As Charlie and Marianne were almost done eating and starting to cut the cake, a group of subordinates from the Order of the Star had already found Dillion’s Rolls-Royce in the underground parking lot in Tsim Tsa Tsui.At that time, when Dillion, Wester, and the others were tailing Charlie and Marianne, Dillion had thought that he was being smart by not driving his Rolls-Royce. After all, his Rolls-Royce would be too eye-catching as a target. He was afraid that Charlie would discover them in advance. However, at this moment, Dillion, who was lying in Marianne’s car trunk, would never have dreamt that Charlie had already noticed them long before they had set off.When the subordinates from the Order of the Star found Dillion’s Rolls-Royce, they retrieved the surveillance camera footage from the underground parking lot while reporting this matter to Solomon as they planned to look for clues after Dillion had left.At this time, an anxious Rudy also came to Solomon’s house to await an
After saying that, he said to the two of them, “Mr. Star, Mr. Brown, I’ll take my leave first. I will definitely inform both of you as soon as there is any news!”Mr. Lanyon turned around and left. When Solomon saw Rudy’s anxious expression, he comforted him and said, “Rudy, you don’t have to worry too much. I believe that no one in Hong Kong would dare to do anything to them.”Rudy said with a wry expression, “Godfather, to tell you the truth, even if Wester is innocent, I am afraid that there will be other people who are desperate and wants money more than their life who would kidnap Dillion for ransom!”Solomon waved his hand and said, “Rudy, it does not matter even if Dillion has been kidnapped by people from outside. Mr. Lanyon is a three-star martial artist whom I hired with a lot of money. With him around, if anyone dares to do any harm to Dillion, I will make sure that he will not even be able to die in peace!” Rudy was surprised and asked, “A three-star martial artist?!
Rudy knew that he definitely would have to fork out a large sum of money again this time.However, his son was missing now, and he still had to count on Solomon’s help. So, he could only ask respectfully, “Godfather, just tell me what kind of help you need from me. I will definitely do my best as long as I can help.”Solomon nodded in satisfaction and sighed as he said, “Rudy, you really are the best at repaying kindness!” Having said that, he sighed and said again, “Oh! Lately, there has been a slight improvement in my business of smuggling frozen meat. However, this business is not as easy as I had imagined. This is particularly so because the loss of frozen meat is too great when it first arrived. The anti-smuggling department has been keeping a close eye on this area, and we lost a lot of goods. So, I want you to help me register an ocean shipping company. With your reputation, there must be a lot of room for this ocean shipping company to operate in Oskia, and you can also hel
Rudy had not agreed to it, and Bryce had released a message to teach him a lesson.However, at that time, Bryce had never wanted to kill him. He simply wanted to take an arm from him. At that time, when Rudy had asked Solomon for his help, he had not wanted Solomon to kill Bryce at all. He simply wanted Solomon to come forward to help him reconcile things so that Bryce would stay away from him.However, Solomon had made his own decision to kill Bryce directly. After that, Solomon had then thrown Bryce’s body into the foundation at the overpass construction site. Since then, Solomon would always bring up Bryce’s death whenever he needed Rudy’s help. The subtext was nothing more than a warning to Rudy that he had such information that he could use against Rudy in his hands. Rudy had not been afraid at all in the beginning. After all, it was Solomon who had killed Bryce, while he himself had never said that he wanted Solomon to kill Bryce.However, Solomon was a sly old man, and
As Mr. Lanyon was leading a group over to Saffron Ridge, Marianne was driving her Tesla and brought Charlie to Lan Kwai Fong. After the car was parked in front of ClubWaves, Marianne asked Charlie again, “Are you sure you really want to go in?”Charlie nodded and said, “We’re already here, so at the very least, I have to go in and take a seat.” After saying that, Charlie prepared to push the car door open and get out of the car.Marianne took Charlie’s hand in a hurry and said nervously, “Charlie, think it over again. The Brown family and the Order of the Star must be looking for Dillion and his subordinates’ whereabouts at this moment. As long as they search Saffron Ridge, they will know that we are the ones who took Dillion away. At that time, they will definitely be looking for our whereabouts all over Hong Kong. We still have time if we run now, but if we go in, it will be difficult for us to get out.”Charlie smiled lightly and said, “Don’t be afraid. It’s your birthday tod
Therefore, this also made her even more curious about Charlie’s true identity.The waitress soon came over diligently with the POS machine. After helping Charlie swipe his card, she immediately reported three big news to her manager. The first news was that the famous Marianne had actually come to their shop.The second news was that the man who came with her was unexpectedly holding a black gold card.And the third news was that Marianne seemed to be in a relationship with that man. When the manager heard about this, he instructed the waitress to serve Charlie well. At the same time, he also subconsciously took out his cell phone and prepared to call Dillion, who was the young master of the Brown family. Everyone knew that Dillion had been pursuing Marianne for a long time, but now, it seemed that Marianne already had a boyfriend. Therefore, he planned to report this news to Dillion as soon as possible.However, when he called Dillion, he found that he could not get throug
In an instant, all the members of the Order of the Star throughout Hong Kong received a message that they were supposed to look for the whereabouts of Marianne, who was the eldest young lady of the Long family. However, the vast majority of people would not have imagined that Marianne was sitting in a nightclub operated by the Order of the Star at this time. The waitress brought up the set menu and drinks ordered by Charlie, and the manager of the nightclub also came forward and said respectfully, “Our most distinguished guests, my name is Waltor, and I’m the manager here. You can tell me directly if you have any needs or requests.”Charlie waved at him and said, “Okay. You can just go ahead and get busy.”The manager of the nightclub hurriedly nodded and said, “Okay, Sir. I’ll leave you alone, then.”Having said that, he turned around and returned to the bar. He suddenly received a text message from the Order of the Star on his cell phone.When he saw that Solomon, the leader
Meanwhile, in ClubWaves in Lan Kwai Fong.ClubWaves had stopped allowing any other casual customers from entering because of the news received. Many of the members of the Order of the Star who were in the vicinity also quickly rushed over to provide their support.They began guarding all the entrances and exits of the entire nightclub first in case Charlie and Marianne were to escape.Mr. Lanyon also brought his men with him as they quickly rushed over from Saffron Ridge.Charlie was sitting in the booth in the nightclub at this time. He picked up a bottle of Ace of Spades wine and asked Marianne, “Miss Marianne, would you like a drink?”Marianne shook her head nervously. “I never drink.”Charlie looked at her and smiled as he asked, “Are you afraid?” Marianne nodded. “A little...” Having said that, Marianne asked Charlie, “Should I ask my dad to come over?”“No.” Charlie smiled and said, “Someone will definitely call him later.”Marianne was helpless and said, “In the e
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