"A huge piece of good news?" Ashley raised an eyebrow, curious as she asked, "What exactly is this good news?" Suzanne, overjoyed, said, "Aren't you curious about what kind of deal Mr. Charlie reached with the Rothschild family? Miss Lavor told me that he made a secret agreement with Harrison, the current Rothschild family head. Mr. Charlie gave him a pill, and in exchange, he received some cash and a complete AI model." "A complete set?!" Ashley widened her eyes in astonishment. "Is it the most powerful AI model currently invested in by the Rothschilds?" "Yes!" Suzanne nodded vigorously. Ashley hastily asked again, "This AI model is currently the biggest trend in internet technology, and its future market value will be no less than several hundred billion dollars. It has even been elevated to a strategic level by America, with both software and hardware being banned from export. How did Charlie manage to pull this off?" Suzanne replied, "Miss Lavor didn't reveal too many d
Holly and Jaxson asked Charlie many questions but avoided any mention of Zekeiah, almost as if they had a mutual understanding to steer clear of that topic. After lunch, Charlie stayed to chat with Holly for a while before saying his goodbyes. When Holly saw him preparing to leave, she stood up and said, "Charlie, let me walk you out." At this moment, Lulu, who had been silent, stood up and said, "Mom, you take a rest. I'll see him out." Charlie knew that Lulu wanted to talk to him privately, so he nodded and said, "Yes, Grandma. Lulu will take me out." Knowing that Lulu needed some privacy with Charlie, Holly nodded. "Okay. Lulu, see him out, then." Lulu and Charlie walked out of the villa one after the other. As they reached the courtyard, Lulu couldn't help but ask, "Charlie, be honest with me—is Zekeiah already dead?" Her question didn't surprise Charlie, and he replied candidly, "Yes, he is dead." Lulu pursed her lips and followed up, "How did he die?" Charlie a
Fortunately, the Acker family members had weathered many storms and had a far greater perspective than most people. Charlie said, "The infiltration capabilities of the scholars from the Qing Eliminating Society are far beyond what we could have imagined. The individuals who appeared around you and Jaxson back then—those who left a strong impression or even earned some of your admiration—were likely all part of their network. Even if it were me, I might not have been able to discern their true intentions in time." Lulu nodded gently, and Charlie's words seemed to offer her some comfort. Charlie knew that she needed time to process everything, so he spoke gently, "For the next couple of days, don't think about anything. Just rest. After some time, the situation between us and the Qing Eliminating Society should change significantly, and it will give us more control. When that happens, we might need to take the initiative, and at that time, you and Jaxson should try to be involved
Upon hearing that Charlie would host him, Julien was flattered and expressed his gratitude, saying, "I truly appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to meet with me!" Charlie smiled and replied, "We're good friends, no need for formalities. When do you expect to land in Aurous Hill?" Julien thought for a moment and respectfully responded, "I'll be flying in a few hours, with a flight time of about 15 hours. I expect to land in Aurous Hill around 10 a.m. local time tomorrow." Charlie said, "In that case, tomorrow at noon, I'll host a banquet for you at The Heaven Springs, the most famous restaurant in Aurous Hill. It's well-known, so your employees should be able to find it easily. You can just come over directly when you arrive." Although the Rothschild family didn't have personnel stationed in Aurous Hill, their Asian headquarters was located in Eastcliff with high-ranking officials as well as a large number of staff. Julien had already informed the administrative
Meanwhile, Charlie went down the mountain and arrived at the Champs Elys Resort. To avoid disturbing the students during their practice, Charlie informed Albert of his arrival by phone. Albert, being at the bottom of the martial arts students in terms of skill and treating it more as a casual interest, was asked to wait at the entrance of the resort. When Charlie arrived, Albert, dressed in his training outfit, was already waiting at the door. He quickly stepped up to the car, opened the door for Charlie, and respectfully greeted, "Mr. Wade, welcome." Charlie nodded and said, "Tomorrow, have The Heaven Springs temporarily closed to the public and prepare a table with excellent food and drinks. For any customers with existing reservations, make sure to provide them with appropriate compensation." Without hesitation, Albert agreed and asked, "Are you expecting some guests?" Charlie casually replied, "Not exactly guests—just someone coming from afar who's a bit of a fool."
"The Rothschild family members?" Hearing Albert's remarks, Charlie frowned slightly and said, "Oh! Are you talking about Edmund and his dad?" "Yes!" Albert nodded and laughed out loud. "That American bastard who poisoned Miss Young's father and caused his kidney failure. Didn't he and his dad always say that they were from the Rothschild family?" Charlie waved him off dismissively. "They're not part of the Rothschild family. Rothschilds wouldn't carry the surname 'Whittaker'." Pausing to think, he added, "The surname 'Whittaker' is likely of Jewish origin. They might actually be relatives of the Rothschild family by marriage." As he spoke, a realization dawned on him. "I think I've got it. Julien coming to Aurous Hill might very well be to look for this father-and-son duo. Harrison has just recovered and wants to remain the family head for a few more years—he's probably trying to strengthen ties with these branch families." Albert gasped, "If that's the case, that bastard i
After that, Charlie asked, "Has everything been going well here lately?" Caden clasped his hands respectfully and replied, "Everything has been going very well. With the follow-up mental techniques you provided from the Taoist Sect Hanbloom Method, everyone's foundations are very solid. This batch of students has made the fastest progress I've seen in all my years of teaching." Charlie remembered his disciple, Sonia, who had previously taken the entire Taoist Sect to Oskia on her own initiative, effectively becoming part of his sect. Since he didn't have time to manage them, he had left everything under Caden's supervision. Curious, he asked, "How are the Taoist Sect disciples doing in their training?" Caden responded, "These disciples' training progress has been much faster than when they were in the United States. Sonia is now like a workaholic, training all day, every day, and her progress is astonishing—beyond my expectations." He continued, unable to hide his admiration, "
Caden didn't know what kind of gifts Charlie was planning to give everyone, but from his perspective, since each of the over 400 people would receive one, it was likely something that could be bought with money. Caden was as rich as a king and wasn't particularly interested in things that money could buy. However, since Charlie had mentioned it, he naturally wanted to show his support. He expressed his gratitude, saying, "Despite your busy schedule, you're still thinking of us. I'm truly honored, and on behalf of everyone, I thank you." Charlie chuckled. "You're welcome." Caden respectfully replied, "If there's nothing else, I'll go ahead and ask Miss Ito to come over." "Okay." Caden retreated and went back to the martial arts hall. He called Nanako over and said in a low voice, "Miss Ito, Mr. Wade is at the manager's office right now. He wants to see you." "What?" Nanako squealed in pleasant surprise. "Mr. Wade is here? Oh my, I'll go over now! Thank you, Master Howton."
Falling apart in both mind and spirit, Jacob was crying as he disembarked and took a cab to the hotel.Elaine, who had been lying around for 24 hours, was stunned speechless as she watched him enter, crying like a child.In contrast, Elaine looked like a mother to Jacob just then as he threw himself into her arms and bawled, "Darling… That prick Mr. Bay screwed me over… I have nothing left now…"Taken aback for a moment that Jacob would bawl in her arms like that, Elaine soon came to her senses and patted his back as she comforted him, "Oh, stop crying already. Who cares about some Calligraphy and Painting groupies? We certainly don't! Just hear me out and don't ever go there again!"Jacob kept sobbing, "But I care… I want to go…"Annoyed, Elaine's hand that had been patting Jacob a moment ago slid down to his hip and pinched him viciously before he noticed."Ow!" Jacob yelped in pain, and he demanded indignantly, "What was that for?!""Shut up!" Elaine snapped, glowering. "I wa
Jacob couldn't even be bothered by the looks others were giving him, and he called Mr. Bay immediately.Mr. Bay had already gone home and was seated on the couch with his wife, watching his phone and waiting for Jacob to call and demand an explanation.Mr. Bay knew that he had to answer for this and that if he avoided Jacob, it may well be a confession that he had screwed Jacob over.So, to avoid unnecessary trouble, he decided to come clean with Jacob.Naturally, by coming clean, he meant passing the buck as his wife had suggested.Hence, as he answered Jacob's call, he immediately sighed in embarrassment, "Hey, Jacob. I'm so sorry about that…"However, Jacob was so furious he immediately started bellowing, "Mr. Bay! Are you fucking with me here?! You said that the resignation letter was more of a formality, but you just made it public instead! So, all those things you said about helping me were just a trap, was it?! You're despicable! And to think I've been so good to you, even
The repeated flights had left Jacob tormented.Even before he actually had the time to enjoy Dubai, he had already gotten sick of the place and didn't want to ever return.And on the flight, he couldn't stop his thoughts from going astray.Now that he was not getting back the money he had lost, his only hope was Mr. Bay.Fortunately, Mr. Bay was serious about his promise that he would at least save him a job as department head. That was why, despite his thoughts running astray, he never considered the thought that he would be kicked out of the Calligraphy and Painting Association.As soon as his flight landed, he didn't wait to turn off his phone's flight mode, waiting for the internet connection to return so that he could ask Mr. Bay about the meeting.Once he did, he received a ton of messages from public accounts to acquaintances—many had already found out that he had resigned from the post of administrative vice-president and wanted to ask how he was doing.And Matilda was
The Calligraphy and Painting Association was certainly efficient—soon after the meeting was dismissed, the news that the administrative vice-president had resigned was posted on their official page and social media.The notice was simple and never mentioned what Jacob had done, only that the administrative vice-president had asked to resign for personal reasons. The request had since been voted upon, and all members had agreed to it.And that was how a simple and short message kicked Jacob out of the Calligraphy and Painting Association entirely.In the city, other associations closely connected with the Calligraphy and Painting Association were the various cultural societies and circles of antique enthusiasts and the Senior University. In fact, most fans of the public page of the Calligraphy and Painting Association were from the Senior City, and every lecturer, student, and even guest lecturer were subscribed.As a matter of fact, that was entirely Jacob's doing. After his lect
There weren't that many members in the Calligraphy and Painting Association—just a handful over twenty.Hence, at Mr. Bay's request, everyone showed up at the conference at 1 pm.He chose the afternoon as there were a handful who were away on outreach, including Walker, who was subbing for Jacob's lectures.Once the entire Calligraphy and Painting Association save for Jacob was informed of the mandatory meeting, every member was there on the hour, seated primly and in attention in the huge conference room.Mr. Bay didn't waste his breath on the preamble either—as soon as he saw that everyone had arrived, he announced, "Everyone, I've gathered you here today because our administrative vice-president, Jacob Wilson, has been alleged to be involved in a certain malicious scheme."Last night, Mr. Wilson submitted his resignation to me, and after a discussion with my vice-presidents, we've all decided to hold a vote. It will be open to every member in the association as we will be decid
Having sent his resignation letter, Jacob had no idea that it would be the catalyst for his dismissal.He didn't sleep well at the rundown motel either and had dark circles under his eyes as he rushed to the airport early the next morning.Clearing the checkpoint and boarding his flight, everything went smoothly until his flight to Dubai lifted off at 10 am.-Meanwhile, the other vice-presidents of the Calligraphy and Painting Association had arrived at Mr. Bay's office.They all had the same goal—pressure Mr. Bay and get Jacob kicked out of the association no matter what it took.Naturally, they knew that Mr. Bay most definitely would have to help Jacob since Jacob was close with Don Albert. If Mr. Bay insisted on protecting Jacob, they shouldn't insist, or Jacob would hear about it, and the man would bear a grudge.Even so, as the vice-presidents entered Mr. Bay's office and closed the door behind them, one of them couldn't help asking, "So, Mr. Bay—how do you intend to deal
Hence, Mr. Bay sent a reply in under five minutes after Jacob sent his resignation letter.As Jacob tapped on it, he immediately saw Mr. Bay's reply: Mr. Wilson's resignation is a huge loss to the association. However, we should also respect his individual situation and opinion. As such, to discuss our direction forward, all vice-presidents are required to attend a meeting at 10am tomorrow to discuss this matter.Jacob was still perplexed as to why Mr. Bay would reply to his mail and even summon the other vice-presidents for a meeting, and when he had a closer look, he saw that Mr. Bay had forwarded his mail to everyone else.Seeing that, Jacob thought to himself that Mr. Bay could just stick to a discussion involving just Mr. Bay and the vice-presidents instead of the entire association.As such, he sent a voice message on WhatsApp: "Mr. Bay, did you make a mistake and forward my mail to everyone else?"Mr. Bay soon replied, "Everyone already knows about your situation, so there'
Mr. Bay was left pursing his lips awkwardly. "T-That's way too despicable, don't you think? I'm the one who asked him to write a resignation and give up his place as vice-president while I handle the other vice-presidents and resolve the entire matter internally. Everyone can take a step back from escalation, and it's a solution that could please everyone."If I take that resignation at face value, won't it be like a bank goading a client into taking a scam loan? Won't he hate me to the bone if he finds out I screwed him over?""What are you worried about?" Mrs. Bay shot back in annoyance. "Are you that scared of Jacob Wilson turning against you? Hell, my own sister hates me to the bone—but what did you think I told her? That I'm never lending her the money no matter how much she hates me!"What do you think would have happened if I were worried about her feelings and loaned her the money she asked for? She wouldn't have to use a single cent to get herself a new house! She would say
"Don Albert… is giving up on Jacob Wilson?!"Mr. Bay exclaimed in shock. "B-But he was so respectful toward Jacob just the other day when we had dinner at the Heaven Springs… He gave us the best private room and even offered his best wine, filling our glasses personally…"Mrs. Bay waved him off. "You've been stuck with the retirees of the Calligraphy and Painting Association for so long that you've lost your nose for danger! Just think about it—married couples who were just sharing a bed one night could pull a knife on their partner the very next day. And these are men with priorities we're talking about."Also, you should take into account that Zachary Evans is Don Albert's right-hand man, and Jacob somehow dragged him into a fraud scheme. So, do you think Don Albert would be happy with that?"And according to Zachary's public statement, all the money they got went straight into Jacob's pocket—and what does that mean? It means Zachary is an accessory to a crime—at worst, an accomp