Marianne was shocked and frustrated as she spoke up earnestly and worriedly, “Charlie, I beg you to listen to me. His family will definitely not let you off after you’ve beat him up so badly! How are you going to settle things, then?! Even my father will not be able to protect you...”“Your father?” Charlie smiled and said, “It would already be very impressive if he could protect himself.” Having said that, Charlie’s topic did not continue lingering on Shawn, and he said to Marianne, “What’s more, it’s not a question of whether this kid’s family will let me off or not, but it’s whether I am going to let them off or not. If he cannot continue enduring a hundred slaps, his father or godfather will have to endure it on his behalf, then. His father can only blame himself for failing to educate his son properly, and his godfather can only blame himself because he was an accessory to his crimes.”Marianne was shocked and speechless by Charlie’s words. After a while, she could not help bu
Charlie’s words caused Wester to instantly suffer an emotional breakdown.As soon as his legs went weak, he fell to the ground with a thud as he cried and begged, “Sir... I’m just a subordinate of the Order of the Star. Please have mercy on me and let me go on the account that I’ve already lost an arm...”Charlie frowned and said, “I really don’t understand gang members like you. You are usually the most ruthless people, but you guys are also the most cowardly when there’s trouble. Can’t you be a little tougher?”Wester cried and said, “Sir, I will not be able to continue working in the underground world anymore in the future if you break my leg as well...”Charlie asked him, “Are you thinking of taking care of your injuries so that you can continue being one of the Double Pride in the Order of the Star?”Wester hurriedly shook his head and said, “No... I didn’t mean that.”Charlie sneered and said, “You will still make enough if you make an honest living with an arm and a leg. O
Marianne continued questioning, “So, you lured them here deliberately so that you could deal with them?”“That’s right.” Charlie said indifferently, “You should look at a person’s boss before dealing with them, but you also have to choose a suitable place to take action. I could not choose a location where they could flee directly or cause a commotion in the downtown area as soon as I made a move on them.”Marianne looked at the light-hearted expression on Charlie’s face, and when she thought of what he had just done, she could not help but say, “You’re a devil!”“Devil?” Charlie frowned and said, “I, the devil, have never thought of violating you, but that guy in the car trunk is not only thinking of violating you himself, but he also wanted his gang of strong and muscular men to violate you as well. So, who do you think is right, and who is at fault?”Marianne blushed before her face turned pale. After a long while, she said angrily, “Even if that’s the case, you cannot use viole
When Charlie saw Marianne’s despondent expression, he suddenly felt some sympathy for this eldest young lady of the top wealthy family in Hong Kong.Although Shawn was rich, Marianne still did not have a complete childhood.Her father’s betrayal and mother’s early death had destroyed her childhood completely. Charlie and Marianne’s experiences were also somewhat similar in this regard. Although Charlie’s parents had had a good relationship, Charlie’s childhood had fallen apart completely after his parents had passed away. Since then, Charlie had lived in the orphanage for ten years. Although Mrs. Lewis had taken care of him, it had still been a painful decade for Charlie.This was because he had had to re-accept the reality of his parents’ death every day for the first five years, and he had had to fight the sadness of missing his parents every day for the next five years.What truly healed Charlie for the next twenty years and kept him calm without going astray were the earn
Marianne blinked and then used her slender and fair hand to gesture in the direction of the beginning and end of the food street as she said with a smug smile, “This entire street is mine!” “Wow!” Charlie could not help but sigh in admiration as he said, “This boss is so generous!” Marianne smiled and said, “You have to pay some form of price if you want to keep some people and things.”After saying that, several street vendors on the side of the road saw Marianne and greeted her respectfully. “Hello, Miss Marianne!” “Miss Marianne, you’re here!” “What would you like to eat tonight, Miss Marianne?”Marianne greeted them one by one, and she could even refer to everyone by name. After she was done with the pleasantries, she said to Charlie, “Hong Kong’s economy has been growing rapidly over the past few years, and this kind of place would have been long bought and ready to be redeveloped. At that time, the owner of the street increased the rent several times overnight after
Marianne was already completely helpless when dealing with Charlie.Although she knew that Charlie was very strong, she still had no confidence as to whether Charlie would be able to overpower the Brown family and the Order of the Star. However, she already had a plan in mind.If this matter were to really end up being so bad that it could not be ended, she would go and beg her father to step in.If her father still could not solve the problem, she would go to the police directly, then. After all, it was Dillion who had led people to follow them for today’s matter, and they were even planning to kill Charlie. What Charlie had done could be regarded as self-defense. At that time, her father and the police could work together to put pressure on the Brown family and the Order of the Star, and there might be a chance to intervene!After that, Marianne took Charlie to a very busy wonton noodles stall.When she saw that the small tables in front of the stall were already full, she
Having said that, Marianne said with some sadness, “Everything here is the same as it was before aside from the fact that they are old now, I have already grown up, and my mother is no longer here.”When Charlie saw that Marianne was a little depressed, he pretended to be relaxed as he said in a light-hearted manner, “My parents passed away very early. After they left, I became an orphan, and I lived in an orphanage for ten years. In comparison, your situation is still much better and happier.”“You’re an orphan?!” Marianne looked at Charlie in surprise with a look of disbelief.Charlie nodded and said, “I was probably the happiest child in the world before I was eight years old. I fell from the highest to the lowest point in my life overnight. After that, I struggled all the way until today.”Marianne exclaimed, “You’re so young, but you’re actually holding a key position in Ito-Schulz Ocean Shipping Group... This proves that you still have very strong personal abilities!”“Is th
When the crowd dispersed, they left a cake and a table full of dishes and snacks behind.Marianne’s eyes were still red, and she was lost in her thoughts as she looked at the table that was full and piled high with dishes. Charlie looked at her and asked softly, “You’re missing your mother?”Marianne came back to her senses and nodded gently. A bean-sized tear rolled down her cheek, and she quickly wiped the tear away as she said, “I always miss her so much whenever it’s my birthday...”Having said that, she quickly smiled, looked at Charlie, stretched out her hand, and said in a playful tone, “Give me a birthday present! Anything will do.”Charlie said embarrassedly, “Look at this surprise. I didn’t even know that it was your birthday today, so I didn’t prepare anything in advance...”Marianne smiled and said, “It doesn’t matter. Anything will do. It’s fine even if you just give me a coin.”Charlie thought for a while and asked her, “Do you want one of the divine pills that ca
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
Vera was inwardly disappointed to hear that Claire was returning.That meant there were fewer chances of Charlie visiting the Scarlet Pinnacle Manor, as were her chances of seeing him again.Still, she didn't let it show, instead asking casually, "How are things at Champs Elys? Are the warriors improving at a rate to your satisfaction?""Well, most of everyone's improvement is within expectations…" Charlie explained, just as he remembered a certain someone. "By the way, there's something I haven't told you yet. Are you perhaps acquainted with the name Ito Nanako?""Yes," Vera smiled. "The Japanese lady who was with you. What about her?""She attained enlightenment days ago.""Enlightenment?" Vera did a double take and soon pressed, "Enlightenment in what sense? Essential Qi or Reiki?"After all, the former was the path to enlightenment in martial arts, while the latter meant enlightenment in cultivation.But despite the distinction between both domains, enlightenment was a comm
While Charlie had long since gotten used to Elaine and Jacob's bizarre marriage, being near the heart of the storm still took a toll on his senses—to the point that he felt physically sick.Leaving right away was therefore his best solution.Once he left, however, he realized he didn't have anywhere to go. Champs Elys was quite far, and it would take a lot of time.As he started to feel bored stiff, he remembered Vera for some reason and called her.Once Vera answered, she quickly asked in curiosity, "To what do I owe the pleasure? Lunch, perhaps?"Charlie chuckled. "Since you've put it that way… I haven't eaten either, so lunch it is!"Vera giggled. "Come over to my place, then. It's cold outside, and I was just lighting up a hot pot. I'll have Madam Marilyn prepare an additional portion.""Okay!" Charlie agreed to it without hesitation. "I can return her car too. Just wait, I'll be right there!"Once he hung up, he got on the Rolls Roycs he had borrowed from Scarlet Pinnacl