! You are already getting older, and you have already been married to Charlie for almost four years now. I say, it is also about time for both of you to have children already. Our family of four is living in such a big villa, it is indeed a little lonely and cold here. Wouldnât it be livelier if there was a child running around in the villa?âAs soon as Charlie heard these words, he was indeed very surprised!This was perfect!His mother-in-law truly thought of nothing else other than her
Claire never expected Charlie to use money to win her mother over.Even more unexpectedly, the effect of using money to win her mother over seemed to work very well indeed!Claire suddenly felt very embarrassed, and she truly felt like digging a hole and burying herself in it.At this time, when Elaine saw that Claire was not saying anything, she kept urging her from the side, âMy good daughter, why donât I bring you to see that old Oskian doctor tomorrow so that he can prescribe some medicine for you?âClaire felt completely helpless at this time, and she said embarrassedly, âMom, stop talking nonsense!âElaine replied solemnly, âHow could you say that I am talking nonsense?! I also want to be able to carry my grandson as soon as possible!âClaire knew that if she did not leave now, her mother would definitely talk endlessly. Thus, she pushed Charlie hurriedly and said, âLetâs go and pick Dad up to bring him home now.âCharlie smiled as he nodded and said, âThen, we should go a
Charlie and Claire were still in the car, and they were still some distance away from the group of people. So, they could not hear exactly what they were talking about.However, by the looks of it, it was obvious that Matilda must have asked her son, Paul, to help her prepare a gift for Jacob in exchange.Claire felt even more depressed when she saw both of them exchanging gifts with one another. âJust look at Dad and Aunt Hall! Both of them are obviously acting more than just ordinary friends. They are more like a middle-aged and elderly couple in love!âCharlie nodded gently.He had already noticed a long time ago that both of them had a deep affection for each other. Matilda had even given Paul the middle name âJamalâ. This proved that she had never once forgotten about Jacob throughout all this time.As for Jacob, there was nothing else that needed to be said. After being oppressed by Elaine for so many years, he had already been missing and yearning for Matilda for a long tim
Jacob thought that he and Charlie were the only two people in the car. Charlie was not only his son-in-law, but he was also the person he trusted the most.Therefore, he was not guarded against Charlie at all. He was also not afraid that Charlie would find out about the things that were going on between him and Matilda.At this moment, as he was unpacking the gift, Jacob sighed as he said, âOh, my dear son-in-law, do you know how popular your Aunt Hall is at the Senior University? Those who are interested in her range from young people between the age of thirty to forty years old, to old men between the age of sixty to seventy years old. It is simply a huge number, and I cannot count the number of people who like her at all! If I donât pay more attention to it, I am afraid that the situation will end badly for me, then.âCharlie laughed awkwardly as he tried to change the subject by saying, âDad, you must have drunk quite a bit during dinner tonight, right? Why donât you stop talkin
Charlie stretched out his right hand to cover half of his face because he truly did not know how to respond to his stupid father-in-law anymore.At this time, Jacob answered the call, and he said casually, âHello, Claire. I am already with Charlie, and we are on our way home now.âSuddenly, he heard Claireâs angry voice sounding from the backseat, âDad! You truly disappoint me!âJacob yelped in shock. As he was not holding his cell phone firmly, it slipped from his hand and fell into the gap.He did not even bother picking up his cell phone. Instead, he simply turned around as he stared at Claire in horror. âCla⊠Claire?! You⊠why are you in the car too?!âClaire asked in a huff, âWhy canât I be in the car? If I was not in the car, I would never have known that you were cheating on Mom behind her back!âJacob felt very aggrieved, and he blurted out, âOh! Claire, donât talk nonsense. When did I ever cheat on your mom?!âClaire replied, âYou and Aunt Hall are already at the point
Claire was dumbfounded, and she did not know how she should respond.Jacob, who was sitting in the co-driver seat, was so aggrieved that he burst into tears and choked up as he said, âBack then, your mother and I had no emotional connection nor affection for one another whatsoever. If I were to speak conscientiously, before I got drunk that night, I have never even exchanged more than a few words with your mother before. You should also be able to see clearly that your Aunt Hall is much better than your mom in all aspects. It is completely impossible for a normal man to give up your Aunt Hall and choose your mother instead. I was completely helpless, and I was forced into a dead-end back then!âAs he spoke, Jacob looked out the window with a sad and aggrieved look on his face as he said depressedly, âIn the beginning, your Aunt Hall and I had already planned our lives after graduation. We were going to go and further our studies in the United States together. You should also know tha
âI understand! I understand!â Jacob nodded excitedly as he said repeatedly, âI will never wear this watch at home in the future.âAlthough Charlie had been sitting at the side without saying anything all this while, he was also a little relieved when he heard this.It had really not been easy for his father-in-law all this while. In fact, the main reason why he had tolerated Elaine for so many years was mainly because of Claire.If it werenât for his daughter, he would not have tolerated this for such a long time. So, it could be seen that his father-in-law was actually not useless. At the very least, his paternal love for Claire was indeed very great.Moreover, even when Claire was questioning him about this matter, Jacob had never once mentioned that the reason why he had suffered so many grievances for the past two decades was because of Claire. He was indeed worthy of the saying that stated that a fatherâs love was great and selfless.***When they arrived back at Thompson Fi
Charlie chuckled. "Don't sell yourself short, Mr. Hart. There are plenty of business folk who got so used to their comfort zone that they became caught in the illusion that they can be successful in anything they do. It's a mindset that leads to them blindly developing new projects and new competition, and then they end up losing big."If memory serves, there have been real estate businesses that started mineral water brands, search engines that tried the car industry, e-commerce sites attempting social media, and vice-versa. All of them are multi-billion-dollar companies venturing into new frontiers, but all to unimpressive outcomes."Pausing, Charlie then continued, "You've mentioned rising above the competition amidst the development of the new energy industry. That would get anyone's attention, and it is why I believe that you definitely will make a strong impression with your strategizing and knowledge of the basic principles."Yolden found it hard to refuse, seeing that Charli
Having lost it all, Jacob really looked like he wouldn't be getting back up.But fortunately, he had a pillar in the form of Elaine.In fact, Elaine would serve to be a container, whipping Jacob into shape if he got too full of himself.But on the other hand, now that Jacob was utterly despondent, she would be forcing him to smile and function in general.Elaine's attitude to the entire issue was clear as well. Even though Jacob had just lost his job, she would make him go shopping with her in Dubai even if he fell into a coma. Even if he was dead, she'd just cremate him and bring his ashes along.Hence, with Elaine's firm grip around Jacob's leash, he went on strolls, going shopping and taking selfies with Elaine everyday, eventually easing the toll on his mood and spirit.-Back at Aurous Hill, Charlie was preparing for Yolden Hart and Matilda Hall's wedding as it approached.Yolden was a schoolmate of his mother, Ashley Layna Acker, as well as Charlie's elder.And while Cha
"See you." As soon as Charlie hung up on Matilda, Don Albert's call came right after.He sounded nervous as Charlie answered the phone, saying, "Master Wade, I think I might have gone too farâŠ""Wait, what's this about?" Charlie asked."Your father-in-law, of courseâŠ" Don Albert sighed. "You asked me to leave him hanging for a while, so I did. I even refused when he asked to book a room in Heaven Springs.""Well, that's not a problem, is it?" Charlie shrugged. "He and Zachary ganged up for some real mischief. As you are Zachary's boss, it's right that you refused him because you didn't appreciate what he did.""That's just it. I thought that approach was just right as well," Don Albert quickly said. "I wasn't playing nice when Mr. Bay of the Calligraphy and Painting Association called me either. That's when he said he'd try to save Jacob's position as vice-president, but I told him it's none of my business."I then hung up on him without much thought, only for Zachary to tell m
Meanwhile, Charlie was downstairs in Claire's office, waiting to pick her up and head home.That was when Matilda called him, asking as soon as he answered, "Charlie, do you know how Jacob is doing? He never answered any of my textsâis he going to be alright?""I wouldn't know," Charlie replied. "Both he and Elaine are in Dubai on a trip⊠What's wrong?""He resigned," Matilda sighed. "I only saw the public statement that the Calligraphy and Painting Association posted this afternoon. It says that he tendered the resignation himself, but it doesn't really feel that way. I wonder if he's at odds with other members of the associationâŠ"Charlie was actually surprised to hear that Jacob had resigned.He had told Zachary to expose the truth of the bronze sculpture fraud case to teach Jacob a lesson so that Jacob would understand the meaning of true pain.However, he anticipated that Mr. Bay would at least keep Jacob around with an unimportant job even if Jacob did lose some money and e
Falling apart in both mind and spirit, Jacob was crying as he disembarked and took a cab to the hotel.Elaine, who had been lying around for 24 hours, was stunned speechless as she watched him enter, crying like a child.In contrast, Elaine looked like a mother to Jacob just then as he threw himself into her arms and bawled, "Darling⊠That prick Mr. Bay screwed me over⊠I have nothing left nowâŠ"Taken aback for a moment that Jacob would bawl in her arms like that, Elaine soon came to her senses and patted his back as she comforted him, "Oh, stop crying already. Who cares about some Calligraphy and Painting groupies? We certainly don't! Just hear me out and don't ever go there again!"Jacob kept sobbing, "But I care⊠I want to goâŠ"Annoyed, Elaine's hand that had been patting Jacob a moment ago slid down to his hip and pinched him viciously before he noticed."Ow!" Jacob yelped in pain, and he demanded indignantly, "What was that for?!""Shut up!" Elaine snapped, glowering. "I wa
Jacob couldn't even be bothered by the looks others were giving him, and he called Mr. Bay immediately.Mr. Bay had already gone home and was seated on the couch with his wife, watching his phone and waiting for Jacob to call and demand an explanation.Mr. Bay knew that he had to answer for this and that if he avoided Jacob, it may well be a confession that he had screwed Jacob over.So, to avoid unnecessary trouble, he decided to come clean with Jacob.Naturally, by coming clean, he meant passing the buck as his wife had suggested.Hence, as he answered Jacob's call, he immediately sighed in embarrassment, "Hey, Jacob. I'm so sorry about thatâŠ"However, Jacob was so furious he immediately started bellowing, "Mr. Bay! Are you fucking with me here?! You said that the resignation letter was more of a formality, but you just made it public instead! So, all those things you said about helping me were just a trap, was it?! You're despicable! And to think I've been so good to you, even
The repeated flights had left Jacob tormented.Even before he actually had the time to enjoy Dubai, he had already gotten sick of the place and didn't want to ever return.And on the flight, he couldn't stop his thoughts from going astray.Now that he was not getting back the money he had lost, his only hope was Mr. Bay.Fortunately, Mr. Bay was serious about his promise that he would at least save him a job as department head. That was why, despite his thoughts running astray, he never considered the thought that he would be kicked out of the Calligraphy and Painting Association.As soon as his flight landed, he didn't wait to turn off his phone's flight mode, waiting for the internet connection to return so that he could ask Mr. Bay about the meeting.Once he did, he received a ton of messages from public accounts to acquaintancesâmany had already found out that he had resigned from the post of administrative vice-president and wanted to ask how he was doing.And Matilda was
The Calligraphy and Painting Association was certainly efficientâsoon after the meeting was dismissed, the news that the administrative vice-president had resigned was posted on their official page and social media.The notice was simple and never mentioned what Jacob had done, only that the administrative vice-president had asked to resign for personal reasons. The request had since been voted upon, and all members had agreed to it.And that was how a simple and short message kicked Jacob out of the Calligraphy and Painting Association entirely.In the city, other associations closely connected with the Calligraphy and Painting Association were the various cultural societies and circles of antique enthusiasts and the Senior University. In fact, most fans of the public page of the Calligraphy and Painting Association were from the Senior City, and every lecturer, student, and even guest lecturer were subscribed.As a matter of fact, that was entirely Jacob's doing. After his lect
There weren't that many members in the Calligraphy and Painting Associationâjust a handful over twenty.Hence, at Mr. Bay's request, everyone showed up at the conference at 1 pm.He chose the afternoon as there were a handful who were away on outreach, including Walker, who was subbing for Jacob's lectures.Once the entire Calligraphy and Painting Association save for Jacob was informed of the mandatory meeting, every member was there on the hour, seated primly and in attention in the huge conference room.Mr. Bay didn't waste his breath on the preamble eitherâas soon as he saw that everyone had arrived, he announced, "Everyone, I've gathered you here today because our administrative vice-president, Jacob Wilson, has been alleged to be involved in a certain malicious scheme."Last night, Mr. Wilson submitted his resignation to me, and after a discussion with my vice-presidents, we've all decided to hold a vote. It will be open to every member in the association as we will be decid