The confirmation of Janus’s identity disappointed Merlin somewhat.He looked forward to hearing some unusual information, the kind that made people feel that something must be going on.However, he dispelled his doubt about Janus after receiving the news from his informant. As an old detective, he knew that a person could disguise the present well, but not their past.Many criminals might be successful at clearing their names and becoming successful figures. However, most of the time, many were eventually apprehended for their past crimes. With the revelation of Janus’s long history from about three decades ago, it was enough to explain his relationship with Quinn Golding. There was nothing wrong with Quinn having a meal at his restaurant. It was perfectly normal.When Quinn was having a meal there, she happened to overhear Christian talking about Keith’s illness. It made sense that she traveled far just to deliver medicine.Merlin also found a reason as to why Janus deliberatel
Shawn had a lot of romantic affairs in Hong Kong over the years. All the women who had a relationship with him praised him as a rare good gentleman, even if they parted ways in the end.There were many rich and romantic people all around, but it was almost impossible to find a man like him.It was late at night in Hong Kong, and Shawn was in his study, dressed in a nightgown. It was then when he discovered the latest information about Janus from his butler, Ken.As he flipped through the information, his face gradually turned sour. He sneered, “I’ve been searching for him for years. I didn’t expect him to be running a restaurant in Oskiatown, of all places! Just look at him now! He looks so haggard. Even if I run into him, I definitely won’t recognize him!”Ken said, “Sir, Janus hid well. I heard he has hardly shaved for two decades and let his hair grow out. His temperament had become more reserved and restrained. If the police in the United States didn’t investigate him, it’ll be
At the same time, in Oskiatown, New York.Janus’s restaurant was doing well because it was lunchtime. Him and his staff were busy going around to and fro as they served the customers. All the while, Janus had been quietly looking out the door.Ever since this morning, he noticed something strange. There was always a random car parked across the road in front of the shop. To top it off, the other party had changed four cars and parked at different spots. Although they were parked differently, Janus knew they could all see the main entrance of his restaurant.This knowledge made him a little anxious. He was restless.He knew the New York police must be after him.Being targeted by the police made Janus even more nervous. Meanwhile, one of his staff noticed that he had been acting strangely. “What’s the matter, sir?”“I’m fine…” Janus replied. “Get on with your work and just let me be.”The staff member nodded. “If you’re tired, take a break. I can work alone.” Janus was pleased
Angus was shocked, not expecting these words from Janus. “Janus… W-Why are you returning to Hong Kong? That Shawn guy will kill you!”Janus smiled. “Back then, I extended my stay in the United States through illegal means. I’m an illegal immigrant. Now that the police have found me, it won’t be long before they deport me. Even if I don’t want to leave, I don’t have control over my circumstances.” Angus blurted out, “Even so, you can’t just sit here and wait until you’re deported! Why don’t you leave New York and hide somewhere else?”“No need.” Janus shook his hand, indifferent. “I’ve been hiding for two decades. If I continue, I’ll just hate myself more.”After that, he looked at Angus and said seriously, “I’ve always wanted to go back, but I never had the courage. I’ll take this opportunity to return. Consider this something that helped me make a decision.”Angus was nervous. “You can still live if you hide. What if that Shawn guy doesn’t want to let you go? If you go back, you
Afternoon soon came. In order to avoid arriving at the concert at the same time as Keith’s family, Charlie brought Claire to the concert hall ahead of schedule.Many fans had gathered inside and outside the concert venue, waiting anxiously for the concert to begin. It was not admission time yet, so these fans caused a traffic jam at the venue.Fortunately, the venue had a VIP lane with special security personnel in charge of maintaining order outside. Therefore, this place was free from fan disturbance.Charlie informed Quinn’s agent Dorothy about his and Claire’s arrival in advance. As his car arrived at the entrance of the VIP lane, the security allowed them to pass after checking the license plate.The VIP was a tunnel road going downwards. As the car entered the straight road, it would then drive to the stadium’s underground parking. From the entrance, one could see the light on the opposite side. The entrance of the VIP area was in the middle of this passage.The VIP lane wa
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it,” Dorothy said. “Master Wade has helped us so much. We’re the ones who troubled him.”Then, Dorothy deliberately added, “We must’ve caused a lot of trouble for making Master Wade drop by New York frequently to help with our Feng Shui issues. We’re so sorry to disturb your time together. I hope you don’t mind, Mrs. Wade.”Claire, however, didn’t understand the implication behind Dorothy’s words. “It’s alright, Miss Chan. This is my husband’s job. It’s all within his responsibility.” Dorothy smiled and nodded softly. She had a lot of meaningful things she wished to tell Claire, but she knew she shouldn’t go overboard in Charlie’s presence. Therefore, she stopped before she spoke too much.She said with a smile, “Master Wade, Mrs. Wade. Please come with me. I’ll take you to the VIP room.” Charlie noticed what Dorothy was trying to do, but as she knew when to stop, he let her behavior slide. He only said indifferently, “Thank you, Miss Chan.”“You’r
Charlie knew that Dorothy was implicitly reminding Claire not to go out if possible. As for Charlie, he wouldn’t go out unless necessary in order to avoid meeting the Ackers.Despite that, how could Claire understand Dorothy’s subtle hint? She said almost immediately, “Don’t worry, Miss Chan. We won’t go anywhere.” Dorothy smiled and checked the time. Finally, she said, “Other VIP guests are arriving soon. They’ll be in the room next door. They’ll arrive in ten minutes, and I’ll be attending to them soon. I’ll excuse myself first so I won’t interrupt you two.”Claire nodded. “Sure. Go ahead, Miss Chan. Don’t worry about us.”“Alright.” Dorothy nodded. Before she left, she said to Charlie, “Mr. Wade, I’ll be leaving.” After Dorothy left, Charlie sat absentmindedly on the sofa in the living area. The thought of his grandparents arriving in ten minutes made him restless. Claire noticed that something was wrong with him. Charlie was acting strange. She sat beside him and asked wit
At this time, Charlie’s attention was almost entirely focused on his grandparents, who were just separated from him by a wall.He heard Dorothy saying respectfully to his grandmother, “Lady Acker, you don’t have to be so polite with me. You are Quinn’s grandmother, and it is our honor to have you and Lord Acker come to attend Quinn’s concert!”Lady Acker smiled and said, “Nana is now the most famous Oskian celebrity in the world. It is an honor for us to be able to come to her concert.”Lord Acker, who was aside, could not help but sigh as he said, “Miss Golding is indeed the light of the Oskians seeing as she could have such a strong appeal and can even bring her concert to the United States.”Lady Acker chided gently, “Why are you calling her Miss Golding?! She is your future granddaughter-in-law. Don’t refer to her in such a formal manner. Her name is Nana.”Lord Acker laughed heartily and said, “Yes, yes, Honey. You are right to criticize me.”Dorothy could not help but sigh
Later, after Charlie told Jeremiah over the phone about the joint venture with the Ackers to establish Curtis Autos, the old man was awash with tears, especially after Charlie told him that it was Keith who suggested it. After all, Curtis was his favorite son whose death he could never really get over. Moreover, he once believed that only his family mourned Curtis while the Ackers never did, and he held a grudge over his son's passing. As such, he was surprised that Keith held such great respect toward his late son and didn't hesitate to say yes when Charlie invited him to Aurous Hill to sign an agreement with the Ackers.Still, Charlie wasn't in a hurry to arrange for a specific time, and he was going to let the Ackers sort out the human resources of Godot Autos over a few days. It still wouldn't be too late by then.Moreover, he was keen to allow the buzz to have time to grow so that the automotive industry would be astounded by the joint project between the Ackers and the Wade
Christian was the first to exclaim in approval, "Yes! Curtis Autos sounds wonderful! It has my vote!""Seconded!" Kaiden nodded, pumping the air with his right fist. "I've looked up to Curtis the most, and I absolutely agree with naming the company after him!"Jaxson was nodding too. "Me too!""Yes!" Lulu chirped.Yolden couldn't help agreeing as well. "Curtis Autos is definitely a good name!"Merlin raised his hand gingerly as well. "Quit it with your flattery already," Keith chuckled, and he turned toward Charlie solemnly. "In the end, Curtis is Charlie's father, and the final decision goes to him!"Charlie's eyes were welling up with tears—his parents had been gone for almost three decades, yet he had never thought of dedicating anything to their memory.As such, Keith's suggestion to use Curtis's name for the car company left him thrilled. After all, wouldn't his father's soul be honored if Curtis Autos rocked the country, maybe even the world?With that in mind, he nodd
Charlie also had to agree that this was an opportunity to formally reconcile the Wades and the Ackers.While he couldn't reveal himself just yet, the Wades and the Ackers had been in-laws for years. Even if they had had a dispute for the longest time, restoring good relations made sense now that the Ackers had come to Oskia, and it wouldn't arouse any suspicion.That was why Charlie agreed to it without hesitation, even making a mental note to invite his paternal grandfather, Jeremiah, to Aurous Hill.The old geezers could meet up and clear the air while deciding on the partnership.Yolden was prepared to resign as a professor as well so that he could help the Ackers and Charlie fully develop their automotive company.With a general direction planned, he asked everyone, "Since we're creating a new brand, has anyone come up with a name?"No one was feeling inspired at that moment, but that was when Lulu, who had been silent throughout, said, "Since Charlie and our family are worki
Neither Charlie nor the Ackers expected Yolden's insight to cover all corners.In fact, it felt like the man had a blueprint ready and was only waiting for the time to put it to use.That was why everyone was immensely approving of Yolden and wanted no other man for the job of CEO.Kaeden smiled, "Well, since everyone has agreed, let's put this to rest as soon as possible—this will be a joint investment between our family and the Wades, and Professor Hart will take the post of CEO. Let's all do our best to make this a good one!"Yolden also made up his mind, deciding that he didn't want to let slip a chance to realize his ambitions. "I'll resign from the university after my honeymoon trip. It probably shouldn't be long, and I can get involved in early preparations via teleconference."Charlie nodded. "Then, we can have Uncle Kaeden stay on schedule while I'll ask the Wades to send a representative over to sign a memorandum for the investment."Keith smiled and nodded. "You should
Charlie hadn't been born and raised in Aurous Hill, but he still started living here at the age of eight and was more attached to this place than Eastcliff.If he was going to take part in this automotive investment with the Ackers, he naturally found Aurous Hill the ideal location.Not only would it create a huge number of jobs for Aurous Hill, but it would also rake in much economic flow for the region.Yolden also nodded at his suggestion. "If the first plant is meant to cover the demand of the entire local market, there's no reason for a coastal plant. Aurous Hill stands at an intersection between the north and the south, so transportation is convenient. It's also killing two birds with one stone, as Mr. Wade is fond of the city."Charlie couldn't help but agree. "I won't lie—Aurous Hill has been good to me, and I hope to give back. Nothing's better than succeeding in that respect."Yolden spread his hands, "Heavy industries are certainly ideal to contribute to Aurous Hill's e
Yolden had actually been researching new energy for a while—in fact, it was when Tesla's first car models were produced.He was passionate about the subject and had his own opinions as well as ambitions, but he was busy teaching, so he couldn't realize any of it.But was this not a golden opportunity tailor-made for him?Seeing that Yolden was clearly interested, Charlie turned toward Kaeden, "Actually, the professor is getting married soon. There's no way we'd split up newlyweds so soon after the wedding, right? So, is it possible to set up base in Aurous Hill instead?""Not a problem!" Kaeden replied without hesitation. "Our family is planning to return to Oskia anyway, and everyone knows about Ashley and Curtis. So, why don't we invest in this enterprise alongside the Wades and have the base set up in Aurous Hill? And then bring Godot under as a subsidiary?"Turning to Yolden, he continued, "By the way, Godot's plant is already in the province—barely 100 miles from Aurous Hill,
Pausing, Yolden continued, "Moreover, the greatest advantage of AI is that it is self-conscious and has the processing power to analyze astronomical proportions of data. As car sales grow, every car owner's driving data will add precious new data to our data vault, and it will be processed by AI for even greater space of imagination."For example, kst's say I experienced a bumpiness along a certain road, and when the sensors pick up on that anomaly, the data will be uploaded to the servers along with images of the road condition in real time. The processing AI module would determine in no time at all that there was damage and label said location on the map, and then forward the data to other vehicles close to that location, sending notifications when they are close enough and providing the appropriate advice for countermeasures."Naturally, the AI can even be refined further so that it immediately warns us to slow down while uploading the data to the servers and informing any cars cl
Yolden's mind short-circuited at those words. "The most advanced AI module?!"He had been working on Wall Street for years, having invested in substantial startup tech companies as well as assisting plenty of Nasdaq tech enterprises with their IPO. That was why he especially had a sharp six sense for cutting-edge technology.It had been a while since he had gotten up the saddle, and AI had just become the trend recently, but he still paid close attention. He was well aware what applications were possible for AI modules, but he was shocked that Charlie already possessed what all the online giants were coveting!Thrilled, he quickly asked Charlie, "Can the Rothschilds resolve all the hardware and software issues? High-processing power display cards are a dime a dozen these days, and local enterprises are all planning to sell them one by one. The demand is just that high!"Charlie chuckled. "Don't worry—the Rothschilds will handle both issues for me, even the data centers. We bought i
Keith, who had been silent throughout, waved him off as he said solemnly, "Please don't sell yourself short, Professor Hart. I'm sure you can do well in this position, but it's still a matter of will."If your heart is truly set on educating future generations, then I'm sure you'd reject our offer no matter what we say."However, if you felt the slightest interest, even anticipation, for such a major project, then you really should consider our offer."We've already invested in Godot Autos for 3 billion USD and over 10 billion if we're counting in Ricebolt. But we still have 30 billion more in capital available—and that means it's 40 billion USD at play."I doubt any other global car maker can afford that much, let alone a new car maker. So, I dare say that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"Keith's words spoke to Yolden's very soul—a startup capital of forty billion US dollars was certainly unprecedented for electric-powered vehicles. Even Ricebolt had barely garnered ove