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
Upon seeing this sentence, Vera immediately said, “Queens should be Queens, New York City. So, this photo was indeed taken in Queens. As for ‘Cole’, it seems the person in the photo with your father has the last name Cole, and he's of Oskian descent. It’s just that we don’t know his full name.”“You're right…” Charlie nodded gently as he continued furrowing his brows.He murmured, “I have a feeling that this man with the last name Cole seems familiar, but no matter how hard I try, I just can't remember where I've seen him before.”Vera hastened to say, “Don't worry, Young Master. The feeling of familiarity must come from somewhere in your memory. It's just that your memory of that person might not be very deep, or you may have only had a very brief encounter with him. So, don't worry. If you think carefully, you'll surely remember some clues.”With that said, she asked Charlie, “Apart from finding this person familiar, are there any other strange or familiar clues for you?”Charli
In the past, he thought that he was just purely fortunate to have obtained the Apocalyptic Book with a stroke of luck. Recently, however, his uncle had mentioned that his parents had once obtained the Preface to the Apocalyptic Book, and this led him to speculate that there might be a connection between the Preface to the Apocalyptic Book and the Apocalyptic Book itself, but he lacked concrete evidence. Now, he had suddenly discovered that the manager of Vintage Deluxe, named Raymond, was actually a good friend of his father from over twenty years ago. Moreover, it was Raymond himself who had delivered the jade vase to his father-in-law, Jacob.At that time, Charlie was waiting outside the VIP room while Raymond and Jacob were inside. Charlie hadn't witnessed what exactly had happened, but according to Jacob's account of the incident later, Raymond had taken the jade vase out of its exquisite packaging and handed it to Jacob. However, it had slipped from Jacob's hands and fell to th
With that said, Charlie asked again, “By the way, Jasmine, could you find some information about this person for me?”Jasmine replied, “I'll ask the current person in charge of Vintage Deluxe. The employee records from Vintage Deluxe are still stored in their computers. Vintage Deluxe wasn't initially registered under the Moore Group, so the employee records weren't merged into the Moore Group's personnel files, and management of the files isn’t as strict.”Charlie then said, “In that case, please ask for the information, and once you find it, send it to me as soon as possible.”“Okay, Master Wade!”After hanging up the phone, Charlie said to Vera, “When we get the information later, kindly send it to Mr. Sandsor and ask him to help check all the information relating to this person.”Vera replied without hesitation, “Rest assured, Young Master, I'll inform him right away.”Charlie nodded and anxiously waited with Vera for Jasmine's response.Jasmine was quite efficient. A few mi
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
Enraged, Julien cursed while angrily raising his leg, "Damn it! How dare you negotiate your terms now?!" Charlie stopped him and said, "Calm down. 1 billion dollars is quite a good amount. You offer 100 million, he offers 1 billion—doesn't that mean I'll make 1.1 billion?" Dumbfounded, Julien said, "Mr. Wade, how can you even take that money? Wouldn't taking the money expose you?" Charlie smiled and said, "That's simple. I'll give you a plan that not only makes your task impossible to complete but also gives me a chance to collect the money. What do you think?" "What's the idea?" Julien asked in surprise. Charlie replied, "Here's the plan, I'll have someone put these two on a cargo ship bound for the Middle East. Once the ship passes Sri Lanka and enters the Arabian Sea, I'll have them record a video with the endless ocean as the backdrop. In the video, they'll inform their family to prepare 1 billion dollars. The money will be transferred directly in cryptocurrency." "Once