Charlie was stunned, too shocked to react.Immediately after, Charlie quickly helped the man back up. Puzzled, he asked politely, “May I ask who you are?”The middle-aged man replied respectfully, “Young Master Wade, my name is Janus Campbell. Originally, I should’ve ended up as a ghost. Luckily, Master Curtis saved me. That’s why I was able to survive until today.”When Charlie heard that Janus was his father’s old acquaintance, he clasped one of his hands over the other in a respectful manner. Bowing, he said, “Greetings, Uncle Campbell. I am Charlie Wade.”His gesture served to further excite the already ecstatic Janus. Janus’s eyes flushed red as he said, “I knew it… I knew it. When I saw you at first glance, I immediately knew: you must be Young Master Charlie! At first, I thought that I must be hallucinating. But when I recalled Miss Golding was telling me about her mysterious guest, I instantly concluded that you must be him!”Quinn, sitting next to them, smiled as she said
Emotions welled up in his chest as he lamented that fact. He asked Janus, “Uncle Janus, how did you end up in New York afterwards?”Janus flashed Charlie a wry smile. “After Master Curtis’s death, I secretly went to Aurous Hill to mourn. When I was about to return to Hong Kong, the man who wanted to kill me before happened to catch wind of his death as well. He immediately issued another order to take my life. I realized I couldn’t return to Hong Kong, so I could smuggle myself from Oskia to the United States. I’ve been staying here ever since…”Janus then asked Charlie, “Where have you been all these years, Young Master Wade? Mr. Golding traveled to almost every corner of the world in order to find you. He even came to the United States several times. I also helped him to look for you here, but to no avail…”Quinn added her two cents. “Brother Charlie! When my father and I came to New York to look for you, Uncle Janus was the one who welcomed us. Right here in this restaurant!”Ha
Charlie was surprised upon listening to Yule’s voice message.If things were really as Yule had said, then combined with his father’s recognition of Janus back then, it was already more than enough for Charlie to see that Janus had very strong abilities.Charlie also knew very well in his heart that his current biggest development constraint was the scarcity of talent.Although Ten Thousand Armies was strong, it could not be seen out in the open. Moreover, Ten Thousand Armies could only solve problems involving force.In the future, force would only be a very small part if Charlie wanted to increase the Wade family’s strength. What was even more important was operation and management.Even Charlie himself was far behind in this point.The Wade family would not only need a leader to point out the course when the time came, but they would also need an experienced trader with the safest and most efficient methods to help the Wade family, which was a huge ship, to sail even more stab
“No.” Janus shook his head and said, “My ancestral home is in Dothmain in Grochex Province. My father escaped and came to Hong Kong during the war and so, I was also born in Hong Kong. After that, my father relied on our ancestral goose roasting skills to make a living in Hong Kong before getting rooted in Hong Kong. After that, my family gradually became affluent, and they sent me to Europe and the United States to study.”Charlie asked curiously, “How did you meet my father, then?”Janus said, “I met your father when we were both hiking in the United States. We were both students at that time, and we just happened to run into each other when we were hiking during the holidays. In addition, our itineraries were almost the same and so, we went together and became friends after that. Since then, we would often talk together eloquently and pinpoint the current wrongs. We got along very well!”Having said that, Janus paused for a moment and then said, “However, since our schools were f
“What did he say?” Janus echoed Quinn, sighed, and then said helplessly, “Of course he did not believe me and said that I must have cuckolded him behind his back. He said that he would not believe me no matter how I tried to explain myself.”“However, he then said that he would forgive me this time for the sake of money. He would let me go back and recuperate while also giving me time to think things through clearly at the same time.”“If I got well and continued to help him make money, he would pretend that nothing had happened. Otherwise, it would cost me my life.”As Janus spoke of this, he smiled and added, “However, he would never have dreamt that I already had a backup plan in advance. When I decided to tell him all this, I had already asked my first girlfriend to come out of the villa in advance with her passport. I asked her to wait for me at the hospital near Mr. Long’s company.”Charlie was surprised and asked, “You already guessed that he would beat you up until you woul
At the very least, Charlie would certainly not have been as meticulous and thorough as Janus had been if he had been placed in the exact same situation.At this time, Janus had a childlike expression on his face as he smiled and said, “At that time, I was covered with injuries as I was sent to the hospital, but who would have thought that I would secretly run out of the hospital and elope with my first girlfriend just half an hour later?”As Janus spoke, he added, “I was originally planning to have us take a plane to Southeast Asia and then look for an opportunity to smuggle ourselves from Southeast Asia to the United States. However, little would I have expected that when Mr. Long returned to the villa, he did not see my first girlfriend there, and he found out that she had taken her passport away with her. So, he issued the pursuit order immediately after that, offering a reward of thirty million Hong Kong dollars for my life...”"At that time, the both of us had just arrived at t
When Charlie heard this, he no longer knew what to say.It sounded as if Janus had given up so much for love, but in the end, it had turned out to be all for nothing.It could even be said that he had lost both his wife and his army.Moreover, he was originally an elite amongst elites back in Hong Kong. His father was even willing to make sacrifices for him. Therefore, his original life was with unlimited prospects.However, he not only had to give up everything that he had in the end, but he had also offended a rich and powerful man whom he could not afford to mess with. It was so much so that he was unable to return to Hong Kong or even live in the United States with a reasonable and legal identity.An elite class who was at the top of society could only smuggle himself into the United States and be nestled in the dilapidated Oskiatown for more than twenty years alongside many Oskians who were working in Oskiatown illegally.It would not be too much to say that his life had bee
Charlie nodded gently, and he could not help but feel emotional as he said, “In my opinion, the only way to make my father’s spirit in heaven feel truly pleased would be to let the Wade family stand at the top of the world.”Janus was shocked when he heard this.He had never expected that Charlie would have such an ambition.However, he also knew very well that it was not difficult to have great ambition, but it was extremely difficult to turn it into reality.He was not quite sure how similar Charlie was to Curtis, but when he thought back to Curtis’ kindness to him, for a certain moment, he suddenly felt moved to serve Charlie.Nevertheless, his thoughts were the same as Charlie’s. He should not be expecting a deep friendship since this was their first meeting. After all, he did not know Charlie well, and Charlie might not think highly of him.So, the both of them tacitly agreed to talk more and more, and soon, they began talking about Charlie’s trip to New York.Janus asked C
Pausing, Charlie then said, "I'll call Steve to drop by later too. I'm sure folks in Aurous Hill won't know him, but your potential troublemaker might.""I-Is that really fine?" Yolden blurted."What's not fine about it?" Charlie chuckled. "He has been treated like a tool ever since he came to Aurous Hill, and now that he has a chance to strut about, he wouldn't ask for more."Yolden appeared slightly relieved at that, and Charlie asked, "By the way, where's Paul, Matilda, and Autumn?""Getting their makeup done," Yolden replied. "Paul's my best man while Autumn's the maid of honor.""Good," Charlie nodded with a grin. "Don't worry—the wedding's going to be a success."As they spoke, Matilda stepped out of the dressing room in a stark-white wedding dress, flanked by Autumn and Paul.Seeing Charlie, Autumn nodded politely, "Good morning, Mr. Wade."As Charlie nodded in turn, Paul started, "G-Good morning… Mr. Wade…"Seeing that he was nervous and tentative, Charlie knew that he
As Yolden and Matilda were remarrying after living abroad for years, the wedding ceremony was much simpler, skipping Oskian customs and having a simple wedding reception for their guests at the hotel hall.There weren't that many guests either—aside from their children and close friends, only a handful of Yolden's colleagues at Aurous Hill University were invited.As the celebrant, Charlie didn't have much to do and was mainly the emcee.He brought along his jacket as he headed out to Shangri-La, not wearing it immediately so that Claire wouldn't guess that he was attending Matilda's wedding.Arriving at the Hanging Gardens before the guests were supposed to arrive, he found Yolden working with the staff to finalize the preparations.Seeing Charlie, Yolden approached him and said, "Thanks for coming this early, Charlie."Noticing that he was a little tired, Charlie asked in concern, "Had a bad night?"Yolden nodded, sighing, "Paul's uncle caused a huge mess. Both Matilda and I a
Tarlon nodded. "How do you suggest we find them?"Fleur scowled. "There's no rush. There are things which I'm still confused about, so just keep a close eye on the Ackers and the Wades for the time being. Report to me right away if anything important comes up—don't afford our enemies any opportunities to exploit.""Yes, milady!" -The next day, more news outlets were covering the joint project between the Ackers and the Wades as word continued to spread.However, neither family revealed too many details, be it the name of the company, who was the CEO, or the scale of their business.While the public was dying with curiosity, nothing else was known.Still, Aurous Hill's officials were especially interested, with the town hall visiting the Ackers the next day and showing utmost sincerity by leasing a whopping 2-million-square-meter land along the southern highway. Still, the condition was for the Ackers to come true on their promise to propel the city's economy to 15 billion US d
Fleur had repeatedly mentioned the conspiracy theory of Ashley using a body double over the last twenty years.Tarlon had investigated from many different angles, but everything from the gender, age, dental records, to body figure pointed to the fact that the deceased was Ashley Acker.And yet, Fleur had never bought it, insisting that Curtis was prepared for them just because Curtis' son had gone missing soon after.There was no way Curtis would save his son but not his wife, and the disfigured corpse only added fuel to Fleur's suspicion.Thus, over the last twenty years, Fleur had kept a close eye on the Ackers, arranging for two 'scholars' to be embedded amongst their ranks as sleeper agents. She went that far all to determine if Ashley was dead or had faked her death.However, the scholars had since been killed in action, and they had no spies within the Ackers left.As for Tarlon, he still doubted Fleur's theory even now, but he remained respectful as he spoke, "Milady, I mu
Meanwhile, on the edge of the South Pole, Tarlon Griffin rushed outside of Fleur Griffin's room, knocking the door gingerly as he announced, "I have news, my lady!"Fleur didn't respond, but the thick wooden door between them slowly opened as if pushed by an invisible force.Tarlon entered to find Fleur seated on the floor with her legs crossed at the ankles. Her eyes remained closed as she molded her Reiki, asking, "What is it?"Tarlon quickly answered, "News from Oskia. The Ackers are partnering with the Wades on a joint venture into electric-powered vehicles."Fleur slowly opened her eyes, asking quietly, "And you're telling me because?"Tarlon quickly explained, "It just came out of the blue, so I thought I should report it to you right away."Fleur sighed. "After I tried and failed to wipe out the Ackers so many times, they wouldn't dare set foot stateside. If anything, they must have decided to seek asylum in Oskia by offering a substantial investment, and it's a base whe
Silent for a while, Matilda then asked Yolden, "Do you think I can do it?""Yes!" Yolden nodded without hesitation. "You definitely won't have any problems!"Matilda sighed, shaking her head. "We traveled far abroad to study while we were young, but we didn't return to Oskia to help the country's development. It's been thirty years since, and now that we have returned to the country at the same time, I definitely wouldn't turn down such an opportunity to help."Pausing, she then said, "That said, major corporations make it a point to not hire family members. Forget spouses—employees aren't allowed to date, and one of the two will be asked to resign if necessary."Don't you think it's inappropriate since we are legally married, having gotten our certificate and all? And if we set these precedents, we would have trouble asking other employees to follow that policy. You are going to be a CEO, so you need a very clear answer on this issue."Yolden shrugged. "In the first place, that p
Yolden nodded slightly. "He does.""My gosh…" Matilda murmured. "That's too much… Ashley's son? A member of the Acker family and the Wades?!"Pausing, she then asked in confusion, "Wait, if Charlie has so much power and influence, why would he permanently reside in Aurous Hill… No, why would he be content as Jacob Wilson's son-in-law? Does Jacob know who he really is?""Definitely not," Yolden shook his head. "There were some compelling circumstances, and his identity is a sensitive one. That's why I'm asking you to tell no one except Paul—and even then, you should only tell him if he can keep the secret."Matilda was sharp enough to pick up on the reasoning, too. "Charlie's hiding because of his parents' accident, isn't he?""Yes," Yolden sighed. "He has his plans, but I didn't pry since I can only do that much, let alone help him on that.""Got it," Matilda nodded repeatedly. "Don't worry. My lips are sealed… And you just said you're resigning? Are you going to help with this e
"That would be Ashley Layna Acker," Matilda replied without hesitation. "She was our age, as well as a major investor in Silicon Valley, while we were only starting to get our first clients. It's no exaggeration to say that she's the shining example in many case studies when it comes to business."Pausing, she then continued, "And she used to be your classmate, right? I remember you mentioning that in our conversations before.""Yes," Yolden sighed emotionally. "She was a classmate and the star of our generation."Matilda nodded but soon shook her head, "Wait, weren't we talking about Charlie's car company? What does that have to do with Ashley Acker?" "Here's where I let you in on a secret," Yolden said. "But first, you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone except Paul."Matilda nodded without hesitation. "Don't worry—if it's a secret, I won't tell Paul either."Yolden scratched his head. "Actually, Paul should know. We are going to marry soon, and he's my stepson, lega
In fact, the legal department of major enterprises covered many responsibilities, the chief of which concerned intellectual property, which was why veterans were needed to lead.Additionally, Charlie trusted Matilda's accomplishments in the legal field, especially since she had worked in the United States for years.With Curtis Autos' intended expansion worldwide, that meant the legal department should also know the laws of countries abroad, ready to file or respond to lawsuits at any time. After all, competitors may use the law to impede their growth, along with the government applying unfair policies to impede their development and impact on local businesses.Moreover, Charlie considered Paul young and therefore lacking in experience, not to mention that it was not likely he would abandon his family's law firm. As such, the ideal solution was to poach Matilda for now.As for Matilda, she was still in the dark and had no idea what she was in for, asking Charlie in confusion, "Lega