“Infestation?!”Aivan frowned, and he suddenly felt a little nervous.What he feared the most was that Charlie actually had a hidden meaning behind his words. ‘Could it be possible that my blood mosquitoes have really ended up dying in his hands?!’ ‘But that shouldn’t be the case... If my blood mosquitoes have really died in his hands, I would be able to sense it. Furthermore, the blood mosquitoes’ stomachs are full of corrupt and highly toxic blood water. If one were to be killed here, the bloody smell would only get stronger, but there is no blood smell here, almost as if the blood mosquitoes never came here at all...’As Aivan thought of this, he comforted himself, “Although there must have been a mistake in a certain link, it should have nothing to do with Mr. Wade!’So, he snorted coldly, looked at Charlie, and asked, “Why? You’re asking me to beware of an infestation when you said that I will encounter a bloody calamity?”“That’s right.” Charlie nodded and laughed as he
It was only when the blood mosquitoes had flown above Aivan’s head that Charlie kindly reminded him, “Master Yaleman, beware of those big mosquitoes!”Aivan subconsciously turned his head, but by then, the huge blood mosquitoes had already flown in front of him from a height.Aivan’s first reaction was surprise as he thought to himself, ‘D*mn it! Aren’t these my blood mosquitoes?!’His second reaction was shock and fright, and he cursed offhandedly, “D*mn it! How did these blood mosquitoes get so big?!” Before his third reaction could be made, he felt a burst of sharp pain in his face, neck, arms, and legs. These blood mosquitoes’ mouthparts had changed from the thickness of a hair to being as thick and long as the needles of a syringe. It was also incredibly hard. This kind of crazy sting was even worse compared to a sting from a wasp. Moreover, the bodies of these blood mosquitoes had already become larger, and the toxin in their bodies had also increased exponentially. Th
When Charlie saw that Aivan seemed to be on the verge of death, he shook his head helplessly and said, “You were not convinced when I told you that you would encounter a bloody calamity. Now, you’ve ended up getting into this situation, and you’re still asking me to help you resolve this issue. Don’t you feel ashamed at all?”Aivan was dying, and he pleaded, “Mr. Wade, I... I know that I’m wrong... I only want to be able to keep my godd*mned life now... so that the Yaleman family will not end here...”Charlie said lightly, “Don’t worry. I will not let you die. Not for now, at least. After all, it’s Uncle Janus’s housewarming ceremony today, and it would be too unlucky if you were to die here.”Having said that, Charlie stepped forward, took out the packet of medicinal powder from Aivan’s pocket, and asked, “Is this the antidote?” “Yes...” Aivan nodded repeatedly. Charlie pinched Aivan’s mouth open and poured the whole packet of medicinal powder into Aivan’s mouth.Aivan said gr
Aivan panicked as he looked at Charlie and asked in disbelief, “My... My father... Is he really dead?!”Charlie nodded. “He was just like you, and he was raising these kinds of inferior mosquitoes. As for your master, Falco, he enjoyed raising Parasitic Worms that loved to eat human brains. So, I simply eliminated the evil for the people by sending them both to hell.”“What?! Master Xanthos is also...”Aivan was in despair at this time.He no longer doubted Charlie’s words because his intuition told him that Charlie was definitely not joking with him.However, he could no longer care about hating Charlie, and he could only plead with tears streaming down his face, “Mr. Wade... As long as you... can spare my life... I... I’ll never do anything wrong again...”Charlie laughed and said, “Aren’t you afraid of death? I can help to call an ambulance for you. The antidote that you took just now is working in your stomach, so it wouldn’t be a big problem for you for a while.”As Charlie
The ambulance sped off and took Aivan, who was already in a deep coma, away from the villa.Everyone else at the scene also had lingering fears, and they were suddenly at a loss for what to do.Shawn’s assistant, Marley, knew a little about Aivan, and he guessed that this guy must have raised something sinister for him to end up in the tragic and miserable situation that he was in currently.He was too lazy to be bothered about Aivan’s life and death. However, the auspicious time was coming soon, and Shawn and Janus’s family would also arrive at the villa at any moment. According to the procedure, the grand housewarming ceremony would have to be conducted after they arrived at the villa. Aside from the lion dance troupe, the most important thing was, in fact, the ritual which was supposed to have been officiated by Aivan.However, the Feng Shui master who was supposed to preside over the housewarming ceremony had just been taken away by an ambulance due to a strange serious injury
Charlie smiled faintly as he said, “My main purpose in coming to Hong Kong is to solve Uncle Janus’s matter for him. I will not be calculative as to whether Shawn will ultimately benefit from this or not.”Kathleen smiled and said, “I seem to have made a mistake just now. I think that Shawn should be at the losing end of this deal instead.”Charlie asked curiously, “Why did you change your opinion again?”Kathleen said seriously, “I didn’t take Marianne into account just now. She has already fallen in love with you now, so although Shawn has earned the endorsement of the Fox family, he has lost Marianne. So, ultimately, he is still at the losing end.”Charlie said a little embarrassedly, “You’re making it seem as though I’ve done something for Miss Marianne. I’ve only shown her a little more appreciation on the basis of ordinary friends. Besides that, I haven’t done anything to her, so how could it be considered as if Shawn has lost her to me, then?”Kathleen smiled slightly and s
By the time Charlie had walked to the terrace on the third floor of the villa alone, Shawn and Janus’s family’s convoy had already driven into the villa courtyard one after the other.The reporters flocked in after the convoy. The best lion dance troupe in Hong Kong then performed two life-like lion dances to perfection, and the scene was extraordinarily lively.Although Charlie had never liked lively scenes, he too felt extraordinarily relieved as he witnessed this scene. The thick smoke generated by the explosion of the firecrackers was accompanied by the strong and rich smell of gunpowder. This familiar yet unfamiliar smell suddenly gave Charlie a refreshing feeling.Growing up, he had always liked the smell of gunpowder smoke when the firecrackers burnt out. However, he hadn’t smelled this familiar smell for a long time since there was a ban on fireworks and firecrackers everywhere over the years.Perhaps it was also related to the Oskian people’s love of fireworks and firecr
Just as Charlie was sighing emotionally as he was lost in his thoughts, he suddenly heard a familiar voice next to him asking, “Mr. Wade, what are you thinking about that you seem to be so deep in your thoughts?”Charlie was slightly startled. He turned around and saw that Marianne had already arrived behind him at some point.He was surprised and also a little scared at the same time.He had not expected that he would be so numb and careless to the point that he had not even noticed it when an ordinary person like Marianne had approached him.He came back to his senses immediately, smiled slightly, and said to Marianne, “I was thinking about some things that happened in the past.”Having said that, Charlie asked her, “Miss Marianne, when did you come?” “I just arrived.” Marianne also smiled slightly and then walked over to Charlie’s side as she looked at the lively scene below and asked Charlie, “Were you thinking about your parents just now?”“Yes...” Charlie did not deny it,
Falling apart in both mind and spirit, Jacob was crying as he disembarked and took a cab to the hotel.Elaine, who had been lying around for 24 hours, was stunned speechless as she watched him enter, crying like a child.In contrast, Elaine looked like a mother to Jacob just then as he threw himself into her arms and bawled, "Darling… That prick Mr. Bay screwed me over… I have nothing left now…"Taken aback for a moment that Jacob would bawl in her arms like that, Elaine soon came to her senses and patted his back as she comforted him, "Oh, stop crying already. Who cares about some Calligraphy and Painting groupies? We certainly don't! Just hear me out and don't ever go there again!"Jacob kept sobbing, "But I care… I want to go…"Annoyed, Elaine's hand that had been patting Jacob a moment ago slid down to his hip and pinched him viciously before he noticed."Ow!" Jacob yelped in pain, and he demanded indignantly, "What was that for?!""Shut up!" Elaine snapped, glowering. "I wa
Jacob couldn't even be bothered by the looks others were giving him, and he called Mr. Bay immediately.Mr. Bay had already gone home and was seated on the couch with his wife, watching his phone and waiting for Jacob to call and demand an explanation.Mr. Bay knew that he had to answer for this and that if he avoided Jacob, it may well be a confession that he had screwed Jacob over.So, to avoid unnecessary trouble, he decided to come clean with Jacob.Naturally, by coming clean, he meant passing the buck as his wife had suggested.Hence, as he answered Jacob's call, he immediately sighed in embarrassment, "Hey, Jacob. I'm so sorry about that…"However, Jacob was so furious he immediately started bellowing, "Mr. Bay! Are you fucking with me here?! You said that the resignation letter was more of a formality, but you just made it public instead! So, all those things you said about helping me were just a trap, was it?! You're despicable! And to think I've been so good to you, even
The repeated flights had left Jacob tormented.Even before he actually had the time to enjoy Dubai, he had already gotten sick of the place and didn't want to ever return.And on the flight, he couldn't stop his thoughts from going astray.Now that he was not getting back the money he had lost, his only hope was Mr. Bay.Fortunately, Mr. Bay was serious about his promise that he would at least save him a job as department head. That was why, despite his thoughts running astray, he never considered the thought that he would be kicked out of the Calligraphy and Painting Association.As soon as his flight landed, he didn't wait to turn off his phone's flight mode, waiting for the internet connection to return so that he could ask Mr. Bay about the meeting.Once he did, he received a ton of messages from public accounts to acquaintances—many had already found out that he had resigned from the post of administrative vice-president and wanted to ask how he was doing.And Matilda was
The Calligraphy and Painting Association was certainly efficient—soon after the meeting was dismissed, the news that the administrative vice-president had resigned was posted on their official page and social media.The notice was simple and never mentioned what Jacob had done, only that the administrative vice-president had asked to resign for personal reasons. The request had since been voted upon, and all members had agreed to it.And that was how a simple and short message kicked Jacob out of the Calligraphy and Painting Association entirely.In the city, other associations closely connected with the Calligraphy and Painting Association were the various cultural societies and circles of antique enthusiasts and the Senior University. In fact, most fans of the public page of the Calligraphy and Painting Association were from the Senior City, and every lecturer, student, and even guest lecturer were subscribed.As a matter of fact, that was entirely Jacob's doing. After his lect
There weren't that many members in the Calligraphy and Painting Association—just a handful over twenty.Hence, at Mr. Bay's request, everyone showed up at the conference at 1 pm.He chose the afternoon as there were a handful who were away on outreach, including Walker, who was subbing for Jacob's lectures.Once the entire Calligraphy and Painting Association save for Jacob was informed of the mandatory meeting, every member was there on the hour, seated primly and in attention in the huge conference room.Mr. Bay didn't waste his breath on the preamble either—as soon as he saw that everyone had arrived, he announced, "Everyone, I've gathered you here today because our administrative vice-president, Jacob Wilson, has been alleged to be involved in a certain malicious scheme."Last night, Mr. Wilson submitted his resignation to me, and after a discussion with my vice-presidents, we've all decided to hold a vote. It will be open to every member in the association as we will be decid
Having sent his resignation letter, Jacob had no idea that it would be the catalyst for his dismissal.He didn't sleep well at the rundown motel either and had dark circles under his eyes as he rushed to the airport early the next morning.Clearing the checkpoint and boarding his flight, everything went smoothly until his flight to Dubai lifted off at 10 am.-Meanwhile, the other vice-presidents of the Calligraphy and Painting Association had arrived at Mr. Bay's office.They all had the same goal—pressure Mr. Bay and get Jacob kicked out of the association no matter what it took.Naturally, they knew that Mr. Bay most definitely would have to help Jacob since Jacob was close with Don Albert. If Mr. Bay insisted on protecting Jacob, they shouldn't insist, or Jacob would hear about it, and the man would bear a grudge.Even so, as the vice-presidents entered Mr. Bay's office and closed the door behind them, one of them couldn't help asking, "So, Mr. Bay—how do you intend to deal
Hence, Mr. Bay sent a reply in under five minutes after Jacob sent his resignation letter.As Jacob tapped on it, he immediately saw Mr. Bay's reply: Mr. Wilson's resignation is a huge loss to the association. However, we should also respect his individual situation and opinion. As such, to discuss our direction forward, all vice-presidents are required to attend a meeting at 10am tomorrow to discuss this matter.Jacob was still perplexed as to why Mr. Bay would reply to his mail and even summon the other vice-presidents for a meeting, and when he had a closer look, he saw that Mr. Bay had forwarded his mail to everyone else.Seeing that, Jacob thought to himself that Mr. Bay could just stick to a discussion involving just Mr. Bay and the vice-presidents instead of the entire association.As such, he sent a voice message on WhatsApp: "Mr. Bay, did you make a mistake and forward my mail to everyone else?"Mr. Bay soon replied, "Everyone already knows about your situation, so there'
Mr. Bay was left pursing his lips awkwardly. "T-That's way too despicable, don't you think? I'm the one who asked him to write a resignation and give up his place as vice-president while I handle the other vice-presidents and resolve the entire matter internally. Everyone can take a step back from escalation, and it's a solution that could please everyone."If I take that resignation at face value, won't it be like a bank goading a client into taking a scam loan? Won't he hate me to the bone if he finds out I screwed him over?""What are you worried about?" Mrs. Bay shot back in annoyance. "Are you that scared of Jacob Wilson turning against you? Hell, my own sister hates me to the bone—but what did you think I told her? That I'm never lending her the money no matter how much she hates me!"What do you think would have happened if I were worried about her feelings and loaned her the money she asked for? She wouldn't have to use a single cent to get herself a new house! She would say
"Don Albert… is giving up on Jacob Wilson?!"Mr. Bay exclaimed in shock. "B-But he was so respectful toward Jacob just the other day when we had dinner at the Heaven Springs… He gave us the best private room and even offered his best wine, filling our glasses personally…"Mrs. Bay waved him off. "You've been stuck with the retirees of the Calligraphy and Painting Association for so long that you've lost your nose for danger! Just think about it—married couples who were just sharing a bed one night could pull a knife on their partner the very next day. And these are men with priorities we're talking about."Also, you should take into account that Zachary Evans is Don Albert's right-hand man, and Jacob somehow dragged him into a fraud scheme. So, do you think Don Albert would be happy with that?"And according to Zachary's public statement, all the money they got went straight into Jacob's pocket—and what does that mean? It means Zachary is an accessory to a crime—at worst, an accomp