Meanwhile, at Aurous University, thousands of freshmen from various departments were divided into different formations on the field for a 14-day orientation. Today was just the beginning, and many freshmen were not accustomed to the high-intensity quasi-military orientation. They were all expressing complaints regardless of gender. The scorching sun was already unbearable, and wearing long-sleeved camouflage uniforms and continuously marching in step made it particularly torturous for these freshmen.A thunderous sound suddenly came from the southwest, startling all the students on the field. The students were secretly rejoicing as they looked at the dark clouds in the southwest, hoping for a sudden downpour.Most students thought that if there was heavy rain, the orientation would probably be suspended. In that case, everyone could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Even if the orientation could not be suspended, training in the rain would be more comfortable than enduring the sc
She was afraid that the thunder just now was related to Charlie, so she kept chanting, “Answer the phone quickly… Answer the phone quickly…”After a moment, the call was connected, and Charlie’s voice came through, “Veron, do you need something?”Upon hearing Charlie’s voice, Vera immediately heaved a sigh of relief and hurriedly said, “Charlie, I’ve been feeling grateful for what happened last time, so I wanted to ask when you're available. I'd like to invite you for a meal.”Charlie chuckled, “Let's talk about it after your orientation ends. During this time, just stay at school and don't go anywhere.”As he spoke, Charlie remembered something and asked her, “By the way, you should still be in the middle of your orientation, right? How come it's convenient for you to call me?”Vera deliberately lied, “There was a sudden clap of thunder just now, and it felt like it was going to rain. Therefore, the instructor asked us to take a break and check the weather.”“Oh.” Charlie frowne
Soon, the Rolls-Royce driven by Madam Marilyn stopped inside Scarlet Pinnacle Manor’s courtyard. Vera pushed the door open herself without waiting for Madam Marilyn, got out of the car, and walked toward her top-floor courtyard. Without looking back, she said, “Madam Marilyn, starting today, I won't be leaving the house. Just place my three meals outside my courtyard door, knock, and then you can leave.”Madam Marilyn felt surprised. She understood that Vera did not want to participate in the orientation, but she did not understand why Vera wanted to stay indoors without leaving the house.As a servant, she knew better than to ask unnecessary questions, so she said without hesitation, “Okay, Miss Lavor, I understand! Do you have any special requests for your meals?”Vera casually replied, “Anything will do. Just arrange it as you see fit.”After saying that, she quickly ran to the top floor, pushed the door open, and entered her own courtyard. The elderly Logan saw Vera ascendi
In the midst of his contemplation, he suddenly received an online call from the British Lord. His expression changed to surprise, and he quickly answered the call, respectfully saying, “Hello, British Lord.”On the other end of the phone, the cold voice questioned sternly, “Mr. Chardon, when did you arrive in Aurous Hill?”Mr. Chardon hurriedly replied, “British Lord, I arrived in Aurous Hill this morning.”The British Lord continued, “It should be late at night there now. You've been in Aurous Hill for over fifteen hours, so why haven't you dealt with the Ackers yet?”Mr. Chardon’s heart skipped a beat, and he said, “British Lord, I just arrived in Aurous Hill today and haven't had a chance to familiarize myself with the environment yet…”The British Lord pressed on, “Haven't I already told you that the Ackers are residing in the villa at Willow Manor? You only need to arrive at Willow Manor late at night and eliminate them all to avoid any complications in the future. It's a sim
Mr. Chardon was well aware that he could not afford to defy orders again without a suitable reason given that he had previously defied orders by delaying his arrival in Aurous Hill. Not defying orders meant he had to go to Willow Manor immediately and kill the Acker family members who were sleeping, along with everyone protecting them. Such a massive operation would undoubtedly shock the world. It was predictable that as the site of the incident, Aurous Hill would definitely enter an unprecedented state of martial law. If that happened, how could he continue to trace the clues about Zachary and his superior?Therefore, the best way to postpone the operation was to voluntarily disclose the matter of the magic instrument. After all, the magic instrument was precious not only to him but to the British Lord as well. Mr. Chardon thought of withholding the Thunder Order that could summon heavenly thunder, taking out the jade ring, and using it to persuade the British Lord to grant him
Ruby quickly pressed the answer button and said respectfully, “Hello, British Lord!” The British Lord spoke in a somewhat gentle tone over the other end of the line and said, “Ruby, where are you now?”Ruby frowned. She knew that carrying the cell phone given by the British Lord meant he could contact her at any time, twenty-four hours a day, and that he certainly knew her real-time location. However, despite knowing her location, the British Lord still went through the formalities of starting a casual conversation with her. It seemed like he wanted to get closer to her.With that thought in mind, Ruby said respectfully, “I am currently still in the Far East.”The British Lord hummed in response and asked her, “Have you found any clues in the Far East related to Vera?”Ruby quickly replied, “British Lord, I am incompetent and haven't found any information related to Vera yet.”The British Lord smiled and said, “Vera is very cunning. Not finding her is not a reflection of your in
Ruby’s mood became exceptionally disheartened upon hearing the British Lord’s words. Indeed, it was just as she had speculated. The British Lord had a constant hold on the location information of the several great earls. What was even more frightening was that the British Lord could analyze everyone's every movement in great detail based on time, location, and the information available on the local internet.This meant that in her lifetime, she might never be able to escape the British Lord’s control.Despite the great earls being able to execute missions for extended periods without reporting back, they still had the poison configured by the British Lord in their bodies. However, individuals such as them had longer lifespans, so the British Lord set a relatively broad time frame for them to take the antidote. While others had to take the antidote every two weeks, three months, or half a year, the great earls only had to take the antidote once every three years.But what differe
Moreover, she was going to Aurous Hill to monitor Mr. Chardon this time. This meant that she wouldn't have the opportunity to slack off in the days to come. Although she was unwilling, she dared not delay at all and hastily set off in the middle of the night.She paid a high price to buy a car from the hotel owner and traveled from the small city she was in to the Russian Far East city of Yakutsk. Meanwhile, Zachary carried the other jade ring he had taken back from Terry and a bank card with more than one million US dollars in it to indulge in the largest nightclub in Aurous Hill. He was surrounded by beautiful young women as he enjoyed himself thoroughly while drinking to his heart’s content. There were expensive foreign liquors in front of Zachary with a bottle of champagne costing at least ten to twenty thousand dollars. The better ones exceeded the price of one hundred thousand dollars.Additionally, several young and beautiful girls were gathered around Zachary, complimenti
Hearing Jacob's tone, Charlie could tell that Jacob must have already learned about Matilda's plans to marry Yolden. So, Charlie said, "I'm just around the corner. I'll head over now, and we can meet at the gate." Choking up, Jacob replied, "Alright, I won't drive then. I'll wait for you at the gate. Hurry!" "Okay," Charlie agreed, but after hanging up, he deliberately waited for a few minutes. It was because Yolden had just left moments ago to pick up Matilda at Senior University. If Charlie had gone there right now, all four of them could have run into each other at the gate, which would make things even more awkward. Charlie wasn't worried about feeling awkward himself—he was more concerned about Jacob being further hurt. After intentionally waiting a bit, Charlie finally drove to the university. Just as Charlie drove toward Senior University, Matilda was waiting for Yolden by the roadside at the entrance of Senior University. At this moment, Jacob stumbled out of th
Charlie asked, "There are too many new domestic energy brands now. Do you think they still have a shot in vehicle manufacturing?" "Of course," Yolden affirmed. "There are indeed many new energy brands now, and many of them are struggling on the edge of survival. A lot of them have already disappeared, but the automotive market is so vast, and new energy vehicles only account for a small portion of it, which proves that the future of new energy still has great potential. Now, if the focus is only on competing with other new energy brands, the scale is indeed a bit small. The scope should be broadened to compete with traditional gasoline vehicle manufacturers. If you can cut Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai's global sales in half, that would truly be a giant." Yolden paused for a moment, almost as if remembering something, and then said, "Actually, you could consider researching this field. You don't lack money or resources, and with Ito-Schulz Ocean Shipping Group as your logistics channe
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