Jacob stared at the man standing in front of him for a while before he laughed and said in surprise, “Oh my God, is that you, Eric? Eric Shaw? Wow, we haven’t seen each other for about 30 years! Look at you, so smart and handsome! You must be doing very well, huh!”Eric shook his head. “Nah, I’m nothing compared to you, Jacob. You are, what the youngsters nowadays say, the rich kid on the block…”The Wilson family had been a noble family name back in the days.At that moment, Lord Wilson had been in his prime, earning his first pot of gold when he plunged into the business arena for the first time, subsequently earning himself an honored reputation too. Hence, Jacob was living a good life thanks to his father. His pocket money alone might be more than half of his classmates combined.Because of this, he had attracted the attention of Elaine from another class.Jacob chuckled bashfully at his friend’s remark, but before he could say anything, another middle-aged man and a young man
Charlie couldn’t help quenching his curiosity and asked, “Dad, who is this Matilda that everyone is talking about?”Jacob rolled his eyes and shushed him, “Shush! You don’t have to rub it in!”Charlie shrugged indifferently and kept quiet.Meanwhile, as more and more people surrounded them, Aaron spruced himself up proudly and introduced the young man standing next to him. “Guys, I would like all of you to meet my son-in-law, Jake Dunn. He owns a startup company in the internet service industry, and the company will soon be listed on the Growth Enterprise Market.”“Wow!” Eric exclaimed in shock. “How much will the company’s market be worth after listing? I bet it must be hundreds of millions, right?”“Hundreds of millions?” Aaron curled his lips pompously and blurted, “It starts with a billion, to say the least! Think about it, do you know how difficult it is for a company to be listed?! Without a certain foundation and stability, how could a company pass so many rounds of reviews
“High salary?” Aaron curled his lips into a smirk. “How high do you want? Is four to five thousand enough to hire you as a chef?”Jake wanted to please his father-in-law, so he said, “Dad, since he is your old friend’s son-in-law, I must give him some additional benefit. Okay then, I’ll give you ten thousand per month!”Charlie chuckled in amusement and said, “Pardon me, but I don’t want money.”Aaron frowned, confused. “You don’t want money, then what do you want?”“Whoever hires me has to marry his daughter to me. Let’s take my father-in-law as an example. He wanted to hire me to do household chores, so he married his darling daughter to me. So, Aaron, if you want to hire me, you must marry your daughter to me too!”Aaron’s face flushed in fury as he shouted, “You are so ungrateful! I’m being kind enough to offer you a job and this is how you repay me?!”The enraged Jake glared at Charlie and said, “Hey, buddy, my father-in-law has only one daughter, and she is my wife! Be care
In order to turn the tables, Jake recalled a name that Aaron had mocked Jacob with, Matilda. So, he pretended to be curious and asked, “Dad, what’s the issue with this Matilda that you talked about earlier? You guys seem to be very close to her, I’m rather curious…”Aaron threw a sideway glance at Jacob and said with a grin, “Matilda Hall was the most beautiful girl in our batch, and a lot of boys fell in love with her. In fact, if her admirers queued up, it would circle the university twice.”Then, Aaron deliberately raised his voice and laughed, “Eventually, Matilda must have been hypnotized or something, because she chose Jacob! Since he was in love with the most beautiful and popular girl in school, he had to avoid walking into people for fear that he would be ambushed and beaten.”“What happened later?”Again, Aaron looked at Jacob in amusement and giggled. “Then, Matilda dumped him and flew to the United States. She hasn’t come back since.”Then, he turned to Jacob and asked
The crowd gathered to walk into the school together. Someone asked Eric, “Hey, what did you talk about just now? It seemed to be an intense conversation.”Eric laughed and said, “We were talking about Matilda Hall. By the way, will she come today?”Someone laughed. “Jacob didn’t even ask this question, don’t be too nosy.”“Well, I ask on behalf of him! Matilda was his first love, I wonder if he still remembers her after all these years.”Aaron interjected with a sneer, “I bet he can’t forget Matilda for the rest of his life, given his dire and catastrophic life now.”“Huh? What happened?” Someone asked curiously.“I’ll tell you more in detail once we get to our classroom.”Jacob huffed irritably, “Oh, can you just shut up for a second?”Aaron chuckled and said, “But I want to talk about it, can you control my mouth?”As they walked into the classroom, the group of men looked around them, and the nostalgic memories of their good times in university flooded their minds. Some of
When Elaine’s name echoed across the room, Charlie was so shocked that his jaw dropped. He never expected that Elaine and Jacob were collegemates!He didn’t even expect that she had the reputation of the college’s number one vixen!Honestly speaking, Elaine didn’t seem like someone who had gone to a university before.Honestly, she didn’t even seem like a person who had finished junior high! Given her inferior temperament and character, it was incredible for her to be admitted into the university.Charlie was not the only one surprised at this moment.All of Jacob’s classmates were equally dumbfounded and shocked!No one thought that Jacob would end up with Elaine!Although Elaine was not in the same class as them, her reputation preceded her back in the days!She was the symbol of arrogance and stubbornness back then, very vicious too. Stealing other people’s things was normal for her. When she was caught, instead of admitting her mistakes, she would fight with the person wh
Everyone laughed hysterically upon the reveal! No one would have predicted such an amazing twist in the story!Jake added, “Wow, Uncle Wilson, you’re incredible! You’re like the main character in a romance movie where you broke up with your college sweetheart and married your nemesis! Hahaha!”Charlie was not in place to comment about the matter, but he found the whole incident hilarious as well.Never did he think that there was this kind of backstory of his parents-in-law. Elaine was herself through and through. Not only did she get Jacob drunk, but she also did the deed with him! It was such a devious act!After muffling their laughter, the men felt sympathetic toward Jacob and started offering him words of encouragement and comfort.Aaron still kept an eye on Jacob and said with a laugh, “Don’t sympathize with Jacob yet. Elaine was pretty miserable to marry him!”The crowd was puzzled. “What’s so miserable about it? She got to marry Jacob, isn’t that enough?”Aaron sighed. “
Thanks to Aaron’s information, Charlie sent Isaac a message asking him to investigate Aaron Philips and his wife’s personal information as well as their track record at the petrochemical company. At the same time, he asked him to check the relevant information of Aurous Continental Technology.While Isaac was working on the tasks, Aaron was enjoying the flattering words and admiration of his friends.This group of old people mostly worked in government sectors or state-owned enterprises. Most of them were regular staff who had spent their years working hard for the company. They were earning a few thousand dollars a month which fell short of the best but better than the worst.Hence, Aaron, who was in the senior management of the petrochemical company, made them very envious.The petrochemical company provided the perfect track of performance and revenue. Although the management team in a petrochemical company was not its core cadres, it could be regarded as one of the prominent po
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