Kathleen felt moved, but she was also slightly embarrassed to see Charlie filling the small plate in front of her with a mountain of food. She rarely had the chance to share a meal with a man, so this was her first time being taken care of by someone of the opposite sex.She nodded shyly and said, “Mr. Wade, you don’t have to keep filling my plate. You still haven’t eaten a bite…”Charlie grinned, “There’s no hurry. If I use my cutleries now, I won’t be able to help fill your plates anymore!”He took a piece of goose meat with skin as he said that. “Eating the goose meat with its skin tastes the best! You really should try it!”Kathleen nodded, and carefully blew some air on the meat before putting it in her mouth. She made sure the food wasn’t burning her lips before putting it in her mouth. Then, she started chewing slowly.Kathleen’s eyes widened in surprise at the first taste. A rich aroma filled her mouth and taste buds. The strong flavor, coming from a stew simmered in a woo
Julian found nothing unusual from Charlie’s words.However, he quietly pricked his ears, ready to listen to Charlie’s phone conversation. Since Kathleen paid so much attention to Charlie, he wanted to see if he could retrieve any useful information.At the same time, Charlie glanced at Julian. When their eyes met, he held his phone with one hand and raised his other hand to greet Julian.Julian didn’t think much of it, and nodded back as a polite greeting.Charlie then walked in Julian’s direction. He took out a cigarette from his pocket and pretended like he was about to put it into his mouth.It was common for people to smoke a cigarette while answering the phone. Therefore, Julian wasn’t alerted at all.What Julian didn’t know was that Charlie didn’t smoke. Charlie had specifically requested a box of cigarettes from Albert’s men before coming here. Porter then said on the phone, “Mr. Wade, our intelligence network has come back with an answer. Regarding Kylie Jane, her real
As Charlie said that, he made a peace sign with his right hand. He successfully provoked Julian with his words. Julian became completely furious. He couldn’t believe Charlie’s words. How could Charlie kill two six-star martial artists by stoning them to death? It sounded like a complete joke!He glared at Charlie and warned coldly, “Mr. Wade, I never intend to hurt you. However, you insisted and provoked me with your words repeatedly. In that case, don’t blame me for being rude! I’ll use my fist and teach you the real strength of a six-star martial artist!”As soon as Julian said that, he gathered all his energy into his fists and legs, and slammed into Charlie!However, Julian had no intention to take Charlie’s life. He simply wanted to teach Charlie a lesson and show Charlie a six-star martial artist’s real strength.Julian’s body came slamming into Charlie like a speeding truck. Julian thought he could hurt Charlie badly without the need to throw any punches, and use his body
Julian froze, overwhelmed by this realization. At the same time, a car parked right in front of the farmhouse.As soon as the car stopped, the back row door opened automatically. Albert got out of the car and waited quietly at the door.Julian looked back nervously, anxious and fearing for Kathleen’s safety. He thought Charlie did all these to kidnap her.He wanted to shout and alert Kathleen, who was still in the private room, about the danger. Unfortunately, he could not let out a single squeak. His voice remained stuck in his throat, unable to come out. He stared at Charlie in horror. What did Charlie do to mute him?Charlie chuckled as he patted Julian’s shoulder. He moved some spiritual energy into Julian’s body in that instant, which had completely sealed Julian’s consciousness in his body, just like what he did to Zayne from the Ten Thousand Armies before.Charlie looked at Julian in the eyes and reassured him, “You don’t have to be afraid. I don’t plan to take your life
Meanwhile, Kathleen, who was still in the private room, was completely unaware of the events happening outside.After all, they were at a place located next to the national highway. There were a lot of noises since many vehicles whizzed past the area. Some overloaded trucks passed by occasionally, making the entire ground vibrate.Kathleen could not hear any movements outside at all.Charlie finally returned to the room. He smiled at Kathleen and told her, “Ms. Jane, my apologies. I got caught up with something. Sorry to keep you waiting.”Kathleen quickly replied, “Mr. Wade, don’t worry about it. Did you settle your problem?”Charlie nodded and answered casually, “Yes, I’ve resolved it. My customer was asking about something regarding Feng Shui. I’ve just about finished explaining to him.”Kathleen did not doubt Charlie at all. His acting seemed so real and sincere.With that, Kathleen said with a smile, “By the way, Mr. Wade. I’m not sure if your wife has told you about this y
Kathleen had a huge headache when Charlie mentioned The Heaven Springs.In her heart, she thought, ‘The Heaven Springs does have good food, but no matter how good they are, I can’t bear to eat them daily!’‘Besides, I’m already a regular there. Charlie may overthink when he knows about it. It’s not a good idea to go there.’She stopped her train of thoughts and smiled at Charlie. “Mr. Wade, I’ve been to The Heaven Springs already. The food is really good, but it’s such a waste to eat there. Do we have any other options? I think a simple meal like this would be great…”Charlie asked in surprise, “Oh? Did you go to The Heaven Springs before? Oops! I should have informed the boss earlier to waive the bill for you.”Charlie then suggested, “How about this? I’ll give The Heaven Springs’ owner a call later and tell him not to charge you whenever you go there for a meal.”Kathleen quickly stopped him, “That’s not needed! The owner established the restaurant to do business. How can I mak
After that, he asked hurriedly, “Maybe he went to the restroom?”Kathleen could not conceal her flustered self. “But I can’t reach his phone at all… He… There’s never a time when I can’t reach him at all. He’s always cautious and discreet in his work. He would never disappear without informing me, so… He might be in trouble.”Charlie casually suggested, “What if he accidentally dropped his phone in the restroom?”Kathleen was slightly stunned at this. She immediately shook her head and refuted, “That can’t be… With his skills, he won’t make such a low-level mistake!”To Kathleen, a six-star martial artist could react quickly. They were faster and stronger than an ordinary human. There was no way Julian would do something as silly as dropping his phone in the restroom.Charlie noticed her anxiousness. He approached her and tried to calm her.He said firmly, “Your driver seemed very reliable. Judging by his postures, he’s probably a trained martial artist. A man like him won’t get
As time passed by, Kathleen’s nervousness grew. She was flustered when there was still no news from Julian even after a long time had passed. No matter what she did, she couldn’t reach his number. She was so worried that she ended up sending her grandfather, Jordan Fox, a message stating the sudden predicament.The matter had become so complicated, it went beyond Kathleen and her group’s ability. She had no choice but to seek Jordan's help.Jordan was still in bed when he received the news, with his servants feeding him a special nutritious breakfast with a spoon.His health had been deteriorating lately, and he had no strength to even go out for a walk. It was exhausting for him to just sit still.He had no choice but to rest in bed most of the time.His healthcare team had just completed a comprehensive physical assessment two days ago. The experts believed that his life had entered the end of natural aging. His remaining time was unknown and couldn’t be calculated in years.
However, to Jacob's shock, Elaine wasn't misled at all as she growled icily, "Why would I ask anyone else?! If there's someone I must question, it's Matilda! She's getting married, isn't she? Good! I will be there and ask her why she hooked up with my husband!"Jacob turned pale right then.Matilda's son and even some of their old classmates would be attending her wedding.If Elaine went, he would be exposed, and he wouldn't be able to stay in Aurous Hill out of shame!His nerves gnawing at him, Jacob could only plead, "Please, just trust me this once! Anything else aside, she's getting married, anyway—there's no way that I'd have anything to do with her! That alone should prove my innocence!"Elaine snorted. "If Matilda returned when I was arrested, it means she has been back for a while! And you're saying nothing happened since? Hell, even if she's married, it doesn't prove that she wasn't up to some hanky-panky with you! Maybe while I was arrested and refused a divorce when you
The driver was left dumbstruck—this wasn't how it was supposed to go.Still, he blurted, "C-Crashing into a Cullinan? I might end up dead instead…""Fine! Then let's change cars, and you crash into ours—how about that?!" Elaine promptly retorted before continuing, "Or we could just stand right in front of your car while you run into us! I just happen to have a death wish, but if you don't kill me now, I'll kill you! Don't think about getting away either—I know your car plate! I'll sell this car and use the money to put a bounty on your head! I don't care what happens to me now! I'll claw my nails into the devil's face even if he shows up!"The driver was actually quite experienced, but even he had yet to meet someone as ridiculous as Elaine.Barely able to keep his hands steady, he threw them up as he apologized, "I'm so sorry, ma'am—I just lost my cool. I'm merely a humble driver of a Honda Civic while you own a Rolls. Hell, I spent fifty bucks buying that red emblem from Amazon,
Elaine may have led a life as if she was above the rules, but beneath that tough exterior lay crippling insecurities and a horrific inferiority complex.She was always afraid of being belittled—but more than that, of being ostracized and betrayed.Over the years, the greatest source of her complexes could all be traced back to Matilda.After all, Matilda had been a star back in their school days. Because Elaine was a close friend of hers, many boys would get chummy with Elaine, but only because they were interested in Matilda.Being from a poor farmer's family, Elaine had been scorned plenty and therefore felt exceedingly inferior around Matilda.It was from that sense of inferiority that Elaine had inadvertently developed a one-sided rivalry against Matilda, and she believed her greatest triumph over Matilda in this life was the moment she had stolen Jacob from her.However, while Elaine presumed that she could hold that victory over Matilda's head, Lady Wilson had soured that v
Moreover, given Elaine's ridiculous temper, Jacob knew she would definitely go overboard and destroy him.He wouldn't even have a place to live at that point, and it would really be game over if she held a grudge and stormed the Calligraphy and Painting Association!Under such circumstances, he couldn't ask for a divorce—hell, he might even refuse a divorce if Elaine asked for one!However, that was when Elaine laughed coldly. "Oh, my… You're really not going to divorce me?""Come on—how long were we married?" Jacob quickly reasoned. "Getting divorced at our age? People would laugh at us."Elaine scoffed. "Now I'm curious… Matilda's quite old too, and she's a divorcee marrying again. Won't people laugh at her?""Technically, she's a widow—"Jacob blurted out, but soon turned pale, tensing up again not a second after he had just calmed down, asking gingerly, "W-Why would you suddenly mention her?'Elaine stopped pretending right then and snapped, "It's actually impressive that y
Horrified, Jacob promptly grasped the steering wheel and brought the Cullinan back under control while not hesitating to snap, "Are you crazy?! We're on the highway—that could have killed the both of us!"However, Elaine ignored him and seized the moment to open the armrest box, pulling out the large white envelope.As she opened it, she muttered, "So, it really was a wedding invitation… You really are a terrible friend, Jacob Wilson, hiding a wedding invitation like this! What's the point? Just look at that nervous face of yours—would I suspect you of having an affair with the bride-to-be?"She flipped open the card and was experienced enough to check the names first while disregarding the usual preamble. She wouldn't care about the venue or the time either, focusing solely on the professor who had somehow made Jacob very nervous.That was how Elaine found the names in less than a second: Yolden Hart and Matilda Hall.Matilda?!The name could well be knives stabbing Elaine in th
Jacob's brain blanked out, leaving only a dull hum as soon as Walker mentioned 'Professor Hall'.Already feeling nervous in the first place, he quickly said, "Okay, okay—I got it. Anyway, I'm hanging up if there's nothing else!"With that, he promptly pressed the button to hang up.Nonetheless, Elaine was soon asking in curiosity, "Who's Professor Hall?"If Jacob had any semblance of composure, he would have said 'a colleague at Senior University' as if it was perfectly natural, and the matter would have been forgotten.But the reality was that he didn't—in fact, he was the champion when it came to dropping the ball as a casual question from Elaine left him sweating all over his brow.Even as he slid nervous glances at her face, he stammered uncontrollably, "N-Nobody…"Elaine promptly noticed his strange reaction and frowned. "I'm talking about Professor Hall. What do you mean, nobody? Who are they? And what's this about an invitation? Inviting you for what?"Seeing that he was
Jacob had really had too much to drink and couldn't remember the later parts of what had happened last night—even how he had gotten home was a blur.Naturally, he also forgot that Walker had brought Matilda's wedding invitation, and therefore didn't hesitate to answer the in-car answer button.Over the phone, Walker was positively fawning as he asked, "Mr. Wilson? It's Walker. Why didn't you come in today? Had too much to drink last night?""Uh-huh," Jacob grunted, lethargic. "I did—my head still hurts now… Anyway, what's up? Trouble at the association?""No, of course not," Walker quickly said. "I was just worried you're still hungover, so I called to ask. If you need a driver or anything, you just need to ask!"Then, before Jacob could answer, he continued, "By the way, my wife is somewhat knowledgable in Oskian medicine, and she has recipes for brews that cure hangovers and nourish the liver. I'm sure you'll need the latter since you're always drinking at social events, so I as
Fortunately, Elaine and Jacob's bickering never escalated.Even though Elaine was winning, Jacob found it tolerable.After Jacob finished his lunch and cleaned up, he never looked up as he said, "Charlie sent a text, saying Claire's flight would touch down earlier at three. We will leave at two."Elaine grumbled. "Why leave so early? She's coming back from abroad, and there'd be checkpoints she has to clear—she'd be lucky if she could leave by half past three. I'm sleeping a few winks now, and we'll leave at half past two."As she left the dining room, she didn't even look back as she said, "Clean up for me too."Jacob had a million complaints but said nothing as he kept his head down, throwing Elaine's lunchbox in the trash can as well.With Elaine gone, he sat on the couch as her hangover slowly cleared while his mood soured with the lack of alcohol.In the end, the pleasure of being fawned over at the Diamond Room was but temporary—the pain of his beloved leaving with someone
Vera kept her plan to investigate the identity of the abbess deep in her mind and told Charlie nothing.Instead, she smiled as she said, "It seems that it's both yours and Ms. Ito's good fortune that she has attained enlightenment. You've never had anyone who could attain enlightenment and master Reiki at the same time, so Ms. Ito will definitely be a great help to you in the future."Charlie chuckled and said calmly, "I'm not hoping for her to help. I'm simply happy for her with her enlightenment and excited to have another comrade in my solo ventures into the dark forests."Vera nodded in understanding, and she murmured emotionally, "I've lived for so long, and it's only when I opened my heart to you that I felt that sensation you described."There was a flicker of wistfulness in her eyes.She really did not expect to attain enlightenment before meeting Charlie.Years ago, she thought that she would eventually avenge her father.Now, she no longer hoped to murder Fleur Griffi