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
Marianne soon discovered a strange phenomenon. All the waitresses in the entire nightclub seemed to be whispering something to the guests at the other tables separately. Soon after, the guests who had communicated with the waitresses would then get up and leave immediately.She could not help but feel somewhat nervous, and she whispered to Charlie, “Are they already here? I think that there seems to be something wrong with these waitresses.”Charlie smiled slightly and said, “Don’t be nervous. The good show is just about to begin.”With that being said, Charlie poured himself another glass of wine and took a sip of it.Soon, almost all the other guests in the nightclub were gone, leaving only Charlie and Marianne at their booth. Immediately afterward, all the lights on the ceiling instantly lit up, illuminating the dim nightclub as bright as daylight. The loud and explosive music also came to an abrupt end, and the DJ and waitresses quickly left through the staff passageway.
Charlie sneered. “You’re not worthy enough to ask me about my origin. Aren’t you here to solve the problem? I’ll give you a solution to the problem now. As the leader of the Order of the Star, you condoned your subordinates’ actions and assisted the evildoers. I will take your old age into account and not pursue this matter if you bow and apologize to me here today.”After that, he pointed at Rudy, who was next to Solomon, and said coldly, “You’re Dillion’s father, right? Your son plotted against Miss Marianne today. As a father, you did not teach your son properly and so, you naturally cannot shirk this responsibility. I will not hold you accountable if you kneel and grovel three times before Miss Marianne now.”Charlie’s remarks made both Solomon and Rudy extremely furious.This was especially so for Solomon. He had been in the underground world for most of his life, but he had never met anyone as arrogant as Charlie before. So, Solomon said angrily to Mr. Lanyon, “Mr. Lanyon, I
At this time, Shawn, who had just eaten dinner at his mansion, was lounging by the pool with a bathrobe on and a cigar in his mouth.Jenna, who still had a beautiful figure, was wearing a bikini as she accompanied him.Jenna, who hadn’t worn a bikini in a long time, felt somewhat uncomfortable and said, “Shawn, we have a guest at our house. Wouldn’t it be inappropriate if he were to see me dressed like this?”Shawn grinned and said, “What are you afraid of? Charlie is having dinner with Marianne, so he won't be back too early.”Jenna was helpless and asked him, “Why do you want to swim at night? Why are you in such a good mood?”Shawn’s belly was bulging as he smoked his cigar, and he smiled and said to Jenna, “I heard that the United States will be deporting Janus back soon. If it’s quick, he might arrive as early as the day after tomorrow!”Jenna’s expression turned pale immediately as she said, “Shawn, you really cannot let him off?”Shawn glared at her and asked coldly, “Why
Shawn put on his bathrobe and said lightly, “Alright, then. You should just wait at home. I’ll go and see what’s going on.”Jenna asked him, “Do you want me to come with you?”“No need.” Shawn waved his hand and said, “It’ll be more troublesome if you come.”***Soon, a convoy of three Rolls-Royces drove out of Shawn’s mansion on Steerlain Island.The convoy drove speedily to Lan Kwai Fong as soon as it came out.Meanwhile, in ClubWaves, Solomon was sitting in front of Charlie and Marianne with a smile on his face.Solomon looked at Charlie and smiled as he said, “Kid, you’re really lucky. You’ve caused a lot of trouble, but there’s a beauty like Miss Long who is willing to protect you at all costs. You’re really fortunate. You really have to thank Miss Long if you can walk out of this place alive tonight.”Charlie said indifferently, “You should be the one thanking her. If she hadn’t stopped me, I’d have killed you long ago.”“F*ck!” The faces of several of Solomon’s subordin
When Shawn saw that Solomon was already acting like a thug, he knew that it would be impossible for him to reason with the other party regarding this matter.So, his expression gradually calmed down as he spoke up and asked, “Mr. Star, how do you want to solve this matter? Just tell me directly.”Solomon looked at Shawn and then at Marianne, and he snorted coldly as he said, “Mr. Long, don’t say that I’m not friendly or unreasonable. I know that your daughter did not make a move on any of my Order of the Star members, and I know that she did not do anything to hurt my god-grandson, Dillion. So, you just need to fork out ten million US dollars to bring her back.”“Ten million US dollars?!” Shawn blurted out as if someone had stepped on his tail. “Mr. Star, have you made a mistake? You were the one who said that my daughter did not do anything. Don’t you think that you’re asking for a little too much if you want to take ten million US dollars for nothing?!”Solomon sneered, “Why? Mr.
So, his expression softened a little, and he smiled as he said, “Mr. Long, you are truly courageous! I appreciate that!”Shawn snorted and said, “Mr. Star, why don’t you tell me what your final offer is directly, then?”Solomon nodded and said, “Mr. Long, I will not speak in circles. I will settle this matter with you for five million US dollars.”Shawn frowned and then pointed at both Marianne and Charlie as he said loudly, “I can give you five million US dollars, but I will have to take them both away.”Solomon laughed out loud. “Haha! Mr. Long, you might not understand the situation, but the reason why you’re here is to solve your daughter’s problem. The reason why you’re asked to solve your daughter’s problem is because your daughter is not the main culprit in this matter. So, I decided to give you a chance to resolve this conflict for your sake.”Having said that, Solomon pointed his finger at Charlie and said coldly, “As for this kid, you will not be able to take him away to
Shawn was dumbfounded when he heard Marianne’s words.He subconsciously asked, “Are you insane?! Don’t you know that you will only die if you stay here?!”“I don’t care.” Marianne said with a firm expression, “I want to stay with Charlie regardless of whether I will stay and go, die or live!”Shawn became anxious, and he blurted out, “Marianne! This is not the time for you to be loyal! As long as one person can leave now, it’d be better than two people dying together!”Nevertheless, Marianne’s eyes were firm as she said without hesitation, “You don’t have to persuade me. You can go by yourself.”Shawn stomped his feet angrily. “Are you insane?! You will not be able to do anything by staying here!”Marianne said coldly, “I’ve already said that I don’t care! I just want to stay with Charlie!”“F*ck!” Shawn gritted his teeth. He then took out his checkbook and kept writing on it as he clenched his teeth and said, “I’ve let you do everything that you wanted to in the past, but that
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