When Charlie and Vera arrived at the Wades' old mansion from Eastcliff International Airport, Stephen was already waiting there with Jeremiah. Stephen was the one who had brought Jeremiah here. After leaving Harmony Temple, Stephen went to the Wades' family manor to bring Jeremiah back to the old mansion.Jeremiah had always wanted to find more opportunities to bond with his grandson, Charlie, and deepen their relationship. However, even though Charlie had become the head of the Wades, he rarely came to Eastcliff. As a grandfather, Jeremiah hardly saw Charlie a few times throughout the year.When he heard that Charlie was coming to Eastcliff this time, Jeremiah naturally felt very happy. He arranged for the chefs to prepare a banquet to welcome Charlie home even before Charlie arrived at the old mansion.When Charlie arrived at the old mansion, Jeremiah even went to the courtyard with Stephen to greet him. As soon as he saw Charlie getting out of the car, he became somewhat excite
Stephen, who had been silent the whole time, stepped forward and said respectfully, “Young Master, Lord Wade has already prepared a banquet to welcome you. Please go in with Miss Lavor and have something to eat first!”Jeremiah also came to his senses and hurriedly said, “That’s right, Charlie! You rarely come to Eastcliff. When I heard that you were suddenly coming tonight, I quickly had some food and drinks prepared. You can accompany me for a few drinks later, Charlie.”Charlie nodded lightly and said, “Okay, let's go in and eat while we chat.”Charlie felt both familiar and strange now that he had returned to the old mansion where he had spent several years of his childhood. Although the mansion remained the same as it was before with no major changes, when Charlie lived here in the past, the mansion was always bustling with activity and voices.Back then, Charlie's father, Curtis, was highly regarded in the Wades. Although Jeremiah had not formally passed on the position as th
When Charlie asked if he had been to the temple, Stephen couldn't help but be surprised. He didn't know what Charlie meant by this question or whether Charlie knew about his whereabouts and whom he had met.However, Stephen was quite clever. Since he was surprised, he didn't try to hide it. Instead, he asked with a surprised expression, “Young Master, how did you know?”Charlie casually replied, “You smell of incense.”Stephen suddenly understood and felt relieved at the same time.However, he didn't dare to show any signs of relief. Instead, he smiled and said, “I went to Harmony Temple this afternoon. I happened to have some free time in the afternoon, so I went to the temple to pray.”Charlie nodded without any doubts in his mind.Stephen held a high position in the Wades, second only to the members of the Wades. As the butler, he had a lot of freedom in his work. Therefore, it was reasonable for him to take some time to burn incense and worship Buddha.As for why he went to
This popular temple was now closed to visitors.Ashley was standing in the courtyard alone, surrounded by the lingering scent of incense. She gazed at the bright moon above and felt a mix of emotions. She longed dearly for her son, Charlie, whom she hadn't seen in twenty years.The distance between Harmony Temple and the Wades’ old mansion was only a mile or two away. It would take just ten minutes by car to reach the doorstep of the Wades’ old mansion from Harmony Temple. However, even so, Ashley reminded herself repeatedly that it was not time to meet her son yet.When the fake abbess saw that Ashley seemed to be feeling melancholic as she stood alone in the courtyard, she approached her respectfully and asked, “Madam, you are just a few streets away from Young Master. You must be longing to see him, right?”Ashley nodded, “I haven’t seen my son in twenty years. How can I not be longing to see him?”After saying that, she continued, “But even though I miss him, it’s not time for
Ashley used to worry a lot about Charlie's upbringing, personality, character, and values in life. As a mother, she naturally wanted to give Charlie the best education, environment, and guidance. However, she could only silently watch Charlie grow up in the orphanage with other children and silently watch him drop out of high school and work at a construction site without being able to intervene in any way.There were times when she worried whether Charlie's values would become distorted or if he would become too worldly-wise in that environment. Fortunately, Charlie had managed to find a good balance between his upbringing as a young master in his childhood and his later identity as a poor orphan, which helped him maintain a normal set of values and a sense of justice. This not only helped him maintain a normal set of values and sense of justice but also allowed him to avoid his father's excessively strict and self-imposed moral standards.In other words, to some extent, this grea
After saying that, she followed Charlie out of the dining room and headed to the courtyard where Charlie's parents used to live.Due to the large size of this courtyard, Charlie's parents used to have four adjoining rooms. Apart from a main hall and a bedroom, there was also a study and Charlie's own room.To put it simply, it was a three-bedroom apartment with a living room. Charlie had lived here for several years, so he was quite familiar with the overall layout. In addition, there were hardly any noticeable changes, so it was easier for him to distinguish.Upon entering the main hall, the furniture and arrangement inside remained almost unchanged from when his parents had left with him. In an instant, images of his childhood spent living here with his parents flooded Charlie's mind, stirring up various emotions in him.He then quickly toured these rooms with Vera. Apart from furniture, there were some bedding and pillows prepared in the main hall and bedroom, but it was obvious
Upon hearing Vera's words, Charlie instinctively looked at the black photo album in her hands. At first glance, it was clear that the album was quite old.In the past decade or so, with the rapid development of smartphones, ordinary people had unconsciously digitized all their image data. Fewer and fewer people purchased photo albums of various sizes and thicknesses as they did twenty years ago to categorize and organize all their photos.Charlie didn't know what exactly was in the album, so he took it from Vera's hands and carefully flipped the first page open. The first thing that caught his eye on the first page were two separate photos of two young people taken in front of the Statue of Liberty in the United States.The man in the photo bore a striking resemblance to Charlie, but his attire was relatively retro as the man was wearing the distinctive knit sweater and faded jeans typical of that era. This was Charlie's father, Curtis. The woman in the photo appeared to be around
Vera pointed to a sign with a postcode beside the shop door and said, “Young Master, this shop is in Queens, New York.”Charlie asked curiously, “Is that so? How did you figure that out? I can hardly make out the words on it with this resolution.”Vera explained, “I used to live in Queens. The size, color scheme, and location of this sign for the postal code are typical of Queens' style back then. I'm not sure if they still follow the same style now.”“New York…” Charlie nodded, suddenly remembering what his uncle had mentioned a few days ago. His parents had bought a set of antique books from an antique shop in New York. That set of antique books was none other than the Preface to the Apocalyptic Book.Coupled with the antique shop in the photo, Charlie suddenly remembered something and said to Vera, “This could very well be the antique shop where my father bought the Preface to the Apocalyptic Book!”Vera was also surprised and said eagerly, “The Preface to the Apocalyptic Book
"That would be Ashley Layna Acker," Matilda replied without hesitation. "She was our age, as well as a major investor in Silicon Valley, while we were only starting to get our first clients. It's no exaggeration to say that she's the shining example in many case studies when it comes to business."Pausing, she then continued, "And she used to be your classmate, right? I remember you mentioning that in our conversations before.""Yes," Yolden sighed emotionally. "She was a classmate and the star of our generation."Matilda nodded but soon shook her head, "Wait, weren't we talking about Charlie's car company? What does that have to do with Ashley Acker?" "Here's where I let you in on a secret," Yolden said. "But first, you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone except Paul."Matilda nodded without hesitation. "Don't worry—if it's a secret, I won't tell Paul either."Yolden scratched his head. "Actually, Paul should know. We are going to marry soon, and he's my stepson, lega
In fact, the legal department of major enterprises covered many responsibilities, the chief of which concerned intellectual property, which was why veterans were needed to lead.Additionally, Charlie trusted Matilda's accomplishments in the legal field, especially since she had worked in the United States for years.With Curtis Autos' intended expansion worldwide, that meant the legal department should also know the laws of countries abroad, ready to file or respond to lawsuits at any time. After all, competitors may use the law to impede their growth, along with the government applying unfair policies to impede their development and impact on local businesses.Moreover, Charlie considered Paul young and therefore lacking in experience, not to mention that it was not likely he would abandon his family's law firm. As such, the ideal solution was to poach Matilda for now.As for Matilda, she was still in the dark and had no idea what she was in for, asking Charlie in confusion, "Lega
Later, after Charlie told Jeremiah over the phone about the joint venture with the Ackers to establish Curtis Autos, the old man was awash with tears, especially after Charlie told him that it was Keith who suggested it. After all, Curtis was his favorite son whose death he could never really get over. Moreover, he once believed that only his family mourned Curtis while the Ackers never did, and he held a grudge over his son's passing. As such, he was surprised that Keith held such great respect toward his late son and didn't hesitate to say yes when Charlie invited him to Aurous Hill to sign an agreement with the Ackers.Still, Charlie wasn't in a hurry to arrange for a specific time, and he was going to let the Ackers sort out the human resources of Godot Autos over a few days. It still wouldn't be too late by then.Moreover, he was keen to allow the buzz to have time to grow so that the automotive industry would be astounded by the joint project between the Ackers and the Wade
Christian was the first to exclaim in approval, "Yes! Curtis Autos sounds wonderful! It has my vote!""Seconded!" Kaiden nodded, pumping the air with his right fist. "I've looked up to Curtis the most, and I absolutely agree with naming the company after him!"Jaxson was nodding too. "Me too!""Yes!" Lulu chirped.Yolden couldn't help agreeing as well. "Curtis Autos is definitely a good name!"Merlin raised his hand gingerly as well. "Quit it with your flattery already," Keith chuckled, and he turned toward Charlie solemnly. "In the end, Curtis is Charlie's father, and the final decision goes to him!"Charlie's eyes were welling up with tears—his parents had been gone for almost three decades, yet he had never thought of dedicating anything to their memory.As such, Keith's suggestion to use Curtis's name for the car company left him thrilled. After all, wouldn't his father's soul be honored if Curtis Autos rocked the country, maybe even the world?With that in mind, he nodd
Charlie also had to agree that this was an opportunity to formally reconcile the Wades and the Ackers.While he couldn't reveal himself just yet, the Wades and the Ackers had been in-laws for years. Even if they had had a dispute for the longest time, restoring good relations made sense now that the Ackers had come to Oskia, and it wouldn't arouse any suspicion.That was why Charlie agreed to it without hesitation, even making a mental note to invite his paternal grandfather, Jeremiah, to Aurous Hill.The old geezers could meet up and clear the air while deciding on the partnership.Yolden was prepared to resign as a professor as well so that he could help the Ackers and Charlie fully develop their automotive company.With a general direction planned, he asked everyone, "Since we're creating a new brand, has anyone come up with a name?"No one was feeling inspired at that moment, but that was when Lulu, who had been silent throughout, said, "Since Charlie and our family are worki
Neither Charlie nor the Ackers expected Yolden's insight to cover all corners.In fact, it felt like the man had a blueprint ready and was only waiting for the time to put it to use.That was why everyone was immensely approving of Yolden and wanted no other man for the job of CEO.Kaeden smiled, "Well, since everyone has agreed, let's put this to rest as soon as possible—this will be a joint investment between our family and the Wades, and Professor Hart will take the post of CEO. Let's all do our best to make this a good one!"Yolden also made up his mind, deciding that he didn't want to let slip a chance to realize his ambitions. "I'll resign from the university after my honeymoon trip. It probably shouldn't be long, and I can get involved in early preparations via teleconference."Charlie nodded. "Then, we can have Uncle Kaeden stay on schedule while I'll ask the Wades to send a representative over to sign a memorandum for the investment."Keith smiled and nodded. "You should
Charlie hadn't been born and raised in Aurous Hill, but he still started living here at the age of eight and was more attached to this place than Eastcliff.If he was going to take part in this automotive investment with the Ackers, he naturally found Aurous Hill the ideal location.Not only would it create a huge number of jobs for Aurous Hill, but it would also rake in much economic flow for the region.Yolden also nodded at his suggestion. "If the first plant is meant to cover the demand of the entire local market, there's no reason for a coastal plant. Aurous Hill stands at an intersection between the north and the south, so transportation is convenient. It's also killing two birds with one stone, as Mr. Wade is fond of the city."Charlie couldn't help but agree. "I won't lie—Aurous Hill has been good to me, and I hope to give back. Nothing's better than succeeding in that respect."Yolden spread his hands, "Heavy industries are certainly ideal to contribute to Aurous Hill's e
Yolden had actually been researching new energy for a while—in fact, it was when Tesla's first car models were produced.He was passionate about the subject and had his own opinions as well as ambitions, but he was busy teaching, so he couldn't realize any of it.But was this not a golden opportunity tailor-made for him?Seeing that Yolden was clearly interested, Charlie turned toward Kaeden, "Actually, the professor is getting married soon. There's no way we'd split up newlyweds so soon after the wedding, right? So, is it possible to set up base in Aurous Hill instead?""Not a problem!" Kaeden replied without hesitation. "Our family is planning to return to Oskia anyway, and everyone knows about Ashley and Curtis. So, why don't we invest in this enterprise alongside the Wades and have the base set up in Aurous Hill? And then bring Godot under as a subsidiary?"Turning to Yolden, he continued, "By the way, Godot's plant is already in the province—barely 100 miles from Aurous Hill,
Pausing, Yolden continued, "Moreover, the greatest advantage of AI is that it is self-conscious and has the processing power to analyze astronomical proportions of data. As car sales grow, every car owner's driving data will add precious new data to our data vault, and it will be processed by AI for even greater space of imagination."For example, kst's say I experienced a bumpiness along a certain road, and when the sensors pick up on that anomaly, the data will be uploaded to the servers along with images of the road condition in real time. The processing AI module would determine in no time at all that there was damage and label said location on the map, and then forward the data to other vehicles close to that location, sending notifications when they are close enough and providing the appropriate advice for countermeasures."Naturally, the AI can even be refined further so that it immediately warns us to slow down while uploading the data to the servers and informing any cars cl