Hence, Nanako walked a little faster to follow up with the woman before her and began apologetically, "Excuse me, miss. I didn't mean to, but I overheard your conversation about an amulet with your friend. May I know where I can get a blessed amulet from Master Jeevika?" Slightly startled at first, the woman then smiled sweetly and said, "That's simple. Just go directly to the Transmission Office at Qi Temple and say you're here by invitation to visit Master Jeevika. The monks will take you to the Serenity Hall to wait. Not many people know about this, so if you go early, you should have a chance." "Wonderful!" Nanako thanked her profusely, "Thank you so much." "You're welcome," the woman said with a smile. "You live here too? We should be neighbors then." "Yes." Nanako nodded and said, "I live on the 21st floor." The woman smiled and replied, "I live on the 9th floor. I just moved in a few days ago. My husband is busy with work all year round, and he flies frequently, so I b
Hearing Ashley's lament, Suzanne couldn't help but chuckle. "What about Claire? What do you think about her?" "Claire..." Ashley was silent for a moment before explaining seriously, "At some point, she has done a favor for Charlie, but she has neither become pregnant nor had a child after four years of marriage, so I guess that their marriage is likely more show than substance. From the things Charlie has done for her, it's clear that he has been sincere toward her. Given this situation, the problem should lie with her." She then added, "She must have her reasons. It's not fair for me to doubt her, but does this also show that she doesn't love Charlie as much or that she doesn't love him as much as he loves her?" "You're right." Suzanne nodded. "I share the same thought. Mr. Charlie would be better off divorcing her and being with either Miss Golding or Miss Ito. I can tell that these two ladies love him very much." Ashley nodded slightly. She then donned a bitter smile and lam
As they talked, the roar of a helicopter engine and the spinning rotor echoed across the valley. "That should be Jeevika," Suzanna said. "Okay." Ashley nodded. "Let him come here to see me." A few minutes later, the helicopter landed in the open space outside the courtyard, and a monk in a cassock walked up to the gate. The gate happened to open at that time, and Suzanna looked at the monk as she greeted him with a smile, "Jeevika! Mrs. Wade is expecting you." The monk was Master Jeevika, who had become very famous in recent years. He was in his forties and had been a monk for less than twenty years, but with his profound understanding and unique insights into Buddhism, he had become a highly recognized and sought-after monk. He had preached everywhere over the years, not for any utilitarian purpose, but in the hopes of using the philosophy of Buddhism to guide people into leading an optimistic life. His main focus was on the depressed group of people. Over the recent y
On the way to Qi Temple, Nanako took her time while waiting for the red lights to carefully check Master Jeevika's background. The result was indeed astonishing. Jeevika was not only famous in Oskia, but his influence was beginning to spread among Buddhist believers in Asia. The overall review of him was that he was talented, kind, open-minded, and a genius in the field of Buddhism. She was even more surprised when she read that many temples in Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Bhutan, and so on had diligently invited Master Jeevika to visit their countries and preach Buddhism to the believers, but his lectures for the next year were all in Oskia, so he had not yet responded to their invitations. In addition, in the reviews of Master Jeevika by many well-known Buddhist preachers in Oskia and abroad, without exception, they all agreed that his understanding of Buddhism was the most profound in today's society. His preaching of many scriptures made even many experienced masters fee
The monk added, "The entire text of the Heart Sutra of Prajna Paramita is only 260 words, so it won't take long." Nanako asked hastily, "Could you please lend me a pen and paper? Also, I wonder if Master Jeevika could give me a minute to finish writing the Heart Sutra and meet him afterward." The monk smiled and answered, "Sure, I can lend you paper and a pen. You can meet Master Jeevika right now and copy the scriptures there. He will chant, bless, and consecrate for you at the same time. The effect will be the best." "Oh, thank you very much!" Nanako beamed. Then, she bowed at the monk respectfully. The monk returned the bow and then turned and entered the Transmission Office. After a while, he returned with a yellow brocade bag, paper, and pen. He carefully turned around, closed the door, and said to Nanako, "Please follow me." Nanako nodded quickly, and the monk escorted her to the temple's backyard. After passing through a mottled red brick wall, they reached the tem
At this time at the mountain villa, Suzanne watched everything that was happening in the hall on the monitor and snapped angrily, "Ma'am, he's trying to persuade Miss Ito to become a nun! Isn't that out of line?" "Don't worry." Ashley chuckled. "Since Jeevika achieved enlightenment, his heart belongs to Buddha, to the Dharma, and all sentient beings under heaven. Nanako herself has remarkable insight and spiritual roots. Even if it weren't Jeevika, any great Taoist master would likely wish to take her as a disciple. Why do you think I wanted her to be enlightened? Such a talent should not be left standing outside the door—it would be a waste. But knowing Nanako as I do, even if Jeevika were to forcefully persuade her using the world's population, she would never agree. So, you don't need to worry." Sure enough. Nanako unconsciously took a step back and apologized, "I-I already have a lover. How can I become a follower of Buddhism?" Ashley smiled and said, "Have you noticed the
"No matter how much society develops, humans are still humans, and the more society develops, the more the energy of human beings is dispersed. Therefore, the more society develops, the more it can bring out the deepest philosophy of the ancients. That is why the followers of the three major religions have always looked at the scriptures of over two thousand years ago as a beacon on the path of life. Countless people have repeatedly studied the scriptures and works of more than two thousand years ago just to get more inspiration from them." Nanako pursed her lips, looked at her toes, and then looked at Master Jeevika. After a moment of silence, she awkwardly raised her thumb and muttered, "S-Su—go—e." Su—go—e was the pronunciation of sugoi in Japanese, which roughly translated to "Wow, so amazing". Master Jeevika was an excellent scholar before he became a monk. In addition, he had already been enlightened and had traveled for years. It was no exaggeration to say that he was well
Master Jeevika was bewildered by Nanako's consecutive defensive responses. He was not ignorant and knew that this was Nanako's way of rejecting him. While feeling regretful, he reflected, "I saw that she had extraordinary spiritual potential. If she was willing to convert to Buddhism and concentrate on researching the scriptures, she would surely gain a deeper understanding of the teachings, which would benefit all followers. But as it turns out, this was my wishful thinking—" With this thought, he sighed, "Oh, please forgive me. Mrs. Wade asked me to help her achieve enlightenment, and yet I have been entirely focused on persuading her to convert to Buddhism." So, he silently recited a few scriptures and then said, "I'm so sorry for being ignorant. Please forgive me." Nanako gently nodded. "It's alright, as long as you don't try to persuade me to become a nun again." As she spoke, she carefully took a silk pouch from her pocket and asked, "Master, would you still bless and c
Pausing, Charlie then said, "I'll call Steve to drop by later too. I'm sure folks in Aurous Hill won't know him, but your potential troublemaker might.""I-Is that really fine?" Yolden blurted."What's not fine about it?" Charlie chuckled. "He has been treated like a tool ever since he came to Aurous Hill, and now that he has a chance to strut about, he wouldn't ask for more."Yolden appeared slightly relieved at that, and Charlie asked, "By the way, where's Paul, Matilda, and Autumn?""Getting their makeup done," Yolden replied. "Paul's my best man while Autumn's the maid of honor.""Good," Charlie nodded with a grin. "Don't worry—the wedding's going to be a success."As they spoke, Matilda stepped out of the dressing room in a stark-white wedding dress, flanked by Autumn and Paul.Seeing Charlie, Autumn nodded politely, "Good morning, Mr. Wade."As Charlie nodded in turn, Paul started, "G-Good morning… Mr. Wade…"Seeing that he was nervous and tentative, Charlie knew that he
As Yolden and Matilda were remarrying after living abroad for years, the wedding ceremony was much simpler, skipping Oskian customs and having a simple wedding reception for their guests at the hotel hall.There weren't that many guests either—aside from their children and close friends, only a handful of Yolden's colleagues at Aurous Hill University were invited.As the celebrant, Charlie didn't have much to do and was mainly the emcee.He brought along his jacket as he headed out to Shangri-La, not wearing it immediately so that Claire wouldn't guess that he was attending Matilda's wedding.Arriving at the Hanging Gardens before the guests were supposed to arrive, he found Yolden working with the staff to finalize the preparations.Seeing Charlie, Yolden approached him and said, "Thanks for coming this early, Charlie."Noticing that he was a little tired, Charlie asked in concern, "Had a bad night?"Yolden nodded, sighing, "Paul's uncle caused a huge mess. Both Matilda and I a
Tarlon nodded. "How do you suggest we find them?"Fleur scowled. "There's no rush. There are things which I'm still confused about, so just keep a close eye on the Ackers and the Wades for the time being. Report to me right away if anything important comes up—don't afford our enemies any opportunities to exploit.""Yes, milady!" -The next day, more news outlets were covering the joint project between the Ackers and the Wades as word continued to spread.However, neither family revealed too many details, be it the name of the company, who was the CEO, or the scale of their business.While the public was dying with curiosity, nothing else was known.Still, Aurous Hill's officials were especially interested, with the town hall visiting the Ackers the next day and showing utmost sincerity by leasing a whopping 2-million-square-meter land along the southern highway. Still, the condition was for the Ackers to come true on their promise to propel the city's economy to 15 billion US d
Fleur had repeatedly mentioned the conspiracy theory of Ashley using a body double over the last twenty years.Tarlon had investigated from many different angles, but everything from the gender, age, dental records, to body figure pointed to the fact that the deceased was Ashley Acker.And yet, Fleur had never bought it, insisting that Curtis was prepared for them just because Curtis' son had gone missing soon after.There was no way Curtis would save his son but not his wife, and the disfigured corpse only added fuel to Fleur's suspicion.Thus, over the last twenty years, Fleur had kept a close eye on the Ackers, arranging for two 'scholars' to be embedded amongst their ranks as sleeper agents. She went that far all to determine if Ashley was dead or had faked her death.However, the scholars had since been killed in action, and they had no spies within the Ackers left.As for Tarlon, he still doubted Fleur's theory even now, but he remained respectful as he spoke, "Milady, I mu
Meanwhile, on the edge of the South Pole, Tarlon Griffin rushed outside of Fleur Griffin's room, knocking the door gingerly as he announced, "I have news, my lady!"Fleur didn't respond, but the thick wooden door between them slowly opened as if pushed by an invisible force.Tarlon entered to find Fleur seated on the floor with her legs crossed at the ankles. Her eyes remained closed as she molded her Reiki, asking, "What is it?"Tarlon quickly answered, "News from Oskia. The Ackers are partnering with the Wades on a joint venture into electric-powered vehicles."Fleur slowly opened her eyes, asking quietly, "And you're telling me because?"Tarlon quickly explained, "It just came out of the blue, so I thought I should report it to you right away."Fleur sighed. "After I tried and failed to wipe out the Ackers so many times, they wouldn't dare set foot stateside. If anything, they must have decided to seek asylum in Oskia by offering a substantial investment, and it's a base whe
Silent for a while, Matilda then asked Yolden, "Do you think I can do it?""Yes!" Yolden nodded without hesitation. "You definitely won't have any problems!"Matilda sighed, shaking her head. "We traveled far abroad to study while we were young, but we didn't return to Oskia to help the country's development. It's been thirty years since, and now that we have returned to the country at the same time, I definitely wouldn't turn down such an opportunity to help."Pausing, she then said, "That said, major corporations make it a point to not hire family members. Forget spouses—employees aren't allowed to date, and one of the two will be asked to resign if necessary."Don't you think it's inappropriate since we are legally married, having gotten our certificate and all? And if we set these precedents, we would have trouble asking other employees to follow that policy. You are going to be a CEO, so you need a very clear answer on this issue."Yolden shrugged. "In the first place, that p
Yolden nodded slightly. "He does.""My gosh…" Matilda murmured. "That's too much… Ashley's son? A member of the Acker family and the Wades?!"Pausing, she then asked in confusion, "Wait, if Charlie has so much power and influence, why would he permanently reside in Aurous Hill… No, why would he be content as Jacob Wilson's son-in-law? Does Jacob know who he really is?""Definitely not," Yolden shook his head. "There were some compelling circumstances, and his identity is a sensitive one. That's why I'm asking you to tell no one except Paul—and even then, you should only tell him if he can keep the secret."Matilda was sharp enough to pick up on the reasoning, too. "Charlie's hiding because of his parents' accident, isn't he?""Yes," Yolden sighed. "He has his plans, but I didn't pry since I can only do that much, let alone help him on that.""Got it," Matilda nodded repeatedly. "Don't worry. My lips are sealed… And you just said you're resigning? Are you going to help with this e
"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