Charlie nodded and said, “Yes, Mr. White informed me that the work will be completed next month and we can move in then.”Claire said, “Would it be good to move in right after the renovation is completed? Shouldn’t we wait for a while for the smell of the paint and whatever to disappear first?”Elaine interjected, “Ah, it’s okay. I went to see the progress with your dad the other day. They used imported non-polluting materials for the renovation containing zero formaldehyde. There was really no smell at all in the house. In fact, they installed an air purifying system in the house that replaces fresh air twenty-four hours a day, it is very advanced and healthy!”Claire nodded without a word. She was rather indifferent and aloof about the whole idea of moving to the Thompson First villa, but Charlie was right. They would not live on the same floor as her parents after moving into the new house. In this case, they would have more privacy and personal space, unlike now, where there was
Since people were waiting for her, Elaine did not even bother to finish her meal. She quickly grabbed her bag before she took a cab to an older villa complex in Aurous Hill, the West Garden Villa.An old friend of hers lived in the vicinity of this villa complex.The West Garden Villa had been relatively prosperous and luxurious in Aurous Hill twenty years ago. However, since it was already an old villa complex, it was not as luxurious and elegant as it used to be.In the past, Elaine felt that the West Garden Villa was already very good and luxurious. Moreover, she felt that she would never be able to move into a villa like this in her lifetime.Nevertheless, things were different now. When she thought of how she was going to move into the best villa at Thompson First very soon, Elaine felt a little dismissive of the West Garden Villa.Her old friend who lived at this villa complex was called Summer Gibson, and Elaine had met her many years ago.Summer came from a pretty good fa
Summer shook her head before she smiled and said, “Actually, I am going to the United States after a while. I am going to settle down there, and I am not going to come back to Aurous Hill anymore.”At this time, Elaine asked in surprise, “How are you planning to settle down in the United States?”Summer nodded slightly before she said, “Didn’t I tell you that my son went abroad to study in the United States? He has not returned to the country after leaving for the United States. He is already married there, and my daughter-in-law is also pregnant now. My son does not intend to come back to Aurous Hill anymore. Therefore, he wants to bring me over to live with him in the United States so that I can help him to look after his children in the future.”One of the women sitting at the mahjong table suddenly blurted out, “Oh, Summer! Are you going to sell all of your houses and properties in Aurous Hill then?”Summer replied, “I will just keep one of the smaller condominiums in the urban
”Yes.” Christopher quickly explained, “This is the life insurance that my dad bought for her when he was still alive in order to leave a way out for the future generations.”After that, Christopher also said, “Why don’t you analyze and do the calculations yourself? How many more years could my mother possibly live when she is already so old? I think that she can only live for another three to five years at most. Let’s just let her live with us for another three to five years. After her death, we will be able to get our hands on the six million dollars life insurance. Don’t you think that it is very worth it?”“Yes, it is worth it!” Hannah replied as she rubbed her hands excitedly. After that, she said, “We have to take good care of your mother now. We should not allow Jacob and his family to lay their hands on your mother’s life insurance!”Christopher nodded as he smiled, “That is only natural. Don’t worry, we will not split the six million dollars with Jacob and his family when th
Summer smiled before she said, “Oh, please come in! Come in! I have not lived in this villa for many years. So, please just make yourselves at home as you look around the villa.”“Okay!” Christopher nodded before he entered the villa with Hannah. After that, he began looking at the layout and interior design of the villa.At this time, Shella, the real estate agent, smiled before she said, “Mr. Wilson, the West Garden Villa is one of the first villa complexes that was developed in Aurous Hill. The supporting facilities are all relatively complete, and it has very tight and good security. Therefore, your safety is guaranteed. The villa has an actual living area of four hundred and seventy square meters, and this fully meets all of your previous requirements…”The reason Christopher was looking forward to buying an old villa was because it would be relatively cheaper. A normal four hundred and seventy square meters villa cost at least twenty million dollars in Aurous Hill, but the cur
Truth be told, Hannah and Christopher would never have dreamt that they would run into Elaine here!Both of them really could not comprehend the situation. Why was Elaine here at the villa?Was she friends with Summer?Hannah was a little annoyed at this time.In fact, she had already planned to slaughter the price of the villa and insist on purchasing the villa for eight million dollars. If the other party disagreed with the price, she would just increase the price little by little until a maximum of nine million dollars. Hannah was confident that she would definitely be able to buy the villa for nine million dollars.However, she never would have expected Elaine to suddenly appear and attack them at this time!Besides, Elaine had always been very polite and respectful toward her. So, why was she suddenly so courageous to even mock her in front of everyone else today? When did she become so courageous?Elaine had been bullied by Christopher and Hannah ever since she had married
Christopher turned pale, and he quickly stepped forward to reprimand Elaine. “Elaine! Stop trying to criticize and insult us! No matter how depressing our situation is, we are definitely better off than you. Why don’t you take a look at your own life instead? Your husband is a piece of trash, your son-in-law is a piece of trash, and your whole family is simply pathetic!”Elaine’s eyes widened immediately, but she simply replied in disdain, “Oh! Big brother, you are right! My husband is really nothing but a piece of trash, but what else can I do? All the men in the Wilson family are nothing but garbage! Don’t you already know this in your own heart?”“You…” Christopher gritted his teeth in anger.Good for you, Elaine. I was scolding your husband, but you actually dragged my husband and son into this?!At this time, Elaine did not give Christopher any chance to continue speaking at all. She simply placed her hands on her waist as she said arrogantly, “But don’t you dare say that my p
When Elaine saw that Hannah had already raised her hands as she rushed toward her, she immediately took a few steps back as she said coldly, “Let me tell you something, Hannah. You cannot afford to offend me, so you’d better keep your hands to yourself!”At this time, Hannah replied savagely, “I can’t afford to offend a stinky woman like you?! If I do not tear your mouth apart today, my last name will not be Queen!”Elaine snorted before she retorted, “My precious son-in-law, Charlie, is very good at fighting. I believe you have not forgotten how he dealt with the bodyguards you hired or how he taught your useless son, Harold, a lesson that he would never forget? Believe it or not, if you try and provoke me today, I will just call Charlie right now. I will ask him to come here and teach both of you a lesson immediately!”Hannah shuddered as soon as she heard Elaine’s words. She became very frustrated and felt as though all the anger and hatred she was feeling was already dissipating
When Jacob came to his senses, he was already in tears. The student presumed he was unwell and asked, "Mr. Wilson, do you want me to call your wife to pick you up?" Elaine's sarcastic face immediately popped up in his mind, and he trembled with fear. He quickly wiped away his tears and stammered, "D-don't bother... I... I just got something in my eyes..." The student obviously didn't believe him and asked worriedly, "Why don't you call your wife? Or I'll call a cab for you." "No, no." Jacob waved his hand and said, "I'll call my son-in-law to pick me up. He has just returned to Aurous Hill, so it shouldn't be a problem." After that, he quickly took out his phone and called Charlie. Just a few minutes ago, Charlie had left the cafe and was about to walk Yolden to his car. When he saw Yolden walking straight toward a domestic new energy vehicle, he asked curiously, "I don't think you were driving this model before, were you?" "I just bought it," Yolden replied with a smil
If Matilda still had feelings for Jacob, his nostalgic strategy would definitely have a strong impact. However, Matilda had already decided to move on, so Jacob's suggestion did not stir any emotions in her at all. With an apologetic smile, she said, "Sorry, Jacob, Yolden is downstairs waiting for me. We have something to discuss. How about another day? We can have dinner together, and I'll treat you." Jacob didn't expect the nostalgia strategy to fall flat. His original plan was to use nostalgia to get Matilda to go with him to eat near the school, then take the opportunity to revisit old places and subtly reignite their past memories. After all, revisiting old places was the best way to rekindle old feelings, no exceptions. It was like drinking the pasta water after cooking the pasta. However, he never imagined that Matilda's expression wouldn't change in the slightest. There was no shyness, no hesitation, no nervousness, and certainly no fluttering heart. She simply and
Matilda had been listening attentively before, but now, she was lowering her head, fiddling with her phone, and her expression even carried a hint of shyness and happiness, like that of a young girl. Jacob felt a pang of jealousy. While doing the presentation, he couldn't help but resentfully think to himself, "What has Matilda been chatting about with that Yolden guy? She's so happy..." At that moment, Matilda had just received a message from Yolden. In the message, Yolden informed her of the outcome of his conversation with Charlie and expressed his desire to have the wedding as soon as possible. Seeing how eager her beloved was to marry her, Matilda naturally felt very touched. At that moment, she had completely fallen into Yolden's love. For this man, who had a similar background, education, values, and even lifestyle to her own, she could find no fault with him. She felt that he was perfectly tailor-made for her by heaven itself, almost as if everything about him perfectly m
Charlie's worries were not unfounded. He had long known that Jacob had not completely given up on Matilda despite her relationship with Yolden. After returning from the cultural exchange in Korea, Jacob had been more dejected than ever before—something he hadn't even displayed when his family had gone bankrupt. If there was still a chance to salvage the relationship when one's beloved was merely dating someone else, their marriage was tantamount to a death sentence. Furthermore, considering the high intellectual backgrounds of Matilda and Yolden as well as their age and life experience, their decision to marry at this stage of life undoubtedly signaled their intention to build a long-term future together. This left Jacob with absolutely no chance at all. At this moment, Jacob was blissfully unaware of the devastating news and was busy conducting a calligraphy and painting workshop at Senior University. The so-called workshop was essentially a few slides showcasing classic
After that, Charlie asked with a bit of curiosity, "When did you and Matilda decide to get married?" Yolden smiled sheepishly and explained, "Remember when the city organized our cultural exchange trip to South Korea? I confessed to Matilda during that trip, and she accepted. After spending some time together, we both felt we were a great match. Considering our age, we didn't want to delay such an important decision any longer, so we decided to take the next step and build a family together." He continued, "Last month, we went to Lambonear for a few days. I bought a ring and proposed to her by the seaside, and she said yes. We also sought the opinion of our respective children—Autumn and Paul—and they were both very supportive. Both kids are exceptional and independent, so they urged us to have the wedding as soon as possible. I wanted to wait until you returned so I could check your schedule. For our wedding, we'd like to ask you to be our officiant." "What? Me as the officiant?
Charlie said without hesitation, "Sure. When is it convenient for you? Send me the address, and I'll go meet you." Charlie had always respected Yolden not only because he was a nice and talented man but also because he and his mother went way back and went to the same school. Yolden said hastily, "I've just come from Senior University. It's the weekend, and I don't have classes today. Why don't you send me the address and I'll meet you?" Charlie gave it some thought. It was a little past 3 p.m., so Yolden had likely already had lunch, and there were still a few hours until dinner. Inviting him to The Heaven Springs didn't seem ideal for a discussion. Considering that he had lived in the United States for many years and probably had a habit of having coffee in the afternoon, Charlie said, "How about this? There's a Starbucks not far south of the university. Let's meet there for a cup of coffee." "Perfect!" Yolden said with a smile. "I was just thinking you could give me an addre
On the way back to The Heaven Springs, Julien was in a much better mood than when he had arrived. Initially, he was filled with anxiety, unsure of what Charlie had planned. But now, everything had become clear. The troublesome matter of Salem and Edmund was no longer his concern. All he had to do was wait for the video from the ship to be released and then head back home. Charlie noticed his improved mood and smiled as he asked, "Julien, you've resolved the most critical matter right after landing in Aurous Hill. You must be feeling pretty happy, right?" Julien chuckled and said, "To be honest, before coming here, I was worried that I'd end up going back empty-handed and being secretly mocked by others. But now, it's different. Once your video is released, no one can blame me for not doing my job. If anything, they can only blame their family for missing their chance. After all, so much time has passed, and it's their fault Salem and Edmund were moved to the Middle East." As he
"Good." With a light nod, Charlie turned to Jiro and spoke up, "Jiro, I'll give you a chance to prove yourself." "Okay, Mr. Wade!" Jiro beamed excitedly. "Please tell me what to do! I promise I will do my best to serve you." Charlie smiled and said, "Once the ship is ready, you'll board it together with them. Your only task is to keep a close watch on them the entire time. Don't let them pull any tricks. If you succeed, you'll be a free man here. You'll get a basic monthly salary and can ask for anything you like within reason—so long as it's not contraband, it will be yours." Hearing this, Jiro was so thrilled that he trembled all over. His current treatment was already decent, but he was still only a semi-free man. He didn't dare casually set foot on the ground outside. If he could become a truly free man, he would be able to enjoy the sunlight outdoors freely. More importantly, from then on, he would have a salary. Although he couldn't personally go out shopping, having a sa
Julien had uncovered Charlie's true identity quite some time ago and investigated Charlie's background. He was well aware that Charlie had become the head of the Wade family and that the Acker family fully supported him. Although the outside world believed that Ten Thousand Armies had subdued the Wade family, Julien had witnessed Charlie's methods firsthand. Even the top two figures of the Rothschild family had been toyed with by Charlie, so how could Ten Thousand Armies possibly make him surrender? Thus, Julien deduced that Ten Thousand Armies was undoubtedly Charlie's covert tool. Considering the combined strength of the Wade family, the Acker family, and Charlie's personally cultivated forces, it was evident that Charlie even had the power to contend with the entire Rothschild family. Moreover, with the life-extending pill in his possession and the life of the Rothschild family head in his hands, Charlie's chances of prevailing in a confrontation against the Rothschilds were e